[Bill Brightly]

There was a recent thread entitled: "A weakness of Golden Age architects" and the premise was that Tillinghast and other ODG's designed great par 3's and 4's, but not great par 5's.

I disagree and feel that Tilly designed great par 5's, and I thought it might be fun to analyze those that he built at Ridgewood. Perhaps it will spark a lively discussion on what we like and dislike about par 5's, and whether or not you agree with me that Ridgewood's are among the very best set on one property.

Let's start with 3 East. White 508, Blue 546, Black 593.


I think we should analyze this hole from the green backwards, because that is how I believe Tillinghast designed his par 5's. To me, the green complex is pure genius. He built three distinct tiers that "climb" and angle away from the golfer left-to-right. To have any chance at birdie you MUST have hit the proper tier. Hit the wrong shelf, and you'll do well to two putt.

From the back of the green:


Here is the front third, where the pin happens to be located today:


from just behind the pin. Note the dropoff to the bunker below:


While not a great photo, this shows the middle tier and I believe that you can make out the back tier:


and here is the back tier:


Note the recently re-captured putting surface



If you have properly executed your first two shots and played to the left side of the fairway, you will have left yourself an approach of 50 to 150, depending on your length.





Looking back from the green, you can see that you can't miss your second shot right. If you do, you leave yourself a downhill shot out of the rough, with very little chance of hitting the green, let alone the proper tier:



It is important to hit a decent, straight drive so that you can carry the mounds and have a reasonable third shot to the green.
But what I notice is that even if you do hit a good drive, the view is partially obscured by  the slope.  Educated players KNOW that you do not want to miss it right, because as you see, the angle to the green is horrible, especially out of rough. But Tilly makes you guess a bit: just how much room do I have on the left? Also, even though you know you need to stay left, a glimpse of the pin teases you to go right.





This photo is taken from the mens regular tee. What I find so cool here is that by placing the mounds at the end of the landing zone, it is almost as if Tillinghast predicted the effect that technology might have on the game and said: "Thou shall drive no further than here!" I estimate that from the black tees, it is 300 to reach the mounds, maybe 260 from the regular tees.



In summary, I think this hole has everything you would want from a par 5:  fair but demanding shot requirements on all three shots and a great green complex. Players of decent ability have a reasonable hope for birdie if they play their shots well, but I'll bet there are far more bogies here than on the average par 5.

[David Harshbarger]

Bill, is there an advantage to playing a cut on the second shot, challenging the rough and bunkers?  For example, can a cut wood reach the green in two, or landing shorter,does just left of the bunkers provide a better angle in than safely left?

[Bill Brightly]

I think the big hitters play their drive as close to the bumps as they can, and then play a long cut up the left side to leave a short pitch. I imagine there are some who can reach it in two but I really don't know. I have played here once or twice per year for the past 20 years, so I guess it took me ten years to figure out that you must stay left with the second shot

The bumps are not perpendicular at the end of the driving zone; there is about 25 more yards of (narrow) fairway on the left side. You probably can reach the green if you hit this small spot.

[Patrick_Mucci]

Bill,

As a set, I've always maintained that Ridgewood's par 5's are amongst the best.

As to # 3 East, you have to remember that the second fairway, after the mounds and before the green, slopes sharply from high right to low left and that the trees prevent the golfer from taking a direct line into the center or back of the green, which sits at a 45 or so degree angle from the fairway AND it's a triple tier green, very well protected on all sides except the opening in front.

Even if the golfer goes for the green, with it being SO narrow and triple tiered, should he miss, which is likely given the dimensions, configuration and angle of the green, the recovery shot can be very, very difficult.

But, the question, without being flip, is absurd.

Of the 400-500 or so golfing members, who amongst them can reach the green in two ?

Why frame the play of a golf hole from the perspective of a PGA Tour Pro ?
Rather, the perspective should be from that of the member/guest and daily play.

I've been playing that hole for 50 years and it remains a difficult challenge.

OB left, trees right, mounds of rough serving as a mini-sahara, slightly uphill at the end, angled narrow triple tiered green extremely well protected.

It's a great par 5, one requiring three well struck shots and a deft putting touch once on the green.

[Bill Brightly]

No argument from me Pat, I was trying to answer David's question.  I think the beauty of the hole is that it requires three shots, three GOOD shots. And it has it has withstood the test of time and equipment advances much better than most golf holes built by ODG's.

[David Harshbarger]

Bill and Pat, I was just exploring the strategic elements, having not seen the hole.

From your description, this sounds like a strong penal design.  The strategy is given: drive, second left,  approach to proper tier, putt. It's in the doing that the challenge lies.  Fail to execute at any point and the recovery extracts a penalty.

The line of charm element is the kicker.  Once you know it, good, but it is always there to fool your lying eyes to play more right.

The language of the hole is basic.  That's one of the things I like about it, as described.  Like a good melody, the vocabulary is clear, the composition creates the tension, and the strength.

[Patrick_Mucci]

David,

The hole offers three distinct challenges, with the tee shot probably being the easiest.

The second presents a unique dilemma, hit away from the OB left and face a more difficult angle into the green, or hit it straight and rely on the bounce off the sloped fairway to put you at the ideal angle.  Go left got the ideal angle and risk OB.

The third shot is dicey if you're right or center

[Bill Brightly]

2 Center, 475 White, 556 Blue, 568 Black

This is a slightly uphill hole with a slight dogleg to the left. The tee shot is fairly straightforward, but it is critical to be in the fairway. Shots from the thick Ridgewood rough make it extremely hard to properly position your second shot.   Here is the view from the tee:



The second shot underscores one of the very subtle things about Tillinghast's par 5's. The photo below is taken from a spot that would be a very good drive for most good players. You'll note that the second shot landing area is blind. From the fairway, there is nothing terribly difficult abot the shot, but the blindness simply increases the player's level of anxiety.



Ideally, you'll hit your second shot closer, but here is the approach you'll have from 150 and 170 yards out, respectively




From about 50 yards out




Another great green complex by Tilly that is extremely well bunkered.





From short left



From the front right side of the green


Par is certainly obtainable, but bogey (or worse) awaits your first mishit.

[Patrick_Mucci]

Bill,

# 2 Center is another fabulous par 5 that gets more difficult as you get closer to the cup.

The drive is fairly benign, as is the second, but, the third is to a small, sloped, elevated and very well bunkered green.

This hole produces bogies quite easily, for the slightest error will cost you dearly.

The sloped green is not easy to putt and it's small size makes it a difficult target, even from close range.

And, the bunkers guarding it can produce big numbers.

[Bill Brightly]

4 West. White 464, Blue 536, Black 624.

This is another great par 5 which requires three well executed shots to reach a relatively small green. Here is a view looking back to the tee from behind the landing zone, and note the slight dogleg left. If you look carefully, you'll see all new fairway on the lower left. This was formerly rough. In the middle left, you'll see a light green area where a fairway bunker was taken out and re-located farther from the tee.





The cart path separating the 4th and 5th holes you see below will be removed, and it will be "fairway-to-fairway" for both holes. This is an incredibly good suggestion made by Gil Hanse, IMO. In addition to giving shorter hitters a way to play around the bumps, it allows these same shorter hitters to have far more room to play 5 West (a world class par 4.)



Here is a glimpse of the 50 yards of mounds that must be cleared with your second shot. Any slight mishit tee shot will give the player an immediate dilema: layup short of the bumps and leave 240-250 to the green, or be heroic and try to carry the bumps. Leaving a ball in the bumps will give you no chance to hit the green, unless you happen to catch an incredible lucky lie and stance.






From the bumps, looking at the green. Another subtle Tillinghast feature: the landing area for the second shot is downhill, therefore partially blind. You know you want to keep the ball left, but there is OB left, a cemetary... Gil also expanded the fairway to the left which can be a positive for many players, but also increasing the chances of hard running shots reaching the OB.



If you have successfully carried the mounds, you have an approach that looks like this:


If you have hit two great shots and kept the second one left, you might have this simple approach:


Here is a side view of the bunker that guards the front-right half of the green. Although hard to tell from the photo, most of the fairway over the trap is new and was was formerly rough.  Since this part of the hole plays downhill, this mean big hitters hitting 3 wood, or other players who might have played short of the mounds with their second shot, can now have their ball roll into thiis bunker, whereas last year the rough probably would have saved them.



In summary, it's another example of Tillinghast designing a Par 5 hole that requires 3 well-planned and executed shots.

[Patrick_Mucci]

Bill,

# 4 West is another good par 5, probably a better par 5 from the back tee near the 3rd green.

The proximity of the OB, left and behind the green can make a long approach very dicey.

Of the five, it's probably # 4, with # 4 center being # 5.

For some reason, the winter photos don't do the holes justice.

[Bill Brightly]

Pat,

You are right,  this is probably # 4 of 5, but I am saving my favorite for the next thread update


And the cemetary hole, the 5th best of five, which I always felt was way below the quality of the other four, is being worked on by Gil Hasse as we speak. It is going to be SO much better, IMHO.

What strikes me most about Ridgewood Par 5's is how quickly par becomes unlikely after a mishit. Miss your drive on any of these holes, and you are in full scramble mode, whereas most other course you merley stop thinking about birdie but still have time to plsy for a fairly routine play for par.

[Patrick_Mucci]

Bill,

I think you've put it well, you can't afford to miss a shot if you want to make par, whereas most other par 5's have more in the way of margins for error.

4 of the 5 par 5's are outstanding.

I'm glad to hear that # 4 Center is being beefed up.

Interestingly, # 4 Center is one of the few par 5's without a fairway bunker.
As is # 3 East and # 2 Center.

That's a very unusual configuration when 3 of your Par 5's have no fairway bunkering.

Was that an AWT feature ?

[Bill Brightly]

8 West. White 519, Blue 571, Black 593.

This is my favorite of the great par fives at Ridgewood. I love it because of its simplicity and superb use of the land. It is a big, sweeping uphill dogleg. But the effect of the single best use of a tree I have ever seen often makes it play like a triple dogleg. Let's look at the hole staring with the tee shot.

From the Black tee:


 
Blue tee


The heavy trees and OB left create and almost irresistable urge to bail out right. But experienced players know that an inside left line, ideally with a draw,  is critical to suuccessfully playing the hole.

If you bail out right, like I do at least 50% of the times I play the hole...you will be forced to play a long, faded 3 wood under the tree you see here on the right. And the bunker on the left will catch a well hit "dreaded straight ball." If you bailed out so far that you are in the right rough, you can just about forget hitting the green in three shots. How many par fives penalize good players in such a simple yet effective manner?





Here is a view looking back at the landing area, behind "the tree."



If you have hit a real good tee shot and kept the ball left, you might have a fairly wide open angle for your second shot that looks like this. However, once again Tillinghast has used the land to obscure your landing area. You don't want to play so far to the right that your third shot must be played from the rough, yet you KNOW the ball will scoot to the left due to the terrain:


If you bailed right and hit a great second shot, successfully navigating "the tree" you might have left yourself 150-180 and a shot to the green that looks like this:



Two superb shots would this ideal approach:



But as this photo taken in the winter shows, the last 80 yards to the green slope severely right to left, so you MUST keep your second shot high and to the right:




Here a couple of other views taken from the Barclay's:




The green is small, simple, and superb. The significant right to left tilt demands a short approach shot to have a reasobnable chance of getting the ball close. But even those attempting to come in from farher out have a glimmer of hope, thinking: "If I play it high and to the right, maybe it will feed down to the green!" That just adds to the fun of the hole.








Hope you enjoyed this trip around Ridgewood's par fives!

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