This is a very timely topic for me. As many know, we’ve recently completed a renovation/restoration at Camden Country Club (a Walter Travis/Donald Ross track) overseen by Kris Spence. One of the major changes made to the course was to convert a long, severe dog-leg par 4 to a par 5. Yardage was added to the tee shot so that the carry for a nest of bunkers was 280, but with that carry one is left with 150 or less in (the green is interesting, to say the least).
Upon opening, our recreational players universally condemned the hole, with the longer drivers generally saying something along the lines of “I had a 9 iron in”. In talking with tournament players, though, the general thought was that anyone who would try to carry the bunkers (and keep the ball in the fairway, which runs away) was an idiot. Their thoughts were that one could take 3 wood and challenge the bunkers, leaving around 185, or hit driver more left, leaving 190-200.
My take from these discussions is that we’ve created a pretty good hole! There are decisions to be made on the tee box. If you’re playing a recreational round with few ramifications from a big number, then bang away. If you’re playing a tournament round and need to finish, then you better think about what you’re doing.
Jamey