Hole #8 – 331 yards, par 4
The eighth is probably the coolest hole at Springfield and, at least in my mind, the hole that exhibits the most Ross characteristics—cross bunkering, severe green contouring, quirk and fun. At just 331 yards, it’s certainly not a long hole, but that doesn’t mean it’s an easy hole by any stretch of the imagination. The first thing that you notice standing on the tee are the hazards—OB hard on the right, a deep bunker left and the large cross bunker. The tee shot is downhill, but the second shot plays steeply uphill, so the golfer must decide whether to play an iron to the flat part of the fairway and face a longer second shot up the hill, take a hybrid and hit into the upslope and leave a 9-iron or wedge into the green from an uphill lie, or, for the longer hitters, bust driver and try to clear the cross bunker. I normally hit hybrid because the cross bunker is very deep and the prospect of playing from there to the green is not the type of shot I want to have.
The green is set atop the highest point on the property. It is a skyline green from the vantage point of the golfer. The green is divided into four distinct quadrants, the easiest being front left and front right, and back left and back right the most difficult. This was another one of the greens that was completely rebuilt in 2011 to add more usable pin locations. The worst misses are left if the pin is cut on the left side and long, which is absolutely dead because the green drops off sharply and would leave the golfer with an almost impossible shot back up the steep hill. The front of the green is not so much a false front, but an approach shot with spin easily could catch the slope and run back down the hill leaving a semi-blind chip back onto the green.
The most interesting feature, in my opinion, is that the green is connected to the ninth tee, which sits perched just above and to the immediate right of the green. During the rebuild of the green, the slope next to the green and the ninth tee was shaved to fairway height, so it is possible now to use the ninth tee as the target for one’s second shot if the pin is cut on the right of the green and use the natural slope to try to get the ball close to the pin. A miss to the right will end up on the ninth tee, so the smart play is to putt onto the green using the slope. If one misses the green left, that same slope can be as a backboard to keep the ball on the green.
This hole has enough quirky features that birdie (or even eagle, with the slopes) is a possibility, but so is double if you find the wrong spot off the tee or around the green.
From the tee
Landing area
Views of the green
