Can someone please explain the greatness of the Duel Hole?

[abmack]

I know that San Francisco GC's 7th hole is often regarded as one of the best short holes in the country but I have never played it. All of the pictures which I have seen make it look only mildly special.

If you have played it, I am interested in hearing your opinion. What makes it such a fantastic hole?

[John Kirk]

Good call.

You may know that our friend Tom Doak gave the Duel Hole a rare (!!!) three exclamation point rating, which is his top rating for an individual hole.

I have played the hole twice.  For me, the hole was about a 5-6 iron shot to a narrow, two-tier green.  It's significantly downhill, about one club worth.  My experience says that getting up and down from the right bunker was a medium difficult proposition.  I think I had one par and one bogey.  In fact, I would say the hole's difficulty is very close to 3.5 for me, and in repeat plays I would make few birdies and few double bogeys.

I thought it was nice, but not super special.

[abmack]

Interesting, John.

I am not questioning the hole's merit but rather trying to understand them.

[Garland Bayley]

At least a little info can be gleaned from the following linked thread. I was disappointed that no one that had played both chimed in.

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,54516.0.html

[John Kirk]

Garland,

Looking at the pictures in the referenced thread, the front half of the green looks steep from back to front.  The green, as a whole, looks quite a bit like a shoe print.

[Kevin_Reilly]

Andrew, what is it about the pictures of the hole (of which there aren't many) that make the hole appear only mildly special to you?

[Pete Blaisdell]

  I agree, it's nothing special by any means.

[Tom_Doak]

I am not a fan of drop-shot par-3 holes generally, but for me the Duel Hole is the best example of the type.

The front part of the green is relatively skinny and tilted pretty hard from middle to front.  Then the green goes up and over a small ridge, and the back half is much wider to the right, with a deep grass bunker at the front right.  So, it can be set up for a narrow shot or for a longer one to a wider target, but it is essential to judge it correctly to get on the correct half of the green, because putting over the ridge in the middle is very difficult.

Now that we've cut the trees on the left to open the view up the 8th hole, it's a pretty hole to look at, too.

I had a fun day there years ago, filming the hole for a feature on the best 18 holes in the world.  The club let us film on Monday when the course was closed, and for hitting balls on the hole we had Sandy Tatum.  When we got out there, we discovered he only carried four balls in his bag, and since the pro shop was closed, he could only hit the four before someone on the crew had to go retrieve them ... so we had plenty of time to chat about the hole in between.  

After he'd hit eight balls, and missed the green 4-5 times, I remarked that he was probably thinking the hole was more difficult than he thought before, and he said I was exactly right.  He was such a positive thinker that he was convinced he nearly always hit the green, but trying to do it repeatedly was not so easy after all.

I had not thought of that day for quite a while, thanks for reminding me of it.  I've had a lot of cool days in the golf business. 

[Bill_McBride]

That's one of only half a dozen holes I've played at SFGC.   I was a 17-year old freshman at City College of San Francisco in 1959 when I was corrupted by an older fellow on the golf team who said, "Let's go play a few holes at SF Golf Club."   As a rube from north Marin County, I hadn't heard of the course so said sure.  We pitched our bags over the fence near what turned out to be the 7th tee and scrambled over.   After playing a few holes - and being blown away by the bunkering at greens and fairways - we were apprehended by the grounds crew and gently escorted off the property. 

I had never seen a prettier par 3 than the 7th, although I had caddied at the Meadow Club the previous summer where there are a couple of pretty ones

[hhuffines]

I thought it was a very challenging and beautiful par three.  The pin was behind the ridge in the green but also near some rough.  I took it on and lost with a bogey.  Great place for a game!

[Jeff_Brauer]

Well, I liked it, but then, I got a hole in one on my first play in 1994, during an ASGCA meeting.  Witnessed my Hurdzan, Gary Linn and Mark McCumber, among others.  A 5 iron one hop into the cup which was rear center.  While excited, I still had the presence of mind to try to be funny, conceding each of my opponents their second shots as "good" even with one in bunker, one in woods, and one of the fringe....

Seriously, thought, its a good but not great hole, with some history that many find makes it that much more interesting.

At first glance, it looks like one of those "straightforward" types of par 3 holes, whereas I prefer the CBM template types generally.  But, I do like the ridge separating the green back and front and the varying sizes of different portions of the green.

That ridge works well on a par 3 drop shot - both the ball on a tee, controlled distance and steeper angle of landing make it easier to hold the back part of the green.  If some kind of fairway approach level or uphill, the ridge would probably hide the back of the green and make holding the back far too hard for that many folks who don't get enough spin from the fw or rough.

So, in a way, its a straightforward looking par 3, with some unique challenges front and back, and some thought going into the proper location of that particular type of feature, matching it to its intended purpose, which constitutes pretty solid architecture in my book.

[abmack]

I am not a fan of drop-shot par-3 holes generally, but for me the Duel Hole is the best example of the type.

The front part of the green is relatively skinny and tilted pretty hard from middle to front.  Then the green goes up and over a small ridge, and the back half is much wider to the right, with a deep grass bunker at the front right.  So, it can be set up for a narrow shot or for a longer one to a wider target, but it is essential to judge it correctly to get on the correct half of the green, because putting over the ridge in the middle is very difficult.

Now that we've cut the trees on the left to open the view up the 8th hole, it's a pretty hole to look at, too.

I had a fun day there years ago, filming the hole for a feature on the best 18 holes in the world.  The club let us film on Monday when the course was closed, and for hitting balls on the hole we had Sandy Tatum.  When we got out there, we discovered he only carried four balls in his bag, and since the pro shop was closed, he could only hit the four before someone on the crew had to go retrieve them ... so we had plenty of time to chat about the hole in between.  

After he'd hit eight balls, and missed the green 4-5 times, I remarked that he was probably thinking the hole was more difficult than he thought before, and he said I was exactly right.  He was such a positive thinker that he was convinced he nearly always hit the green, but trying to do it repeatedly was not so easy after all.

I had not thought of that day for quite a while, thanks for reminding me of it.  I've had a lot of cool days in the golf business. 

Tom,

A very helpful answer. Thank you. I look forward to playing it some day.