First of all, let me share a story. I recently resigned my membership from Kinloch GC in Manakin-Sabot, VA. It would be hard to imagine a better all around club, and I am grateful for their hospitality. Here is my affectionate goodbye letter to Kinloch.
Kinloch GC: 3rd Hole, 540 yards, par 5 — 'Marital Discord'The 3rd hole is part of the easy opening stretch of holes at Kinloch. It helps to get off to a fast start at Kinloch, as the middle of the course is very difficult. After two mid-length par 4s, the 3rd hole traverses a broad ridge, so that most well-struck drives fly up and over the top. The hole turns gently right and consistently downhill to a wide, shallow green, that slopes from back to front, with a few subtle internal contours. The green is guarded by sand bunkers left of the green, and a small pond that guards the right half of the green. The pond was created a few years ago, because the swampy natural tributary was a bit too dangerous and messy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNKrmdL10y0Strategically, the 3rd hole is perhaps the least interesting hole on the course for me. There is a speed slot, and a big hitter like multiple club champion (and GCA member) Sam Sikes can bomb driver down the right side, and leave himself a 220-240 yard approach. A player of his ability can hit a lofted wood or hybrid from the downhill lie with confidence. But out of maybe 70-90 lifetime rounds, I was only in position to try for the green 2-3 times. The landing area short of the pond is very wide, and the second shot for your typical low to mid-handicapper is mundane. 9 out of 10 times I’m hitting driver and then 4-7 iron, playing for a desired remaining distance. Then it’s wedge right at the pin, with little worry, and hope I can get close. The green is gentle by Kinloch standards, but a delicate touch is always required, especially on downhill putts.
About three years ago, I traveled to Richmond to play a week's worth of golf at Kinloch, a yearly tradition of practicing and getting ready for the golf season. It’s a great time to visit. The course is awake from a winter slumber, but aeration doesn’t happen until May, and the weather tends to be cool and dry. It’s one of the few times during the year where one might catch the fairways playing fast and firm.
Over the weekend of that visit, I hosted two golfing couples, friends of ours, a couple of days apart. For the purpose of this discussion, these couples will be referred to as Couple #1 and Couple #2.
Women play the 3rd hole at about 430 yards. Couple #1 are both very good, younger players. Husband #1 is about a 6-8 handicap, and Wife #1 is a medium-strong 15-20 handicapper who can hit it 150-160 yards off the tee, maybe 180 if she catches one. I played with couple #1 alone in a threesome, and my wife took the day off. Wife #1 hits a pretty solid drive into the fairway, followed by a pretty solid fairway wood down the hill, where she has about 145 yards left, from a downhill lie, to the center of the green. After consulting with her caddie, Wife #1 pulls a 5-wood out of her bag, whereupon Husband #1 volunteers his belief that perhaps she should lay up short of the pond. Wife #1 mutters something under her breath, scowls briefly, and then pushes a low liner into the center of the pond.
It’s hard to overestimate how comical the next minute and a half went. I can’t remember the exact exchange, but it went something like this:
“Told you.”
“Yeah, why don’t you fuck off.”
“You fuck off. I told you.”
“Yeah, we’ll see what good that does you later.”
While I’m watching this amazing display occurring, for whatever reason I’m not intimidated or worried. It wasn’t scary; you just felt this is how they resolve things. It was like the Saturday Night Live characters from Boston, Sully and Zazu. You half expected them to embrace in a violent display of affection for one another, and start rolling around the 3rd fairway at Kinloch.
It was pretty quiet for a couple of holes afterwards, but things lightened up, and a good day was had by all.
My wife Cheryl joined me to play with Couple #2, who we know a bit better. Couple #2 are both very good, older players. Husband #2 is about a 4-6 handicap, and Wife #2 is a medium-strong 12-16 handicapper who can hit it 150-160 yards off the tee, maybe 180 if she catches one. Wife #2 hits a pretty solid drive into the fairway, followed by a pretty solid fairway wood down the hill, where she has about 145 yards left, from a downhill lie, to the center of the green. After consulting with her caddie, Wife #2 pulls a 3-wood out of her bag, whereupon Husband #2 volunteers his belief that perhaps she should lay up short of the pond. Wife #2 reaffirms that she can make this shot, and then pushes a low liner into the center of the pond.
The aftermath of this interaction was a bit darker and quieter. The tension in the air was palpable, only made worse ten minutes later, by Husband #2 instructing Wife #2 how to properly hit a chip shot short of the 4th green. Cheryl and I are now talking quietly to ourselves on the other side of the fairways while Couple #2 works things out, and I’m telling Cheryl the same damn thing happened just two days ago. For a while, it seemed things would never lighten up, and we weren’t sure we were having fun, but then Cheryl said to me:
“Didn’t that exact same thing happen to us, too?”
“Yes dear, I believe you’re right.”
At that point things started to get better, and a good day was had by all. I hereby designate the 3rd hole at Kinloch GC as the Hole of Marital Discord.
Thought On Approach Shots From A Downhill LiePlaying from a downhill lie is tough. It’s hard to judge the distance properly. It’s hard to get the ball airborne. A downhill lie can be a shank lie, as it is easy to slide forward on the way down. Most importantly, I have to aim left from a downhill lie, as I reliably push downhill lie shots to the right of where I’m aimed. It depends a lot whether you are a natural fade or draw player on how well you handle these.
Mostly I wanted to share the story of Marital Discord on the golf course.
I’d like to know what everyone thinks about downhill lies, and especially how the architects and designers accommodate their existence in course design. I get the feeling some effort is made to minimize shots off downhill lies. Of all the really good courses I’ve played, Kinloch GC happens to have a large number of regular shots off downhill lies. Typically, I will approach the green off a downhill lie on #1, #3, #4, #6, #8, #11, and #13; perhaps half of these shots have significantly downward tilt. In every case, those steep downhill shots are really hard, especially when water is in play. The Kinloch design lends itself to downhill lies, because architect Lester George (with the great Vinnie Giles) chose to route many long holes up and over the broad ridges as described previously.
Perhaps the most famous downhill lie in golf is the third shot at Augusta National’s 15th hole. Looks easy, but even the pros struggle with it. In my golf universe, perhaps my favorite downhill lie shot is the 18th hole at Stanford University GC, though I hardly ever play there anymore. I believe a great course should be a comprehensive test of golf ability. We’ve previously established that many great courses feature uphill approach shots, but little is said about downhill lies on great courses.
How do our designers accommodate their existence?