Rich Goodale,
I'll try to answer you questions, strictly from my perspective.
I think, had NGLA been a tournament site, like Pebble Beach, that the 18th tee would have been moved back to the limit, to accomodate the big boys. My contention is, that to precisely preserve the angles of attack and strategy off the tee, you must take any extended tee as straight back as possilbe.
In playing in the National Singles Tournament, I've been one down, one up, and all even in my match play matches, and, that did alter my strategy in playing the hole.
In addition, in the qualifiying stroke play portion of the tournament, if you've teed off late, knowing what you have to make to qualify for the Championship flight can affect your play of the hole.
Unfortunately, my photo doesn't show the tee shot, the left side fairway bunkers and the right side bunker and drop off.
But, on the tee, Terry McBride, an exceptional golfer, has told me that there are two (2) rules to the tee shot.
Rule # 1 - don't hit it in the left fairway bunker.
Rule # 2 - go back and re-read rule # 1.
You can hit anything off the tee from 3-iron to driver.
And, depending on which club you hit, you can pick your target on a fairly wide fairway that is begining its ascent which slopes left to right.
Depending on where you hit your drive, you can now select anything from a driver to a mid-iron to position yourself for your 3rd shot. The key is, which target area do you want to get to.
I think that you can see in the photo, five (5) major target areas.
1 the fairway in back of the clubhouse far from the green
2 the fariway next to the flag pole closer to the green
3 the fairway between/parallel to the two sets of bunkers
4 the fairway just short of the green
5 the green.
While the wind is a factor on the tee, as you ascend the fairway, getting closer to the green, I believe that it becomes more of a factor.
To help you understand the picture better, let me provide some yardages.
The green is 34 yards deep.
From the tee side bottom of the lower left hand bunker which isn't entirely visible, to the center of the green is 220 yards.
From the greenside-top of the lower left hand bunker to the center of the green is 190 yards.
From the greenside-top of the right hand bunker to the center of the green is 139 yards.
From the greenside-top of the middle left bunker to the center of the green is 107 yards.
From the tee-side back of the closest of the two left hand bunkers short of the green to the center of the green is 67 yards.
Not visible, but discussed, is the left side bunker complex off the tee. If you can clear that farthest bunker, you have 267 into the green, from an uphill slightly left right lie, to a skyline green that you can't see from that position. In other words, you are hitting it into the sky, with possibly the pin visible if you've hit a huge drive up the left side.
Lost in this picture is the elevation changes, which have an impact on your visual assessments and ability to play the hole.
Back to strategy.
I think the key thing for me is, how do I feel, and how do I feel about my game ? How has it fared over the last 17 holes and how confident or defensive do I feel.
At the tee, Terry McBride's two rules are paramount no matter how you stand. You must avoid the set of leftside fairway bunkers at all costs, especially the farthest one which has an 8-10 foot lip on it. It's a deep bunker, and the closer you are to the green in that bunker, the worse off you are.
From the front of the first left fairway bunker, to the greenside-top of the second fairway bunker is about 40 yards, uphill. And that greenside top is 47 yards from the start of the left side fairway bunker in the photo.
So, as Clint Eastwood would say,
" are you feeling lucky today, punk, well, are you ?
Is the wind helping, hurting, left to right, right to left.
How have you been driving ? Is the air heavy or light ?
Can you hit the draw towards the right side junk and draw it ? Are you heeling/fading your drives today. Hitting them low (you won't carry the left side bunkers) All of these things and more enter your mind, as does your position on the tee and your opponent's at match play, and the field's at stroke play.
Wherever your tee shot lands, you now have a myriad of decisons to make, similar to the choices that went through your mind on the tee, only now, your ball isn't sitting on a tee, it's probably on an uneven, uphill lie. And now you're faced with trying to place it amongst the bunkers, tall grass and the end of the planet that occurs on the right side, which is what my picture shows.
Assuming that you've hit a good 2nd shot, you now have to decide HOW and WHAT you're going to approach the green with, and, that process gets complicated by the wind, your opponent's play, or how the field has done, because the scoreboard is by the first tee which is next to the 18th green.
From 120 yards, I've hit wedges, 8-irons, 6-irons depending on the type of shot that I thought would maximize my chances of getting close while minimizing my chances for disaster.
It is a scarey green to approach from 190 yards, 160 yards,
130 yards, 90 yards, 60 yards, 30 yards, depending on your angle of approach and the pin location.
If the pin is right, bailouts left are left with a frightening looking shot. If the pin is back, everyone is left with a frightening shot. If the pin is left, few see the devious nature of a shot hit slightly left of target, which funnels down into a chipping swale or bunker.
If you get the chance to play NGLA, and the time and circumstances permit, go play # 18 as often as you can.
You'll never stop enjoying the challenge and the fun.
Strategically, I think it's one of the best finishing holes in golf.
P.S. If you can hear that flag snapping...you're in big trouble