Boy oh boy what a brain fart/ Thanx for the correction re 5&6 Stan.
Huckster, As Stan mentioned the original teeing ground was closer to 11 green than it is now. That puts the dune behind 13 very close to the line of sight straight out to the Pacific. Now, Anyone who wanted to challenge that blindness would've been rewarded with the shorter shot in, playing up the wrong hole. Now, let me say I am with you. I loathe infernal's but I do rationalize this one as less infernal. First off, the OB does end at a point before the end of the 12th hole. It is approx. 100 yards out on 12, where the ob ceases in the 13th fairway. I know if there were a five club wind, from the south, I might try it. Surely, when one is too far right, in the dunes or near one of those trees, playing up the 13th, on their second, is prudent. It's also not that dangerous because it is so obviously dangerous noone would try to play that way, without first warning anyone ahead, or waiting for them to get closer to the 13th green. Similar situation when driving on 15 and 16 because of the shared fairway. If someone is there, you are cognizant of them and hopefully they are aware of you, too. Now, the reason the infernal works so well on 12, IMO, is the nature of the ground that comprises the 12th fairway. Those humps bumps and rolls, that the OB virtually forces every player to encounter, because of the OB, are too marvelous for words as GC features. Also,The sporadic maintenance near and around these features creates unpredictable lies, that are the definition of rub. Good and bad. I don't think any other hole, or an area of a hole, has taught me more about GCA, myself, and, my GC management. On the subject of the puckerability the OB elicits, in the mind of the golfer, under tournament conditions, is real and relatively unique for a modern design. 1960 is when Neville built her, so she qualifies as modern. But clearly that is her only resemblance to any modern courses I have played (outside of Wild Horse, SH, and soon to be....
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