18th hole at Cypress Point Club

[Ben Jarvis]

I'm sure the 18th hole at CPC has been discussed at length before. Having been fortunate enough to play here last Monday morning with my father, the 18th hole was the one hole that surprised me the most.

CPC is often referred to as the "best 17 hole golf course in the world", with the 18th letting it down somewhat. Personally, I enjoyed the 18th and thought it asked the golfer one last challenge, a challenge that hadn't really been tested up until then - a perfectly placed drive. At just 343 yards, what's wrong with asking that?

I asked my caddy while walking up 18, "what's your opinion of the 18th hole here?" His response, which I wholeheartedly agreed with was, "it is a very good golf hole, perhaps not as the 18th though. If it didn't follow the best three hole stretch in the world, it wouldn't wouldn't be discussed the way it is."

For those that have played, I am interested to here your views on the finishing hole at CPC.

[Patrick_Mucci]

Ben,

Given the quality of the site, I thought the 18th could have been better.

The idea of the tee being out on the rocks appeasl to me.

[Adam Clayman]

Unique, visually confusing off the tee, with a great green. Those who have been fortunate to play it, and say it's a bad hole, must feel the need to say something negative about the course. But, I suspect that CPC proves that measuring the quality of the whole, by dissecting it's parts, must miss out, on what the whole has to offer. CPC os a great journey and must end somewhere. The clubhouse seems like a great place to do that. I'm particularly fond of not having the clubhouse in one's line of sight on their final approach, too.

[Mike Hendren]

Unique, visually confusing off the tee, with a great green. Those who have been fortunate to play it, and say it's a bad hole, must feel the need to say something negative about the course. But, I suspect that CPC proves that measuring the quality of the whole, by dissecting it's parts, must miss out, on what the whole has to offer. CPC os a great journey and must end somewhere. The clubhouse seems like a great place to do that. I'm particularly fond of not having the clubhouse in one's line of sight on their final approach, too.

Adam, any hole with trees in the line of play is visually confusing off the tee is it not?

Mike

[K. Krahenbuhl]

I see nothing wrong with the tee shot, but I thought the tree that blocks out the entire left side of the green from the center of the fairway was disappointing. 

[Kevin Pallier]

Unique, visually confusing off the tee, with a great green.

Adam

I agree with that - though I reckon the green could possibly have been put in another place. Over near the 16th tee would have been an amazing place to finish.

[Sean Leary]

Removal of just a couple of trees would do wonders. IMO.

[Ben Jarvis]

Ben,

Given the quality of the site, I thought the 18th could have been better.

The idea of the tee being out on the rocks appeasl to me.

Patrick,

The 18th tee out on the rocks would be spectacular but I'm certain it wouldn't make it a better golf hole, rather, it would bring the trees on the right into to play even more.

The only tree that could do for removal, IMO, is the one that is front left of the green. I hit my best drive of the day on this hole, leaving it on the righ handside of the fairway, just 80 yards to the front of the green. Still, that tree would have obstructed my shot somewhat if the pin was back left.

Adam, you are correct - the tee shot is visually confusing. At first, i thought my drive was no good as it sailed over the cypress, only to see it finish where it did.

Kevin, I have a picture in my mind of your suggested green location - spectacular! However, the greensite on 18 is a little understated, just like the Club itself.

[Bob_Huntley]

Ben ,

I see you have posted less than thirty times. May I suggest that you go to the Search section and see the many hundreds of comments on this particular hole. I daresay that playing it but once might have colored your views.

Bob

[Kalen Braley]

I think the thing about CPC 18 is.....

..its not so much about being a bad hole, as I really don't think it is a bad hole.

I think it gets the negative attention for being a hole that is out of place when compared with the others.  The entire round, the golfer is faced with lots of strategic choices off the tee. There is a fair amount of width, a fair amount of different ways nearly every hole can be played.  The golfer is really made to think around the course and presented with options.

And then you get to 18, its a narrow "hit it here or else" tee shot as well as a narrow approach to the green.  Its just a stark contrast to what one has been faced with time and time again on the previous 17 holes.

[Wade Whitehead]

There is a worst painting in the Louvre.

WW

[Patrick_Mucci]

There is a worst painting in the Louvre.

Wade,

I think that's what makes Pine Valley so great.

There's not a bad hole on the course,

All 18 are unique and of high quality.

WW

[Tiger_Bernhardt]

This has been talked about extensively.

[Steve Salmen]

My experience is that Cypress Point is the greatest walk in golf.  I've never seen anything in golf as breathtaking as 15, 16, and 17.  The 18th is simply a walk that takes you from the ocean to the clubhouse.

[Will Lozier]

The 18th at Cypress does ask of the player to perhaps play a particular trajectory in terms of height and shape on both shots, a question that really hasn't been forced on one during the previous 17 holes other than to deal with the wind which is highly likely - thus the discontent many feel in completing such an epic round (not me!).  Hit a high, controlled draw off the tee and you'll find yourself on the preferred left-hand side of the fairway.  In this case, a nice stock short iron draw is required.  Hit a low hook in trying to avoid being stymied by the corner and you'll end up too far left - you'll then need to either play a low or high draw around the overhanging cypress - your choice - two very different ways to try to keep the ball below the hole.  Fail to find the correct half of the admittedly narrow fairway and you'll end up in the right side of the fairway - again, you'll have to pick a very specific 3D trajectory to avoid the trees.  These dilemmas allow for different club choices which, for me, makes for a quality golf hole.  

[Patrick_Mucci]

Steve,

RLS did say that the area is the greatest blend of land meeting sea.

But, what has that to do with the architectural features ?

[Steve Salmen]

Pat,

Cypress is a great walk.  18 naturally flows from the sea to the clubhouse.  Unless 17 becomes the final hole, or the club builds a new hole that runs south of the 17th along the Pacific Ocean, any hole will be anticlimactic. That being said,  18 is still  a good hole that demands two quality shots.

The architectural features that make the finishing strong on it's own merrits are the trees left and right, the dogleg, the uphill nature of the second shot, the left hand side tree guarding the green, and the bunker short and left.

I am personally not capable of making the hole better than it already is. Perhaps a chainsaw would help?

[Kalen Braley]

Pat,

Cypress is a great walk.  18 naturally flows from the sea to the clubhouse.  Unless 17 becomes the final hole, or the club builds a new hole that runs south of the 17th along the Pacific Ocean, any hole will be anticlimactic. That being said,  18 is still  a good hole that demands two quality shots.

The architectural features that make the finishing strong on it's own merrits are the trees left and right, the dogleg, the uphill nature of the second shot, the left hand side tree guarding the green, and the bunker short and left.

I am personally not capable of making the hole better than it already is. Perhaps a chainsaw would help?

I'm not sure how you would build a new hole south of 17 along the ocean...there is no place to put it.

A year or two back, someone photoshopped a new 18th for CPC, which I thought looked very good.  It ended up well left and long of where the current 18th green is, with more or less the same tee.

[Mike Benham]

I hit my best drive of the day on this hole, leaving it on the righ handside of the fairway, just 80 yards to the front of the green.

What club did you hit off the tee?  Was it the caddy's suggestion or did you go Rambo?

[Ben Jarvis]

I hit my best drive of the day on this hole, leaving it on the righ handside of the fairway, just 80 yards to the front of the green.

What club did you hit off the tee?  Was it the caddy's suggestion or did you go Rambo?

Mike, I hit driver here. I hit a slight fade and rolled up the hill into a perfect position. A little lucky I think. Clearly, had my ball flight drew a little, or even stayed straight, I would have been blocked out by the tree front left greenside.

[Adam Clayman]

Steve,

RLS did say that the area is the greatest blend of land meeting sea.

But, what has that to do with the architectural features ?

Are you sure that wasn't Big Sur?