In my opinion, the Bottle hole at NGLA is an incredibly cool and unsusual looking hole for a whole variety of reasons. The shot to the green if you're out there with about a 5 iron or more is really challenging, in my opinion, no matter which side of the fairway you're on.
I've analyzed that hole every which way to Sunday--probably spend a good couple of hours over the years on it just walking all over it looking at everything, measuring things like the total fairway width of the fairway across the basic LZ (65+ yards), the width of the last bunker in the line (13 yards) as well as the widths of the bunkers in the line leading up to the last bunker in the line (about 5 yards each) etc.
But to be honest I really don't think it makes a whole hell of a lot of difference which side of that fairway you're on---unless you're a pretty long driver. Long drivers pretty much tend to go down the left side maybe over the left corner of that last bunker in the line and maybe to the left of it.
I think there's a simple reason for that strategy (if your long) and that is you're higher up for your approach on the left once you get left and abreast or past that last bunker in the line. But if you're not that long frankly I think it's better to just play down the right side because if you're over on the left pretty far back you have little of that height advantage and frankly I'd prefer to come at that green from the right vs the left if I'm farther back.
The reason for that to me is frankly the angle is better if you're on the right and if you're father back. From the right you feel like you can tend to stray a bit left compared to coming at that green from pretty far back on the left side and if you miss left coming at it from the right side your ball is likely to carom off the left bank onto the green better. Trying that from the left fairway doesn't work nearly as well.
And I'd much rather deal with that big bank on the right of the green coming at it from the right rather than the left.
Sure, I hear all this stuff about what the strategy is supposed to be on that hole but a lot of it I don't buy and I've played the hole and course by this time certainly enough to get a good feel for it for me.
The hole is called the "Bottle" hole but it really was known as the "Bottle Neck" hole. And if that left side to the left of the last bunker in the line is supposed to be the "neck" I don't really get that either. There's a whole lot more room over there and way down there on the left than most seem to think or tell you.
To me the drive on the "Bottle" hole doesn't really have a preferred side, unless you're pretty long that is. If you're not that long then right or left is sort of like a totally "balanced option" golfer's choice, in my opinion. Strategically I don't think it matters much. For some players who really know the hole well the line they take off the tee is probably more in their heads or just something they tend to get used to and comfortable with.
But the real beauty of that Bottle hole from the tee is it's one of those fairly rare hole in golf that's just an "in your face" choice. You got to make a decision on the tee which is a whole lot different and more interesting than 98% of the golf holes in America where there is no real decision on the tee---just try ONCE AGAIN to hit it down the middle.
Actually, one of the neatest things about NGLA is it has a pretty good number of holes where you can't exactly figure out what the middle is or even where it is or even if it matters.