than missing right of the green on the 9th hole at Tobacco Road?
I played Tobacco Road for the first time last weekend and absolutely loved the experience....up there with the Kingsley Club as one of the most unique, enjoyable, fun golf courses that I've ever played. But back to the point of my thread, which is the 9th at TR...
After pulling my drive down the left-hand side of the fairway on #9, a 427 yard par-4, my direct route to the pin was blocked by a lone tree guarding the left hand side of the hole (unfortunately I didn't take a picture from that angle but you can just see a tip of that tree on the extreme left-side of the picture below).
I was faced with a key decision:
1) Should I aim right of the tree, and draw the ball around it to try and reach the green in regulation, but at the same time bringing the right-hand bunker into play?
2) Should I take my medicine, avoid the tree and the bunker by laying-up short of the green and make my easy bogey?
Well, I chose option #1 and wow, what a horrific mistake that was!!! The ball drew, but not enough, and it landed in the huge right-hand bunker. Normally bunkers are not a huge problem for me, but this trap was different.
I'm not sure what the conditions of the bunkers are like on a typical day at Tobacco Road, but on this occasion they were hard, firm, and partially eroded, meaning a ball would end up rolling to where gravity took it, rather than nestling where it landed in the bunker. Here's an example:
Therefore, instead of having a relatively simple and short bunker shot to the green, my ball rolled back some 20-25 yards, out of the bunker, across the cart path, to the bottom of the slope, coming to rest on a combination of sand and hardpan. The hardpan made it impossible to play it like an explosion bunker shot, the tight lie made a flop shot exceedingly difficult, and the presence of loose sand further complicated matters. The narrow green, now high above me (you can just see the very top of the flag in the picture below), left zero room for error, with thatches of fescue grass catching a long approach and the aforementioned firm bunker punishing the player landing short of the green. I thought to myself, "wow, am I screwed here!"
My first attempt at a pitch off this tricky lie did not come off, landing near the top of the bunker, catching the slope and rolling back to my feet. My second attempt was hit too strongly, finding the fescue. Two strokes to get out of the fescue and reach the green, and two putts later and I had my quadruple bogey 8, matching my playing partner who played the hole almost identical to myself.
In summary, I cannot think of a more dangerous spot in golf to be than missing right on the 9th at Tobacco Road....
For those who have played TR, is it typical for the sand to be conditioned in this fashion? (i.e. for a ball to roll down the slope versus resting at its point of entry?)
I missed the green here by a couple of yards, resulting in a penalty worse than if there had been a water hazard or even O.B. right of the hole. Again, what a thrilling golf course!!! Despite the quad here, I love it and can't wait to play it again.
Does anyone else have any other nominations for "worst place to miss" in golf?