A simple strategic design

[Ted Kramer]

I hope I can explain this clearly. . .
I was thinking about how to design a relevant, possibly 3 shot, par 5 for the modern player without taking driver out of his hands.

*Feature #1 - Diagonal Fairway Bunkering.

Starting about 230 yards from the tee on the left side of the fairway and moving across the wide fairawy to the right on a diagonal ending at around 320 yards from the tee. This bunkering can be done in any style you like.

I imagine the landing area pinching in a bit as you move up the right side. Not enough to make the option unapealing, just enough to make you realize that you're gonna have to hit not only a long, but a long and accurate shot if you're going to challenge that right side.


*Feature #2 Fairway Sloping Right to Left Past the Diagonal Bunkering

Any shots hit over the diagonal bunkers to the relatively welcoming "lay up" area will be played to a sloping fairway. This slope will be from right to left. This will not be a severe slope, but enough to make sure that you're next shot is being played with the ball above your feet.


*Feature #3 Very Skinny Green Angled from front Right to Back Left

This green will be protected by a scary deep bunker running along the front edge of the green. This green will be wide open and welcoming if being played into from the right side of the fairway. The right side of the layup area will be tough to play from due the sloping nature of the fairway in that section of the hole. The right side of the fairway before the diagonal bunker will afford a long (260ish) yard shot into the green. The green will open to a bounding shot played in from that area.

A shot played into the green from the middle or left side of the layup area will have to contend with the deep bunker guarding the very shallow green. A shot played from this area will be helped by the side hill lie aiding the right handed player in hitting a draw which would be the desried shot shape into the green.

The player looking to hit the green in two will be challenged to hit a fade off the tee and draw into the green.


Any thoughts?

-Ted

[Ted Kramer]

A few more details . . .

*A shot played over the left side of the diagonal bunkers will be tough to land in the fairway because the right to left slope will be most severe in that area. I imagine a hollow in that area of the fairway. You would need to carry the ball a good 290 on that line to reach a reasonably playable lie.

*The green will not only be angled on a front right to back left diagonal, but also from front to back. This slope should help a longer approach funnel to a back hole location.

-Ted

[Ted Kramer]

anyone?

-Ted

[Mike Nuzzo]

I added one more bunker so the layup wasn't so straight forward...

[Matt_Cohn]

Ted,

Not bad. I'm trying to think of the easy way to get around all the features you've included, and I haven't thought of one, which is a good sign for your hole.

What happens if I go way to the right off the tee? On a lot of sites I'd just be in light rough with a good view and angle. It just depends on the periphery of the hole.

The second shots reminds me of what I know about Bethpage Black #4. It's hard to hit the green over the bunker but easier to play just short-right of the green.

One concern is that a fairway that slopes down past the bunkers could be blind from the tee. A semi-blind shot to a landing area that becomes increasingly wide further from the tee might take away from the strategy of the shot: it would just become a hard-as-you-can blasted tee shot, knowing that no matter what I did, I'd likely end up in the left rough.

[Jeff Doerr]

Ted,

I like your slope in the fairway. It will encourage the fade off the tee and assist the draw for the heroic second. Phil would probably not like it after seeing his tee shots on 18 this past weekend!

[Bill Shamleffer]

How about a 600 yard par 5, wide open for the first 320 yards, with a ditch like bunker at the width of the fairway at about 320, which is about 10-15' wide.  Then at about 500 yards, have a perfect flat fairway about the size of a large green.  Have the flat area about thirty yards deep (from about 485 to 515).  For 50 yards past and 50 yards before this flat area have the fairway full of undulations so that having a level lie is less than 50-50 odds.

[Ted Kramer]

I added one more bunker so the layup wasn't so straight forward...

Mike,

Thanks for the drawing.
That is pretty much how I had pictured it.
What do you think about the added bunker being a bit more in the middle of the lay-up area making problems for those who have decided to play it as a 3 shotter. I want to make sure that those wanting to reach the green in two have the chance to bounce the ball into the green.

-Ted

[TEPaul]

Ted:

The whole thing sounds like a very solid strategic concept. But do you think it's the kind of hole most golfers would try to play the same way everyday?

[Ted Kramer]

Ted:

The whole thing sounds like a very solid strategic concept. But do you think it's the kind of hole most golfers would try to play the same way everyday?

Interesting question. I think that like most risk/reward or strategic designs, that would depend on where in the round the hole was placed.

How I played a hole like that would be based on how I was driving the ball that day. More times than not I would probably be more of a three shot type player. But on a day that I was hitting the ball well off the tee I could see myself giving that right side some serious consideration.

I'd like to think that as many 6's would be made with both strategies and more birdies could be made going for it in two. I'd like to think that I could design a tough 3 shot hole that could give the bold player a real advantage playing truely solid shots.

-Ted