Hello everyone,
By now you know where this thread is going, so I'll avoid the long intros and get to the point. I have a couple questions about the 11th hole at NGLA, aptly named Plateau :
First off, I've been blown away by each of the holes at NGLA so far, but the 11th is a heart stopping hole that might just be my favorite of the par 4's ( that I've studied so far ), and thats saying a ton for this course.
1) From the tee, I can plainly see the uphill drive, although from the looks of it, the fairway levels off pretty quickly and then starts to plummet downward towards the road sitting beyond the mounds. Whats stunning to me - and here lies the question - is I see the same type of swale that C.B. so aptly used on the right part of the fairway on the 2nd Hole Sahara ..but the problem is I'm seeing it from up near the green looking back, so I'm not sure if this is indeed a swale similiar in design, or if it might be an optical illusion.
Is there a falloff or deep depression right at the end of the first fairway ?
If so, what would be an educated guess as to it's depth.
Finally, would it be wrong to assume that IF the swale exsists, that a teeshot that ends up down there would have a blind second into the green - because of the mounds fronting the access road?
I would also hazard that the key off the tee, is to avoid the huge deep bunker to the right off the tee, yet stay far enough back to avoid going down into the swale for a deadly second shot.
2) Am I imagining it, or from the first fairway ( prior to the road ), the fairway down by the green is sloped from left down to the right, and yet the green is sitting on a relatively flat area ?.
If so, what a fantastic design implication. Hit your second far enough left to use the fairway to funnel the ball down to the green, OR try and fly on, landing on the 2 tiered green, AND land on the proper level. Dicey and brilliant !.
3) This green is amazing, and totally in character for this hole. From the looks of it, the front plateau ( closest to the pin ) is slightly lower than the one in the back ( maybe a couple inches at most ), and it looks like the entire green is fairly flat, except for the lowest section, where I detect a slight depression.
My question is, what would be a good guess for the heigth of each of the two higher plateaus ?
I have an image of a groundskeeper putting in a new pin position on the lowest shelf, and it looks as if those plateaus are about 2 1/2 to 3 feet above the lowest section. Would this be close ?
Finally, in regards to the fairway nearest the green, is there much undulation to the right of the green ?.
It looks fairly flat in that area, as if a shot hit to the right of the green could be easily putted onto the lower section...not that I'd want to try that with a pin on the front OR back shelf for that matter.
IF I played this hole, I'd be farther back on the fairway for my second ( based on my 250 yard length off the tee ), which would leave me anywhere from 160 to 190, and in any case, I'd absolutely get as close to the green as possible, and take my bogey and walk to the 12th.
Thanks again,