By way of introducing this hole which hopefully many have experienced, I quote Patric Dickinson, whose book A Round Of Golf Courses is arguably the greatest discussion/description treatise ever penned.
"Let no iconoclast dare come near with talk of alteration. Hunstanton has in this hole a pure and original poem of a hole...Breast the slope and stand then with a wonder and a wild surmise! For the fairway just stops dead at the bottom of the slope. Where is the green? ...over a flat but undulant tract of little rushy, sandy hillocks, any but Pacific, and there just beyond them, a hundred and fifty yards in all, is the green! There is no approach to this save by air. The green lies like one of those lost civilizations in some valley encircled by impassible mountains...I know of no other hole that has its rough after its fairway quite like this...I take this to be one of the greatest two- shot holes in golf."
This is an interesting hole to discuss on both sides of the classic/ modern debate. Many who favour modern design may not like the blindness of the tee shot nor the idea of limiting the drive length. On the other hand, those who adhere to classic principles may object to the unforgiving nature of the approach, it is all carry. However, despite the cruelty of the rough one can still generally find his ball and hit it. So the hazard (as it were) is not necessarily fatal such as water can be.
I also think the quote may be quite revealing. It suggests that perhaps Dickinson witnessed first hand the modernization of many a hole and that maybe it was time to pause and take stock of the architectural heritage of many courses. Keep in mind that this book was first published in 1951. Unfortunately, Dickinson doesn't expand on this theme and this is the only book on golf written by the man.
What do y'all think?
Ciao