"Hog's Back"
Par 5, 478 Red, 466 Green, 451 White
As you hole out on # 4 and walk up to the 5th tee, you can't help but remember the sharp definition presented by the deep flanking bunkers, raised green and sloped putting surface. As you reach the 5th tee and gaze out toward the general direction of the hole you quickly realize that there is no definition to be found. Instead, this vast expanse confronts you. Where's the hole ? Where do I aim on my drive ? The golfer has been thrown yet another curve, more uncertainty.
On the scorecard, the hole appears to be a pushover.
But, as you stand on the tee, not certain of where to hit, another sense alerts you to a problem. The wind is in your face. The hole plays almost directly to the south. Now, you not only don't know where to hit, and you don't know where the trouble is, but, you do know that a good breeze is in your face, a breeze that will accentuate any error off the tee.
Now that scorecard yardage appears deceptive.
Guided by a good caddy, member or fellow golfer familiar with the course, you're directed toward a reference point that you probably noticed as you transitioned from the 4th green to the 5th tee.... The Shinnecock clubhouse, which sit magnificently up on a ridge in the distance, directly in front of you as you gaze out toward the 5th hole.
Some instructions will direct the golfer to aim at the clubhouse.
Others will zero in on a chimney or flag.
The semi-blind nature of the tee hides the peril that lies ahead.
The hole is aptly named because the fairway in the DZ is akin to a spine or ridge, running north-south on the hole. Tee shots hit marginally or off centerline will catch the flanks/slopes in the fairway and be directed further away from the fairway.
This creates more blindness as tee shots hit right flow toward a mini hollow preventing the golfer from seeing the green or approach area fronting the green.
Tee shots hit left face a far more dire consequence.
A deep bowl flanked by a large bunker awaits any drawn, pulled, hook or overcooked tee shot. This bowl is deep. Any golfer within the bowl is generally disoriented, needing to come forward to see where he has to aim and hoping he can remember the spot on the ground he chose, or, he'll have a caddy or playing companion fix the line, before he attemps his second shot up into the sky.
Because the deep bowl is so far from the green a long iron or wood is required, however, the bank to the bowl is steep, and any long club not properly hit risks hitting the bank, usually leaving the golfer with a longer approach into the green. This gathering bowl probably runs from 220 to 260 off the tee.
The fairway configuration is interesting in that it begins to split at about 255, seperated by a long, thin diagonal bunker that's probably about 120 yards in length.
This bunker starts at the crest of the deep bowl left, extends to the end of the fairway right, and beyond.
It serves a wonderful purpose.
It reins in length.
Long balls hit dead straight will end up in that bunker.
Balls hit left, in the deep bowl or worse
Balls hit right, in the shallow hollow and rough right.
The fairway is generous, dimensionally, but, not practically/functionally.
A straight drive in the right direction is an important factor in scoring well on this hole.
If the golfer has driven well, he's still blind since the face of the long diagonal bunker usually blocks any view of the green which sits below the DZ.
This hole has another unique feature which HIGHLY favors the golfer familiar with the hole. It has a right side "Turbo boost"
Many golfers walk forward to determine hole location.
Usually they sight the flag and pick the top of a tree in the backround that lines up with the flag, as their aiming marker.
Many golfers then hit their shot at the directional marker they've picked.
Most will fall short of the green.
Many experienced golfers with long shots into the green will try to hit a low draw to the right of the green. There, the turbo boost will propel their ball forward and left, onto the green.
It's amazing to watch.
Shots that would normally end up 50 yards short of the green are now putting for eagle.
Shots that were hit perfectly, at the flag, soar up into the wind and come to rest short of the green, or worse, into the hollow or bunker to the left of the green, due to the right to left slope of the fairway approach, which is an extension of the general turbo boost feature.
So, the golfer in the ideal DZ has some choices to make.
Not only does he have to decide if he wants to fly it at the green, play it short of the green, play it short and right of the green, but, he has to factor in the dual combination of head winds and the turbo boost.
Those golfers in the deep left hollow have a dilema.
In addition to being totally blind, they usually can't use the turbo boost because they have to clear the top of the bowl with a more aerial shot, which in turn will be "eaten up" by the wind, provided they clear the top of the bowl.
Golfer to the right HAD it easier.
Before Sebonac, the right side of the hole in the approach area from about 100 yards out, had another spine and bunkers hidden in the rough.
I always advocated that the rough in this area should have been cut to fairway, such that second shots hit just a little too far right, instead of catching the turbo boost, would catch the right side of the spine and be directed to deeper rough and/or bunkers.
Unfortunately, Sebonac's property line was perilously close to the 5th hole.
Hence, NGLA installed a tall berm and bunkers along the right flank of the hole. The berm serves to block the view of the buildings at Sebonac and the bunkers offer a penalty of varying degrees. This is an area that probably needs a good deal of fine tuning.
If the golfer has executed a decent second shot, he finds himself in one of five areas.
Short of the green, left, right or center, on the green or in the flanking bunkers. While going long is a possibility, it's unusual.
Since the fairway short of the green slopes from right to left, the golfer has a number of choices to make. He can putt, chip or pitch, depending upon the distance from the hole and his comfort level. The LIE is critical.
You can get some uncomfortable lies, and, when the greens are running firm and fast and the hole is cut in competitive positions, these seemingly simple shots can be quite dicey and costly.
At NGLA there's a seperate "art" for play around the greens.
It's an art borne of imagination, experience, mentoring or a combination of these factors.
It's not unusual to see golfers on the right side, hit their approach too hard or pull it, only to see the ball run across the green and be fed, down into the deep left flanking bunker.
Shots from the left greenside bunker become more difficult and fearsome as the hole location moves further and further back on the green, toward the perimeter.
The putting surface is fairly benign, with subtle breaks.
Generally, I'd say that the green runs from high back to lower front .
As the golfer stepped onto the tee, knowing that the yardage for a par 5 was relatively short, (as are all par 5's at NGLA) his hopes for birdie or eagle soared, but, any mishap along the way can result in a disappointing par, bogey or worse.
I believe that the hole tends to lull golfers to sleep, that this hole, more than any others, can be a big disappointment, even if the golfer makes a par.
For tournament play, the hole is sometimes played as a par 4.
For most golfers I think it's a great par 5 because they can aspire to make a good score, and many times do, but, it can also crush their hopes if they're careless or hit a marginal or bad shot.
When the course is fast and firm, this hole humms, it's certainly not a ho-hum hole as the yardage would seem to indicate.
If someone could post an aerial and some ground pictures I'll try to describe what they present in terms of playing options.
Thanks