16 at Old MacDonald

[Sven Nilsen]

When playing OM two weeks ago, the caddies in our group suggested a line off of the tee that resulted in the ball feeding to the right in the fairway opening up the site lines to the green.  This seemed to preclude setting up for a second shot over the mound and using the contours to feed the ball on to the green.  During my first round, after reaching the green and looking back at the hole, the left side seemed like a very viable option. 

Advantages for playing left:  takes the bunkers on the right of the fairway out of play, benefit of the downhill slope off of the mound to help feed balls to the green, takes the right greenside bunker out of play, most of the green sets up for an approach coming from the left

Disadvantage:  blind approach, not sure but you may lose the benefit of the turbo boost in the fairway if you play too far left, may be hard to reach a back right pin or any pin on the shelf at the back of the green

Thoughts on how to play this one?

[Richard Choi]

I much prefer the approach over the mound. It is a true gambling shot and makes the hole play significantly shorter as well.

I think it is quite exciting to execute a gambling blind shot and walk around the mound to see what surprise is awating for you.

[Tom_Doak]

Sven:

The hole was designed with the premise that different players would feel that different routes from the tee were better for themselves. 

You've got the pros and cons about right.  The left-hand route is shorter, if it's playing into the wind, plus you don't have to carry the second shot all the way to the green to get there; but you are also risking a lost ball to the left if you hug the gorse too closely, especially if the wind is blowing left to right and you're playing along the hard edge.

The right-hand route gives a view of the back right hole location and therefore better depth perception (though it's a tougher angle from the right if the hole is actually back there).

[Jim Eder]

Terrific stuff. Options. Makes the player think. The same player could potentially play it left and right in the same weekend. Wonderful.

[Tom_Doak]

Charlie,

You are probably right with a strong left to right wind.  But, not all strategies have to work all the time, or for every player.

[PThomas]

candidly, i was a little pissed when a caddie told me to aim over the right half of the hill on my second, since the hidden bunker is on that side, which i proceeded to hit into...

[Steve Lang]

Paul,
Your caddy didn't mention the bunker? or have it on his yardage notes?

[Anthony Gray]

  Its a long hole for a short hitter.I go down the right side and lay up.

  Anthony

[PThomas]

Paul,
Your caddy didn't mention the bunker? or have it on his yardage notes?

he said nothing Steve...

[Tom_Doak]

A good caddy would never mention that bunker directly ... that would put a negative thought in your head and you would be more likely to hit a bad shot.  He should just tell you the distance you've got to carry the ball and leave it at that.

[PThomas]

A good caddy would never mention that bunker directly ... that would put a negative thought in your head and you would be more likely to hit a bad shot.  He should just tell you the distance you've got to carry the ball and leave it at that.

you old caddies always stick together

[PThomas]

i should have added that I REALLY like the hole, with that shot over the hill...i even like that bunker despite finding it

the hole is a great example of what many would not/could not build today

[Tom_Doak]

the hole is a great example of what many would not/could not build today

Paul,

I agree with that completely.  I am not sure if I ever would have built such a hole were it not for the Macdonald directive at Old Mac ... And, I am pretty sure Mike Keiser would not have let me build a blind approach hole like that, if I had come up with the idea on my own.

[Doug Wright]

the hole is a great example of what many would not/could not build today

Paul,

I agree with that completely.  I am not sure if I ever would have built such a hole were it not for the Macdonald directive at Old Mac ... And, I am pretty sure Mike Keiser would not have let me build a blind approach hole like that, if I had come up with the idea on my own.

Tom,

The thing I like about the hole (vs. say the Alps at Prestwick) is that it isn't totally blind. This has a psychological impact (at least on me) in that from the right side you can see there actually is a green over the hill. Also the semi-blindness adds interest to the tee shot since some players can hit it far enough down the right side to mitigate the blindness in whole or in part.

[Richard Choi]

Here are some pics to give you a better idea.

What you see from the tee box:


Blind approach from left:


Clear approach from right:

[Tom_Doak]

Doug / Richard:

Yes, you are right that players who want to can take a longer route to the hole to get a peek at the green ... this is also true of the third hole at The National, upon which our Alps is based.  But it would take a hell of a drive to get the look in Richard's last photo, which is taken from past the last bunker and going down into the hollow.  I've yet to see anyone drive it there.

The fun part about this design is that taking the partially-visible route makes you play the hole even longer, and brings the two greenside bunkers more into play.  Knowing the hole well, I would never elect to play it that way myself, though I am as prone as most golfers to hitting my tee shot over to the right by accident.

[Roger Tufts]

I am not sure if I ever would have built such a hole were it not for the Macdonald directive at Old Mac ... And, I am pretty sure Mike Keiser would not have let me build a blind approach hole like that, if I had come up with the idea on my own.

This is a very interesting thought, Tom, and one that I pondered both times I approached this hole. You just don't see stuff like this anymore anywhere, though it is a really amazing hole design with plenty of options and things to make the player think hard. The fairway bunker on the right hand side is just perfectly placed and uses the contours of the fairway (especially with a left-to-right wind) to gobble balls up that come anywhere near it, again making the golfer think hard about his strategy.

The part of the hole that struck me the most was the contours on the green, and the sheer size of the bunker short-right. After viewing both of these on the first go-around, and the runway from carrying the giant dune, I tried to play the hole from the left side on round 2. I feel that into a 2 club wind and from the back tees, trying to keep the ball on the right side didn't even offer a clear view to the green because the hole plays so long. Maybe it would be different if my ball was actually travelling an in-season distance. Playing over the dune allowed me to club down almost twice, even from 245 in. The green certainly putting a whole lot easier from the left-side approach.