Woodlands Golf Club, Victoria, Australia: A Pictorial (18th hole posted)!!!

[Michael Taylor]

Why was the green out of play Kyle? That must have been a shame cause it looks like quite a cool green.

Also, does anyone have some more pictures of the 4th green? I felt quite underwhelmed seeing Kyle's photos of the green for the first time..especially seeing that ugly building behind the boundary fence. Are the greens at 4 Woodlands and 13 The Lakes quite similar? It looks like the green at Woodlands doesn't have the same severe dropoffs on both sides as the green at The Lakes.

[Richard Chamberlain]

I reckon you blokes trying to line up RQ # 4 and Woodlands #4 are kidding yourselves...nothing alike.

I took this pic yesterday.

[Mike_Clayton]

Mike,

The greens at Woodlands 4th and Lakes 13 are very similar.

Richard.
I agree - 4 (now 13) at RQ and 4 at Woodlands are not alike - except for the shot from the left at RQ. It does require a similar recovery but that is the only similarity.

[Tom Kelly]

Michael Taylor

I've got a few more pics of the 4th green that may help you get an idea of the severity of the green, but being new on GCA I am struggling to work out how to put them up for all to see....I've tried the 'insert image' tab, but not sure what needs to posting in between the [img] symbols or how to get the pic there?!

Can anybody guide me through the how to post them up here?

Cheers

[Mark_F]

I've got a few more pics of the 4th green that may help you get an idea of the severity of the green, but being new on GCA I am struggling to work out how to put them up for all to see....I've tried the 'insert image' tab, but not sure what needs to posting in between the tags.  Make sure your images are no more than 1000 px wide.

[Kevin Pallier]

Richard.
I agree - 4 (now 13) at RQ and 4 at Woodlands are not alike - except for the shot from the left at RQ. It does require a similar recovery but that is the only similarity.

Richard / Mike
From my POV as stated before there are some similarities at the pushed up green - short sharp fallaways on all sides ? Unbunkered ?Relatively narrow green with a little entrance plate ? and collection zone back left at about 10 o’clock ?

Woodlands 4


RQ 13

[Mike_Clayton]

Kevin,

When you look at Mike Cocking's drawing from above it does look quite similar - but we never had 4 at Woodlands in mind when we did this green. It was more like 11 at Kingston Heath.
The main difference between the Woodlands and Lakes holes to the RQ hole is they are equally difficult if you miss left and right -but at RQ it is a much simpler proposition from the right - befitting a much longer hole.
I think if we were to do that hole again we would make the green bigger - but when Adam Scott played it on the opening day he was flipping a wedge in there so maybe it is ok.
What did you make of it?

[Tom Kelly]

Mark

I've reduced my pics to less than 1000px width, but how do I post them? What needs to appear between the [img] icons? I've tried copying jpg files across and even dragging and dropping and nothing happens?!

Am I being a bit of an imbecile....is it really obvious and simple?

[Kevin Pallier]

Michael Taylor

I've got a few more pics of the 4th green that may help you get an idea of the severity of the green, but being new on GCA I am struggling to work out how to put them up for all to see....I've tried the 'insert image' tab, but not sure what needs to posting in between the [img] symbols or how to get the pic there?!

Can anybody guide me through the how to post them up here?

Cheers

Thomas

You need to join Photobucket or Flickr and upload photos to there. Once uploaded you will get the IMG codes to copy into your posts.

[Tom Kelly]

Michael Taylor

I've got a few more pics of the 4th green that may help you get an idea of the severity of the green, but being new on GCA I am struggling to work out how to put them up for all to see....I've tried the 'insert image' tab, but not sure what needs to posting in between the [img] symbols or how to get the pic there?!

Can anybody guide me through the how to post them up here?

Cheers

Thomas

You need to join Photobucket or Flickr and upload photos to there. Once uploaded you will get the IMG codes to copy into your posts.

Now that makes more sense.

Thanks!

[Kevin Pallier]

Kevin,

When you look at Mike Cocking's drawing from above it does look quite similar - but we never had 4 at Woodlands in mind when we did this green. It was more like 11 at Kingston Heath.
The main difference between the Woodlands and Lakes holes to the RQ hole is they are equally difficult if you miss left and right -but at RQ it is a much simpler proposition from the right - befitting a much longer hole.
I think if we were to do that hole again we would make the green bigger - but when Adam Scott played it on the opening day he was flipping a wedge in there so maybe it is ok.
What did you make of it?

Mike

Nearly every hole at RQ I like because of the questions you ask of the golfer. The advantage here is for one to drive as close as possible to or over the bunker to get the best angle to the green. I take your point about the width of the green but I can assure you I didn't hit flip wedges into it 

[Tom Kelly]

Here they are, hope they help a little bit!





From the right



From the left



The back

[Kyle Henderson]

The second par 3, hole #8 is on the long side but features a large green and the option of an easy up an down from the front/right corner.


Anything left will find deep bunkers full of dark, heavy sand.

[Kyle Henderson]

With the 9th hole bending gradually to the right, players should once again aim for the outside edge of the dogleg to open up their angle of approach.


Most golfers will be hitting longer clubs into the green, suggesting the need to aim a tad left of the bunkers and fade one in.

[Tom Kelly]

I could never quite work out the 9th hole, part of me really liked it and the other part hated it. I can't help but feel as if the hole is missing something, but I can't put my finger on what and I'm not sure what could be done to improve the hole?!

Does anybody else hold this view or is it just me?

[Jason Topp]

I could never quite work out the 9th hole, part of me really liked it and the other part hated it. I can't help but feel as if the hole is missing something, but I can't put my finger on what and I'm not sure what could be done to improve the hole?!

Does anybody else hold this view or is it just me?

I agree.  I definitely found it less interesting than most on the course.

[Kyle Henderson]

I could never quite work out the 9th hole, part of me really liked it and the other part hated it. I can't help but feel as if the hole is missing something, but I can't put my finger on what and I'm not sure what could be done to improve the hole?!

Does anybody else hold this view or is it just me?

Perhaps, just a bit left and short of the green, the ground could be massaged into a small ripple or two that could be used to feed shots onto the green or add difficulty to recovery shots for those that bail out too far left.

Whatever might be done, I hope restraint is used. Too many renovations I see are overdone to draw attention to the work and justify the expense.

[Tom Kelly]

I could never quite work out the 9th hole, part of me really liked it and the other part hated it. I can't help but feel as if the hole is missing something, but I can't put my finger on what and I'm not sure what could be done to improve the hole?!

Does anybody else hold this view or is it just me?

Perhaps, just a bit left and short of the green, the ground could be massaged into a small ripple or two that could be used to feed shots onto the green or add difficulty to recovery shots for those that bail out too far left.

Whatever might be done, I hope restraint is used. Too many renovations I see are overdone to draw attention to the work and justify the expense.

I agree, restraint should be used when renovations are done and that is why I can't really see much that can be done on the 9th without going over the top and ripping the green up and starting again.

Some contouring to help run the ball in off the left may be an idea, I do like how that shot is a real option here. The only other thing I could really come up with is to slightly enhance the bunkers to make them a touch more intimidating. It would help them fit in with the rest of the course more and maybe give the green more of a 'false front', encouraging more people to try to run the ball in from the left?

[Kyle Henderson]

The 10th tees are built up above their surrounds. Their shaping is not artful, but one is thankful for the added distance and visibility afforded by this elevation.


Drives should finish near or past this bunker to open up the line of attack past the cross bunkers up ahead. Also, the green slopes to the right/rear corner, favoring approaches from the right.

[Kyle Henderson]

The 11th is a short little devil. While the green is not hard to hold from such a small distance, misses anywhere but short and left will leave one scrambling for par from a greenside bunker. Thinned shots that finish in the weeds in front of the tees or over the back of the green will yield very high scores.

[Kyle Henderson]

The 12th is a short par 4 that can be overpowered with modern equipment, but the severity of greenside hazards will teach many members to play a bit more conservatively in pursuit of pars and the occasional birdie. With so many options and a limited amount of visual framing to define the requirements of the hole, repeated play is needed to define one’s best chances for a low score.


The landing zone is pinched by bunkers on the left side (they must be recent additions as the diagram above shows no fairway trapping while the routing aerial from the start of this thread does show some sand here). Not coincidentally, it is the left portion of fairway that offers the best angle in to the open left/front corner of the green.

[Kyle Henderson]

At the 13th, golfers face an even shorter par 4 that is genuinely reachable by players of decent length, but the greenside hazards are concomitantly more fearsome.


Like the 12th, the long axis of the green and front/right bunker scheme favors approaches played from near bunkers at the left edge of the fairway. By contrast, the 13th green is relatively unprotected on its left flank. This greater margin for error, combined with a smaller total length, will entice more players to attempt driving the green.

[Kevin Pallier]

Kyle

Thanks for the update - I think Woodlands has the most (in terms of volume) interesting and intricate short P4's I've seen on any layout.

[Kyle Henderson]

After a lengthy walk, players strike away from the 14th tee (over a temporary water hazard symbolizing the wet weather of previous weeks) through a constrictive tree corridor.


The sole fairway bunker is quite forgiving and does not really protect the ideal line. Trees are the dominant hazard for shots hit in error.


As found elsewhere on the property, greenside bunkering extends well forward from the front corners of the putting surface. As such, mishit approaches may yield the dreaded long bunker shot to a firm green.

[Kyle Henderson]

A stern test, the 15th hole is long, slender, and prone to spoiling promising rounds. Staying between the trees is imperative.


The group in front is pictured near the crossbunkers 80 meters short of the green. Beyond, a deep bunker on the left border of the green is visible. This trap will steer players towards the drop off at the green’s right in subsequent rounds, though this may not improve their scores.