Hole #7 (Par 5, 561 yds / 529 yds)
The drive and layup – The player exits the back-right corner of the sixth green and walks down the bank past the rear edge of the right greenside bunker. From there, the player hopefully will continue straight ahead to the nearest pad of the seventh tee, as the pads to the left (north) can considerably lengthen an already uncomfortable tee shot.
As Ran’s profile and other threads already have noted, the tee shot plays significantly uphill. A carry of 200-225 yards due south is required to clear the ridge line. Three bunkers cut into the hill just below the plateau, one on the left and two on the right. If the golfer’s tee ball falls short of the hill and into one of the bunkers, a wedge or nine iron is the prudent play. From the rough or fairway down below at the base of the hill, a longer club can be used.
If the tee ball clears the ridge but runs into the left or right rough or tree line, the golfer will likely be asked to shape his next shot with bend and a low flight in order to advance the ball as far as possible toward a pair of cross bunkers that drape across the fairway around 75 yards short of the green.
And finally – in order to acknowledge that this sometimes does happen -- a solid drive that carries the hill benefit from a forward kick, as the land slopes away from the player toward the green. Players of modest length will contemplate their preferred yardage and angle when choosing a layup club. Big hitters will look for the barren white tree on the left side of the fairway, as it marks a carry of around 225 yards to clear the cross-bunkers and run (or fly) the ball onto the green. It can be done, but it is challenging due to the increasingly narrow alley formed by trees that pinch in from both sides of the fairway around the cross-bunkers.
The approach – The approach is defined by how well the player positioned his lay-up, as the pinching trees can require even shots from the fairway to be worked left or right to find the appropriate side and level of a small but rollicking green.
Two traps, short-left and short-right, provide further protection, as does a large tree that stands off the back-right of the surface. But a clean lie in the bunker is generally preferred to a gnarly one in the rough over the back, as the green again generally cants from back to front.
Others will have to comment on a typical approach following a miss after going for the green in two. Although I can reach the “go / no-go” tree, I find the cross-bunkers and narrowness of the opening too be an effective deterrent when holding a three-wood.
The green – This green is a smallish oval with defined plateaus near the front and middle-left, with a smaller shelf rising at back-left and a collecting saucer in the middle- and back-right. The saucer and the general back-to-front slope of the surface make two-putting a worthy challenge when traversing from one section of the green to another. Many a second putt will involve a testy slider with considerable break for the length of putt.
Other commentary – This green will look and feel different from others on the course, owing to its fairly exposed and raised profile and growing condition issues caused by the large tree to its right. It typically plays a bit firmer and faster than the rest, and is almost without fail in worse shape. If the Club can find a way to keep players on the eight tee safe from approaches into seven other than keeping the large tree – or if the tree falls victim to a midnight chainsaw hit-and-run – then perhaps the excellent grounds crew could restore more consistent conditions.