A great day for Chicago sports: Hawks win to take a 2-0 lead over the Wild, Lewis wins two-ways in a friendly Nassau and, perhaps most importantly, Lewis avoids getting caught up in a Beverly Game -- but more on that later.
Hole #2 (Par 5, 550 yds / 533 yds)
The drive and layup – After exiting the first green, the player grabs driver from his caddie, who will leave you and veer left to spot your tee ball, and then takes a hard right and follows the red gravel path some 100 yards back away from the drop-off to find the second tee and its various terraces of built-up pads. Upon reaching the summit, the host will likely note that this is purportedly the highest point in Chicago and direct the player’s gaze to the Sears Tower (Insider’s Tip – only tourists call it “Willis Tower”) which, on a clear day, can be seen jutting into the sky some 10+ miles to the north.
Ahead, over the crest of the ski slope hill and into the basin of the lake, the hole unfolds with a dramatic sweep away to player’s left. As with the first hole, the second is framed by trees down both sides and staggered bunkers that jut into the fairway. The first set encroaches at around 225 yards on the left and 270 on the right and, unless the wind is blowing 20+ from the north, both are in play.
A player who pulls a drive should hope it is very poorly struck, stays short of the left fairway bunker and thus will allow a recovery over or around the tree line. Otherwise, a low punch and a lot of luck are in order. A push has more beta – one can be completely stymied by a tree trunk or have a completely open window with, actually, an ideal angle to lay up.
From the optimal landing area, the hole continues its slight leftward bend. Another set of fairway bunkers complicates the lay-up – either hit a 150 to 175 yard shot to stay short of the large and small traps on the left and mid-sized trap on the right to leave a 150-ish yard approach, or thread a fairway wood or hybrid over and past the traps in hope of a sand wedge in.
(Insider’s Tip – Whether staying short of or challenging the fairway bunkers on the layup, the player would do well to favor the left side of the fairway so as to (i) open up an approach along the spine of the green and (ii) avoid the trees, trap and fall-off to the right of the green.)
The approach – The preferred play on the layup will depend on a combination of player confidence, player preference and hole location – is the temptation of a wedge in worth the risk of the pinching traps? Are you accurate enough with a longer club to hit the right section of the sprawling green? – and that in turn will dictate the approach.
Due to the size, shape and internal tiers of the green, front and middle pins can be very accessible and thus benefit from a shorter approach iron when taking dead aim. Back pins are very difficult to attack and oftentimes result in a prudent play to the center of the green, thus nullifying or at least reducing the value of a shorter club.
To me, this represents a great risk-reward question posed by the architect. Neither play is inherently “worse” than the other. Rather, both options exist and it is up to the player to determine which option suits his swing, his confidence and his match best on the given day.
The green – The green extends at grade from the fairway into a flattish front and middle section. There is some back-to-front slope but, relatively speaking, it is modest. From there, one finds a steep rise up to a small back tier angled away from the player to the right. Pins on the back shelf play at least a half-shot harder and generally prompt a prudent approach to the middle of the green with the goal of a two-putt par.
The green is protected by bunkers short left and middle right and an abrupt drop-off long. A few large trees short-right of the green can block out approaches from the right rough and, even from the fairway, ask the player to work a fade to access the back right shelf.
Absent here are the “micro-greens” defined by the ripples and spines that create almost trout-stream-like pools on some of the other holes. It’s all about front/middle or back and the appropriate shelf: putts can thus appear inviting and makeable especially on the front section.
Hopefully the player gives birdie a run and walks off with bogie at worst, for as Judge Lavin has noted the stretch that follows is less than forgiving.