Hole Description.

The pressure of another important tee shot demands a cool head and a lot of nerve. The 6th hole at Royal Palm is rated the most difficult on the course. A long sweeping dog leg to the left is surrounded by trouble from start to finish. From the tee the view shows the player little danger. However, a fairway bunker lies quietly at the corner of the dog leg 240 yards out. To the right of the bunker sits a lake which is fed by balls hit slightly right. The green comes into view from the corner of the dog leg. Players see a green guarded by bunkers both left and right. The less obvious hazard in the form of a lake in front of the green, protects the putting surface from a mis-hit shot or a mis-judgment in club selection. The long second shot requires nerve and skill to avoid the water. Once finally on the large green putting should not be too much of a problem a the surface is fairly flat.

The Pro’s Way:-

The Pro’s Way:-

With confidence but with caution, a driver can take off the corner of the dog leg. The tower of the mosque in the distance with a touch of draw is the ideal line. This will leave a fairly straight forward wedge shot to a large target. A ball hit directly at the mosque will find trouble in a group of bushes. A ball hit 10 yards right of the mosque will find water so the risk of the big tee shot is high. A slightly safer tee shot would be to lay up short of the fairway bunker with a fairway wood. This will leave an approach of 185 yards to the middle of the green, and 165 yards to carry the water. Which ever tee shot you decide there is a huge risk of finding trouble. There is no simple way of playing this extremely difficult hole.

The Amateurs Way:-

The best way to avoid a large score on this brutal hole is to play as a 3 shot hole. Your tee shot needs to avoid the large fairway bunker and the lake and should be positioned between 220 and 240 years from the tee. The second shot should be laid up short of the lake so a short iron needs to be selected to achieve this. From this position you are faced with a relatively simple pitch shot over the water, to a generous green target. Course management, strategy, skill and nerve are all needed on this hole just to secure a very difficult bogey.