Hole Description.

The monster par 5 has little defense apart from its sheer length. A wide fairway will allow you to open your shoulders to try and squeeze some extra yardage from your tee shot. A large fairway bunker 390 yards from the tee will be the first sign of trouble as the second shot will need to be navigated over the sand to have any real chance of reaching the green in a respectable number of shots. After the first bunker, the fairway offers a generous area for landing for balls that have escaped the sand. A second bunker comes into play down the right side 60 yards short of the green, so take caution when deciding your second shot. Between the two bunkers lies 100 yards of fairway leaving a yardage between 160 yards and 80 yards to the middle of the long green. Deep greenside bunkers front left and right will swallow wide balls making a possible par a near impossibility. It will take 3 solid hits to find this green in regulation but the chance is on.

The Pro’s Way:-

The ideal line from the tee is dead center of the fairway. The tee points you slightly to the right so alignment needs to be correct. A good drive of 290 yards will leave 300 yards to the green so the option of on in two is out of the question. The sensible play is to position your second shot towards the second fairway bunker. The distance here will be approximately 200 yards, a long iron or 5 wood should be selected.  From 100 yards away, the third shot is difficult to judge as the green is elevated and bottom of the flag out of view. Take the time to find out where the pin is cut as the green is 40 yards from front to back.

The Amateurs Way:-

This hole will need 3 of the days best to get there in regulation. The wide fairway opens the margin for error so use your remaining energy to find a few extra yards. The main hazards on this hole are as ever the trees and rough. If you can avoid the hazards by staying on the fairway then you can tame this monster by walking away with a par or bogey. A fairway wood or long iron will position your second shot nicely between the two fairway bunkers. This will leave a mid to long iron approach to the green. To avoid any of the trouble accept that this is a very long hole and play to reach the green in four strokes. Putting should not be too difficult as the green is generally flat.