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Hole Description:
The Big Easy might be a good name for this hole as it requires all the skills of an Ernie Els to conquer. You need a great tee shot, a great approach shot and nerves of steel to putt on this green.
Tee Shot Tips:
A massive fairway bunker guards the left side of the hole. The fairway is a slight dog-leg to the left while the landing area slopes to the right. The only main trouble is extreme left or right on this tee shot. However, it is an advantage to be in the fairway and close to the center off the tee as the ball will feed to the right once it lands. Take note of the wind as you will often be playing into it here and it will blow a big slice off into the distant heather on the right. Keep it low if you are into the wind for best results.
Landing Zone Tips:
Just be aware of the big bunker left and heather right and you will be fine. Check your lie as it probably will be slightly downhill.
Approach Shot Tips:
This shot is where you will wish you had the nerves of Ernie Els. That is because if you are chicken you come up short or too aggressive you can be on the top tier or over the back and into the sand trap. The depth of the green is at least a 2.5 club differential. Add in a head wind and you can begin to appreciate the challenge you face on this shot. If the pin is up you can attack it or even use the tier to suck the shot back to the pin. However, if the pin is back right or left, you will need about 1.5 clubs more than you would expect just to land the ball up top. Normally, 2 full clubs puts you in the sand trap or deep rough long. If you come up short and the pin is back, you can expect a putt like no other up a massive slope. So perhaps a fade deep is your best approach to get a little extra bite on the ball to ensure you don’t go long.
Putting Tips:
Perhaps the most difficult if not impossible putt you may face on this hole is to be long left or right and have to putt sideways back to a pin that is near the bottom of the tier. This could easily be checkmate if you were playing chess. If you putt at the hole you will be lucky to keep it on the green. Your only option is to putt away from the hole and up the slope to as close to the crest as possible and trickle the ball back down the slope to the pin. Even so, you will be lucky to be within 10 feet when the ball comes to rest. The second hardest putt is up the massive tier to a pin that is back left or right. In most cases, that is about 65 feet and yet it will play like a 95 to 105 foot putt depending on the angle of your attack. But add at least 30 feet to your calculations if you are going up the slope. Coming down it is as simple as touching the ball as softly as you can to get it rolling. The ball will stop about three feet from the front of the green and that is the best you can do. Don’t expect anything more and you will minimize the impact the poor results will have on your next putt coming back.
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