Don't mess with Lucy

As a season pass member for two years at Foxfire Golf Club in Lockbourne, Oldgolfdawg learned the hard way how rounds can fall apart quickly. Numerous times he was on track to break 80 at The Players Club when all hell would break loose on No. 14, the first of three tough holes in a row.

The fourth member of Oldgolfdawg's Elegant Eighteen, No. 14 is a 547-yard par 5 that doglegs to the right when it gets to within 160 yards of the green. After numerous crash-and-burn experiences on the hole, Oldgolfdawg decided to call it "Lucretia MacEvil," a tribute to Blood  Sweat & Tears and in reference to Lucy of Peanuts fame for its ability to snatch away a good round just as she always thwarted Charlie Brown's attempts to kick a football.

Many times after negotiating the first 13 land mines of The Players Club in relatively unscathed fashion, Oldgolfdawg would feel his muscles tighten as he peered out from the tee box of "Bad Lucy." The hole is hemmed in by menacing wooded areas on both sides of a rolling fairway that goes down before heading up and eventually toward a narrowing where it begins to turn right. A well-placed 3-wood puts a golfer in position to hit another 3-wood or possibly a 5-wood or long iron to a level area at the top of a hill. A slight fade at the end of the second shot puts one in the best position to go at the green as long as it doesn't go too far right and becomes blocked by trees.

The green is well protected by two bunkers. The one in the front sprawls across most of the putting surface and has to be carried. The one on the back left side swallows approach shots that come in too hot. A pond also backstops the green but only comes into play if a player nukes a shot or skulls one. If the pin is on the right side of the green, the putts won't have a lot of break. But if the pin is more toward the left the difficulty increases as the green is more sloped and causes balls to run off.

If a golfer is lucky enough to come away with a par on "Bad Lucy," her tree-lined sisters, "Not So Sweet Melissa" and "Heartbreak Annie," are up next, making Nos. 14-16 a gantlet of sorts. It should be noted that The Players Club is for "players." It measures 7,077 yards from the longest tees and has a slope rating of 132 and a 74.2 USGA rating. From the white tees, where Oldgolfdawg hangs out, it still measures 6,705 yards and has a slope rating of 128 and a 72.4 USGA rating.