You know how during any given round you usually run into one hole that stokes your imagination and quickens the pulse. Perhaps the hole's simple beauty or its higher degree of difficulty revs your engine. These holes stand out from the others. And when you play them well, you take extra satisfaction in meeting their challenge.
For years, Oldgolfdawg has made it a pre-round habit to single out a hole on the course he is going to play the next day and to plot strategy geared to tame its bite. While plotting strategy and executing are two different things, the practice of plotting strategy has ingrained certain holes in Oldgolfdawg's mind.
For fun on the first day of a new decade, Oldgolfdawg has decided to come up with his own version of 18 such holes in central Ohio. He'll refer to them simply as "The Elegant Eighteen," attention-grabbing holes that will make you pay a price if your game is not on its best behavior.
The makeup of "The Elegant Eighteen" will be revealed over time in future posts.
For now, the campaign will kick off by naming hole No. 2 at Royal American Links as the first member in the clubhouse. The RAL scorecard refers to the hole as "Little Lovely." Oldgolfdawg always has an itch to add one more word to that title after walking away from it with a double bogey or worse.
At first glance, "Little Lovely" appears docile enough. It's a par 4 that plays 324 yards from the middle tee and 352 from the back tee. A creek runs along the left side of the fairway. The tee shot is not overly demanding and longer hitters usually lay up with an iron or a fairway wood. But as the golfer reaches his tee shot he notices the creek makes a turn to the right and snuggles itself up next to the front of the green. This makes the second shot very demanding. There is little margin for error because only 4 to 6 feet separate the green from the creek and most balls that barely clear the creek end up bouncing back and rolling into the water.
The hole's narrow elongated green also has a diagonal factor to it that increases the difficulty depending upon where the flag is placed. The green's backside is protected by a large bunker on the left that collects a lot of shots that come in too hot out of fear of landing in the creek. There's also a small nuisance backside bunker on the right. The shot out of the left side bunker is scary because the creek looms again if it is hit too boldly. Any shot hit over the green but is lucky enough to avoid the bunkers faces a similarly difficult situation. The farther one hits it over the green, the scarier the shot coming back becomes.
Oldgolfdawg is always happy to land anywhere on the green in regulation. Even when he does so and proceeds to three-jack his way to a bogey, he doesn't get too upset. The fact that he has avoided a really big number only two holes into his round is cause for relief. That's the effect a few run-ins with "Little Lovely" can have on anyone who loves to chase the pea.
If anyone is interested in seeing a flyover view of this hole, they can do so by becoming a member of golflink.com. The Web site has a lot to offer but does have an annual membership fee of $49.95. Oldgolfdawg is a member and only suggests that you check it out.
For years, Oldgolfdawg has made it a pre-round habit to single out a hole on the course he is going to play the next day and to plot strategy geared to tame its bite. While plotting strategy and executing are two different things, the practice of plotting strategy has ingrained certain holes in Oldgolfdawg's mind.
For fun on the first day of a new decade, Oldgolfdawg has decided to come up with his own version of 18 such holes in central Ohio. He'll refer to them simply as "The Elegant Eighteen," attention-grabbing holes that will make you pay a price if your game is not on its best behavior.
The makeup of "The Elegant Eighteen" will be revealed over time in future posts.
For now, the campaign will kick off by naming hole No. 2 at Royal American Links as the first member in the clubhouse. The RAL scorecard refers to the hole as "Little Lovely." Oldgolfdawg always has an itch to add one more word to that title after walking away from it with a double bogey or worse.
At first glance, "Little Lovely" appears docile enough. It's a par 4 that plays 324 yards from the middle tee and 352 from the back tee. A creek runs along the left side of the fairway. The tee shot is not overly demanding and longer hitters usually lay up with an iron or a fairway wood. But as the golfer reaches his tee shot he notices the creek makes a turn to the right and snuggles itself up next to the front of the green. This makes the second shot very demanding. There is little margin for error because only 4 to 6 feet separate the green from the creek and most balls that barely clear the creek end up bouncing back and rolling into the water.
The hole's narrow elongated green also has a diagonal factor to it that increases the difficulty depending upon where the flag is placed. The green's backside is protected by a large bunker on the left that collects a lot of shots that come in too hot out of fear of landing in the creek. There's also a small nuisance backside bunker on the right. The shot out of the left side bunker is scary because the creek looms again if it is hit too boldly. Any shot hit over the green but is lucky enough to avoid the bunkers faces a similarly difficult situation. The farther one hits it over the green, the scarier the shot coming back becomes.
Oldgolfdawg is always happy to land anywhere on the green in regulation. Even when he does so and proceeds to three-jack his way to a bogey, he doesn't get too upset. The fact that he has avoided a really big number only two holes into his round is cause for relief. That's the effect a few run-ins with "Little Lovely" can have on anyone who loves to chase the pea.
If anyone is interested in seeing a flyover view of this hole, they can do so by becoming a member of golflink.com. The Web site has a lot to offer but does have an annual membership fee of $49.95. Oldgolfdawg is a member and only suggests that you check it out.
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