My Nemesis Hole

My last 5 rounds on one of my men's league courses all saw me dunk a simple wedge into the lake. Two of the rounds were in the club championship (happily I was able to recover from them) but it's becoming a joke. It's a relatively simple par 5 that has a peninsular green. With a good drive I have been on in two a few times and made one eagle so its not impossible. Lately I just lay up to 90-100 yards and have what should be a simple SW or UW in. For some reason I am either hitting on the bank or directly into the drink. I'm pretty sure its mental now as when I'm in my PSR for the shot instead of thinking where I want to put the ball I'm worrying where I don't want it to go.

My strategy next week is to go for it in two as long as I'm <230. The worst that could happen is I hit #2 in the water which is better than hitting #3 in there. Or I may lay up to 50-60 yards and see if that works better.

Anyone else have a hole that gives you fits when it's not really that hard of a hole?

Yes, the 17th.

I am doing battle with mine, and everyone else in our county...by playing Silloth next week. The 13th was designed by Satan. With a hangover. A brutally difficult hole, it is borderline Mickey Mouse but the greatest card wrecker in our area.

Many such holes... starting with the now closed Sunol Valley golf course, a 36 hole facility where the 8th hole of both the palm and cypress courses made you sweat.

Palm 8: the shortest par 5 in the world we called it—190-210yds downhill, downwind, green sloping _from front to back_ . This became such an easy double hole. If your tee shot hit the green it rolled off the back. If you landed short it rolled off the back. If you missed it short and chipped, the chip would roll off the back. The green was undulating and so on... many a promising high school round died there.

Cypress 8 was that par 3’s big brother. 378 white/405 blue. Par 4, elevated tee to a fairway landing area that ran out 200 from the tee into an oak filled canyon if played straight; at that point the fairway jogged over 30 yards to the right and took off downhill for the last 150 yards (blind from tee.) The green was on a small plateau, which had bunkers on both sides and fell off severely beyond them, right side to another tree canyon, left side to a valley 30-40 feet below green level. This hole killed me constantly until I decided I should just blast down the hill and with the wind and roll could drive it.

I like your idea with your nemisis par 5 to play a few rounds and just blast at it knowing that if the safe play is leading to a big number anyway then perhaps the no f’s given approach will lead to some confidence.

(Nowadays at nearby Callippe preserve, 17 and 18 have taken the role are a killer 1-2 punch to torpedo a round.)

I have at least one at each course I play regularly. I’m playing a new course this year where at the moment I have 4. Hoping to cut that down soon none of them are that hard.

Very interesting topic, and seeming microcosm of how golf is really a mental game. I’ve had various holes and various shots do this to me on the course I play most frequently. It’s primarily been a double dog-leg par 5. I think my mental block started out disguised as architectural snobbery (“this hole is stupid, because it doesn’t provide any options, no risk/reward”). Looking back, that was just justification for my crappy play and decision making. I’ve slowly gotten over the block and accepted it as a difficult hole, but now am excited more by my good play (when it happens) than I am angered by my poor play (which still seems to happen more often).

OP, I do think changing strategy can help you get past the mental block.

The 4th at Gut Thailing where we play our weekday society games. It's just under 400 yards long, but the last 140 is narrow tree lined and up a severe slope. You need a good drive down the right hand side of the fairway then need to be able to launch a ball up onto the green. I've never made par on this hole and have played it so many times and in so many ways. I hate it.

The only one really bothers me is the 2nd at my club. I wouldn't say it gives me fits but it's unpleasant tackling that early in a round.

It's a par 3 and from the comp tees it's ~220 yards. You tee off with a line of tall trees along your left. To the right is scrubland with tall grass (one of the few places on our course where you can lose a ball). The green is a plateau cut into a 45 degree slope that runs top left to bottom right. It's about the same height as the tee box. Due to a rearrangement many years ago your shot approaches the green almost side-on. The 'fairway' slopes down from the tee and develops a distinct left to right slope as it approaches the green.

The only people who aren't nervous with this hole are low 'cappers and lefties. Everyone else just hopes to the gods that they don't fade their ball or that they -somehow- manage to land on the green and be stopped by the far bank. I've heard some impressive swearing from people who've sent their ball on target only for it to be a yard short of the green and then bounce/roll down the bank and end up at the bottom, some three or four metres below the hole. Then there was Rob whose ball landed just on the edge of the green, proceeded to roll along for a few metres and then drop off and down the bank. He refused to talk to anyone for the rest of the hole other than to mutter his score (a double bogey I think).

Yes! #s 6 and 17 at my home course. Long, uphill par 4 dogleg right is #6. My miss is a snap hook right. So yeah. I stand on that tee and want to kill the ball and it accentuates my snap hook. And if you miss right there is basically no way to recover. Miss left and you can’t reach the green in two. And once you get on the green, it is huge and has lots of slope to it, so it is very easy to 3-putt.

17 is a shortish par 3 but elevated, wide but narrow lengthwise and guarded by nasty bunkers all around it (except pin high left). Also has a lot of undulation...no straight putts. Again, a nice lefty draw would be perfect for this hole, but because my miss is a rope hook right, I often struggle with a baby draw. I ALWAYS end up in the God forsaken bunkers guarding the green, and they are almost guaranteed bogeys. Occasionally I block one and end up left and that is the easiest place to play from. I’m starting to think that I should just always plan to miss the green left no matter what.

So... Today this hole was my last as we started on 10. Sadly I pushed my drive and was blocked behind a tree so I couldn't go for the green. Rather than lay up to the normal 100 +/- I decided to get it closer to the water. I was 195 from the edge which is my 4h yardage so I hit a 5i. For some unknown reason I hit it perfectly as it felt I barely made contact. You guessed it - I hit it 200 yards, something I never do, and it went in the water. It was still better than going in the drink with my 3rd shot (I thought) but I hit a miserable 40 yard LW and ended up with another bogie.

It's now become personal, but I am determined. Update next week.

Well my 'nemesis' hole wasn't quite so bad last night. Although I did end up down the bottom of the slope, I was able to get up and on then two putt for a bogey.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/4VRX7iPXfXwSTqGb9

The 18th hole at my home club is a PITA. Uphill, par 3, about 195 yards from the blues. Bunkers on the front right and front left. I seem to either not take enough club and come up short, or land on the green and go off the back. And then if you go off the back, it's usually thick rough with a very fast chip going downhill.

I think most of the members hate the hole.

> @elwhippy said:

> I am doing battle with mine, and everyone else in our county...by playing Silloth next week. The 13th was designed by Satan. With a hangover. A brutally difficult hole, it is borderline Mickey Mouse but the greatest card wrecker in our area.

Now you need to post a diagram of the hole, please.

Yup. #4 at my home course. From the tips its 320-335... but there is a river all down the left side and a hazard all down the right. Fairway sweeps right to left but a tree guards the left side of the green so If you land in the left side of the fairway you have to fly it over the tree. The green is deep but very thin with a huge drop off to the left and a bunker right.

I used to hit 3 wood. Then dropped it to DI/5 wood. Then 4 iron. The other day I hit a 6 iron. Still managed to hit it in the dang hazard to the right. It should be a birdie hole but dang I cannot seem to make anything but a 5 or 6. *sigh*

#10 is hard too. 600 yards with water all down the left. Lots of bunkers. Plus a creek 100 yards short of the green making the layup a pretty challenging shot. par is always a good score.

Edit--- I have NO idea why the last paragraph is so huge...

Update for my nemesis holes. #6 tough uphill par 4. In years past it had just gotten in my head that it was so long and uphill. Played it today. Hit a really good drive on the right line. Left me just at the edge of the downhill portion , such that I was actually even with the hole. No longer uphill. It left me an easy 8 or hard 9 to the flag. I hit a perfect easy 8 to about 10 feet. Missed the birdie but man oh man was that easy. I don’t know why I’ve sweated that hole so much in the past. I am a good bit longer than I was in the past, though, doing this Drive 400 program.

Next hole. #17 par 3. I chose an easy 6 instead of a stock 8 just because the hole just shouldn’t be that hard. I hit it almost perfectly, left myself about 15 ft uphill. Just barely missed that birdie too. But another easy par.

So I conquered a couple of demons today! …unfortunately now another one has popped up...#1. So time to conquer that one next!

This thread is useless without screen shots from google maps!! Or tell us the course and we can find it ourselves, haha, come on its 2019 people!

> @Twism86 said:

> This thread is useless without screen shots from google maps!! Or tell us the course and we can find it ourselves, haha, come on its 2019 people!

Since I retired and went to the Apple dark side I don't have Photoshop, but this is from a cheap freebie app. The hole is not too long at 525 and a good drive gives me a shot at going for it in 2. The photo doesn't show that the area right of the green is very uneven and not really a good bail out. Typically I lay up to 90-100, but as I said that hasn't worked too well lately. And, it definitely is personal now.

> @RSinSG said:

> > @Twism86 said:

> > This thread is useless without screen shots from google maps!! Or tell us the course and we can find it ourselves, haha, come on its 2019 people!

>

> Since I retired and went to the Apple dark side I don't have Photoshop, but this is from a cheap freebie app. The hole is not too long at 525 and a good drive gives me a shot at going for it in 2. The photo doesn't show that the area right of the green is very uneven and not really a good bail out. Typically I lay up to 90-100, but as I said that hasn't worked too well lately. And, it definitely is personal now.

>

>

That hole would too destroy me, only good thing is the water is on the left and I generally miss right. Except when there is water on my left LOL

I play about half of rounds at my membership course from the tips just to really put my game to the test. We have 2 courses at our club and one of them has some absolute monster par 5's and 3's but the back nine has a par 3 that plays at 260 yards (slightly downhill so typically a 240 yard shot will get you there) into a green that is slanted from front to back and then the 17th hole is a 240 yard par 3 that plays straight uphill and always into the wind. Many good rounds have died at these two holes!

> @Twism86 said:

> This thread is useless without screen shots from google maps!! Or tell us the course and we can find it ourselves, haha, come on its 2019 people!

Well I linked to 'golfer's eye view' photos but if you insist:

[Top right to bottom middle.](https://goo.gl/maps/EZPvCF9Siy63sXPt7 "Top right to bottom middle.")

The 15th hole at Rustic Canyon, outside of LA. Uphill par 3 to a green with three levels. It looks like a staircase. The pin's almost always in the back left next to severe trouble. Be aggressive and risk landing in a deep bunker or hit it short and putt upstairs to the cup. This hole's ruined many a good round for me.

Welp- I was playing really solid today and was -1 when I got to the hole, again my final hole.

Good drive, 166 6i lay up which left me 95 yards to a middle pin. I chose to leave myself 90-100 because I hadn’t missed a short iron all day.

I had some indecision about which wedge to use and opted for an easy gap which is my 100-110 club. Should have hit a full SW cuz I dunked it once again. Penalty and 50 yard LW that I almost jarred for a par. Made the 1 ft bogie putt for an even par round.

My buddies were all rooting for me and now they’ can’t wait to see what I do next week.

Hallelujah. After 7 straight rounds i finally got on in regulation. What a relief. I feel like Steve Young after his first Super Bowl win.

#12 at my home course seems to do me in every time. It’s a short par 5 with a service road and OB left, severe slope from left to right in the fairway, and on top of the slope in the fairway it’s essentially a plateau so anything right falls down a big hill with trees and tall grass and you have to punch back to the fairway. On the surface it shouldn’t be that difficult of a hole, but I get in my own head and try to kill it to have a better shot at it in 2 and normally end up snap hooking it OB.

Edit: not sure why it showed up in super bold and large font.

The par 3 12th at my local muni has given everyone fits for as long as I can remember. It is definitely the most intimidating hole for average hackers because the carry is almost all over water, although there is plenty of room to the right if you feel like taking the scenic route.

I was terrified of this hole as a youngster, knowing full well my ball would end up in the drink. Today, I embrace this hole. I'm not sure what it is - maybe it's the way the tee boxes are set up and how I line up - but it's almost a guarantee that I hit a perfect 3-5 yard draw on this hole. It's the only place I ever hit a draw.

I've posted before about this hole in similar threads, but on the scorecard it is an uber-easy par 5 under 500 yards on my home course.

Dog leg right. I've gone driver-7 iron before.

That being said, there is water the entire right side. There is trees the entire left side. Fairway slopes and undulates. Water behind the green (The right side loops behind it into a pond). Green slopes from front to back so a half wedge shot when I lay up is difficult for me to stop.

The main issue I have is that I can't hit driver off the tee. I am forced to lay up due to the trees and the dog leg. I am a longer hitter but if I try to cut the dog leg I need at least 275 carry and it turns the landing zone into about 20 yards total because of the trees on the left. A hard bounce? Trees. Offline? Water. Mishit? Water. A really small target and not worth the risk I have found.

So I am forced to lay up off the tee in the 180-220 range. Then I have to hit a mid iron layup to a sloped fairway with water and trees to contend with. If you hit two safe shots you have a tricky wedge to a green sloping into a hazard if you hit it too hard.

I've blown up plenty of rounds on that hole and I've seen some real studs put up big numbers. I literally played it last night and went: Tree tee shot/punch out too far and in the hazard/wedge long just short of the hazard and an up and down for a smooth bogey haha.

> @elwhippy said:

> I am doing battle with mine, and everyone else in our county...by playing Silloth next week. The 13th was designed by Satan. With a hangover. A brutally difficult hole, it is borderline Mickey Mouse but the greatest card wrecker in our area.

Ahhhhh the old Hog's Back. Love the hole, love the course.

Mine is 12th at my club. 362yds looks easy, but is deceptively difficult. Scorecard does not do it justice. It's always close to being hardest on the course in club compeitions despite being 13th hardest on the scorecard. It's left to right dogleg, with a raised green at the bottom of a steep slope. Green slopes front to back as well. Our course always plays firm, and this is the firmest green on the course with it being raised.

I just can't play a second shot into the hole, whether I pitch it short, which can often result in odd bounces left, right or forwards over the green. I play on the moors (hills) in UK and there are some rolling undulations towards the green, not too dissimilar to what you'd see on a links course. I've resorted to a 150yd putt down the hill. I can't for the life of me play the hole. I've been a member there since I was 9 and have been playing for 24 years! A par for me is like a birdie, and would snap your hand off if you offered me a par without having to play the hole.

Tee shot

Second shot to raised green.

Edit: apologies for the poor image quality. They have been screenshotted from our club's youtube channel, pre-HD days.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXg18MvJD23McQR1f9YNsrQ

> @andrue said:

> > @Twism86 said:

> > This thread is useless without screen shots from google maps!! Or tell us the course and we can find it ourselves, haha, come on its 2019 people!

>

> Well I linked to 'golfer's eye view' photos but if you insist:

> [Top right to bottom middle.](https://goo.gl/maps/EZPvCF9Siy63sXPt7 "Top right to bottom middle.")

Yeah, coming in with a long iron or hybrid at that angle, that narrow plateau green would be hard to hold. In fact, having a 220-yard par three with a raised green is pretty sadistic for a regular course, IMHO.

> @jonnymc44 said:

> > @elwhippy said:

> > I am doing battle with mine, and everyone else in our county...by playing Silloth next week. The 13th was designed by Satan. With a hangover. A brutally difficult hole, it is borderline Mickey Mouse but the greatest card wrecker in our area.

>

> Ahhhhh the old Hog's Back. Love the hole, love the course.

>

> Mine is 12th at my club. 362yds looks easy, but is deceptively difficult. Scorecard does not do it justice. It's always close to being hardest on the course in club compeitions despite being 13th hardest on the scorecard. It's left to right dogleg, with a raised green at the bottom of a steep slope. Green slopes front to back as well. Our course always plays firm, and this is the firmest green on the course with it being raised.

> I just can't play a second shot into the hole, whether I pitch it short, which can often result in odd bounces left, right or forwards over the green. I play on the moors (hills) in UK and there are some rolling undulations towards the green, not too dissimilar to what you'd see on a links course. I've resorted to a 150yd putt down the hill. I can't for the life of me play the hole. I've been a member there since I was 9 and have been playing for 24 years! A par for me is like a birdie, and would snap your hand off if you offered me a par without having to play the hole.

> Tee shot

>

> Second shot to raised green.

>

> Edit: apologies for the poor image quality. They have been screenshotted from our club's youtube channel, pre-HD days.

> https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXg18MvJD23McQR1f9YNsrQ

>

That reminds me of a course I played as a junior a couple of times. I think it was Ben Rhydding (W. Yorks). Lots of greens like that. Raised up at the back to counter the slope, with no good miss left, right, or long, and the green usually sloping down to the back. In fact, quite a few courses I played had a hole or two like that. I suppose it's unavoidable with the hilly terrain in the North of England.

I have a few haha this particular one gives me fits. This is 7 at the Hills Course it’s a medium length par 4 435 yards. Tee off going downhill fairway cants left to right so balls tend to run through the fairway making it imperative to turn a long iron over. From the back tees you only have the alley to hit down, so you can’t cut the corner. Once in the fairway you will usually have a sidehill lie going uphill to a smaller green. It’s a good test especially for me because I love to just aim left and cut it this hole I have to make a golf swing off the tee and approach.