How to….make a fast start
The opening hole offers and early birdie chance. It’s a simple five wood, wedge and you can get off to a nice start. There are a lot of birdie holes as the greens are soft so you can attack the pins and you can expect low scores again this week. Second is another chance if you hit a good drive and then you have a par five reachable in two. So there are some early chances before the fourth, fifth and sixth where you have a slightly harder run.
How to…make a low score
The very important thing of this golf course is to make birdies on the par fives. I am not a long hitter, but the long hitters can reach all the par fives in two, with maybe the exception being the seventh where you need to hit two very good shots to reach. To make birdies on the par fives is a relief as then you have some tricky holes, some long holes and with this rough it is very easy to make a bogey without hitting too bad a shot. So the par fives are important.
How to…. play Hole 9
The ninth and 18th holes, coming around the same lake, are very important and making par there is always a good result. There has been a lot of rain and yesterday had to hit driver, five wood. I was playing with Alvaro Quiros and he hit driver, 4 iron, so yesterday was playing very long. I hit two good shots to get there but not easy hitting to that green with a five wood, with the water and thin green and a back pin would make it very hard.
How to ….play Hole 18
Firstly you have to hit the fairway. If you find the rough, left or right, you have to lay up. So you have to hit the fairway and then with the soft greens you are hitting a six or seven iron, depending on the wind. It is a tricky green and the back left pin position they used on the final day two years ago is hard to attack. Just pull that a little and you are in the water. Even hitting the middle of the green means it is not an easy putt with a lot of borrow.
How to…play Hole 16
This is a nice par three and good one to get you into the final few holes. The in back right makes it a hard hole with a thin green, so the safe shot is the middle of the green with about a 5 iron to the back pin. It’s a tough shot.
How to ….play Hole 17
How to….make a fast start
The opening hole offers and early birdie chance. It’s a simple five wood, wedge and you can get off to a nice start. There are a lot of birdie holes as the greens are soft so you can attack the pins and you can expect low scores again this week. Second is another chance if you hit a good drive and then you have a par five reachable in two. So there are some early chances before the fourth, fifth and sixth where you have a slightly harder run.
