 You have reached the start of a four hole stretch of holes many players refer to as Greenwood Hills version of Amen Corner. This particular hole has many names among our members non of which are repeatable.
This hole is probably one of the most difficult short par four holes of it's length in the state! The fairway has a 90 degree dogleg right and slopes from right to left down hill toward a pond. The fairway is framed by heavily wooded areas defined as lateral water hazards. The green is perched on a ledge high above the fairway. The elevated approach shot is difficult enough but the smallish undulating green which leaves you with very few putts that do not break is perhaps the most perplexing aspect of this hole.
HOW TO PLAY THIS HOLE:
The tee shot must be out far enough to clear the dogleg. Tee shots falling short right leave a second shot blocked out by trees, requiring the player to lay-up short of the pond. Tee shots long and left may find the water hazard or leave you with a long iron or fairway wood shot from a downhill lie to the elevated green. Any shot coming up short of the elevated green will most certainly roll slowly back down the steel hill which fronts the green. If you are unfortunate enough to be chipping from short of the green, be darn sure that you do not make a mistake and leave your shot short of the green as you will watch it roll right back to you! When you do finally reach the green, a good rule of thumb is to play more break than you see. GOOD LUCK!
LOCAL KNOWLEDGE:
If you can not safely reach the green on your second shot, try to eliminate making a big number by playing a lay-up to the level portion of the fairway over the pond then pitching to the green.
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A very deceiving up hill par three. Don't be fooled by the fairway length landing area that makes the green appear closer than the actual yardage.
If you survived the first two holes without a disaster, don't let your guard down on this one! The hidden hazard is the large series of fairway bunkers lining the left side of the fairway. Some are visible from the tee and some are not. Bite off too much of the dogleg and you could find yourself pitching out for your second shot. The twin fairway bunkers on the right and out of bounds on the left are visible from the tee. Two green-side bunkers require an accurate approach shot.
A seemingly easy hole from the tee, pay attention to the heavily grassed mounds on the right and a fairway that slopes aggressively from right to left.
A sharp dogleg left, par four with trees and underbrush on the left, and out-of-bounds extending the entire length of the right side of the hole. The fairway slopes strongly from left to right.
A blind tee shot is only the beginning on this par four hole. Out-of-bounds runs down the entire left side and behind the green. Not visible on the right is an Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA) that is played as a lateral water hazard. Players are not allowed to enter the area to search for or play their ball.
A seemingly safe hole with the same Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA) from hole six located on the right side of this hole. The other visible hazards are the out of bounds on the left side and a single row of trees running like a fence up to the edge of both sides of the fairway at about 100 yards from the green. The green is protected by a deep bunker short right. The approach shot can best be described as trying to hit to the shell of a giant turtle perched on a rock.
This hole plays very much like hole number two. Bunkers guard the front of this green with the left-hand bunker being the more difficult to escape from. Trees and underbrush line the side and back of the green. The green slopes from back to front.
A very reachable downhill par five. Reachable that is if you can avoid the out of bounds lining both sides of the fairway and a large fairway bunker on your tee shot then play a second shot of 200 or more yards threading the needle to avoid the five green side bunkers and out of bounds to the left and a large water hazard guarding the green on the right. Did we mention the two-tiered green?
A dogleg left par four that can play much shorter than its posted yardage. The main features of this hole are the trees and lateral hazard that line the left side of the hole and the banked turn in the fairway that would appeal to any NASCAR fan.
A downhill par three with an unplayable area of trees and underbrush on the left, a marshy lateral water hazard left and behind the green and grassy native area short and right.
This downhill par four doglegs slightly to the right and is framed by out of bounds on the left and a lateral hazard on the right.
From the very elevated tee, all hazards are visible to the player. A water hazard bisects the hole near the white tees and wooded areas with underbrush defined as lateral water hazards line both side of the hole. The fairway doglegs to the left at the top of the visible plateau and starts a steady climb uphill to the green. A second small dogleg to the right along with two fairway bunkers and a green side bunker on the left and a heavily wooded area with underbrush short and right of the green require a left to right shot if you plan to reach the green with your second shot. NOTE: The wooded tree line that is marked as a lateral water hazard on the right side continues to the green but the hazard markings end about 120 yards from the green. Players going into this area short and right of the green may be unable to find or play their ball.
The final hole of "Amen Corner".
This dogleg left par four is guarded by you guessed it woods and underbrush marked as a lateral water hazard. Be aware that if you hit a long drive to the right the lateral hazard ends about 270 yards from the tee. The fairway tilts quite severely from right to left flattening out as you get closer to the green A bunker on the left protects the amoebae shaped green which has two large swells with the only fairly level spot located in the front right
This par three will offer some relief from the middle stretch of holes. The main feature here is the bowl-shaped green which is protected on the right front by a good size bunker and on the left by a grassy mound. Don't be fooled by the grass cut to fairway length area in front of the green that gives the visual perception of the hole being shorter than the yardage indicates. Trust the yardage!
This is an excellent par five as it allows for aggressive play but more often rewards smart play. The tee shot travels down a chute of trees marked as a lateral water hazard on both sides. The fairway then turns right and starts a steep decline into a valley with a marshy lateral hazard on the right side ending about 60 yards from the green where the fairway starts a steep accent to an elevated green that is protected by a front right side bunker. The steep slope cut to fairway length leading up to the green will reject most shots landing short and sending them rolling slowly and painfully to the bottom of the slope leaving a tricky pitch back up to the putting surface. The green slopes from back to front especially in the left front portion. It is not uncommon for aggressively stroked downhill putts in this area to roll past the hole off the green.
