My Local Course: Back Nine

The tenth doglegs left slightly across a flat field, seemingly easy to get to. A surprise is in store when you arrive at the green, however. There's a relatively flat shelf on the left, but on the right, the whole green tilts toward the bunker on the right. If you try to go for this green, you have to be as accurate as only a professional can be. Therefore, I think that laying up is the right move. From there, you can chip or pitch up towards the pin and leave yourself an uphill putt, rather that an impossible downhill situation. A bogey here is a good score, for me.

Eleven is another tough hole to get to in two. Even with a good drive, which will probably end up in the rough, since the fairway is relatively narrow, you still are looking at a five-iron or maybe even a four hybrid to get to the green. Since it is protected on both sides by bunkers, and again slopes toward the fairway, you might be well off by approaching short and chipping on. I'm sure you're beginning to see a pattern here. Once on or near the green, you're in pretty good shape. A bogey here is another decent score.

The next hole is fun. You can hit a drive, and if you hit it well, it'll go over a slight rise in the fairway and roll down quite a bit. A drive here of 275-300 yards is quite possible.

The next shot is where the problems begin. After a long drive, you're now standing over a shot on a downhill and, probably, sidehill lie. Only a really good golfer can get this short pitching iron or sand wedge onto the green with any accuracy at all. Most of us will probably skull the ball or flub it entirely, wasting a prefectly good tee shot. What seemed to be an easy par at first now turns out to be a complete disappointment and a bogey at best.

Adding insult to injury, the next par three demands a perfect tee shot. A five-iron is pretty much the right club for me, but you have to hit it very well or you'll end up in trouble in the greenside bunkers or way down the slope on the right. Take a par, if you can get it, and move on.

Fourteen is fun, starting from an elevated tee with plenty of room to hit to on this dogleg right. If I'm set up with a good drive and a decent lie, I can try for the green. If not, the smart play is to hit something in front of the green, pitch or chip on, and one- or two-putt for par or bogey.

Fifteen is all uphill, with a rolling, lumpy fairway with few flat spots to hit to. Lately, I've been able to hit the green in two with a seven-iron second shot, and even birdied it the last time I played it with a nice, curling fifteen foot putt. It's a treacherous green, however, steeply slanted toward the fairway, with no flat areas. If you're not beneath the hole, you're in deep trouble. If you miss your first putt, you're almost certainly looking at a three-putt, at the very least.

Sixteen is a par hole, a bit of a respite from the rigors of this course. You can reach the large green in two, and as long as you're below the hole, you should be able to get your four.

Seventeen is also a friendly layout, starting with a straight tee shot and a good second shot to a large green. It's slanted toward the fairway, but not too bad. Most of the time, you can expect a two-putt here.

The finishing hole is a 180-something par three, slightly uphill, with bunkers on both sides. Once more, stay below the hole for a good chance at par. I've been hitting a 4-hybrid here the last few times, with good results, but now that my swing has improved a bit more in the last couple of weeks, I could probably hit a five-iron, if the pin placement is in the front.

Last time I played the back nine in a full round, I shot 41, with four pars and a birdie. I should have had another par on thirteen, the elevated par three, if it weren't for a three-putt. So if I can put together a front nine like this, I'll be very close to my goal this season of breaking 80.