There are 3 holes that I struggle with the alignment and they really just don’t look right to me. Two of the holes have OB left and right so that’s certainly in my head and the other one is just narrow and woodsy (that’s basically the whole course lol). With all 3 of these holes it’s not uncommon for at least one member of a 4-some to say “I’ll be hitting a provisional”.
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I know the setup!
If ob is that big of an issue and on both sides, laying well back may make sense.
It doesn’t take many OB balls to offset a 75 - 100 yd distance decrease
It’s a math problem! This assumes there is more room on a long second shot coming in which may not be the case.
I used to play a course with one of the dumbest holes in America on it. Medium par 4 where the fairway pinched in to 15 yds at 230 ish, dogleg right, and the shape / height of trees basically meant you could not cut the corner with a draw without going ob left.
Because of the height of the trees and the funky dog leg, it was not uncommon for me to hit 4 iron, then 7 or 8 iron 25 yds short of the green.
Was I basically surrendering? Yes but my scoring average dropped significantly and was probably like 4.8 or something and that was much better than when I tried to take on corner
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#1 goal of a course architect is to make the golfer uncomfortable. 2 ideas.
- as Papa suggested getting a google earth image and looking at it can change how you visually picture the hole. If you know that avoided the OB and trees fit into your dispersion pattern then pick your line and go. It won’t work all the time but you can remove a variable that way.
- There are holes that no matter who you are or how you hit it they are just hard. If you are making big scores it may not be a bad idea to just play a par 4 as a par 5. Your score will improve over time. You just have to try different approaches to playing the hole until you are at least semi comfortable.
I don’t know your handicap but I have 3 holes on my home course that I know going into the round I am going to bogey close to half the time. Accepting that going in doesn’t change my approach to them however it changes my mindset regarding them.
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Laying back is definitely something I’d like to try. I sort thought I was getting a handle on the tee shots, but then I started hitting the ball better and farther. Depending on the tees, temp and wind I had to stop using driver on the doglegs because it was too much. I also don’t think it’s a bad idea to play at least some of these holes as par 5’s. I’ve done that with the difficult 11th hole at my club and I’ve pretty much stopped making double and triple.
Hoping to play tomorrow and Saturday and try a shorter club on those holes. It may not be the best time since it’s a lot cooler out, but as long as I don’t try to swing out of my shoes it will be interesting to see how it changes things,
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Lots of good stuff in here
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On my course there are tees that don’t point at the centre of the fairway. Then when you line up straight you feel all skoo wiff. Plays with your head.
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Yes! Some holes that are intentionally visually daunting may actually be forcing your eye away from the “right” line off the tee - so the suggestion about using Google Earth is great; plus now you can point & click on it to measure distances.
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Played Friday and Saturday and did well on all but my nemesis 12th hole. That’s just a tee shot (and 2nd shot) I need to find a way to get comfortable with like I did some other holes. I think the new 3 wood is helping as it seems straighter than the old one. That may have been the last of the good weather and if so I finished with a few good rounds and positive thoughts. Thank you for all the great feedback!
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Try playing them with 3w or 3h a few times and see if your scores improve. We have one hole like this at my home course. I’ve been there 10 years and I’ve never learned to love the tee shot. But I’ve gotten to the point where I just accept that I’m probably going to miss the fairway and will have to make sure I make no worse than bogey.
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Honestly, I think the problem highlights one of the biggest challenges in golf… basically getting rid of the negative thoughts, ignoring external stimulation and focusing on the goal at hand.
I always struggle with tee boxes that don’t “line me up right”… which is silly, why should I worry about how a tee box is oriented? or how the lines in the grass are mowed? I just need to pick my spot, aim at it and ignore everything else…
I think it’s easy to declare a hole a nemesis hole, and hard to undo that line of thinking… My strategy has been to pick the target I want to hit, aim at that and swing… it doesn’t always work, but it works better than anything else I’ve tried!
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Even IF I were a great long driver, I’d still lay up on the 5s (and 4s) with doglegs and trees…Hitting it over the trees, there’s little chance I’d find the ball! I do like that the layup shot doesn’t have to be dead straight, just get into the middle of the dogleg for a good 2nd shot.
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I was able to get out a couple of times over the holiday and did pretty well. I made par on my nemesis hole twice. I laid back to the wider flatter part of the fairway, but I think the key was committing to both the tee shot and 2nd shot. Didn’t putt very well with the slow aerated greens, but overall the last few rounds were better.
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Isn’t it interesting how nemesis holes change? For me, one well struck shot at a correct target provides me with a visual I can recall every subsequent time I tee it up.
#1 was such a hole, uphill slight dogleg left with OB/trees left, huge fall-off right (which has sent a slice two fairways away!). There’s not enough room to go over/past trees with a fade. Add the fact that it sets the tone for the round shivers my timbers.
I don’t have a functional ‘slight draw’ with my driver yet but I can dance my 3W like Astaire. As others have advised, a study of GE gave me a precise target and one solid shot became my Patronus Charm.
I have a theory that the shortest club you can hit off the tee and still get home is functional. Might not be best for scoring low, but if it takes high numbers out of play, to me that’s functional. Then work your way up the bag ‘til you hit Goldilocks, often not driver.
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Well I’m still not completely comfortable with certain tee shots, but the more I hit this new 3 wood decently the better I’m feeling about hitting a fairway. It’s not quite as long as my old one, but it hits higher and straighter. I didn’t have much range time with it and was reluctant to use it initially, but I can’t say I’ve missed a shot with it the last handful of rounds and I probably should be using it more often. Unfortunately the upcoming weather forecast doesn’t look good for golf so I may be done until Spring. Our winter golf trip isn’t looking too likely either.
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Haha, so I was about to make a post about the first hole at my club, which I consider a nemesis hole right now… and I’m reminded that I know better than that…
Thanks past me! I’m going to pick a target and hit my 3 wood at it, and then adjust… I’m going to keep adjusting until I don’t hate this hole.
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I’ve done better this season on my “nemesis” hole #12. I had been struggling with 10, 11 and 12 and I still do as they are hard holes (hole 11 is #1 hdcp), but my average scores have dropped. I have figured out how to make bogey on them after bad tee shots and I think that’s made me dread the tee shot less.
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I’m really struggling on the front nine at my course… I haven’t broken 40 on it this season… We don’t really have any EASY par 5s, but #3 should be the easiest… I’ve actually gotten better at the blind tee shot on it, which has helped a ton.
The first 2 holes are currently just killing me, and the 2nd hole is a par 3! I don’t mind missing it and making a bogey on occasion, but I can’t seem to find the green, and I’m hitting an 8 iron. It’s just bad… It should be a par and move on hole, but it’s not… Maybe I just need to aim more center green until I’m playing better… it’s a HUGE green.
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You may have answered your own question on the par 3. Aim middle and back of the green. Hit the the green. Watch your scoring average drop
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Yeah, my iron play is also just a mess right now… finally got some dr scholls and am working to clean up my contact…
I just don’t have any feel with my long game right now… it’s a mess.
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There’s a short Par 4 on a course I play that … quote-unquote … “should be” pretty straightforward but, of course, I manage to totally screw it up every time…
Until yesterday, and not saying I’ve cured my bugaboo with this hole forever, but did play it this last time just as it should be played (for me, that is! …outside of hitting the green on your tee shot, but that’s way out of my pay grade plus it’s a very sloped crowned green) - easy hybrid to the end of the left center of the fairway … easy wedge onto anywhere on the side of the green that the flag is on … lip out the first putt … take your tap-in par … pat yourself on the back 
and move on to the next hole!
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