It's a cool but beautiful day here in Chicagoland. The afternoon forecast is for around 60 degrees and clear until about 4:00, when the rainfall potential rockets up to about 60%.
I plan to play around 4:00.
The goal for today is to eliminate the double bogeys.
I had one last time on holes number two, seven and eight. Eliminate those three double bogeys, and I'm at 42, which is within two of my goal, just two rounds into the year.
On the second hole, I just have to stay out of the left-hand trouble. Where I am every. Single. Time.
I think today it's a five-wood off the tee, try to keep it in the fairway. When I'm over on the left, behind the trees, par is dead and bogey is dying. Keep it in the fairway at two, and I've got a shot.
The seventh hole . . same deal, actually. Just get the tee shot in play. Just put the ball in play. Then a nice five-wood down to 100 yards, then wedge onto the green and two putts. That should be a par hole. I can't let this hole freak me out. I'm mentally dead on the tee. I have to get over that.
The eighth hole is like the second; out-of-bounds all the way down the left. And not just OB, but trees in the dogleg, which destroy any chance for par. I've got to keep the ball in the fairway here. It's a long par-four. This is one that I can give a stroke on; play it like a par five. Hit to the fairway. Iron up around the green. Chip on and two-putt. Get out of there with a bogey.
Incidentally, my 41st birthday is Tuesday, so if I'm going to make 40 at 40, it's gotta be today.
No pressure.
Round No. 1, Sunday, April 15. Score: 45
My first assult on 40 took place yesterday afternoon, on an overcast day with strong winds and intermittent rain. While the weather made for an enjoyable semblance of a Scottish summers' day, such conditions do not readily lend themselves to scoring well on the golf course.
I arrived at Riverbend around 4:00 or so, hopeful that by that time of day the course would be somewhat cleared out and I'd have it to myself. There are few better experiences than being the last person out on a golf course, coming down the final fairway as the sun is setting. It's as close to perfection as I know.
I watched a twosome tee off, and putted on the practice green for another 20 minutes or so, and then headed out myself. The winds were strong and gusting to borderline ridiculous, and out of the due south, which meant holes 1, 4 and 8 would be directly into the teeth of the wind, holes 3, 7 and 9 would be directly downwind, and 2, 5 and 6 would have a hearty crosswind.
First hole: 312 yards, par 4
(playing directly into the wind)
When I came up with this plan to go around Riverbend in 40 whacks, I looked at the holes that gave me trouble, and tried to establish a gameplan where I could avoid trouble. My entire history on number one I've hooked a driver way out to the left, adding needless length and complexity to the hole. It's not a long par-4, but it does have a creek running across the fairway about 2/3 of the way down, and you have to be careful for that.
I decided that the prudent play would be to scoot the ball up the right side of the fairway with a 4-hybrid, leaving myself just a mid-iron into the green. I opened up my stance to promote a bit of a fade, and gave the 4h a good, smooth swing. Just as intended, the ball went right at the center of the fairway, and landed not far from the white aiming stake at the top of the hill. An auspicious start.
My second shot left 145 yards to the green, from an elevated fairway. Again, right into the heart of the wind. I didn't take that latter bit into account, and my 7-hybrid blew up into the breeze and ended 20 yards short of the green, to a front pin position. A very good chip and putt and I could save my par.
Unfortunately, when you haven't played in a while, it's the short game that really exposes your rustiness. My E-wedge chip was woefully short, and the ball stopped in the front fringe. I used my Michael-Bamberger-designed-Jigger-E-club chipper with great success, and my fourth shop rolled to within two feet of the pin. One easy putt later, and I had a bogey, and was already one over for the day, and had used up a quarter of my spare shots.
+1 after one hole
Second hole: 364 yards, par 4
(strong left-to-right wind)
This hole is always very difficult for me, as I tend to hit the ball right-to-left, and there is an out-of-bounds fence (and road) along the entire length of the left side of this hole. When I do keep it in bounds, I'm generally down in the long grass behind a stand of large trees, with no shot to the green.
I did what I could to keep the ball in the fairway. I still pulled the ball left, but it was more of a straight pull than a hook, and with the very strong wind working with me, I managed to keep the ball somewhat in play. I was on the very left edge of the fairway, but in play, and with a shot at the green.
My second shot was 155 yards, uphill, and it called for a smooth 6-hybrid. Unfortunately, I caught the shot fat, and the ball knuckled to rest about 35 yards short of the flagstick, which was at the back of the severely back-to-front sloped green.
I tried to bump-and-run an eight iron back to the flag, but caught it hot and it rolled all the way to the back fringe. Compounding that, I hit the jigger back downhill also too hard, and after my alloted four strokes, was looking at a tough 15-foot uphill put just for bogey.
I rolled the first put the best I could, but left it wanting, and two-putted for a double bogey 6.
My dreams of 40 were evaporating fast.
+3 after two holes
Third hole: 474 yards, par 5
(straight downwind)
This is a pretty long hole, and that always brings out my inner urge to kill the ball. Which never works, and usually just results in a massive hook. (This hole, too, has an out-of-bounds fence along the left side.) Looking back, I should have hit a smooth 5-wood (especially with the helping wind), but again I hit the driver and again I pulled the ball into the left rough.
My second shot was still 240 yards out from the green. A nice smooth 5-wood should put me up inside of 100 yards with a reasonable chance at par. Perhaps over-compensating for pulling my drive, I pushed the 5-wood to the right, directly into the bunker 40 yards short of the green on the right side. A hellishly long bunker shot. My prospects for 40 looked completely dead.
One stunning bunker shot later, and my ball was 10 feet left of the flag, with a putt for birdie. I pushed the putt a couple of feet past, which was unfortunate, but left myself a makable par putt.
Actually, I took a quick video at that point, to capture the feeling of the Scottish links experience I was having:
I arrived at Riverbend around 4:00 or so, hopeful that by that time of day the course would be somewhat cleared out and I'd have it to myself. There are few better experiences than being the last person out on a golf course, coming down the final fairway as the sun is setting. It's as close to perfection as I know.
I watched a twosome tee off, and putted on the practice green for another 20 minutes or so, and then headed out myself. The winds were strong and gusting to borderline ridiculous, and out of the due south, which meant holes 1, 4 and 8 would be directly into the teeth of the wind, holes 3, 7 and 9 would be directly downwind, and 2, 5 and 6 would have a hearty crosswind.
First hole: 312 yards, par 4
(playing directly into the wind)
When I came up with this plan to go around Riverbend in 40 whacks, I looked at the holes that gave me trouble, and tried to establish a gameplan where I could avoid trouble. My entire history on number one I've hooked a driver way out to the left, adding needless length and complexity to the hole. It's not a long par-4, but it does have a creek running across the fairway about 2/3 of the way down, and you have to be careful for that.
I decided that the prudent play would be to scoot the ball up the right side of the fairway with a 4-hybrid, leaving myself just a mid-iron into the green. I opened up my stance to promote a bit of a fade, and gave the 4h a good, smooth swing. Just as intended, the ball went right at the center of the fairway, and landed not far from the white aiming stake at the top of the hill. An auspicious start.
My second shot left 145 yards to the green, from an elevated fairway. Again, right into the heart of the wind. I didn't take that latter bit into account, and my 7-hybrid blew up into the breeze and ended 20 yards short of the green, to a front pin position. A very good chip and putt and I could save my par.
Unfortunately, when you haven't played in a while, it's the short game that really exposes your rustiness. My E-wedge chip was woefully short, and the ball stopped in the front fringe. I used my Michael-Bamberger-designed-Jigger-E-club chipper with great success, and my fourth shop rolled to within two feet of the pin. One easy putt later, and I had a bogey, and was already one over for the day, and had used up a quarter of my spare shots.
+1 after one hole
Second hole: 364 yards, par 4
(strong left-to-right wind)
This hole is always very difficult for me, as I tend to hit the ball right-to-left, and there is an out-of-bounds fence (and road) along the entire length of the left side of this hole. When I do keep it in bounds, I'm generally down in the long grass behind a stand of large trees, with no shot to the green.
I did what I could to keep the ball in the fairway. I still pulled the ball left, but it was more of a straight pull than a hook, and with the very strong wind working with me, I managed to keep the ball somewhat in play. I was on the very left edge of the fairway, but in play, and with a shot at the green.
My second shot was 155 yards, uphill, and it called for a smooth 6-hybrid. Unfortunately, I caught the shot fat, and the ball knuckled to rest about 35 yards short of the flagstick, which was at the back of the severely back-to-front sloped green.
I tried to bump-and-run an eight iron back to the flag, but caught it hot and it rolled all the way to the back fringe. Compounding that, I hit the jigger back downhill also too hard, and after my alloted four strokes, was looking at a tough 15-foot uphill put just for bogey.
I rolled the first put the best I could, but left it wanting, and two-putted for a double bogey 6.
My dreams of 40 were evaporating fast.
+3 after two holes
Third hole: 474 yards, par 5
(straight downwind)
This is a pretty long hole, and that always brings out my inner urge to kill the ball. Which never works, and usually just results in a massive hook. (This hole, too, has an out-of-bounds fence along the left side.) Looking back, I should have hit a smooth 5-wood (especially with the helping wind), but again I hit the driver and again I pulled the ball into the left rough.
My second shot was still 240 yards out from the green. A nice smooth 5-wood should put me up inside of 100 yards with a reasonable chance at par. Perhaps over-compensating for pulling my drive, I pushed the 5-wood to the right, directly into the bunker 40 yards short of the green on the right side. A hellishly long bunker shot. My prospects for 40 looked completely dead.
One stunning bunker shot later, and my ball was 10 feet left of the flag, with a putt for birdie. I pushed the putt a couple of feet past, which was unfortunate, but left myself a makable par putt.
Actually, I took a quick video at that point, to capture the feeling of the Scottish links experience I was having:
Over there they call it 'goff', without the L
I got in for my par, which was a good score on that hole for me.
+3 after three holes
Fourth hole: 278 yards, par 4
(directly into the wind)
This is ordinarily a manageable hole. It's very short for a par-4, with little trouble. In this round, it was playing directly into the teeth of gale-force winds, but even so, par was certainly within reach.
I decided to play a Scottish shot to go with my Scottish weather: a low punch shot that stays down and cuts through the wind. (Tiger Woods has popularized this shot in recent years, calling it a 'stinger'.)
I teed the ball up low, took an abbreviated backswing and kept my hands very low through the follow-through. The stinger actually came off, and I had a low, boring ball flight that went up the right side of the fairway, leaving me only 90 yards in to the green. (That indicates how strong the wind was: on the third hole, downwind, I hit my driver about 235 yards. The next hole, I hit the same club less than 190.)
I used another Scottish shot, the cut-down 7-iron bump-and-run, which unfortunately ended 10 feet past (and above) the hole. Generally, you want to keep your ball below the hole; it's easier to putt uphill when gravity is working to slow the ball down, rather that putting downhill when any off-line ball is picking up speed and can run way too far past the hole.
As you guess, I hit the ball off line and it picked up speed and ran way too far past the hole. Although I was on the green in two shots, I took three putts to get the ball in the hole, and spoiled any shot at 40. You just cannot three-putt a green. Ever. Highly frustrating, especially after my two fine shots to get there.
+4 after four holes
Fifth hole: 127 yards, par 3
(cross wind, right-to-left)
This short par-3 is usually just a 7-iron. It's always just a 7-iron onto the green, and then two putts.
With the strong wind (which was a little into my face), I decided to try an easy 7-hybrid. It, of course, flew too long and rolled off the back of the green. I hit a very useful E-wedge to four feet and stuck the putt. A nice and unexpected par.
If I could do the same thing for the next four holes, I'd be in at +4 (40), and I'd have achieved my goal!
+4 after five holes
Sixth hole: 345 yards, par 4
(cross wind, right-to-left)
This is the hole that always vexes me. On the holes where I absolutely cannot go left (number 2 and number 3), I always manage to somehow hit a hook that risks going out of bounds.
This is a nice right-to-left dogleg hole, that positively sets up for my nice draw. I should own this hole.
And what do I do, every time?
A straight push to the right.
And what did I do this time?
A straight push to the right.
I simply don't get it.
Anyway, I managed to have a decent lie in the right rough, with 160 yards in to the green. I usually hit my 6-hybrid 160, but something told me I needed a bit more, so I hit the 5-h.
I was right in needing more; even the 5 left me 20 yards short of the hole.
I chipped up with my 8-iron bump-and-run (I'm determined to master that shot this summer), and left myself 25 feet for par. I missed the putt, and got another bogey. Unless I could birdie two of the remaining three holes, 40 was not to be.
+5 after six holes
Seventh hole: 519 yards, par 5
(downwind)
I really hate this hole.
I shouldn't. It's sixteen hundred feet of beautiful manicured grass and native wetlands, bordered by trees and home to protected wildlife.
I shouldn't. It's sixteen hundred feet of beautiful manicured grass and native wetlands, bordered by trees and home to protected wildlife.
But oh, how I hate this hole.
This is a long double-dogleg to the right. And, like clockwork, my draw that abandoned me on the sixth hole (where it would come in useful) is back with a vengeance on the seventh, where a draw is the very last thing you want. I think this comes from my knowledge that this is a long, nasty hole, and so I try to kill the ball, and when you try to kill the ball, you rush your swing and start the downswing before the backswing is complete, which gets your hands behind and closes the face and -- say it with me -- causes you to hook the ball.
Knowing that is what happens every time I reach this tee, I took a deep breath, forced myself to take my time, and put on a nice smooth swing to promote a nice, high, power fade. Of course, I rushed, tightened up, and hit a monster hook, almost back to the fourth fairway.
&%#!!
I was far left of the trees on the left side of the fairway. I took out the 5-wood and basically replicated everything I had done on the tee. I took my time, pictured a nice high fade, set up for a nice high fade, and hit a nasty hook.
My third shot was "in jail", which is golf terminology for behind a series of trees, making your view towards the green look like you're standing behind jail bars. Because I evidently fancy myself one of the top dozen or so golfers in the world, I decided to take a page from new Masters champion Bubba Watson and hit a preposterous hook out of the trees and onto the green. Because, you know, what could go wrong?
This kind of shot really isn't possible if you
respect the laws of physics
I'm sure you'll be shocked to learn that I did not pull off the shot as masterfully as Bubba did. (Get it? Masterfully? I slay me.)
My non-hooking seven iron went straight into the water hazard. (Or, as Ty Webb would say, straight into the lumberyard.)
I dropped (penalty stroke), hit a beautiful high 60 degree wedge onto the back of the green, lagged my jigger to 4 feet, and had a nice one-putt double bogey.
Gag.
+7 after seven holes
Eighth hole: 411 yards, par 4
(directly into the wind)
Like the fourth hole, the eighth was playing directly into the teeth of the increasing wind. This is another hole with OB left, and another hole where my trusty hook shows itself. It's beyond vexing: on the sixth hole, I need a hook, and can't hit one to save my life. Then on the seventh and eighth, I can't avoid hitting one.)
Except today. I copied my setup for my stinger from the 4th hole, and hit another nice low burrowing drive up the right side of the fairway. It's one of the only times I've ever played this hole from the fairway. Of course, with the wind even stronger, I was lucky to hit the drive about 180 yards. I had 230 left, and I hit a nice smooth 5-wood. Again it landed in the fairway, 110 yards from the green. A smooth 9 iron should have put me on, but I should have hit a low 7-iron. The 9 blew up in the wind, and landed 20 yards short of the green.
A poor chip left me 20 feet short of the hole, and I two-putted for a double bogey.
This is generally a difficult hole for me, and with its length is more of a par four-and-a-half, and it's one of the holes I've resigned myself to taking bogey, even when I break 40. And it was playing stupid hard into the wind, so a bogey would have been a good score.
But the double bogey? Not so good. One bad decision (the 9-iron), and I couldn't recover.
+9 after eight holes
Except today. I copied my setup for my stinger from the 4th hole, and hit another nice low burrowing drive up the right side of the fairway. It's one of the only times I've ever played this hole from the fairway. Of course, with the wind even stronger, I was lucky to hit the drive about 180 yards. I had 230 left, and I hit a nice smooth 5-wood. Again it landed in the fairway, 110 yards from the green. A smooth 9 iron should have put me on, but I should have hit a low 7-iron. The 9 blew up in the wind, and landed 20 yards short of the green.
A poor chip left me 20 feet short of the hole, and I two-putted for a double bogey.
This is generally a difficult hole for me, and with its length is more of a par four-and-a-half, and it's one of the holes I've resigned myself to taking bogey, even when I break 40. And it was playing stupid hard into the wind, so a bogey would have been a good score.
But the double bogey? Not so good. One bad decision (the 9-iron), and I couldn't recover.
+9 after eight holes
Ninth hole: 165 yards, par 3
(directly downwind)
I like the nith hole. It sets up well for me, it's a comfortable distance (a full 6-hybrid), and a receptive green. I put a nice smooth swing on the ball to end my round, and saw it carry nice and high, tracking straight for the flagstick. It dropped short, took a hop, and started rolling. It was tracking all the way, and stopped just short. If it had had 10 more feet of roll, it would have been very close to a hole in one. It felt that good.
My birdie putt lipped out, and I had a tap-in par to end the day.
Not bad.
+9 after nine holes
Okay, so I didn't break 40. But for my first official round of the year, 45 ain't bad.
Two bad blow-up holes, and I could easly have trimmed that to +6.
I really think 40 is within my sights this summer.
Onward and upward.
1st hole - 316 yards - Par 4
The first hole is a very short par-4 (playing only 316 yards from the white tees), but the kind of design I particularly like. Instead of every hole favoring the long hitters, I respect a good par-4 where shotmaking and placement are key.
Number one at River Bend has an uphill drive; in fact, I suppose you would call it a blind tee shot. Only about 200 yards off the tee is the crest of a hill, beyond which you cannot see the creek cutting across the fairway at about 220 yards off the tee. Presumably a monster drive could carry the creek, but it would require about 250 yards of carry, and that's not going to happen.
The smart play is an iron or hybrid, keeping along the right side of the fairway if possible, and then a mid- to short-iron to the green. Bunkers left and right, and a severely back-to-front sloping green, it's better to be short than long on this hole.
Strategy: 4-hybrid just over the hill, iron to the front of the green, two putts. PAR
Number one at River Bend has an uphill drive; in fact, I suppose you would call it a blind tee shot. Only about 200 yards off the tee is the crest of a hill, beyond which you cannot see the creek cutting across the fairway at about 220 yards off the tee. Presumably a monster drive could carry the creek, but it would require about 250 yards of carry, and that's not going to happen.
Tee shot at No. 1 - aim for the white stake
From the crest of the hill - green sits back from the creek
2nd hole - 377 yards - Par 4
Although significantly longer than the first hole, the second is still reasonable at 377 yards. There is out-of-bounds all down the left side (a fence, outside of which is the road), and trees and a bunker (and, further down the fairway, but not in play on the drive), the lake.
My usual shot here, despite myself, is a draw (nice word for a hook) that ends up either OB-left over the fence or at least in the trees. In fact, I think there's about a 10-square-foot patch of grass behind three big trees that 90% of my tee shots end up in. My goal is to develop a straight or even left-to-right shot (I've just discovered that foot position can influence shot shape, if you really trust your swing.)
If you can get into the fairway, it's an uphill shot to a green protected by mounding and a front-left bunker and a rear-right bunker. It's a long green, front-to-back, so you can leave yourself a long putt here. Being uphill, the second shot plays longer than it measures, and I generally end up short of the green and have to chip on.
Strategy: Driver into fairway, iron (one more than I think I need due to the hill) to the green, two putts. PAR
Fence and road out of bounds left
Note stand of trees 220 yards down the left side
of the fairway, near the fence
My typical view of the second green
Strategy: Driver into fairway, iron (one more than I think I need due to the hill) to the green, two putts. PAR
3rd hole - 481 yards - Par 5
A par-5 of reasonable length (481 yards), this should not be a difficult hole. It's turned 90 degrees from the second hole, but there is another fence with another out-of-bounds all down the left hand side. On the right are trees, and beyond them the fourth fairway. Right is not completely dead here, although it makes for a tough shot. Definitely a three-shot hole, a massive drive is not absolutely necessary here. (This is one of my problems; I see the green 500 yards away and feel like I have to crush it. But I could hit my 5-wood out there 200 yards in the fairway, and then hit a 4-hybrid another 180 yards in the fairway, and then have a simple 100 yard wedge to the green. Easy.
But I never approach it that way; I haul off and try to kill my driver, which results in a wild hook out onto the road OB left or, when I really make sure not to hook, a towering push into the fourth fairway 100 yards right.
There is a massive bunker on the front right, extending most of the way down the right side of the green, and a severe drop-off and trees to the left. (I've been nestled down under the trees at the bottom of the hill more times than I care to remember.)
Strategy: 5-wood into fairway; 4-hybrid into the fairway, wedge onto green. Two putts. PAR
Tee shot at three. The green is straight ahead*.
*In the next county
But I never approach it that way; I haul off and try to kill my driver, which results in a wild hook out onto the road OB left or, when I really make sure not to hook, a towering push into the fourth fairway 100 yards right.
Halfway down the fairway, you can almost see the green from here
100 yards out; giant bunker on the right of the green,
knobby hills and severe drop off to the left
4th hole - 284 yards - Par 4
Another good short par-4, but without the hazard of number 1. This is just a straightaway fairway, like a runway right up to the green. There are trees left and right, and a bunker on the left side of the green, but this is a hole I generally play pretty well. When I manage a straight drive, I have just 40 or 50 yards in to the green. A good chip and I'm there.
Strategy: Driver into fairway; wedge into the green. Two putts. PAR
Number 4: Good short par 4
5th hole - 128 yards - Par 3
This can be an intimidating hole, but it's so short that I usually don't flinch. There is about a 100-yard carry over water to a plateau green, which falls off on the back right to more water. Bunker back left, but it's a fairly generous green, and a good 7- or 8-iron will usually take you home.
Strategy: Iron onto the green. Two putts. PAR
Strategy: Iron onto the green. Two putts. PAR
Nice short par-3. A pretty hole
6th hole - 345 yards - Par 4
This should be great fun for me. It's one of the only really right-to-left dogleg holes on the course, and you'd think with my complaining about my right-to-left ballflight on 1, 2, and 8, I'd welcome this hole. But, vexingly, the one place that I could use my hook, it rarely comes out.
A nice long drive with a slight draw will leave you out on a ridged fairway, with a moderate second shot over water to a receptive green. I can generally be up around the green in two, and a chip on and two putts should be a bogey.
Tee shot at number 6- should start at the dark
green tree and draw a bit to the left.
From the top of the fairway, it's a short iron over a creek
to a long, deep green. Fall off behind, water back right
7th hole - 511 yards - Par 5
This is a nasty hole. A long par-5 that essentially has two doglegs to the right. The opening tee shot is a 100 yard forced carry over the junk, and should be a nice sweeping fade, left to right. There is water all along the right side of the fairway, and the green is curled around behind the water, so you really have to go around the water to get there.
My usual tee shot is straight or a draw, so I basically add 50 needless yards to an already long hole. My second will scoot up along the left side of the fairway, leaving me an unreasonably long third shot to an elevated and well-protected green.
I'm rarely actually around the green complex in three shots, so with my fourth getting me up around the green, I'm generally doing well do two-putt for a bogey.
On a par-5. Not pretty.
The tee shot at No. 7.
I hate this shot.
The second shot. The green is still very far away,
around the water to the right.
It's a bitch of a hole.
On a par-5. Not pretty.
8th hole - 409 yards - Par 4
The eighth is one of my bugaboo holes. It's a long par 4, with (say it with me) out of bounds all down the left side. Back in my old days of the uncontrollable slice, this would have been a good course for me.
The left side of the eighth at River Bend is lined with homes, and I swear there is one backyard that has collected a couple dozen of my golf balls over the years.
The hole is a dogleg left, too, with trees at the corner of the dogleg. So if I manage to stay out of the backyards, I'm in jail with no shot to the green. It's an uphill tee shot to the crest in the fairway, and then downhill to the green.
I guess. I mean, I don't think I've ever hit a second shot from the fairway, so I really wouldn't know. I think if I can manage to keep my tee shot in the fairway, a second shot should be up around the green, and then a chip-on and two putts should give me a bogey. That's the best I can hope for on this hole. Maybe I'll approach it with a 5-wood tee shot to try to keep it safe and play it as a par 4-and-a-half.
The tee at No. 8.
Avoid the water, stay away from the trees and homes on the left.
I counted nine golf balls in this back yard on my way past.
If you managed to stay on the fairway, you still have a tough shot
over the bunker to the green.
I guess. I mean, I don't think I've ever hit a second shot from the fairway, so I really wouldn't know. I think if I can manage to keep my tee shot in the fairway, a second shot should be up around the green, and then a chip-on and two putts should give me a bogey. That's the best I can hope for on this hole. Maybe I'll approach it with a 5-wood tee shot to try to keep it safe and play it as a par 4-and-a-half.
9th Hole - 160 Yards - Par 3
The final hole at River Bend is a somewhat visually intimidating par-3.
Most people wouldn't consider 160 yards a long hole, but there is a forced carry over water and scrubland, and between that, playing slightly uphill, and the framing bunkers, this can be an intimidating tee shot.
A smooth swing, though, will leave you on or near the green, and par is not impossible.
Most people wouldn't consider 160 yards a long hole, but there is a forced carry over water and scrubland, and between that, playing slightly uphill, and the framing bunkers, this can be an intimidating tee shot.
A smooth swing, though, will leave you on or near the green, and par is not impossible.
The clubhouse.
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