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 tee at No. 8. 

Avoid the water, stay away from the trees and homes on the left.

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.

I counted nine golf balls in this back yard on my way past.

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.

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.