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Hole Description:
I realize that naming any golf hole the Happy Hooker will raise some eyebrows. However, once you play this hole a few times you will realize just how happy a good draw or hook can be on this hole. The reason is that the entire fairway falls off the right and fees into a massive fairway bunker that runs along the entire landing zone to the right. While this hole does provide some realistic birdie opportunities, it can be a real challenge off the tee.
Tee Shot Tips:
Note the wind as it will normally be blowing from right to left diagonally away from you. This will tend to assist the architect in placing you in the trap. If the wind is severe, consider a 2-iron or utility club and keep it left near the heather and let the wind bring it back to the fairway. If you are feeling lucky, or are just having a good driving day, blast away and try to keep it between the left edge of the fairway and the heather on the left. This normally will leave you in the middle of the fairway. If you tend to draw the ball or hook off the tee, this is your time to be happy and enjoy the shot as the hole sets up perfect for you. But even so, you want the ball to land as close to the left center of the fairway as possible or the slope will take over and push your shot into the sand.
Landing Zone Tips:
The extreme left is an option as most drives end up just short of the 2nd batch of heather. Being right of center off the tee here is almost always going to find the massive fairway bunker right. Which is manageable, but not the best scoring position from which to play.
Approach Shot Tips:
The green is a bit touchy. By that I mean, it has a hog back on the left front that has a major impact on your landing zones on the green. If the pin is up front you can attack it. Perhaps the toughest pin is just past the hog on the left side, as this section of the green appears flat from the fairway, but is actually running away from you as the ball lands. If the pin is back right, you also have a decent shot at getting close. But just do not get too aggressive as it is easy to fly this green long and then you have a tough chip shot coming back.
Putting Tips:
Up the front of this green could be considered to be slow to moderate. Over the rise left and down to the back is fast. The rest of the green is moderate on most days. Take note of the contours as they are not as hard to read on this green as most at Calderone. Perhaps that is another reason the Happy Hooker may be a good name for this hole.
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