Golf Course Etiquette
Places To Play
| Written by: Richard Davison | 6:24 PM PST - 10/7/2009 |
Sometimes it’s difficult to figure out where golf courses take their name from; perhaps it’s the name of owner’s first dog, or the group of settlers that originally inhabited the area; invariably it takes a little research, but in the case of the TPC San Francisco Bay at Stonebrae, there is no such guessing. One look from the windows of the clubhouse and you can see that the most dominant feature is the San Francisco Bay, and not just a small portion of it; from just about every hole on the golf course you can see all the way from San Francisco and Oakland in the north, to the huge hangers at Moffett Field and San Jose to the south. It’s a truly spectacular view when it is clear, and sometimes even more spectacular as the fog rolls in. San Francisco, with its spectacular skyline, looks like it might just be painted there; a canvas at the back of a magnificent stage. Of course we all know it’s real and so is the golf course, a product of David McLay Kidd, yes, that David McLay Kidd, the son of a Scottish superintendent who designed arguably one of the best modern day links courses in the world with his Bandon Dunes routing.
Although the course is still operating from a temporary clubhouse, the feel is that of an upscale private club with a fine array of wine and scotch behind the nicely appointed bar that overlooks the back nine, and of course, the Bay. Warm and chewy cookies sit on the bar as a treat for either before your round, or after you’ve battled the surrounding course. A suggestion: have one before and after. A large driving range includes real greens, making hitting shots to the targets much more interesting; you truly feel like you can get an idea how the course might play. Expansive enough to practice just about any shot in any wind direction, you will have no excuses when you make it to the first tee, which is situated beside both the range and the practice putting and chipping green. This is a design feature that should be an unwritten rule in golf course design; no more warming up and then driving 5 minutes to the first tee. The putting green is large and rolls fast, but it does not begin to give you an idea of what the greens will be like on the course; Kidd definitely used his Scottish touch on the course to break the very large greens into multiple small targets.
With five sets of tees, the course can be stretched from just 4,774 yards to a whopping 7,188 yards, giving every level of player a fine test. The 1st hole offers you a glimpse of what is in store for you. Kidd’s use of bunkers would remind you somewhat of Alistair McKenzie, as they often look further away than they are, there to play tricks on you and just add a small pinch of intimidation. A relatively short hole that plays into the prevailing wind, the two bunkers that frame the fairway must be avoided, the first of which stares you right in the eye, but is only 220-yards to carry from the black (tips) and 190 from the silver tees. Although it doesn’t look it from the tee, the fairway is actually quite wide, a trait that Kidd uses throughout the golf course. A smart player could play very well here having not seen the course before, but a reckless player will almost certainly run up some big numbers. Head Golf Professional Greg Rodgers gives one tip that should be taken to heart; “Follow the flow of the hole, if Kidd gives you a large area at the corner of a dogleg, that’s where he wants you to go.” Negotiating the tee-shot on the first is the easy part; the green, which sits slightly above the level of the fairway, has a large ridge through the middle, meaning shots that come up short will either stay there or roll backwards; while shots that are hit a little longer, find a green that then slopes away. Precision from the fairway is a must; miss the green, and your chances for a par are slim.
If the 1st is a tricky, but short hole, the 2nd is just plain long and tough. Measuring a whopping 461 yards from the back tee, the hole plays somewhat downhill from the tee with the skyline of San Francisco in the background. From the silver tee the fairway is fairly generous; but at 461 yards, a driver is required and with a sharp drop-off to the right, the area to hit your tee-shot in is suddenly much smaller. Missing left is no bargain either, but the hill does slope to the right and the fairway, meaning a missed tee-shot will generally get a kick down. This hole allows you the first glimpse of what Kidd offers on the long holes: an opportunity to run the ball up. There is nary a bunker around the green, meaning that if you are coming in with a long iron, you can roll the ball up onto the green and not have to worry about hitting your approach high and soft. The green slopes from left to right, so players should favor the left when hitting their approach.
The 3rd once again plays tricks with your sight. It’s a par-3 that plays just short of 200-yards with a large bunker that sits straight ahead of you at what appears to be the front of the green. But Kidd has placed it further back, making the green actually look closer than it is. A good test is to look at the bunker that flanks the right side of the green, which will give you better depth perception. The green slopes hard from left to right, with a small finger on the far right portion of the green offering a very difficult “Sunday” pin. The hole does play somewhat downhill, making club selection just a little tougher.
The 4th hole is the first of 5 par-5’s on the course and is the shortest, at just 479 yards, but plays considerably longer due to the fact that it is severely uphill. From the left side of the tee the fairway looks extremely tight, but once you make it to the right side of the box, you can see that it opens up considerably on the left hand side of the fairway. A fairway bunker on the left about 280 yards from the tee is a great aiming point, as the left side is a little more open than the right. Once you have found the fairway, you are faced with a blind, uphill shot to a green that has several slopes, kicking the ball in multiple directions. In this hole, Kidd has created a great short par-5; a stern tee-shot, and reachable in two for the stronger player, but not necessarily a pushover birdie. Placement is once again the key to having success on this hole. From the 4th green, you go down the hill to the short par-4 5th. Following in the footsteps of TPC Scottsdale, with its 16th hole, the 10th at the Belfry, or the 14th at Loch Lomond, Kidd has his own drivable par-4. At just 326 yards from the tips, or 301 from the silver tees, the 5th gives you multiple options. Once again, like the 4th, the fairway looks much tighter than it actually is. Anyone taking driver at the green will want to favor the left, as they may run out of room on the right. Those laying up will want to give themselves a full shot, so no more than a 215 yard tee-shot is necessary. The green might be one of the best for a small hole around; no option to run this one up, you must avoid a large bunker that guards it in the front. Also, the green slopes away from you so keep your approach short of the flag on this hole and you’ve really hit a spectacular shot. The green is a patchwork of humps and bumps; including a small bowl in the back center of the green. Find the flag there, and it would be tough to not get it close as everything funnels that way. Like a great short-hole should be, it tempts the long hitter to go for it, but offers the better opportunity to those who practice the conservative approach.
Your eyes are immediately drawn to the large bunkers that guard the right side of the 6th hole, but a large fairway awaits those that are able to hit their tee-shot safely to the left. Once you’ve found the fairway, it’s decision time; carry the barranca on your 2nd shot, or lay-up short, leaving you with a long 175-yard approach. The green on this long par-5 is much larger than it appears from the approach; it stretches far to the right, offering some very interesting pin placements. The par-3 7th plays uphill and requires a mid-iron shot to another severely sloping green. Kidd offers you a little bailout area to the left of the green a closely mowed chipping area; if you miss on the right, you’ll find a cavernous bunker that will make par almost impossible. At 176 yards from the tips, this hole offers you somewhat of a breather before the 8th and 9th close the front nine.
The 8th hole is one of those par-4’s that players will talk about after the round (actually, TPC San Francisco Bay is full of those holes). It’s a long 466 yards from the tips and into the prevailing wind, with two bunkers in the fairway that must be avoided. Lay up short of the bunkers and you are faced with a shot well over 200-yards. If you challenge the bunkers and fail, par is a distant memory. Like the 2nd hole, this green does not have any bunkers surrounding it, giving you the chance to run the ball up from long distances. The green is large, and slopes from the right to left and back towards the fairway. Make sure to get your shot to the hole, as it’s more uphill on the approach than it appears. The 9th brings you back to the top of the property and the clubhouse. It’s another par-4 that is framed by bunkers off the tee, the left one being a good aiming point. The green sits at an angle, with a very small area in front offering a difficult flag to get close to; a large ridge in the front third of the green kicks everything to the right, and makes 2-putts not necessarily guaranteed.
The front nine is spectacular in its own right, but it is like the opening act of an opera; there to set the tone for the 2nd act: The 10th is a feast for the eyes. The tee sits high above the fairway; a large bunker on the right side of the fairway is the aiming point. Driver is not necessarily the play here, a fairway wood or long iron may put you in the best position to approach the green. Miss just a little to the right and you will have a completely blind approach to the green. A tee-shot that finds the left-hand side of the fairway will then offer a view of the green that seems to sit on the edge of nowhere. Much like an infinity pool, the green has nothing directly behind it except the view of the Bay. Don’t get distracted by the vista, as there is no margin for error on this approach; find the green, or find trouble. There is a large bunker to the left or native grasses to the right. Make par on this hole and you are off to a good start on the inward nine.
Quite often in golf, some of the greatest holes in the world are overshadowed by the very next hole being just a little bit more special. Take the 15th at Cypress Point; a miniscule par-3 that is a mere pitch but one of the most beautiful in the world. It would be just about any other golf courses’ signature hole, but is hardly talked about due to the fact that its brother next door is the fantastic 16th, the par-3 of par-3s. A point could be made for the 11th at TPC San Francisco Bay being one of those holes. The 12th often gets the lion’s share of the accolades from players. It’s a long par-5 that plays downhill, with a large fairway and a stunning view. But the 11th, a par-3 that can play as long as 240 yards, has something special. Arguably one of the best par-3s in Northern California, the green is large and slopes from the right to left. Somewhat of a redan hole, where you can swing your tee-shot from the right and have it land and fall down towards the green, the stunning bunkers that guard the front left and back right portions of the green frame the hole perfectly. You can see exactly how the architect wanted you to play this hole; go for the flag if you think you are good enough, or take the safe route just out to the right and pitch it close from there. With a severely sloping green, a short-game enthusiast could spend hours around this green hitting a multitude of shots, without ever getting bored. Get through the 11th unscathed and you stand high above the fairway of the 12th. Similarities have been made to the famous18th at the Plantation Course at Kapalua, and after you play it, you can see why. The fairway is wide and slopes hard from the right to the left. Balls that find the fairway will roll out to obscene distances. Time to roll your sleeves up after busting that 300-yard drive. The 2nd shot is once again played downhill, either lay-up to the right over the barranca, short of the barranca to the left or if you’re feeling gutsy, go for the green. It slopes hard from the right, and if Ben Hogan were still alive, he’d certainly bring his approach in from that side. Once again, like most of the greens it is large but broken up into several different quadrants, making accuracy on your approach a must.
The spectacular holes don’t stop with the 12th. The 13th is a par-3 that looks like it has been there since the beginning of time. If there is such a thing as a natural golf hole, this looks like it would be one. The shortest par-3 on the course, it is a short iron to a green that sits amongst a grove of trees. A large bunker hugs the left portion of the green, which slopes severely away at the back. Approach shots that hit in the middle of the green will invariably find their way to the back portion of the green, but miss your teeshot short in the front of the green when the hole is in the back, and you’ve got a roller coaster ride ahead of you.
Sooner or later, you have to start going up the hill again. As you stand on the 13th green and look up towards the clubhouse, you realize just what a slope you are on. The 14th is the first hole that begins the ascent. At just 377 yards from the tips, the 14th doesn’t look long on the card, but it plays severely up hill and plays much longer than the yardage indicates. If your tee-shot can avoid the two gaping bunkers on either side of the hole, you’ll be faced with a short-iron approach that plays about a club longer. The green slopes towards you, with a large ridge bisecting the front left portion of the green. A severe runoff on the right could cause havoc if the flag was on the right portion of the green; think the 9th at Augusta; come up short and it’s coming back down the hill. The par-3 15th offers the player the best view of a green all day. It is really the first green where you can see just about all the slopes and ridges; due to the fact that it is just 188 yards from the tips and plays a little downhill. Once again this green is very large, but plays small. If the flag is on the right, you definitely want to be coming in from the right side; the bank on the right will offer you some help. Conversely, if the flag is on the left portion of the green, you want to be coming in from that side. Miss your teeshot on the wrong portion of the green, and a 3-putt might be the best you can do.
The last three holes offer up a true championship finish. Two par-5s and a par-4 make for excitement, and could either make or break your round. The 16th is an uphill par-5 that plays to well over 550 yards from the tips. An abundant fairway awaits you on the left. If you miss right, this hole will become increasingly difficult. The green sits well above the fairway and has a large bunker right in the middle front portion of the green. If you need to see the bottom of the flagstick on your approach, you’re out of luck on this hole. It is one of the trickier greens on the course, as what looks to be uphill can be deceiving; the right portion of the green actually slopes down the hill with the natural flow of the land. This is a par-5 that if you walk away with par, you don’t feel like you’ve given away a shot.
The Nationwide Tour plays its Stonebrae Classic in April, and if the champion wants to be victorious he’s going to have to get past the 17th hole.
Like the 17th before it, the 18th requires another blind tee-shot. The long par-5 is generally not reachable, even for the longest of hitters. Once again, Kidd offers you a large fairway even though it looks much tighter from the tee. A huge bunker on the left needs to be avoided, and similar to the 6th hole it is decision time on your approach. Lay-up short of the barranca and you will find yourself faced with a 190-yard shot to the green; carry the barranca to avoid the deep bunkers short of the green, and you’ll have a much easier 100-yard pitch to another green that slopes in a multitude of directions. If you miss in those bunkers, you will find one of the toughest shots on the course; making this a very exciting finishing hole offering everything from an outside shot at an eagle to bogey or worse.
Standing on the 18th green, you can once again look down the hill towards the Bay and the setting sun in the west. The curtain closes on a spectacular golf course, filled with holes that offer you great shot value and amazing views. Few places in the Bay Area offer you these kind of views, and when you throw in a championship golf course, the experience becomes that much better. Kidd has done a great job of giving players options from the tee and making sure your approach is played with the greatest of accuracy. Play well at TPC San Francisco Bay at Stonebrae and you’ll definitely want to come back again soon. But even if you don’t play well, there’s something special about this property that is going to lure you back before long.
read more
Golf Range Etiquette - Are you an...