HOLE BY HOLE GUIDE
HOLE 4 "The Klondyke"
BACK TEES DISTANCE : 475 YDS
CLUB TEES DISTANCE: 463 YDS
LADIES TEES DISTANCE: 432 YDS
PAR : 5
SI : 18
WATER:
None
OUT OF BOUNDS :
If you overshoot the green by a bit you're taking on the cars, tractors and walkers on the main road. If you blast it well over you could be hiding in the bunkers as the people across the road run out wondering who broke their window.
BUNKERS :
None for the first bit of the hole. Then you only have to worry about 3 fairway bunkers and a greenside one. The fairway traps are all to the right of the strip of fairway which is on the right hand side of the large dune in the middle of the fairway. They obviously come into play should you take the right hand route and take it too right. It tighten's up the second shot if you want to take the detour or if you are a mister J Daly and fancy taking on the dune. There's a nice distance between the fairway sand and the green. Once you get near the green you will find a bunker to the right hand side which is placed in a place that only errant shots will find. They are fair bunkers but the trouble lies elsewhere on this hole.
TREES :
None
TEE SHOT:
This is another beauty. Don't walk on to the tee box place the ball and tee down and then have you're first look at this drive because you could go pale. Have a few glimpses before you decide what you are going to do here. What you see is an abundance of dunes all with heavy sun soaked wispy rough and what appears to be a mirage-esque vision of a thin green patch right in the middle that resembles a fairway. Get out your binoculars on this one, it is. The next question you will ask yourself here is "Where the hell is the hole". The answer here is over the big dune in the middle and to the left a bit, but don't worry about that yet, there's plenty to occupy your mind between now and then. First things first Aim for the Big Dune in the centre of the fairway. It's about 250 yards from the middle tee but it's all uphill. Should you think you've got what it takes to make the dune redundant then aim slightly right of it. This will give you a decent approach to the green. Or alternatively, if you either the afformentioned Mr J Daly or a certain E "T" Woods then you can try to plough the ball over the dune, just for a few giggles. Who knows, if you manage to get caught at the top then you've an ideal angle to the green.
APPROACH SHOT:
Depending on your distance (and accuracy) off the tee you could be looking at 2 options here. Lay up or go for broke. The good thing here is that after the tricky tee shot the rest of the hole is downhill. Just past the large dune it's about 200-220 yards to the pin (and 210-230 yards to the road). The bunkers shouldn't come into play so if you're in range have a crack. If not the lay up shouldn't be too tricky and with a half decent shot you should have a relatively straight forward approach. Then it's down to your accuracy.
GREEN OVERVIEW :
If you look at the green from the right hand side you will get a good idea on the slope here. From the front middle of the green (as your looking at it from the fairway) there's a mound that carries a relatively steep slope down the green. That will affect your approach as it causes a slight basin at the front right. Mind the back of the green. If you try to pitch a runner here the grassy verge to the rear is the wall between you and the road.
OVERALL TIPS :
Welcome to the "Klondyke". That's the name that they give the dune that dominates this hole. Try to get as much distance out of the drive because the fairway is very narrow until over the Klondyke. If you can find a shot that will give you a glimps of the right hand side of the green or even if you have the guts and power to sky it over the big lad then you'll be left with a nice 2nd shot. If you're left with a shot that gives you a chance to hit the green in 2 the entrance is not too bad and an eagle is a bit greedy to aim for but it's a distinct possibility to get close to the green (if not land on it) in 2. A birdie is on the cards here but be happy with a confidence boosting par that will give you hope and stop you from ripping up the card that you promised to do after the 12 on the last.