Witch Hollow — Members Only

The only real threat at the second hole is over the green and this is occasionally the case. Be careful with your club selection here. Short is way better than long.

The fun starts here. It takes two good shots just to get it on the green. The bunkers on the right off the tee set up the second shot, and the little waterfall at the green warns that no matter what don’t miss it left. The green is one on which you can’t afford to be long. The slope back toward the front is intentionally fast.

Four is a bit of a rest in that it is a par five, but pay attention to the flagstick position because there are a lot of chances to three putt if you don’t get it into the general flagstick area. It’s dramatically divided left and right. The right hole is harder to get close than the left.

Five is the hardest par three at Pumpkin Ridge. It is not just pure length. There is water in front, and the right flagstick area is very shallow considering the length. It is backed up by bunkers. You can’t be timid here. The putts are simple, but there is enough slope in the green to make recovery from the back bunkers more than a little nerve wracking when played back toward the flagstick with water beyond.

This tee shot is not tough. If you “listen to the bunker” through the fairway, you can cut a club or two off of your approach if you turn it left and hit it far enough. Right to left and short will mean trouble. The second shot will make you think. There is a break in the green creating a raised back section that is very steep and a small pond below a wall awaits you to the left front of the green. As you look at it, you will have the distinct feeling that if you knock it over the green you might as well head for the clubhouse. This hole played as the toughest hole in the 1997 U.S. Women's Open.

Seven is where everybody goes to take pictures, but don’t get distracted by the view. The old oak trees along the right side and the bunkers on the left are only asking you to hit it straight, and there is no doubt you can gain an advantage by doing that. You need to come into this green with the shortest possible club.

You get a breather at eight, so make a birdie. Favor the left off the tee. But if the hole is over the bunker, remember you will be better off in the bunker than up on the deck behind the hole. The hole is short, but the green is trouble if you don’t get it close.

Nine asks you to make a decision about where to hit your tee shot. The wind will help you make that choice and so will the hole location. The left route is obviously the shortest, but you can get in more trouble over there behind those 150 foot fir trees. The approach from the right is a lot less risky and more open, but much longer. The green is not difficult.

Ten is a tough three as much for its length as anything, but the tees were kept low and the bunker caps high just to make it more difficult to feel the shot. This is one of those holes where a good player-armchair architect would say “They should have raised the tees up because the view of the green would be better.” Right. The score is supposed to be par. If the tees were raised, it would average less than par, making the threes on Witch easy in the minds of better players. This was the 38th hole where Tiger Woods defeated Steve Scott in the 1996 U.S. Amateur Championship in sudden death playoff.

Eleven is a fun hole. If you can’t get by the bunker on the tee shot, the second landing area across the bunker becomes very strategic. If the hole selection is to the right, play left because it will be easier getting close with your third. If the hole is left, play to the right, over, or even short of the bunker. This hole is actually in the back, it just appears to be on the left so it’s a far safer shot from the right side of the fairway. Tiger Woods drained a 30-foot putt for eagle at the 1996 U.S. Amateur in his comeback from five down with eight holes to play.

Twelve is not too long and doesn’t appear to be difficult. But in case you wonder what it’s like to stand on the tee at twelve at Augusta National, this is pretty close. It is in some ways a mirror of that great par three. The swirling wind around the tall tress does some strange things to high shots, and the shape of the green angles away from the player at least a half a club on the far left which isn’t obvious from the back tees. It goes beyond club selection to how much touch you have.

Thirteen has a tee shot that can break up your day. The second is not too tough, but if you don’t nail the ball you won’t have much chance at a birdie. Favor the left side, the way the bunkers show.

Fourteen is a par four-and-a-half, like Augusta National’s thirteenth and fifteenth. The green has lots of trouble (water, wetlands, and bunker), but it is just deep enough that you shouldn’t hesitate if you hit a good tee ball. However, if you neck it off the tee, a three wood at this green is just about the same as jumping off the clubhouse roof. Then be smart – lay up and try to pitch it close for the four.

Fifteen is a little bit of a breather, but you should be sure of the club selection and try to play to the hole because there are some breaks on the green that might spell three-putt from more than thirty feet.

Now you have to play some golf to get to the house without having a wreck. Sixteen is often two big pokes into the wind and the green rolls back right. The bunkers on the right of the green get a lot of business.

Seventeen is a little easier. The fairway is well defined with bunkers and the ball will stay in the short grass if you hit it well off the tee, which will leave a fairly short club to the green. The only word of warning here is to make sure you get it on the green. It is a punch-bowl which means anything on the putting surface will roll back toward the center. But if you miss the green, miss it big. This is because if you miss it to the side the hole is on, or to the back, your pitch will be to the downslope of the punch-bowl and it will be tough to get it close.

Eighteen is unique. The hole revisits almost all of the features of the first 17, and causes decision making from the tee to the final putt. Keep it left because the angle on the second shot will be much better. If you go big off the tee, you might have a chance to get there in two. Most of the time it will be position on the second, which is not bad considering the left side of the green basically goes off the earth. Your next shot will be a pitch back to the flag from about 20 yards. Allison Nicholas defeated Nancy Lopez on this hole to win the 1997 U.s. Women's Open.