Date: April 13, 2008
Author:

Glenelg Golf Club – tips from the National Squad

Hole 1: 298m par-4, By Stephanie Na This is a short starting hole that will punish greedy players. An appropriate lay-up shot is required off the tee that will take water hazards out of play. The left water hazard runs along the left of the fairway for about 190m and the water hazard on the right starts about 210m along the right side of the fairway. The wind will impact the tee-shot, so a club that leaves you with a short iron/wedge into the slightly elevated green will be most efficient; this club may change throughout the duration of the tournament and will depend on the wind conditions, so adjust accordingly. The main goal for the approach to the green is to get it on the putting surface (somewhere in the middle will leave you with a fair putt). The place not to miss is long, especially to a back pin. Hole 2: 380m par-5, By Courtney massey I would play a driver just over the corner, a three-wood straight (or with a bit of draw), as it would only be around a 230-240m run out. That would leave you with a mid to long iron to the green. There is a bunker on the right of the green so the best miss is short left as from there you have a great angle to any hole location. The green is pretty flat and doesn&apost present too much in the way of trouble. Hole 3: 140m par-3, By Stephanie Na This hole has a large green where the pin placement is very deceiving from the tee as there is a slight elevation from the tee to green. Knowing where the pin is on the undulating green is very important as the green is quite large. There is a bunker on the front right and right side of the green. There is also a hidden bunker at the back of the green which stops balls from finishing in the sandy waste. I will aim to hit my tee shot in an appropriate vicinity of the green depending on where the pin is. Although as the green is large, anywhere on the green will be fine but beware of long breaking putts. Hole 5: 443m par-5, By Bree Arthur This hole is a slight dogleg right with a bunker in the middle of the fairway approximately 220m from the tee. There is no real advantage in playing a driver from the tee, unless you hit it as long as a player such as Stephanie Na and can carry this bunker! There is also a lot of room out to the left of the bunker, so I would hit straight at the bunker with a draw and leave myself about a six or seven iron in, depending on the wind. If the wind is right to left then I will hit a fade to hold the shot against the breeze for accuracy. This green is surrounded by mounds with very thick grass so it&aposs so important to try and hit this green. A shot left short is ok as it will leave you a straight up hill chip or putt. Hole 6: 385m par-5, By Kristie Smith This hole is a dogleg left with very reachable fairway bunkers through the right side of the fairway as well as a hidden trap on the left side of the fairway. This par-five usually plays into a prevailing south westerly off the tee. The corner can definitely be taken on by the longer hitters leaving yourself a mid to short iron in. I will definitely take on the corner every day with my driver as I feel like it&aposs a pretty open fairway to hit and it gives me a great chance at making four. A very accurate shot is required to this slightly elevated, long, narrow green. The green is surrounded by bunkers on both sides and the approach bunkers on each side of the fairway make the running shot very difficult to reach the green. This tricky, narrow green is quite exposed to the wind so it can be very fast downhill, especially on the front half of the green. Definitely a birdie opportunity hole! Hole 7: 394m par-4, By Bree Arthur This par-four has a blind tee shot and a run out of 210m, which runs into a valley of wasteland. As you cannot carry this, it&aposs best to lay up short. I will aim to put my tee shot about 190m, but depending on the wind, this will leave me a rescue or three-wood. There are two bunkers about 160m off the tee, one on each side of the fairway. It&aposs important to get your tee shot past these, so you take them out of play to leave yourself a short iron in. This green doesn&apost seem to hold very well so I tend to go for the middle of the green regardless of where the pin is positioned, and bring it in high and soft. Hole 8: 370m par-5, By Clare Choi This hole is a dogleg right going slightly uphill for the second shot. The most important shot on this hole is the tee-shot. You need a club that will lay you up short of the left fairway bunker and the water hazard – preferably a club that will go about 180m off the tee. A good line off the tee is the left side of the first set of trees on the right that is in front of the tee-box. After a good tee-shot its a straightforward second shot. The green is uphill and elevated so if you can&apost get there in two, a short chip and run third shot will be a good option. Also, as the whole green is slightly uphill it will hold a shot played to it. Over the back and to the left is a no-go zone. Hole 9: 310m par-4, By Kristie Smith This straight away par-four is exactly how you see it. I hit a driver trying to hug the middle left hand side of the fairway leaving myself just a wedge into a tricky little green. The left half of this fairway sets up ideally for the approach shot. There will definitely be some nasty little pin positions on this slightly raised green during tournament play. A back right pin (just over a slight ridge), can be tough to get to. The bunker and grassy hollow at the back of the green strongly impact on this pin position. To the left of this green there is another grassy hollow which catches any shots that roll down from the left ridge of the green. This hollow is nasty for the recovery shot so try to stay away from that one. This hole is a strong completion to what I feel is definitely the easier nine. Hole 12: 420m par-5, By Courtney Massey Once again another dog-leg left par-five. This tee is elevated and faces the fairway bunkers straight and right centre of the fairway. You will need to hit the tee shot either straight down short of the bunkers or hit a draw and smash a driver down there. I&aposd prefer to hit a three-wood off the tee with a little draw as the hole isn&apost all that long. The approach shot is unusual; the hills you will be able to see down the middle are actually left of the green. A long drive will leave a long mid to long iron in but you definitely want to miss short if anything. From the left hill near the green you can&apost spin the ball much so either be accurate to play it as a three-shotter! Hole 13: 318m par-4, By Clare Choi This hole is a par-four and is a dogleg to the right. A definite lay-up hole as there is a very small landing area with a few undulations in the fairway which can cause the ball to bounce unpredictably if you decide to take on the fairway bunkers on the right. Off the tee you only need to hit a club that will go 180m to the left of the fairway pots. The green is relatively small and is uphill with a small water hazard to the left and small bunkers to the right. An accurate second shot that will get you anywhere around the middle of the green will give you a nice putt. Anything that is past the pin can be tricky as it is downhill. A good miss for the second shot would be short as its flat at the front and uphill to the pin.