Published: July 01, 2009 11:07 pm      

Hole of the week

Duncan Golf & Country Club No. 15

Let’s say you are out on the golf course and have a new driver to experiment with. If you are approaching Hole No. 15 at the Duncan Golf & Country Club, put it back in the bag and go with old faithful.

The No. 15 hole is a Par 4 hole that measures 402 yards from the blue tees and offers several challenges to membership.

From the tees, a golfer encounters an early obstacle of water with a tree to add that little difficulty rating. An errant shot either winds up in the drink, which lines the left side of the hole, or wanders off into the No. 18 fairway.

A good tee shot is important, not only to keep the ball in the narrow fairway, but put a golfer in position to get to the green in two shots. Another water obstacle lies 15 feet in front of the green with sand traps on both sides. A poor tee shot means laying up or going Tin Cup. The solid tee shot leaves the average golfer pulling out anywhere from a five-to seven-iron. Big hitters look at an eight or nine.

Hitting the ball outside of the fairway on the right side leaves a golfer taking on trees to get to the green.

The green itself is elevated on the backside. A downhill putt runs the risk of running off the green. But if you did not hit a good tee shot, it probably wasn’t for par anyway.