Black Creek Club's par 4 No. 15
photo by Doug Stein
Chattanooga Golf and Country Club's par 4 No.15
photo by Paul Payne
Council Fire Club's par 4 No. 15
photo by Paul Payne
The Farm's par 5 No. 15
photo by courtesy of The Farm
The Honor Course's par 4 No. 15
photo by courtesy of USGA/Russell Kirk
One of the favored features of many local golf courses is a par 4 that can be reached with a perfectly struck tee shot.
It’s the ultimate risk/reward decision when choosing the proper club, and these holes often can result in a big number for a poorly executed plan of aggressiveness.
That’s the case with No. 14 at WindStone Golf Club, where Drew Fitzsimmons reaped the ultimate reward recently when he aced the hole from 279 yards with a driver.
This hole was chosen as the best No. 14 in The Elite 18 by the voters, joining the other winners:
No. 1: WindStone Golf Club
No. 2: McLemore Highlands Course
No. 3: Bear Trace at Harrison Bay
No. 4: Chattanooga Golf and Country Club
No. 5: The Ooltewah Club
No. 6: Black Creek Club
No. 7: Brainerd Golf Course
No. 8: The Honors Course
No. 9: The Honors Course
No. 10: Cleveland Country Club
No. 11: Council Fire Club
No. 12: Black Creek Club
No. 13: Black Creek Club
Advancing to the holes under consideration for the Elite 18 best No. 15, our panel of local professionals and top amateurs came up with 11 different candidates among the 25 golf courses in consideration. With distances measured from the back tees, the top choices are:
Black Creek Club, par 4, 347 yards: This bold design of the “Cape” template hole offers a thrilling mixture of temptation and danger. Playing downhill with a lateral hazard wetland running the length of the left side, there is ample fairway to lay up short. But longer hitters attempting to drive the green that is narrow and bordered on the right by a large bunker may rue that decision.
Chattanooga Golf and Country Club, par 4, 459 yards: The tee shot on this long par 4 should favor the right side of the fairway to have a clear approach shot. Mature trees line both sides of the fairway and a bunker on the left side can create added difficulty in finding the green in two.
Council Fire Club, par 4, 498 yards: The tee shot must navigate past bunkers on both sides of the fairway with a hazard to the left. A shot down the right side shortens the approach distance to a slightly elevated green fronted on both sides by bunkers. The bowl-shaped green is receptive to aiming for the pin on this hole that often plays longer due to prevailing winds.
The Farm, par 5, 518 yards: This hole is bordered by Mill Creek on the left side until it crosses the fairway in front of the green. A good drive that clears the bunkers on the right side of the fairway leaves a decision on whether to challenge the creek to find the green in two. Large trees on the right short of the creek come into play, impacting the decision to lay up.
The Honors Course, par 4, 501 yards: This hole brings to mind architect Pete Dye’s handiwork at No. 18 at TPC Sawgrass as a lake guards the left side of the hole the entire length. A forced carry is required to find the fairway that is bordered by a grove of trees to the right. A small inlet of water cuts through the fairway and can give caution to players that hit very large tee shots or that are punching out of the trees. The green turns out towards the water thus installing extra risk when playing to a back left pin.
You can make your preference known at the poll below. Voting will remain open until Thursday at 6 p.m., with the final results revealed on Friday when we introduce the candidates for the Elite 18 Hole No. 16.
Paul Payne can be emailed at paulpayne6249@gmail.com