Wednesday 12 September 2012

The Back 9 at Nambour (Tighten your Bra & Sharpen your Sprigs!)

10th hole
As with most courses, the 10th tee at Nambour is close to the clubhouse so you can take a quick stop there for the loo, refreshments or a change of bra (see previous blog on Nambour front 9). Here we have a 145 metre par 3, downhill.
This is the only hole on the course that plays shorter than its yardage. Okay, there are bunkers in the front to be wary of, but ... there is a concrete path behind the green which funnels a long tee shot down a 40 metre hill to the next fairway. You Do Not Want To Go Down That Hill. Take my word for it.
This is the only time when I would advise, if in doubt, take the shorter club.
11th tee
The 11th is the only par 5 on the back 9 and it’s 400 metres. If you happened to overclub on the 10th, you will already have noted just how steeply downhill the initial part of the fairway is.
If you're not in a cart, there is an advantage to having elevated tees especially if, like me, you're not as fit as you used to be. As you've got to go up, once you go down, you can use the slope as a runway. Providing your sprigs are sharp enough to give you a good grip. (That's one of the reasons I resent the change from metal to plastic.)
Of course, if you tend to overrun your tee-shots, you're going to have to develop a Happy Gilmour golf swing.
Make sure your second shot on 11 finishes on the right side of the fairway or you’ll be blocked from the green by a stand of majestic palm trees on the left. Well, they’re majestic when observed from the right side of the fairway. Stuck behind them, I didn’t like the look of them at all. This green is two tiered and one of the bigger on the course so, if the pin’s at the back, take 2 extra clubs. We both managed par here.
12th tee
The 12th is a par 4 of 302 metres and the slopes go sideways, rather than straight up or straight down. They're wonderful because they'll help to funnel your tee shot into the fairway, providing you don't duck-hook.
A relatively gentle slope from the tee so you won't need to channel Happy Gilmour here. Another elevated green at which we were both short. But I managed to chip to a gimme 4, while Fiona hit her chip in the guts and scored 5.
Once again, you’re not going to find much level ground on the 13th, a par 4 of 294 metres. It’s a slight dogleg right and not easy to find the centre of the fairway with your tee shot. We both had to play long low shots for our seconds, to keep them under branches and chasing up the slope to the green. I missed left and had a difficult chip over bare ground on to a green sloping away from me. I bumbled it and left it short so took 2 putts for bogey while Fiona had a straight forward uphill shot and chipped it dead.
You get a bit of a breather on the next hole, a 170 metre par 3, downhill with out of bounds all the way down the right and a pond on the left, just short of the green. Fiona teed off with her 3 wood and the ball sailed out of bounds, but hit the bank in a lucky spot and bounced back on to the course.
I couldn’t believe it and was still stewing when I hit my 3 wood out of bounds and into the cemetery.
Definitely a message from the golfing gods.
Never be annoyed by another golfer’s good fortune.
At least I scored par with my second ball. Shame I had to add 2 to it. Fiona chipped short and 2 putted.
I sincerely commiserated.
15th hole
Just a gentle slope up to the green on the 15th, a dogleg right par 4 of 317 metres. I had a lot of shots, into elevated greens, that were about a 5 iron distance. As I’m playing my 4 and 5 irons poorly, I spent a lot of today going down the shaft of my rescue and using that. This worked well here because if I hit it high and it landed on the green, it stopped fast. If I hit it a bit skinny, it ran like hell all the way up the slope and on to the green, and the slope slowed it down enough to leave me putting. The skinny shot worked perfectly on this hole and I ended up 8 ft pin high to the left. Fiona duffed her drive, skinnied her second and then played a superb sand wedge to be 4 ft left of the pin. I missed birdie (short, you fool!) and she sank her par putt. Two shots behind with 3 holes to go.
16th tee
I think the 16th is the signature hole on the back nine, because it requires two accurate shots to reach the green. It's a dogleg right par 4, 317 metres, downhill but the fairway slopes left to right so, while you get extra length down, most of it is sideways. By aiming left, I managed to stay on the fairway but had about 170 to the green. Fiona went right into trees and it didn’t look good from the tee. However, when we got down there, she’d run right through the trees and was only 150 metres from the green. With an excellent angle in. We were both short but she got up and down and I didn’t.
The 17th is an uphill par 3, 125 metres. Fiona hit the narrow elevated green. I went down the shaft of the rescue and went to the back of the green. I 3 putted, Fiona 2 putted. I swore. She didn't.
Everyone we spoke to, before we went to Nambour, had warned us about the 18th. I guess you could call it the signature hole, although most of the golfers mentioned the mechanised rope that pulled you up to the clubhouse, rather than the hole itself. I imagine it breaks a lot of hearts, and scores, although we came away with a par and a birdie.
18th hole from the tee, steeper than it looks
It's a short par 4 of 280 metres, but uphill all the way. We both had good drives to about 92 metres from the green. I hit my best 7 iron of the day and the ball hit the front of the green and disappeared towards the hole. Fiona hit her 7 iron a little fat and stopped just short of the green.
Here's my chance, I thought, she could shank her chip and 3 putt and I could 1 putt.
Alas, the golfing gods were still on Fiona's side. She sank a 40 ft right to left breaking putt. I missed my downhill 8 footer.
Fiona 78. Kay 81.
Bugger, had to drive home again.
Practice isn't working. Playing heaps of golf in warm weather isn't working.
Looks like it's back to sacrificing roosters at the full moon again.
18th green, viewed from clubhouse

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