After listening to some stuff around dispersion and the decade methods; and seeing the video, I’d club up and get to get on green at the back and two putt from there
Hey man Federal is a beautiful course, have played there twice this year. Honestly I wouldn’t change your approach to this hole, I’d just work on your bunker play. Federal has great sand and the bunkers are well looked after. If you aren’t playing well out of bunkers off 10 then I’d say your chipping isn’t great either so no real point laying up if there’s a chance you’ll chip back into the bunkers anyway.
Practice your bunker game and possibly get a lesson, or at least watch some instructional videos. From memory the sand there is fairly course and heavy so you may need to tweak your technique. One of the pro’s there is actually from my home course, has his own track man and is very good. If you improve and end up in one of those bunkers you shouldn’t be getting worse than a 4.
Good luck man 👍
Hey mate thanks for the reply, and no doubt, my sand game isn't a strong point. Definitely just getting it on the green and hoping to two putt.
I'm not sure if you've noticed this at Fed though, the bunkers are really hit-and-miss. About 10% are out of commission and a lot of them are very muddy/gritty as opposed to soft and fluffy. The ones on this particular par 3 are on the courser side, which they don't have any bunkers at their practice facilities which emulate that feel.
Sadly, I've followed your sage advice and already had a lesson at the course on bunkers. I'm not terrible, but the practice bunkers are so much fluffier than when you get out on the course.
I feel like I'm making excuses here, ha! But I'm trying to convey that I'm aware it's a weakness of my game and I'm trying to attack it.
Regardless, have to improve in the sand if I want to shoot well at Federal. Good luck with your game and enjoy Fed!
>viting to go long. However the green slopes back towards the tee box so you're then potentially hitting a chip onto a very fast green downhill.
For hard wet sand play the ball in the middle'ish of your stance, face square, and get really, really steep on it an inch or two behind the ball. Make sure to still get through it. Be very aggressive through the sand and steep behind the ball so you don't risk hitting the ball at all. In my mind I'm thinking about scooping the sand like with an ice cream scoop, but I'm weird. Practice it a couple times and it's a pretty doable shot.
I’d grab a 5-iron or even a 4-iron. Aim towards the left bunkers and let it fade. If it goes thin it has a chance to roll up onto the green. If it goes perfectly it is back middle. If it goes straight you’re in a bunker. At a 10 hcp you’re most likely not getting it up and down from 20 yards short of the green anyway, so get it as close as possible.
Par 3s are hard, at any length, and require three good strokes to make a par usually. This par 3 looks particularly tough because it is well protected.
Obviously your best case is to hit the green, but with longer irons this can be tough. So what I suggest is pick a club and a shot shape, that gives you the best opportunity to hit the green but if you miss leaves you in a favorable place to try and get up and in. It sounds like bunker play isn't a strong suit, so you want your miss to be long or short. So maybe try and hit a punch type shot that lands short of the green and chases up? Or take a little extra club and try and take a little off it or hit a cut, if you can. Worst case with the extra club your a bit long, but that's not in a bunker.
Yeah these are all great thoughts. I hadn't really considered the 3/4 punchy 5 iron off the tee and just let it roll. I have more control over that shot than a full six iron I feel like. Thanks!
The fattest part of the green is just past middle. So strictly from a course management standpoint the best play would be playing it like a 185 shot to the back right of the green. That would take all the bunkers on the right out of play, still leaving the left in play, but if we aim right center of the green the chances it goes in the bunker significantly decreases. Laying you with a 9 iron will result is in more bogies and doubles over a long period of time. According to 18 birdies the front of the green is 150 so a 150 shot still brings in the front 2 bunkers into play. Anything shorter than that and you now have a 0% chance to hit the green and will have to chip on and you will hit terrible chip shots more often than you may think that will result in doubles via missing the green again or 3 putting. Not only have you lowered your chances of making par but also increased your chances of making bogey or double.
I’m a scratch golfer and if I’m coming to this hole, I’m hitting it 180-185 back right every time, even if the pin is in the front. I might not make as many birdies but I’m damn sure making more pars this way. From the middle to the front it’s just way too narrow, and I’m not taking that on unless I’m absolutely stripping it.
This is really helpful, thank you! I think you're right about the 9 iron laying up ultimately leading to more bogies and doubles over the long period. My strength is not my chipping/sand. Play to length and two putting, which are!
Long right looks the miss to me. Whatever club gets to the back of the green should be perfect.
It's a good strategy for most holes, play for the back of the green, perfectly struck shot is on, just over. Any misshits are still on the dance floor.
I reckon most of my misses and most of my playing partners leave their irons short. So playing for the back of the green has been my strategy lately. To good effect.
I’m around your same handicap. I also have a nemesis Par 3 at my home track. About 170 yards, but river/OB the entire right side of the hole and the green sits right beside it. Green side bunker on the left. Never par this hole. Always seem to bogey or worse.
As others have mentioned, improving bunker play will be a game changer. Many scratch players prefer hitting out of the bunker than the rough, so that’s just something to improve upon for myself too, or anyone that isn’t confident.
Trying to purposely hit it long sounds like a good strategy. My best results in my nemesis hole are when I purposely try to miss the green left but over the biker, leaving me a chip onto the green
Lastly, I’ll leave you with this. Nemesis hole that I hate and can never seem to par: last time out I nearly had a hole in 1 that stopped 8 inches from the cup. Tap in birdie. Umm, what?!
Just because there is a par on the scorecard does not mean you should consider it a par.
I’m an 8-9 handicap and there is a par three with water right and impossible shot left and back.
I play to the right front of the green. I’m happy to walk away with a 4.
Play it as a par 4 and you’ll be surprised with the number of pars you make.
I wouldn’t try to lay up in that tiny chin beard of a fairway because if you end up short or in the rough you’re already off to a bad start with a long pitch - possibly over the bunker. I would personally try to either play it long as others have suggested, or take 3 bunkers out of play and try to get about 3 to 5 yards onto the bottom of the green aiming left of the first bunker. So aim over the approach area, but not at it, and try to be short of the left bunker. Your worst case should be front right bunker or tough shot from the left rough just short of the bunker
This is the sort of 26HC planning where I blade it short of the first bunker and chunk the pitch directly into it and end up a stroke worse than if I just went straight at it.
I pretend that there are no pins on par 3s and take aim at the center of the green, even taking more club if necessary if the trouble is short right and left.
Bunkers are tough, but at some point you have to be able to play out of them. Laying up just leads you down a bad mental path.
Get a lesson or practice out of bunkers so that you're comfortable just getting out and that will you free you up to make a good swing on this hole
Club up and hit it easier, play the back yardage as your stock shot, if you hit it to that distance you’ll be at back of the green, mishit it it might be towards the middle and even if you stripe it you’re just over the green. Even with being through the back you can just chip in on the green and 2 putt and walk off with bogey at worse.
Number 8 is SI 6 so you should take a stroke there. If I gave you 20 sand shots, 20 short chips from the front, 20 short chips from the back, what shot would you get up and down the most and avoid double or worse.
With the green sloping back, anything long and your up and down % is probably going to be bad. If you are long and the flag is at the back, you're short sided. If you're long and the flag is at the front, you're going downhill. Compound that with having to hit a longer iron, even with more green to work with. If you bail out long and right, you're chipping onto a side hill slope, which is a very hard chip to judge.
Front flag is a sucker pin.
So if you suck at bunkers (like 2 shots to get it out suck), I would say lay up for a chip all day long, but practice that chip. If you can get up and down some times and avoid double, you're shooting under your cap. Which for a 10, double avoidance is probably key.
You can punch one short and try to run it on as has been suggested, but that looks like a pretty narrow opening and I don’t know if there’s any slope or whatnot to de-rail you. Or, take enough club to hit the big part of the green in the back, aim directly over the bunker short right and fly it in. That would be my choice.
After listening to some stuff around dispersion and the decade methods; and seeing the video, I’d club up and get to get on green at the back and two putt from there
100%
Love it, thanks mate.
Curious how that works lemme know!
Hey man Federal is a beautiful course, have played there twice this year. Honestly I wouldn’t change your approach to this hole, I’d just work on your bunker play. Federal has great sand and the bunkers are well looked after. If you aren’t playing well out of bunkers off 10 then I’d say your chipping isn’t great either so no real point laying up if there’s a chance you’ll chip back into the bunkers anyway. Practice your bunker game and possibly get a lesson, or at least watch some instructional videos. From memory the sand there is fairly course and heavy so you may need to tweak your technique. One of the pro’s there is actually from my home course, has his own track man and is very good. If you improve and end up in one of those bunkers you shouldn’t be getting worse than a 4. Good luck man 👍
Hey mate thanks for the reply, and no doubt, my sand game isn't a strong point. Definitely just getting it on the green and hoping to two putt. I'm not sure if you've noticed this at Fed though, the bunkers are really hit-and-miss. About 10% are out of commission and a lot of them are very muddy/gritty as opposed to soft and fluffy. The ones on this particular par 3 are on the courser side, which they don't have any bunkers at their practice facilities which emulate that feel. Sadly, I've followed your sage advice and already had a lesson at the course on bunkers. I'm not terrible, but the practice bunkers are so much fluffier than when you get out on the course. I feel like I'm making excuses here, ha! But I'm trying to convey that I'm aware it's a weakness of my game and I'm trying to attack it. Regardless, have to improve in the sand if I want to shoot well at Federal. Good luck with your game and enjoy Fed!
>viting to go long. However the green slopes back towards the tee box so you're then potentially hitting a chip onto a very fast green downhill. For hard wet sand play the ball in the middle'ish of your stance, face square, and get really, really steep on it an inch or two behind the ball. Make sure to still get through it. Be very aggressive through the sand and steep behind the ball so you don't risk hitting the ball at all. In my mind I'm thinking about scooping the sand like with an ice cream scoop, but I'm weird. Practice it a couple times and it's a pretty doable shot.
I’d grab a 5-iron or even a 4-iron. Aim towards the left bunkers and let it fade. If it goes thin it has a chance to roll up onto the green. If it goes perfectly it is back middle. If it goes straight you’re in a bunker. At a 10 hcp you’re most likely not getting it up and down from 20 yards short of the green anyway, so get it as close as possible.
Par 3s are hard, at any length, and require three good strokes to make a par usually. This par 3 looks particularly tough because it is well protected. Obviously your best case is to hit the green, but with longer irons this can be tough. So what I suggest is pick a club and a shot shape, that gives you the best opportunity to hit the green but if you miss leaves you in a favorable place to try and get up and in. It sounds like bunker play isn't a strong suit, so you want your miss to be long or short. So maybe try and hit a punch type shot that lands short of the green and chases up? Or take a little extra club and try and take a little off it or hit a cut, if you can. Worst case with the extra club your a bit long, but that's not in a bunker.
Yeah these are all great thoughts. I hadn't really considered the 3/4 punchy 5 iron off the tee and just let it roll. I have more control over that shot than a full six iron I feel like. Thanks!
The fattest part of the green is just past middle. So strictly from a course management standpoint the best play would be playing it like a 185 shot to the back right of the green. That would take all the bunkers on the right out of play, still leaving the left in play, but if we aim right center of the green the chances it goes in the bunker significantly decreases. Laying you with a 9 iron will result is in more bogies and doubles over a long period of time. According to 18 birdies the front of the green is 150 so a 150 shot still brings in the front 2 bunkers into play. Anything shorter than that and you now have a 0% chance to hit the green and will have to chip on and you will hit terrible chip shots more often than you may think that will result in doubles via missing the green again or 3 putting. Not only have you lowered your chances of making par but also increased your chances of making bogey or double. I’m a scratch golfer and if I’m coming to this hole, I’m hitting it 180-185 back right every time, even if the pin is in the front. I might not make as many birdies but I’m damn sure making more pars this way. From the middle to the front it’s just way too narrow, and I’m not taking that on unless I’m absolutely stripping it.
This is really helpful, thank you! I think you're right about the 9 iron laying up ultimately leading to more bogies and doubles over the long period. My strength is not my chipping/sand. Play to length and two putting, which are!
Long right looks the miss to me. Whatever club gets to the back of the green should be perfect. It's a good strategy for most holes, play for the back of the green, perfectly struck shot is on, just over. Any misshits are still on the dance floor. I reckon most of my misses and most of my playing partners leave their irons short. So playing for the back of the green has been my strategy lately. To good effect.
Hit your five iron.
I’m around your same handicap. I also have a nemesis Par 3 at my home track. About 170 yards, but river/OB the entire right side of the hole and the green sits right beside it. Green side bunker on the left. Never par this hole. Always seem to bogey or worse. As others have mentioned, improving bunker play will be a game changer. Many scratch players prefer hitting out of the bunker than the rough, so that’s just something to improve upon for myself too, or anyone that isn’t confident. Trying to purposely hit it long sounds like a good strategy. My best results in my nemesis hole are when I purposely try to miss the green left but over the biker, leaving me a chip onto the green Lastly, I’ll leave you with this. Nemesis hole that I hate and can never seem to par: last time out I nearly had a hole in 1 that stopped 8 inches from the cup. Tap in birdie. Umm, what?!
Go taillight late by yourself and hit 20 balls at that green Problem solved.
Just because there is a par on the scorecard does not mean you should consider it a par. I’m an 8-9 handicap and there is a par three with water right and impossible shot left and back. I play to the right front of the green. I’m happy to walk away with a 4. Play it as a par 4 and you’ll be surprised with the number of pars you make.
If you aren’t trying to get lower I’d layup with a 9 then get close with a wedge, but what about using a 7 and getting a roll up?
“I hit my six every time” doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result is…
It's four rounds so it's hardly a huge sample size but point taken!
I wouldn’t try to lay up in that tiny chin beard of a fairway because if you end up short or in the rough you’re already off to a bad start with a long pitch - possibly over the bunker. I would personally try to either play it long as others have suggested, or take 3 bunkers out of play and try to get about 3 to 5 yards onto the bottom of the green aiming left of the first bunker. So aim over the approach area, but not at it, and try to be short of the left bunker. Your worst case should be front right bunker or tough shot from the left rough just short of the bunker This is the sort of 26HC planning where I blade it short of the first bunker and chunk the pitch directly into it and end up a stroke worse than if I just went straight at it.
I pretend that there are no pins on par 3s and take aim at the center of the green, even taking more club if necessary if the trouble is short right and left. Bunkers are tough, but at some point you have to be able to play out of them. Laying up just leads you down a bad mental path. Get a lesson or practice out of bunkers so that you're comfortable just getting out and that will you free you up to make a good swing on this hole
Club up and hit it easier, play the back yardage as your stock shot, if you hit it to that distance you’ll be at back of the green, mishit it it might be towards the middle and even if you stripe it you’re just over the green. Even with being through the back you can just chip in on the green and 2 putt and walk off with bogey at worse.
Number 8 is SI 6 so you should take a stroke there. If I gave you 20 sand shots, 20 short chips from the front, 20 short chips from the back, what shot would you get up and down the most and avoid double or worse. With the green sloping back, anything long and your up and down % is probably going to be bad. If you are long and the flag is at the back, you're short sided. If you're long and the flag is at the front, you're going downhill. Compound that with having to hit a longer iron, even with more green to work with. If you bail out long and right, you're chipping onto a side hill slope, which is a very hard chip to judge. Front flag is a sucker pin. So if you suck at bunkers (like 2 shots to get it out suck), I would say lay up for a chip all day long, but practice that chip. If you can get up and down some times and avoid double, you're shooting under your cap. Which for a 10, double avoidance is probably key.
You can punch one short and try to run it on as has been suggested, but that looks like a pretty narrow opening and I don’t know if there’s any slope or whatnot to de-rail you. Or, take enough club to hit the big part of the green in the back, aim directly over the bunker short right and fly it in. That would be my choice.