Cog Hill Course No. 4 - Par 4 4th

Today GPW brings you three pictures of Cog Hill's par 4 4th hole.

Like the SAT, Cog Hill is long, difficult and boring. The 4th hole, measuring 462 yards from the back tee, is a perfect example of that. The tee is slightly elevated giving the player a good view of the hole. Fairway bunkers left and right, plus trees, narrow the hole as you go.

The second shot plays somewhat uphill, to an elevated green. You get that a lot at Cog Hill. This fairway bunker needs to be avoided like the Plague and women missing a front tooth (GPW learned this factoid from personal experience).

Because the majority of the greens are elevated and fronted by bunkers, there are limited options when playing to the putting surface. In an effort to appease the USGA and land a future U.S. Open, Cog Hill sold its soul to the devil. What used to be Chicago's best public golf course is now simply a brute and not very much fun to play.

Waterville Par 3 12th

Today GPW brings you the par 3 12th hole at Waterville.

Waterville is located just a mile or so outside of town. The club's sign is simple. Note the American flag flying just below the Irish flag. Waterville is very much an American links, which isn't a compliment.

The late Payne Stewart would practice at Waterville the week prior to playing in The Open Championship. A statue near the putting green and first tee commemorate his memory. The entire set-up is somewhat creepy.

The 12th is known as the Mass hole, and is one of Waterville's best holes. It measures an even 200 yards from the back tees. The tee box is surrounded by dunes and must carry a wasteland of gorse, bunkers and deep fescue grass. An enormous depression, not seen in the picture, perhaps 30 feet below the surface of the green, must be avoided on the tee shot. The exposed nature of the green make wind a factor at the 12th.

Doonbeg Par 3 9th

Today GPW brings you three pictures of the par 3 9th hole at Doonbeg.

The 9th measures just 175 yards from the back tee. The hole rests along the beach, found to the players left. Three pot bunkers lie in wait just right of the green. The 9th is difficult becasue the front portion of the green is extremely narrow. The back portion of the green opens up somewhat, and is ringed by modest dunes. The 9th is at the edge of the property. The white building behind the hole is someone else's land. To GPW's untrained eye, it looked to be a working sheep farm.

From behind the green, you can see just how narrow the front portion of the green is. A front flag location is difficult to get at, especially in wind. The further you go into the green, the wider it gets. The beach is definately in play at the 9th.

The final picture, taken from the right of the green, gives you an idea of just how close to the beach the 9th really is.

Fine Form Friday

Welcome to another installment of GPW's Fine Form Friday. Today, we've got four pictures to examine.

Butter. A baby's butt. The top of Jefe's dome. Wego's pickup lines. Caddy Boy's basement-made beer. JC's swing at the par 5 7th at Erin Hills. They're all pretty much the same; velvety smooth.

Our second picture also features JC, this time bunkered at Ballyneal's 13th hole. GPW has never had to worry about this bunker, because it is 328 yards from the tee! (Okay, that is a lie. GPW does worry about this bunker, sometimes on his second shot). This picture is further proof that women want to sleep with JC and men want to be him.

Our third picture has Jefe and JC relaxing at one of golf's most iconic spots; Ben's Porch at Sand Hills. This picture was taken shortly after the round was completed. Take note that Jefe is dispondent and already hitting the bottle after having witnessed (we are all witness) Wyatt play on a different level, a level reserved mostly for professionals, robots and alien life forms. GPW suspects this isn't the first time Wyatt has driven grown men to drink. JC simply wears a Ben Hogan scowl of disapproval.

Our final picture is proof that Jefe is cheating on Caddy Boy. It appears that Jefe is playing a knock down wedge (would this have been CB's advice?) to the par 5 5th green at Lost Dunes, while his rent-a-caddy cheers him on. Is that a box of heart shaped chocolates I see sticking out of Jefe's golf bag?