Glendower is a wonderful test of golf and far more difficult than the pros made it look, as I found out the day after the BMW SA Open.
Ever watched golf on TV and sat there wondering what the big deal is?
‘I could easily fly that bunker’, ‘The pin isn’t that badly tucked away’ and ‘That’s an easy up and down from there’ would often cross my mind, that is, until I took up the chance to play the SA Open venue off the tips and almost in Sunday conditions (for his mercy, the green keeper did not cut the greens after Chris Paisley’s winning putt).
Having spent four days walking the course and watching the pros go about dismantling the layout, I wasn’t overly scared, that was until I told a marshall that I was playing it like the pros the next day. His reply was short: ‘Good luck, you won’t break 100’. Challenge accepted.
Starting off on the 10th, it was clear then just how far the pros hit it. Taking my advantage of coming from the coast into account, I was still way (way) behind even the shortest pro and it makes crossing the hazard in two impossible. Thankfully my drive was left and I was forced to layup. With the pin tucked away on the left, my wedge was pulled slightly and even through I was just off the putting surface, I had my first interaction with the thick, ground-out rough. It didn’t go well.
The tee shot on 11 was daunting from the back knowing that any shot fading right was likely to find trouble. The 12th, where Branden Grace found water off the tee, was the first time I found a green in regulation and salvaged a par. The greens were still in immaculate shape and held up under the pressure of tournament golf brilliantly. I sounded a bit like a stuck record but I could not believe just how the course handled the traffic, especially in the par five layup areas with such apparent ease.
Glendower’s par fives played easy for the pros but the amateurs I saw the next day weren’t making them regulation par fours. Glendower was proving to be a wonderful test with carefully thought out bunkers almost always catching your eye from the tee box. The 17th plays exceptionally long at over 200m, and the pin not accessible on the right protected by the bunker. My smart play was trying to make a sandie with a high fade not in my skill set. Sadly, it didn’t go according to plan with my 10-footer for par not finding the back of the cup.
The 18th requires a well-struck tee shot but a premium is put on your approach shot where a number of bunkers are waiting to ruin your moment coming up the final hole. Again, it’s a long iron into a tiered green with par certainly not as easy as it looks. My day was made as I managed to chip and putt for par with the day’s photographer on hand – hope he got a good action shot.
The first is pretty friendly if you are overly brave with your approach and is definitely a par hole. The second – where Branden Grace hit an 8-iron to gimme range – doesn’t play quite the same for amateurs as it does for the pros. It’s two good shots and an accurate wedge if you want to putt for birdie. Again, the landing areas are well thought out with danger – either water just to the left of the pin, a bunker short right to catch those going for it in two, or the thick rough ending hopes of a birdie from your first wayward shot – in all the right places. The 6th was obviously a hole to remember as Grace came unstuck with a double bogey after being bunkered off the tee, but before you get there you have two monster par fours to deal with. The short 6th is only a slight reprieve with water and Grace’s bunker ready to ruin your card. Even if you find the green, you’re likely to be in ‘three putt country’, making it a great test.
The run-in provides some good scoring options but you have to be careful in your placement – amateurs would be well-advised to play the par fives conservatively with a double on the cards should you put one foot wrong.
Playing it like the pros is something everyone should tick off their list – come to grips with just how fast the greens are, how intricate the putting lines can be, how short-siding yourself can wreck your score and appreciate the skill and precision that the pros possess.
And yes, I managed to break 100 quite easily in the end, so I do have that bragging rights over the unnamed marshall.
