2008 SHELL'S WONDERFUL WORLD OF GOLF
JEFE VERSUS JIMBO
ARCADIA BLUFFS GOLF CLUB
5th Hole: Par 5, 560 yards
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Five holes in, and we're already at our third par 5. How many courses can say that? I once dreamed of a course made up of 18 reachable par 5's...this course comes pretty close.
Three out of the first five is pretty peculiar, but this hole takes the cake for the sign that's posted on the left side of the fairway. Even though a good drive down the left will leave you within striking distance of reaching this bad-boy in two, they ask that you lay-up to the right and play it as a three-shot hole. Who needs the thrill of blasting away for a potential eagle when you can just hit driver-pitching wedge-pitching wedge and two putt for par instead?
The reason they ask you to play it as a three-shotter is so you don't hang back at 270 yards and wait for the green to clear, then top one into the abyss. One downfall with Arcadia is the pace of play can be brutally slow. A lot of non-golfers want to play the course because of the eye candy, and at $180 a pop they want to get the full Arcadia experience. You see the same thing to an even greater degree at Whistling Straits on the side of the pond. My advice to you...tee off early. You'll thank me later.
For the match, we'd be abandoning the local lay-up rule for two reasons: a) we were the first groups off the tee, and b) the rule is stupid. Unfortunately, neither player was able to take advantage as both hit down the right side (Jefe way right).
It never fails on this hole everytime I've been here...someone always skulls one over the green. I don't know if it's the Lake view or the wild dip in the green, but it always happens. Skully always shows up to the party. Usually, it's me doing the skulling, but Jefe had the honors this time. After airmailing the greens, Skully's friends Chili and Dip joined in on the fun. Lippy had the last dance and Jefe finished with the dreaded snowman. Jimbo bogeyed his third par 5 out of three, but managed to take a one stroke lead.
Jefe: A mirror image of my drive on #3 I pushed the drive way right. Luckily it stayed in play and I just wanted to get my ball in a decent position for my third. Jimbo and I were in just about identical spots after two shots and this is where the match really turned. I skinnied a 9 iron over the green into the junk long, couldn't get my fourth to the green, then chili'd another. My sixth wasn't bad, but I winnied my seventh to make a snowman in the middle of August, which is never a good thing.
Jimbo: An okay drive left me in the right center of the fairway. I hit a pretty solid second shot at the directional pole and Jefe and I had almost exactly the same shot for our third. Jefe airmailed the green and I caught an 8 iron thin. Luckily, my ball ended up just off the green and I should have been able two putt for par, but I didn't. Meanwhile, Jefe was butchering the hole so horrifically I began to feel queasy and had to look away. I didn't even know what he made on the hole, but I knew it wasn't good. I figured JC, Bernie and the camera had about 5 more minutes to live and then it would be lights out.
After 5 Holes: Jimbo +2; Jefe +3
