Perils Of Play

16^th Hole Could Be Round-Breaker, Players Learn

By Ken Klavon, USGA

South Hadley, Mass. - Surveying what lay ahead during a practice round at Orchards Golf Club Tuesday, Dawn Coe-Jones held an impromptu meeting with her caddie.

It wasn't exactly a situation fraught with pressure, yet it became a synopsis of what players should expect on the 439-yard par-4 16^th hole this week, a hole that plays much longer than the numbers suggest.

	A look at the 16th green and fairway during Tuesday's practice round. (John Mummert/USGA)

Staring at a 185-yard approach shot to the fabled Donald Ross-designed crowned green, Coe-Jones uttered that she was going for it. Her caddie urged her to lay up and think par. Coe-Jones trusted her judgment, sticking the ball 15 feet below before its momentum carried it to within 8 feet. Coe-Jones smiled.

The hole shouldn't invite the same kind of reproach that No. 7 at Shinnecock Hills received on the final day of the U.S. Open this year or No. 10 at Bethpage during the 2002 U.S. Open when players couldn't reach the fairway, but it could develop into a potential round-breaker. Tom Meeks, the USGA's Senior Director of Rules of Competitions who, incidentally, set up Shinnecock and The Orchards, was quick to shun the comparisons.

"No, no," said Meeks. "It won't be like that. The biggest complaint we're going to get is 16. Most of the players will say that they can't get to 16 in two [shots]."

If the first two days of practice rounds are any indication, he may be right. For those confident enough to shoot for the green, it's not just a matter of getting the ball there. It's much more than that.

For starters the hole is one of three on the course that features no bunkers, Nos. 1 and 9 being the other ones, meaning a near-precise draw off the tee will be needed. "It definitely puts a premium on accuracy," said Jill McGill, winner of the 1993 U.S. Women's Amateur and 1994 Women's Amateur Public Links. "You have to take what it gives. There are definitely spots the USGA wants you to hit."

The green, circular like a pancake, slopes from the back to the front. The other compounding problem is that a creek guards the green, effectively altering strategy. Go for the severe green and come up short, the ball could wind up in the water and lead to a subsequent penalty. Or lay up and land the ball above the hole, then watch out.

Karrie Webb, a two-time Women's Open champion, watched in befuddled amusement as her two approach shots 175 yards away hit 10 feet below the hole and rolled off the green. Angela Stanford decided to lay up, then put major backspin on the ball before it came to a rest 12 feet right of the hole.

Playing the 16th hole this week won't be a cakewalk by any means. Players have had trouble holding the sloped back-to-front green through the first two days of practice rounds. (John Mummert/USGA)

Two-time Women's Open champion Juli Inkster said the hole will require more 5- and 7-woods than normal.

"I'll take four pars there now and call it a week," she said.

Players who can drive the ball a long way, like Karen Stupples and 14-year-old Michelle Wie, feel they have an advantage.

Stupples, ranking third in driving distance with a 280.6 average on the LPGA Tour,

prepared mentally for the week by watching the U.S. Open intently, coming away with the feeling that length off the tee matters but that the championship will be won by the player with the best short game.

"I like [No. 16] I suppose because I hit the ball a long way," she said. "It's difficult to judge right now. Holding the green is tough. Getting up and down is really tough."

Said Wie: "I love long holes. It actually gives me a better chance. . The average is going to be five. I think that if you make a par - you don't have to make birdie - par is going to be fine."

Even though the 16^th hole is a fraction of the par-71 6,473-yard layout, Meeks didn't intend the hole to be as hard as some are predicting.

In the grand scheme of things, the course as a whole dictates solid ball-striking and creative shot-making when in trouble. Fairways are currently set 28-30 yards wide and the rough 3 inches deep.

It will be, according to Meeks, a true test of golf.

"We're trying to make this as difficult for the women to win the Women's Open as we would with the men and the U.S. Open," said Meeks.

Or as Donna Andrews' caddie, David Brooker, put it: "This course is a mind game. It's more a mental challenge, and that's what the USGA wants."

Ken Klavon is the Web Editor for the USGA. E-mail him with questions or comments at kklavon@usga.org.