My choice for the inaugural post of Kali’s Hole of the Week is from a project Branden is working on in Bratislava, Slovakia called Nandin Dvor Golf & Resort Community. This project is scheduled to begin construction later this year and will be the closest golf resort to the capitol, Bratislava.
THE HOLE: #6 - Par 3
Front 90 meters - 98 yards
Middle 130 meters - 142 yards
Back 155 meters - 170 yards
Championship 175 meters - 191 yards
Par 3 with slightly raised green and raised tees to add more depth to bunkers and fairways due to the high existing water table on the site.
I love par 3’s. It shows the best and the worst in golf and golf design. A golf course architect can work for hours, days, and sometimes even weeks to incorporate strategy and aesthetics into a par 3, but in reality, it takes 30-40 seconds to deconstruct the entire hole by a golfer.
Many times a golf course architect over thinks a design, this is most evident on Par 3’s. While strategy and design intent is necessary, and affects all golfers, most golfers have one and only one goal in mind, reach the green. While the low handicapper EXPECTS to be near the pin with a birdie attempt, a mid handicapper WANTS to be near the pin with a POSSIBLE birdie attempt, and a high handicapper HOPES to reach the green and TRY for an elusive par.
For these reasons, I like the design approach used for Hole #6. Branden wanted to equalize the playing field on this Par 3, but did not water it down and make it easy for the higher handicappers which would then make it bland for the lower handicappers. The primary focus of the hole was to grab the attention of the golfer. Make them stop, look at the hole and wonder what to do. Because a Par 3 sometimes becomes a routine of checking the distance, briefly looking at the hole, and then swing away, Branden wanted to stop the golfer on the tee with the aesthetics of the hole. Make them wonder, and quite frankly, scare them a bit off the tee.The central bunker is large and the edges are flared up so that more sand will be seen. Nearest to the green, the edge is flared up the most, and is even a bit higher then the putting surface. This hides the front center of the green, which slopes to the middle of the green (no reason to penalize the golfer for hitting a great shot over the bow!). The green is a large clover leaf shape with the rear lobes sloping to the middle of the green and the front lobes running back to the fairway. The large central bunker obviously comes into play off the tee shot, but only for short or bad shots, no slope will run the ball into it. The only bunker that has slopes running into it is the front left bunker which actually can prevent balls from rolling into the pond. Because of the high water table on the site, many of the greens have to be built up therefore causing more slope on the left edge to the pond. This could be penal to golfers just missing the green to the left.
To allow for exaggerated contouring on the green, a larger green will be developed. At current, the concept calls for a 950sqm (10,225sqft) green.
The tee placement is in direct correlation with the golfers hitting off of each tee. The lower handicappers have to hit directly over the central bunker, full carry into a semi-blind front edge. Mid level and then high handicapper tees will be positioned to the left, each seeing more and more of the green. These positions will also direct the higher handicappers’ shots farther from the pond.
Mounding and landscaping will be located on the right side of the hole and the pond will be on the left side, these features will also help focus the player to the hole, but I really don’t think that will be much of a problem with a 850sqm (9150sqft) bunker in the middle of the fairway to hit over!
