Hole number 5 @ FDR park, lengthen, shorten, leave it?

[Bill Newman]

pretty soon we are gonna get the tee done..right now people seem to agree that the hole is a par 3.5 (FYI: hole 5 is the long narrow one that goes downhill through a pretty narrow tunnel towards the water. Its 500 feet currently)

should we move the tee back, to make it a par 4? move it shorter(par 3)? leave the tee the same?

should we move the basket back? move it shorter? leave it the same?

some thing else? a combination? ideas? Strong feelings?


please add your .02 cents before the tee is constructed....thanks BN

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[Jeff Wiechowski]

Moving the hole back would put the water into play a bit more.......... It'd be the only true water hazard at FDR.

[James Lane]

It is so downhill I think it's par 3 all day, not 3.5 .

move the basket back to the top of that ridge before it slopes down to the water, still a par3 (IMO), just more dangerous!

[Chris Martin]

There've been a number of 2's on that hole so I think keeping at least as long as it is would be the way to go. Moving the basket down closer to the water to bring it more into play would be cool too - maybe slightly left of where it is now? Although that current visual from the tee is great.

[Karl Molitoris]

Bill,

The "flow" around that hole (4 basket to 5 tee and 5 basket to 6 tee) is pretty good right now.
1 vote to "leave as is".

Even though it 'has been 2 a number of times', have these been 2's via fairway aces or putts inside 40'? What is the scoring average of 1000-rated players (to be used as a "rough estimate" - although I am NOT an advocate of assigning par via scoring average...). If it COULD (not has) be aced, it's a par 3. As is, it seems to be a "hard 3".
1 vote to "leave as is".

If you want another par 4 on the course, this is a likely candidate to help you out.
- Moving the tee back may give a little angle to the drive.
- Moving the basket further out
- to the right (or left) make it "2 medium accurate shots and a made putt for a birdie"
- straight bring the water into play (watch out for spring high-water inaccessability) but probably a par 3.5.
1 vote to "lengthen it" into a par 4 (but you need to put some "angle" into the hole to make it a 4.

Karl

[Bill Newman]

interesting thoughts and ideas all the way....thanks for the input so far...other thoughts/ideas?

[Craig Smolin]

keep the drive as is ... but maybe pull the pin further to the right and closer to the water ... adds Karl's "angle" to the hole, without conflicting with hole 6's tee ...

unsolicited advice ... any consideration on moving hole 14s pin down to the right creating a "par 5" ???

[Michael Grossman]

I say we go the extra mile and create a new Top of the World at FDR Signature Hole.


If we can get the go ahead to become Mercenary Lumberjacks and clear a fairway, we can move the teepad to the ridge above the 4 basket. The resulting shot is a sweeping left to right dog leg requiring (for right handed Throwers) a long forehand reverse Hyzer throw or a very difficult backhand Mung shot into the currently existing fairway through to the basket. Lefties will salivate at the long downhill backhand and dream of the possible deuce...

I estimate the length of the hole to be about 650' - 675' and a tough par 4.

The walkout from hole 4 is short and the top of the ridge looks to be a possible picnic spot.
I do not see that either the 7 tee or hole 6 should come into play here very often, if at all.

As for the reality of being able to clear out a fairway - Bill???

Is it worth the effort?
Quote from Bill Newman: "I wish I had seen this spot when I first built this course"

The easy alternative would be to move the basket to the right as far as possible.

[Bill Newman]

I added a poll question...currently leaning towards leaving it...IMHO number 5 plays as a gold level tougher par 3, its a tweener for mid level pros/upper level Ams and it plays as a nice par 4 for everybody else.

Its soon gonna get a nice tee, some trimming of lower branches down the fairway and a clean up of the stuff around the green

[Stephen Ditter]

I think it's fine the way it is, a rewarding 3 and not so bad 4 (for the grey in the beard div.)

-mange