Course Breakdown: Kingsley #5

The 5th hole is a 190-yard par 3 from the blue tees and is probably the easiest hole on the golf course. Its length may not make you believe that, but it plays about 10 yards downhill, and the green complex is a giant catcher’s mitt. I’ve seen some absolutely terrible golf shots end up on the green with a good look for birdie. I’ve also seen some really good swings end up in terrible places because of poor club selection. Let's dive in!

The green runs front to back and left to right, with a bunker in the back right corner. Because of how severe the green is, I’d guess that 85% of golfers who hit this green end up in the back right bowl. Luckily, from this position, you can make a two-putt par with relative ease. I won’t go into all the details, but this hole allows for some really creative routes to get close to some pin locations. There are lots of backboards to utilize!

You’ve got a side bumper up the left side, and even if a ball lands in the native grass, it has a chance of kicking straight right onto the green (at the back left bush or right of it). The right side is protected by a few short right bunkers, but if you’re able to carry the last one (~170 yards), there is a sizable slope that will catapult the ball forward and into the back bunker if the ball lands on this down slope. You can carry the ball past the down slope and avoid the giant kick, but this is not the play.

There are three distinct pin locations on the green. The front pin requires a shot to come in from the left. A miss right is terrible because you’ll either end up in the short bunkers or land on the down slope that nearly guarantees the need for your sand wedge behind the green. A miss short either gets a kick forward onto the green or may stick, leaving you with a very touchy chip shot or fairway putt onto the green, which slopes away from you. Any shot that goes past the pin leaves a 60-foot putt that is always more uphill than you think.

There is a flat spot on the top left portion of the green that the grounds crew can use when they want to humble golfers that day. Remember, the green runs dramatically left to right. To keep one close to this pin, you’ll need to land the ball within a 5-foot circle with right-to-left spin. I’m dead serious. If the ball lands left of the pin, it’ll get a kick right, and then there’s no stopping it from catching a 5-foot slope and rolling another 40 feet away. A player whose shot stays left of the pin has no chance of getting their chip shot close and needs to two-putt from 40 feet to save their bogey. Whenever a golfer has a putt from the back right bowl to the much-elevated left section, I emphatically let them know that most golfers don’t hit their putt hard enough the first time. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been told, “You’re right,” when the ball comes rolling back to their feet. From this position, I absolutely smoke my putt because you can use the back slope as a backboard in case you hit your putt a little too hard.

The back right bowl is certainly the easiest pin location, but you can screw yourself pretty easily if you don’t pay attention to exactly where the pin is located within the bowl. Take a look at the picture of this hole. The pin is located right in the middle of the green, but you absolutely must end up behind the pin to have a chance at an easy par. The grounds crew can tuck the pin up into one of the severe slopes, and if you’re short of that slope, you’re more than likely going to end up with a bogey because the ball cannot stop near the hole. Even if you’re long in the back bunker, you are better off than being short. You might even be able to putt a ball out of this bunker.

Pay attention to little details like this, and you’ll hopefully stop kicking yourself for a good shot that leads to a bad miss.

Pro tip is to take a look at the green complex when you are walking off the first green. You’ll see everything you’ll need to make an informed decision!

-Your hat caddies