Golf Asia – July 2019

17

A risk and reward hole,
which plays blind off the
tee. I’ve driven the green many
times over the years, but you
can lay-up to the top of the hill,
leaving a wedge in. The
entrance to the green is narrow,
and an aggressive drive does
bring thick rough into play on
the right, and two deep bunkers
short and left.

18

A spectacular final hole,
played from an elevated tee.
Two fairway bunkers on the right
push you left and towards the
out of bounds. The further down
you get your tee shot, the more
the green opens up so there’s
risk and reward. A more
conservative play leaves a blind
and longer second. I’m
expecting a lot of drama
because the drive and approach
shot is fraught with danger.

17 18

PAR 4

YDS 474

PAR 4

YDS 408

A drive to

the right

side of the

fairway will

be blocked

out by the

sandhills.

Play for

position

before the

top of the hill,

which is 280

yards from

the tee.

The green

is 40 yards

long and

fronted

by a huge

cavernous

bunker.

The fairway

feeds

towards a

new bunker

at the bottom

of the slope

on the left.

Anything

left of the

green will

catch a big

slope, which

sweeps balls

into a hollow.

The green is

tricky to read,

with lots of

undulations

on the back

section.

GMAC’S PLAYING NOTES PURGATORY BABINGTON’S

HOW TO...

BUILD YOUR

FA I RWAY

FINDER

The pursuit for power tempts us

to take a thrash at it off the tee,

but when you’re heading for a

good score, you can’t risk

throwing away a win with a wild

tee shot. All the best players

have what’s known as a fairway

finder, which is their go-to shot

when they need to or want to

play safe. It sounds fancy, but

really it comes down to swinging

with control and focusing on the

key fundamentals. By that I

mean the set-up and making

sure the ball is positioned

opposite the left heel, with the

weight evenly distributed and

the feet just wider than shoulder-

width part. Try to use the same

swing which you use for every

other full shot but if you want to

flight the ball under the wind,

simply tee the ball down a little

and allow for a slight fade.

A front

pin and back-right

pin is a green

light to attack

off the tee.

Keep the bodyweight

moving in the

direction of the swing

all the time. This will

ensure the bottom of

the arc stays shallow

at impact, which

encourages that

sweeping motion.

KEY

TA K E AWAYS

Make sure your

practice swing

resembles what you’re

about to do. Think of

it as a dress rehearsal,

otherwise there’s no

point taking one!

Your set-up position at

impact should replicate

the position at address.

The ball position is far

enough forward that

there’s no need to drop

the right shoulder.