MEDIA CONTEST: Hook 'em, Danno [Willow Lakes Golf Course series pt. 14]

  • Published
  • Series Entry 4N
ACC MEDIA CONTEST --   The course may be getting a bit cool in the mornings, but golfers are still out and swinging at Willow Lakes. And with only a few weeks left before snow threatens the greens, there's not much time for linksmen to enjoy Offutt's Robert Trent Jones-designed course.

To help lower our score before winter shuts things down for good, the Air Pulse recruited Capt. Jeffrey Kritsberg, an executive officer at U.S. Strategic Command's Global Innovation and Strategy Center in Omaha, to walk us through hole #14. While 14 may not be the most challenging hole on the course, it can still ruin your day if you don't play smart, and give it the respect it deserves.

Captain Kritsberg on hole #14:

Many of you have heard of "Amen Corner" at Augusta National, home of the Masters. Willow Lakes has its own version of "Amen Corner" and it starts with number 14. To get through the next three holes with par you'll have to keep your head about you, and play well.

Don't let the 12 handicap fool you - the fourteenth hole at Willow Lakes can ruin a good round. Number 14 is a well designed par 4 that demands accuracy from tee to green.

Captain Kritsberg's strategy:

This longer-than-average hole measures 463 yards from the blue tees and 381 yards from the white tees, making driver the play from the tee. The fairway is guarded down the left side by a stand of trees designed to protect players coming down #17 and a fairway bunker strategically placed at the corner of the dogleg. A long drive past the bunker down the left can also catch a second line of trees that extends from the bunker to just short of the green.

Trees guard the right side of the fairway as well, and if your drive strays too far in that direction you run the chance of losing your ball prematurely (as opposed to, say, losing it when you reach the green). If you are fortunate enough to find the fairway, you are left with an approach shot to an undulated green guarded by bunkers left and short right.

Club selection on the approach shot is crucial. The back of the green slopes away from the player causing the ball bound into a lateral hazard filled with long grass. The area behind the green is a literal no-man's land, complete with thick brush and a creek - hit a shot over the back of this green and you will be reaching in your bag to pull out another golf ball.

The green on this hole has several ridges and 3-putts are very possible if your ball stops in the wrong area. Your best bet is to ignore where the flag is, hit to the middle of the green, take your two putts, and walk briskly to the next hole.

[Graphic text]

Hawaii five-what?

Hole #14 has a pretty strong right dogleg, which can threaten even the best golfers.

Unlike other doglegs on the course, this one features a bunker on the outside bend, rather than the inside. That's not going to make things easier for you, though; a line of large trees guards the entire right side of the fairway.