4 Things I Learned From Playing Whistling Straits
- Updated: September 23, 2021
1. It can make good golfers look really bad.
Throughout my storied amateur career, I’ve managed to play a handful of Pete Dye courses.
I’ve grown used to the annoying small bunkers and visually intimidating tee shots. But this course more than any of the others I’ve played will punish you cruelly for wayward shots.
Miss a fairway by more than a few yards and you could find yourself in a dicey predicament. Expect to see some desperate swipes out of fescue, hilarious stances, and unwarranted attempts at getting relief this week.
2. There is only one tree in play on the whole course.
This will probably not come as much surprise since it’s known as a links track.
But it’s one of those things you don’t think about until you hang your drive a little right off the 9th and your caddie gives you the news about the lone tree that impedes your path to the green.
Expect to see the guys favor a left miss on this tee shot.
3. All the par threes run alongside the lake.
It makes for a scenic backdrop as us amateurs watch our ball sail in every which direction.
Two of them have the lake on the left, and two have it on the right. They all have pretty sizable greens and the pins can be in some daunting places with Lake Michigan looming large.
It’s a truly spectacular set of par threes and 4 shots in the center of the green should do just fine in this week’s matches.
4. The bunkers are weird.
With over a thousand bunkers spread across the 18 holes, you’re sure to find yourself in some of them along the way.
And they aren’t like the bunkers you play at home, either. They are more reminiscent of dirt than your traditional packed-down grainy sand.
I consider myself a pretty above-average bunker player and I could not figure out how to hit the greenside bunker shots. It’s just hard to get into the sand and slide the club underneath the ball the way you’re used to hitting those shots.
On the other hand, it makes the fairway bunker shots a little easier to pick clean without fearing the chunk. Regardless, something tells me these guys will figure them out.
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