HOLE BY HOLE COURSE ANALYSIS
2 • EVERYTHING GOLF 2015
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Jake Reeves in his studio at Fairways and Greens in West Knox County
Joining forces
Reeves and Malnati strategize, discuss game changes
■
CHUCK CAVALARIS
doglegs), numerous out-of-bound stakes, more than 50 bunkers and five ponds. Seems like yesterday that a 300-yard Golf instructor Jake Reeves may be drive was something to brag about. known for many things, including hitting a My, how this game has changed. booming drive off a water bottle without “The last year I played in this tournaspilling a drop. He also has a rare claim to ment, I was paired with a European Tour fame in the News-Sentinel Open presented player named David Griffiths and the only by Pilot. club he used off the parReeves has played in 4’s and par-5’s was a the event several times strong hybrid,” said and his No. 1 pupil, Reeves, who finished at Peter Malnati, took 1-over in 2004. “That home the top prize in was over a decade ago. 2013. Guys are hitting the ball They will join forces at least 10 to 15 yards again this year when further now. Jason Day the 26th annual event hit a 386-yard drive the returns to Farragut and other day. It’s amazing.” Fox Den Country Club. Bubba Watson unleaMalnati and Wes shed a 392-yard drive Roach, who grew up earlier this month at across the street at Firestone’s par-5 16th Willow Creek, have and was outdriven by emerged as two of the Dustin Johnson, who hit top talents on the it 409 yards. Web.com Tour this So, maybe it’s refreshyear and have guaran- Peter Malnati, a big Kansas City ing to let the shotmakteed their status on the Royals fan and a Mizzou graduate ers share the spotlight 2016 PGA Tour. for a little while. Interestingly enough, their game plan at You don’t have to dig very deep into the Fox Den could begin in the parking lot. stats to see why Martin Piller won the 2014 “Leave your driver in the trunk,” Reeves event with a 22-under. He averaged 284.5 said. “The end.” yards on measured driving holes, but hit 77 The evolution of precision golf equipment percent of the fairways and 82 percent of — and the ball — have practically made the greens. He also averaged about 30 putts the 7,071 layout obsolete by tour standards. per round (1.678 per hole). It added up to Even a reduction in par, by one stroke to 71, 65, 67, 67 and 63 for a two-stroke victory hardly seems to phase the world-class level. over Bronson Burgoon, who closed with a Instead of length, the biggest challenges 62. Former Knoxville Open champion are slick putting surfaces, gnarly rough, sharp turns in the fairways (often called See MALNATI on Page 13
4 • EVERYTHING GOLF 2015
Correspondent
EVERYTHING GOLF 2015 • 5
Fox Den Country Club
1
No.
Par 4, 482 yards
course breakdown
No. 1
Two-time state PGA Player of the Year who earned his way into three PGA Tour majors (1986 U.S. Open plus 1994 and 1996 PGA), Walt Chapman of Farragut, analyzes how to play Fox Den Country Club golf course, which hosts News Sentinel Open Aug. 20-23.
(par 4, 482 yards): “The first hole they converted to a par 4 last year, it’s normally a par 5. It’s a dogleg to the right and a lot of guys will hit driver over the corner, or possibly even long ones will hit a 3-wood. “It’s a pretty hard opening hole because you have to hit a good tee shot. And then you’re probably going to have a middle iron into the first green.”
No. 3 (par 4, 409 yards): “A par 4, little dogleg to the right. Again, a position hole. A lot of guys will try to hit a driver over that tree [along the fairway] and then have a short iron. Or you can hit 3-wood a little left of that tree and then you’ve probably got a middle iron more into the hole. The second shot’s uphill, so you want to make sure you stay short of the hole position on that green because the green slopes from back to front. If you hit it over the green there you’re going to have a difficult up-and-down.”
2
No.
Par 3, 193 yards
No. 2 (par 3, 193 yards): “A par 3. On the green, if they put the pin on the left it’s a really tough pin placement because they’ll have the greens pretty hard, and if you pull it a little bit it can actually hit on that green and go into the water. So most people will try to aim a little right of the pin.”
6 • EVERYTHING GOLF 2015
3
No.
Par 4, 409 yards
See HOLES on Page 7
Holes From page 6
No. 4 (par 4, 436 yards): “Dogleg right, again a position hole. Most guys are going to hit 3-wood out there, keep it left of the tree. The key to that hole is the second shot. The green is kind of narrow from front to back, so you’ve got to have the correct distance on the second shot. And even the pond on the left comes into play on your second shot as well, so club selection on the second shot is important on that hole.”
4
No.
Par 4, 436 yards
5
No.
No. 5
Par 5, 533 yards
(par 5, 533 yards): “A par 5, kind of a double-dogleg. The long-knockers can go for that green in two. You’ve got to hit a big drive down that right side, then you’ve got to be able to hit something up in the air pretty high for your second shot. Some long players can get to that green in two, but you’ve got to be perfect on your tee shot. Most guys will just hit their drive kind of down the left side then lay up and hit a third shot [to the green] from roughly a hundred yards.”
No. 6 (par 3, 198 yards): “A downhill par 3. Club selection is important. You’ve got to take into account the downhill. It usually takes about 10 yards off the shot going downhill. Pretty good-sized green. Again, getting the right club selection on that downhill shot is the key.”
6
No.
No. 7
Par 3, 198 yards
(par 4, 422 yards): Dogleg left. Most players will hit a 3-wood off that tee. Try to hit a little bit of a draw with a 3-wood, then you’ve got a 7or 8-iron into that green. A fairly good-sized green. Again, you do not want to go long on that hole, really difficult to get up and down if you miss the green there.”
No. 8 (par 4, 400 yards): “Straightaway par 4. You can hit driver there. The longer knockers, they can get it there; they can get it within a 100 yards of the green if they hit a driver. Most guys will hit a 3wood off that tee and then you’ve got a 130-, 140-yard shot. Pretty good-sized green. If the pin’s tucked right, you definitely don’t want to miss the green to the right because it’s difficult to get up and down.” See HOLES on Page 10
7
No.
Par 4, 422 yards
8
No.
Par 4, 400 yards EVERYTHING GOLF 2015 • 7
8 • EVERYTHING GOLF 2015
EVERYTHING GOLF 2015 • 9
Holes From page 7
No. 9
9
No.
Par 4, 421 yards
(par 4, 421 yards): “A little dogleg left. Uphill on the second shot. A lot of guys will just hit driver and try and carry the corner, and that leaves you a short iron into the ninth hole. You can hit 3-wood there, but you’re going to have a longer second shot going uphill. It’s difficult to get the right club selection on the second shot because the green is so uphill from you. And it’s a fairly big green, so if you can get on that green you’ve got a pretty good putt for birdie.”
10
No.
No. 10 (par 5, 561 yards): “Par 5 doglegs left and back right. A lot of guys can get to that green in two. It’s definitely a birdie hole. If you carry the bunker on the left, you can get there with a hybrid or 3-wood on your second shot. You will see some guys that will hit it a little right off of the tee, and then they’ll lay up and then have a wedge in. Most people go for that green; it’s a pretty good-sized green. And you can get up and down from around that green, it’s not too severely sloped. A good birdie hole.”
Par 5, 561 yards
11
No.
Par 4, 413 yards
Changing jobs or retiring?
No. 11 (par 4, 413 yards): “Dogleg left, a sharp left. The tee shot’s the most important thing there. You’ve got to draw it on your tee shot because the fairway slopes to the right, so if you hit it straight it’ll kick your tee shot to the right and then you’ve got a longer shot in there. It’s important, if you’re a right-handed golfer, to hit a little draw there and then you’ll have a short iron into the green. A pretty good-sized green. The second shot plays a little uphill. Again, if you miss to the right on your second shot it’s hard to get up and down.”
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10 • EVERYTHING GOLF 2015
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EVERYTHING GOLF 2015 • 11
Holes From page 10
14
No.
No. 12
12
No.
Par 4, 373 yards
(par 4, 373 yards): “A little dogleg to the right. It’s got a big pond in front of the green. It’s a lay-up on your tee shot. You’re going to be hitting roughly 230 yards off the tee shot. You can hit a long iron off the tee, and then you’ve got a short iron into the green. Not that difficult of a hole, it’s a birdie hole. A pretty good-sized green.
Par 4, 368 yards
No. 14
13
No.
Par 3, 166 yards
(par 4, 368 yards): “Dogleg right. A lot of guys hit a 3-wood for position down the middle. Short second shot, you won’t have more than a wedge in for your second shot. You can, off that tee, take a driver and try and cut the corner, but it’s probably not worth the risk. Pretty good green, the green’s got some pretty good slope to it. That’s probably a birdie hole for a lot of people if you get in good position on that green. The green has a little bit of slope on the front part of the green.”
No. 13 (par 3, 166 yards): “A par 3, really good hole. The green is fairly narrow. It’s roughly a 175-yard shot. Pin placements are the key there. They can put a pin back left, back right. The water does come into play if you push it. You can hit it on the green there, but if it’s moving to the right it can go into the water on you. Most guys will kind of veer toward the left on that shot.”
No. 15
15
No.
Par 4, 427 yards
(par 4, 427 yards): “Pretty difficult hole. A dogleg to the right. Your tee shot has to be the correct distance, you’ve got to hit it roughly about 230 off the tee. If you don’t go that far you’re blocked by trees on the right. If you go too far on your tee shot you’ll end up in a fairway bunker. You don’t want that because the green has a pond in front of it, so you have to be in position off the tee to get on that green. A big green with good slope to it. They’ll usually put the pin kind of front left, and a lot of guys will hit it in the hazard there on their second shot if they pull it at all because the green slopes off toward the pond.” See HOLES on Page 14
12 • EVERYTHING GOLF 2015
Malnati From page 4
Darron Stiles was third. Stiles, a cancer survivor, knows how to keep things in perspective. He has said that Fox Den is a fun course to play and it is just up to the player to capitalize. He also enjoys playing in front of honest-togoodness galleries. Although many tour players will have a driver in the bag, the only real benefits seem to be at Nos. 1, 10, 17 and 18. Controlling the distance and the shape
of the shot are much more important, especially if the fairways are firm and the ball has more of a chance to trickle into the rough. “You have to stay in position because there are several holes where you’re still going to have a wedge in your hand for the second shot,” said Reeves, who won the 2014 Yamaha Players Championship and represents BioMech AccuLock putter. “You know they want to keep the greens frosty.” At this elite level, it often turns into a putting contest any way. Fox Den has
Bermuda fairways and A1 Bent greens and the back nine tends to be the scoring nine. A stat that is becoming more common — Three-Putt Avoidance — could also be a factor. “Peter and I will usually map out a plan on Tuesday of tournament week,” said Reeves, who also instructs former PGA Tour winner Wes Short Jr. of the Champions Tour; Gareth Maybin of Northern Ireland and the European Tour; former LPGA Tour member and three-time Lady Vols All-American Erica Popson; and Connor Froning of LMU.
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“I always thought the start of the back nine at Fox Den is where you tend to see guys get hot,” Reeves said. “A lot depends on the course set up and whether they move the tees up or back. You could hit a driver one day, 4-iron and 4-iron make more sense the next round. You’ve just got to play smart and give yourself as many birdie chances as possible.” Jake Reeves has joined the outstanding instructional staff at Fairways & Greens in West Knoxville. For information about lessons, call 865-777-4563.
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EVERYTHING GOLF 2015 • 13
Holes From page 12
16
No.
No. 16 (par 3, 214 yards): “Probably the most difficult par 3 on the course. Very long, it’s about 225 from the back tee. A good, wide green; bunker on the right. You’re hitting over the water, a big, huge pond.”
Par 3, 214 yards
No. 17 (par 4, 458 yards): “A pretty long par 4. One of the more difficult par 4’s on the golf course. Dogleg’s to the left. The second shot is uphill. You kind of have to cut the corner if you want to have a mid-iron in there. You will see some of the longer knockers hit a 3-wood off there and just play for the dogleg. But if you do it 3-wood you’re going to have a longer second shot. The green is uphill. The green has some slope to it, front to back. It’s kind of difficult to get up and down if you do miss that green.”
No. 18 (par 5, 597 yards): “Good distance. The tee shot is very difficult because there’s huge trees on the right, so if you hit down the right side at all you’re going to be blocked on your second shot. And there’s also a bunker on the left side. You’ve got to hit the tee shot down the left side for your second shot. For most people it’s a three-shot hole. Your third shot, from roughly a hundred yards, is to a green surrounded by a big pond. Pretty good-sized green, bunker on the left side. In the past they’ve moved the tee up and enticed guys to go for [the green] in two, which can happen. Your second shot, if you go for it in two, is all carry over water. A great finishing hole where you can maybe see an eagle if the [pin is] up, and some birdies.”
17
No.
Par 4, 458 yards
18
No.
Par 5, 597 yards
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EVERYTHING GOLF 2015 • 15
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16 • EVERYTHING GOLF 2015