On a different note, I'm very interested in the two new par 5s (7 and 9?), especially the 1500' one. Seeing how pros play this hole will be a good test case for whether to design holes even longer than the current ones on the tour. Will it provide a fair scoring separation? Will only the big arms get it, or will they struggle too?
Here is how I played them. Keep in mind that I regularly top out between 390 and 420 with my best maybe reaching 445.
Hole 7 - 1111 feet. Water immediately off the tee. There are two ponds, but the second pond should not come into play. The first pond is shaped like the number seven, so you have two options. 1) Go straight over and dump left. You will have to clear the water again on your second shot. 2) Go immediately right to cross the first time. You will not have to cross again, but you have added distance to the hole.
I drove forward to chew distance but also to ensure that my Wraith would fade back in bounds on the left. I went big again with the Wraith, crossing the water one more time, going for the open field on the right. I thought I easily cleared the water, but distance was a little deceptive. I cleared with maybe less than 20 feet to spare. I have a rangefinder, but I was not reaching this in two, so why bother? I should have used it to have a better idea of the water carry I needed to accomplish. At this point, I was within 380 of the basket. The 1111 is as the crow flies, and while I cannot judge someone with 600+ foot power, anyone less is definitely taking water into consideration and might be adding some distance. The basket is on the uphill slope of Lynx 4, so it had one large guardian tree about 90 feet in front of the basket. There is a line of trees behind the basket that slopes into a mini-gulch. You overshoot the basket, you are essentially pitching back out. Rollaways in Circle 1 are a huge risk. There is an old sand trap at the bottom of this slope to catch those rollaways. I threw a Lucid Evader because it needed to track left to right to clear the guardian tree and finish uphill to the right. I overshot Circle 1 and landed about 30 out but in the treeline. I had a window but blew the difficult putt. Tap in 5. I had an opportunity for a 4, but everything had to be perfect. Par 5 seems reasonable.
Hole 9 - 1499 feet. You are shooting across numerous Lynx fairways, essentially making a huge and wide central fairway with trees left and right. They should not be a factor unless you have griplock issues when you power up. The initial drive needs to clear water immediately off the tee, but it is something like a 250-foot carry and should not be an issue. There is a lot of tall(er) grass in the middle of the fairways, to keep the traditional fairways defined. While it may slow rollers, it would not completely prohibit it. Of course, I played this course when the layout was finished but they were still putting touches on it. They may have mowed these dividers. First shot was with a Wraith. I wish I could have gotten more, but I was ensuring I was making the water carry while still landing in a clean spot. For most of the hole, it is a gradual right turn, so the closer you stay to the trees on the right, the more distance you are biting off. Went big with the Wraith a second time. At this point you can see the basket. It is on the golf green on Timberwolf 7. The green is slightly elevated and surrounded by a creek (which is completely dry). The backside of Circle 1 drops off into a sandpit that is meant to protect you from the creek below. If in the sandpit, you can be 20 feet from the basket and still be completely under it. My third shot was with the Wraith one more time. I have lost track which Lynx hole this is, but it is the putter-drive with the uphill slope protected by a few mature trees that are separate from the main treeline on the right. I landed in that fairway with 240 left to go. I used a Zone to put me within 20 feet. In the end, I took a 5. Par was 5. It took everything I had to get par. So, Par 5 is likely a good par for the pros. If I threw anything less than 380 or so on each of my drives, this is 6 or a 7.
