Blow-up holes

[pulledabill]

I was reading the "How'd you play" thread and read something about the famous "blow-up" hole.  Back when I was shooting in the 90's and the occasional 100, I would obviously have a few snowmen and what not.  I got them under control and got in the mid to upper 80s and low 90s but still the "blow-up" hole per round. 

Stopped golfing for a number of years, aged, wised up and currently a 6 hdcp or so.  I really never have that "blow up" hole anymore unless I call the occasional double that hole.  I accept that as double will and do happen to all of us.  At my current hdcp, triples and quads are certainly unacceptable. 

 

What is your definition of that dreaded "blow-up" hole? 

[Shankster]

9th hole at my normal track. It’s a dead straight par 5. Fairway slopes to the right, and I think it has different grass than any other hole on the course.

Nice drives are kicked right, and usually go OB.

My new tactic was to play for the left rough, but then you are blocked out by trees, and would have to hit a low sweeping hook. I can’t figure it out, and it is always a round ruiner.

Tried Driver, 3 Wood, stinger 3 iron, 7 iron... it’s just a dumb hole.

[PING Apologist #9]

At a 20, any hole out there is one that I can wreak...

But if I had to pick one for the spirit of this post, it has to be #12 at Quail Hollow in Boise. Now this course is very challenging on nearly every hole for all levels of play, but this one always chews me up. It is listed as a 1 HCP on the card for a reason though it's a fairly straight forward par-4 dog-leg right to an elevated green that plays to only 344-yds. I've never left it with anything less than a 7...

[tony@CIC]

#8 at our club. It a long par 4 with tight fairways, water on the left bunkers on the right. Green side bunkers like sentinels protecting a narrow approach to the green. I've never even pared this hole and consider myself lucky to walk off with a bogie. Obviously I've got a mental issue with this hole


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[Smellis745]

I’d say you’re pretty much spot on with your definition.  I’d say a blow up hole is one that would severely alter the average.  

[TSauer]

I don't have an exact hole in mind, as it could be any hole really. For me, I'd say a blow-up hole is one that continues to haunt you for the rest of the round. You score a double, then continue to think about it until you leave the course, affecting the rest of the round.

[cnosil]

Bogeys happen,  Doubles or worse should not so anything worse than bogey is a blow up hole. 

[CarlH]

I consider a blow up hole as any hole that you just go brain dead on and result in a double bogey or worse.  A double due to a penalty would not fit that definition.  And, of course, for higher handicappers, that double could be a higher number to fit the handicap.

[Mr. 82]

My definition of a blow up hole is a hole where you make the same mistake at least twice on, probably resulting in double bogey or worse.

Today I played St James Bay, which if you are not straight and lay up to certain distances it will consume all of your golf balls.  The 15th hole is a par 5 where you have to hit the fairway but not more than 260 yards, because you'll end up in the woods.  The hole has a vast waste nature area to the left of the fairway that separates the green from the rest of the hole.  It's a goofy hole, because if you hit your tee shot far enough left on the fairway, you will only have about 210 yards into the green, but it's almost entirely carry over the nature area.  The hole has the fairway running to the right of the nature area, and you can hit like a 160 yard shot over there and then play a mid iron to a wedge into the green, depending on how much you cut off of the nature area towards the green.

Well, trying to be a hero today, I wanted to play a right to left draw off of the tee to give myself a chance to go for the green in two.  So of course I pull hook the drive in the trees, and have to take a penalty drop.  I am too short to even see the green or go for it, so I am looking at about 170 to carry the nature area into where you would normally hit your 2nd shot into the fairway.  Naturally I pulled my hybrid too far left and it didn't carry the nature area into the fairway, so now it's gone.  But now I can drop in front of the nature area as far as the fairway goes, to now be where I would have liked my drive to go, about 200 yards to carry the nature area to the green.  Dropping 4, and hit my 5th shot into the greenside bunker, short of the green, but clearing the nature area.  Splash out of the bunker, and 2 putt for the nifty little snowman.  Why is this a blow up hole?  Because first off, I should have just played my normal drive, and not gotten greedy in trying to hit it far enough left to go for the green in two.  But then when you screw the drive up, you don't try the hero shot over a nature area that demands a long carry and end up putting a 2nd ball into the hazard.  That's your blow up hole, ladies and gentleman.  Two mental mistakes on the same hole.

I also had fun on the 18th today, which I would again classify as a blow up hole.  Ripped a drive right down the middle of the fairway on this par 5 finishing hole.  There is water running all the way down the left side of the hole up to the green, and I had about 267 into the green for my approach.  Well, the fairway right in front of the green is minimal at best, so hitting a fairway club as far as I can hit it as close to the green as possible is a high risk shot, so I figure I'll hit a smooth 7 iron to about 100 yards and take my chances with the wedge on the 3rd shot into the green.  So naturally I pull hook the 7 iron right into the middle of the lake on the left.  Well, I didn't really carry much land over the lake, so I can only move up about 90 or so yards.  I think I had like 177 into the green from where I could drop next, so I decide to pull 6 iron and naturally I get the same pull result with the 6 iron, and it lands in the water, just short of carrying it greenside.  Again, the blow up hole is doing the same stupid thing twice on the same hole, so now we are dropping 5, and hitting 6 into the green from about 160 yards.  I pull 7 iron and put it to about 25 feet above the hole.  Ironically, putting for double bogey on this finishing hole down the hill must be the only time I'll make a putt of that length, because I managed to walk off this hole with a double bogey, even after depositing two balls into the water.  Blow up hole #2 for you.

And honestly I couldn't tell you the last time I've lost two balls on a single hole, let alone doing it twice in one round.  But that's what you get when you haven't played a round of golf in exactly a month, and then only one round a month prior to that.  Gotta knock the rust off of my game and cut this crap out.

[fixyurdivot]

No specific hole in my case - though certainly some holes just don't seem to fit one's eye, and/or get into our heads. What I was referring to is simply not being able to get through a round without a triple or quadruple.  My round a week ago at this same course was a 41/41 with a triple on #14.  Yesterday a 40/43 with a quadruple on #15.  Thursday at Desert Hills, a triple on a par 3. 

Most of these in the last few months have been OB off the tee. Yesterday was just unlucky as I hit a good drive that just pushed a wee bit right (not a slice), but it hit the top of a hard pack dirt hill and bounced over the fence. Because it went out very close to where it landed, I opted not hit from the tee and chance a second OB. I just pretty much crapped on myself completing the rest of that hole and really shouldn't have shot worse than a double.  

One thing I've noticed about myself is that when I have a really good round going, I inevitably start thinking about not having a blowout hole.  

[MaxEntropy]

#7 where we played our league last year.... I shot par once, every other time was probably a 7 or 8. I'm sure it's something psychological about the hole as it's not super hard. On the rare occasion I play it "right", it's nothing more than a 3 wood and 7 iron.

For my game, I generally consider a "blow up" hole where I compound problems - bad drive compounded by a punch-out that catches a limb, compounded by a pulled iron, followed by a skulled chip, etc. When I make a big mistake, I need to get better at making sure that is the only mistake I make on a given hole.

[Angry Yeti]

My blow up holes usually start from the tee box and tilt me just enough to make poor decisions in trying to recover. Did I hit my tee shot into the trees? Let's try to recover by hitting a shot with a 5% chance of success instead of laying up out of the woodwork and moving on. Did that not work, better aim for a 2x2 window to cut the corner and avoid the same lay up from the last shot. Is that in the drink? Great, drop and try to hit the flag tucked in between two bunkers instead of aiming for the largest section of the green... 

It doesn't happen every round, but I can never completely shake losing my sanity now and then. In hindsight, making poor choices in rapid succession may be the most frustrating part of the game some days. More often than not it has the added benefit of a carry over effect to the next tee box and will give a healthy boost to scores on two holes before I snap out of it. 

[patrickleeleep]

3 hours ago, MaxEntropy said:

For my game, I generally consider a "blow up" hole where I compound problems - bad drive compounded by a punch-out that catches a limb, compounded by a pulled iron, followed by a skulled chip, etc. When I make a big mistake, I need to get better at making sure that is the only mistake I make on a given hole.

This is mine as well. Exactly how it happens. 

Or you hit a good drive on a short par 4. So you have a 275 yard drive with a wedge in hand for another 60 yards. You skull that shot over the green and you get up to it to chip it on and hopefully 1 putt and escape with a par. Instead, you chunk the chip and stay in the rough. From there you hit a less than stellar chip and two putt from the frustration. I hate those holes. 

[CarlH]

Only way I can hit a driver 275 is to bounce it off the cart path.   

[TR1PTIK]

On 3/10/2019 at 10:10 AM, pulledabill said:

I was reading the "How'd you play" thread and read something about the famous "blow-up" hole.  Back when I was shooting in the 90's and the occasional 100, I would obviously have a few snowmen and what not.  I got them under control and got in the mid to upper 80s and low 90s but still the "blow-up" hole per round. 

Stopped golfing for a number of years, aged, wised up and currently a 6 hdcp or so.  I really never have that "blow up" hole anymore unless I call the occasional double that hole.  I accept that as double will and do happen to all of us.  At my current hdcp, triples and quads are certainly unacceptable. 

 

What is your definition of that dreaded "blow-up" hole? 

Where I'm at currently, double is bad and anything beyond that is just uncool. It's interesting too because my big blow-ups rarely ever come from taking on a tough shot and not being able to execute. It seems they almost always come from the middle of the fairway with a wedge or short iron in my hand and I just "lose" it for whatever reason. A couple season ago, I had the best round going at my home track - I was maybe 2-over or something at worst. I'm standing in the fairway with an 8-iron on the 11th with a small creek less than halfway between me and the green - a total non-factor in my head. Yet somehow, I caught it (WAY) fat or something and into the creek it went. I dropped another ball and did the same thing!!! I wound up with a 9 on that hole (a par 4), and I don't think I scored worse than bogey for the rest of the round...

[Drumdog]

No specific hole for me, but a double is bad and anything over a double bogey is a blow up in my opinion.