8th Hole

The Tee Shot

The first of 9 holes in the middle of the racecourse is not easy. You stand on the tee and all you can see is trouble. The main trouble to look out for is the out of bounds that runs all the way down the left hand side of the hole. The out of bounds is defined by the path, not the white posts. If your ball is over the path you are out of bounds, even if you are inside the white posts. When the wind is coming from the right it can be very tricky to avoid going out of bounds, especially if you play with a natural draw. There is also a fairway bunker which should be avoided, as this can be tricky. There are also trees on the right, which are all grouped together is copses. In the summer these are very difficult to get out of, and they are also very much in play. With the out of bounds left a lot of people go right, but that then brings these tress into play. There is space in between these groups of trees, but if a ball is struck hard it will more than likely roll into a copse as opposed to stopping short. The shorter hitter might have to be aware of the ditch that runs accorss the hole roughly 80-100 yards off the tee, while the longer hitter will have to watch out for the ditch that sits level with the second fairway bunker. This ditch is roughly 280 yards from the tee. A golfer who finds the fairway on this hole should be very happy.
The Approach
Even if you find the fairway the job is not done, with the shot to the green also very tough. There are two large bunkers guarding the green, one on the right and one on the left. Both of these bunkers have steep lips and are very tricky to escape. The green at the front in between these bunkers is not very wide, so running the ball up is a risky shot. To the right of the bunker on the right there are more trees, and if you end up in these trees you will be very lucky to have any form of shot, even a chip out. There is also another large copse of trees over the back of the green, and once again this can be very tricky to get out of. As mentioned the out of bounds runs the full length of the hole, so once again the out of bounds will come into play. If you miss the green back right is the best place to miss it.
The Green
This is another very tricky green. There are once again very large slopes from the backs of the bunkers, and the rest of the green is also very tricky to read. It is very rare that a putt over 4 feet on this green is straight, as there are that many ridges to read it does not happen. If you hit the green you are not guaranteed a par, but you dont want to be racing any putts at the hole. You will always take a two putt on this hole and move on to the 9th.