Par-5 15th goes long way toward success at Charles River
As match play gets underway this morning at the 109th Massachusetts Amateur at Charles River Country Club in Newton, the par-5 15th hole is one that could go a long way in determining who joins the likes of Francis Ouimet, Fred Wright and Ted Bishop as champion.
The front end of back-toback par 5s in the closing holes, it plays 505 yards, and the fairway is split in two by a rocky ledge that drops off about 40 feet. It was one continuous fairway for a number of years but was reverted back to Donald Ross' original design nearly 10 years ago.
“How closely the players are able to hit their tee balls to the ledge will determine how easily, or if at all, they'll be able to get their second shot on the green,” said James Driscoll, a two-time winner on the Web.com Tour who grew up playing at Charles River.
The end of the fairway before the ledge is about 275 yards from the back tee. Venture too far right, and a bunker comes into play.
Things don't get much easier with the downhill second shot, especially to those who lay back off the tee.
“The second shot is over a hazard. Now you do have almost 20 yards between the hazard and the green. There's (out of bounds) left, which is why hitting 3-wood in gets dicey,” Driscoll said. “It's much nicer to have a 5- or 4-iron in from being right on the edge of the cliff because then you're not as worried about all the trouble, but if you have to hit 3-wood, all that trouble comes into play.”
The green poses all sorts of problems as well, with the front edge proving the best place to be, ensuring an uphill putt.
Driscoll hit the Mass. Am's ceremonial opening shot Monday morning and knows a thing or two about what it takes to be successful in match play. He is a two-time Mass. Am champion (1996 and 1998), a finalist in both the 1995 U.S. Junior Amateur and 2000 U.S. Amateur and represented the United States at the 2001 Walker Cup. He is currently in Utah for this week's Web.com Tour event.