No. 11 is ‘nothing but trouble’
Gorse, rough at Railway hole can easily derail round
Masquerading as a par 4, there is nothing hidden about the dangers that lurk on the 11th hole, known as the Railway. It simply is 483 yards of nasty. Named for the commuter line that runs parallel to the hole on the right, its cars zipping by just a few yards off the putting surface, the 11th is the most difficult hole at Royal Troon and will have a major impact on who hoists the Claret Jug on Sunday at the conclusion of the 145th British Open.
As a par 5, as it was played in the Open until the 1997 edition, it’s a fair beast to tangle with. As a par 4 it’s Freddy Krueger on Elm Street.
All one can see on the tee is a sea of gorse. Miss your shot to the right, and you’re in heather or thick gorse or out of bounds on the train tracks. Miss it left, and you’re in gorse or heavy rough. The blind tee shot must carry 275 yards. A pot bunker fronting the left part of the green awaits.
And there’s a stone wall on the right side that you might have to contend with on your approach, one that could help you keep your ball in play or one where you might have to hit a shot with your ball right up against it.
There simply is little margin for error over the 483 yards.
Jack Nicklaus made a 10 on 11 in 1962 and later said it was one of the toughest par-4s in the world.
As for the carnage in Thursday’s first round, the hole played to an average of 4.705 strokes, nearly a half-stroke higher than the next toughest hole’s average. There were six birdies among the 156 players — and 45 bogeys and 25 double bogeys or worse. Among the worst were 10 7s, one 8 and three 9s.
“Let’s be honest, that hole fits nobody’s eye,” said Bubba Watson, who made bogey on 11 and shot 1-under-par 70 to stand seven shots behind pacesetter Phil Mickelson.
“The 11th hole I think is one of the toughest holes I’ve ever played. It’s just a scary tee shot. You just can’t see where you’re going,” said Billy Horschel, who made par on the 11th and shot 67.
“It’s a very tough tee shot because you see nothing but trouble. You see the gorse left, which is re-tee anyway, and you see trouble right with the train track to the right,” said Matt Jones, who made double-bogey 6 and shot 69.
And this is what players said after Thursday, when winds were soft, the sun was brilliant and Royal Troon played as easy as it will all weekend if the forecast holds. On Friday, winds are expected to pick up considerably, rain will fall and the temper- atures will drop. All of which will make the 11th nearly unbearable.
“It’s such a difficult hole,” said Justin Thomas, who holed a bunker shot for a par on the 11th en route to shooting 67. “I think the hard thing about it is a lot of those holes on the back nine are so hard, but the thing about that one is it’s such a hard drive. And if you do hit a good drive, you have anywhere from maybe a 4-iron to a 3-wood in, and the wind is in and off the left, and you have the OB to the right and bunker to the left.”
Thomas said he’d play the 10th — a 451-yard par-4 — and the 11th in a combined 3- or 4-over for the week and be happy.
“It’s just a very, very difficult stretch, and to make that bunker shot today was huge,” Thomas said.
“I was saying to Jimmy (Johnson, his caddie) walking up there, if we could somehow get out of here with a 5, that would be big. So to make that 4, that’s when you say there’s no pictures on scorecards.”
“The 11th hole I think is one of the toughest holes I’ve ever played. It’s just a scary tee shot. You just can’t see where you’re going.” Billy Horschel, who escaped with par on No. 11 in the first round