Golf: Holes 5-9 - NBCC’s Fab Five

Tony Altobelli

NEWPORT BEACH - Eighteen holes worth of high blood pressure, ulcers

and hair loss have been crammed into a five-hole stretch at the Toshiba

Senior Classic.

Holes five through nine at the Newport Beach Country Club,

historically known for toughness, are not holding back any punches this

year. In fact, all five holes of narrow fairways, sloping greens and

swirling wind pockets rank in the top-SIX on the course in terms of

difficulty.

“That stretch of holes will set the tempo (today),” defending champion

Allen Doyle said. “You need to play well through there if you look to

have any chance. I played them 2-over-par today. If I had played them at

2-under, it’s a whole different story.”

Here’s an indication of how the field fared on holes 5-9. The entire

field combined to shoot 79 over par. They shot 102 over par on holes 5-9

alone. In other words, the field shot 25-UNDER par on the other 13 holes.

So why all the trouble? Here’s a hole-by-hole breakdown with some

advice from NBCC head professional Paul Hahn.

Hole No. 5 is a 430-yard, par-4. Difficulty rank: 1. “Usually, this

hole plays against the wind to an uphill fairway and with the long

yardage and wet conditions, it’s playing very long this weekend,” Hahn

said. “If you’re not on in two, it’s a very difficult chip shot from any

direction to try and save par.”

Hole No. 6 is a 418-yard, par-4. Difficulty rank: 4. “Putting on No. 6

can be easy to miss with all its subtle breaks,” Hahn said. “Plus, we’ve

added some palm trees short and to the left, while added a new bunker to

the right, so the approach shot is more challenging.”

Hole No. 7 is a 368-yard, par-4. Difficulty rank: 5. “This weekend,

the wet conditions have made the greens a little easier,” Hahn said. “But

there is no single flat spot on that green. Make sure you get the ball to

the correct side of the hole.”

Hole No. 8 is a 203-yard, par-3. Difficulty rank: 6. “All you see off

the tee box is a big left-to-right slope on the green. Stay on the right

side of the green and make sure your yardage is accurate.”

Hole No. 9 is a 407-yard, par-4. Difficulty rank: 2. “This hole plays

a lot longer than it appears, especially if you take a lesser club to

avoid hitting through the fairway. The green has been extended and many

of the players have a difficult time reaching the pin when its in the

back.”

Only four players in Saturday’s field, Larry Nelson, John Bland, Jose

Maria Canizares and Tom Jenkins managed to shoot under par on holes 5-9.

Nelson was the only player to shoot 2-under in that stretch, on his way

to an second-round, 8-under 63.

Golf legend Raymond Floyd, who shot a 2-under 69 (4-under for the

tournament), but went one-over on holes 5-9, is a big fan of the NBCC and

the “fearsome five”.

“It’s a very traditional course and those are my favorite courses to

play,” Floyd said. “That’s a tough stretch of holes, that’s for sure.”

Tom Wargo went bogey-par-par-par-bogey on holes 5-9, on his way to a

one-over 72. He credited the wet conditions to the holes’ difficulties.

“The ground is so soft, the ball isn’t carrying nearly as far as it

normally would,” Wargo said. “For me, all the holes are tough. You just

do the best you can.”

Hale Irwin, the 1998 champion at Toshiba, had a bogey and four pars

during holes 5-9 on Saturday. “It’s important to get a good start to your

round on the first four holes,” Irwin said. “But if you don’t you can’t

take that with you. You just have to play each hole one at a time.”

Irwin’s theory is backed up by the numbers. Holes 1-4 rank 14, 15, 16,

13, respectively, in terms of difficulty and have generated 74 birdies

and 32 bogeys. The “Fearsome Fivesome” has produced only 29 birdies while

distributing a whopping 113 bogeys.