If he only hit it 203 yds on #1 he probably bogeyed it - that hole is 445 yds long, he'd have a longer shot in than he hit his tee shot - and it's almost a straight hole, no dogleg that calls for a short lay up. #2 is a 575 yr par 5, he's also in trouble if he hit it 203 on that hole. Looks like he did ok, finished 1 under par, leader in the clubhouse shot a -4 in the first round with TWO double bogeys - he must be hopping mad. Frankly, after wincing while watching Tiger and his son play in that charity tourney end of last year I can't believe he actually made through an entire round on that hilly course - it's known as one of the hardest courses to walk in the entire world, TV doesn't give it justice as far as elevation changes.
Same thing goes for probably the most (in)famous par 3's in all of golf, #17 at TPC Sawgrass, where they hold the PGA championship. There's a company that builds golf courses called "Renditions", where they duplicate some of the most famous hole in golf - one of them is Sawgrass #17, the island green - on TV it doesn't look like there's much elevation change, but when you play it for real (there's a Rendition's about half an hour from me) it's unbelievable how the heights of the three parts of the green are - you hit it long middle or left when the hole is in the customary lower right location, when you're standing over your putt you have no clue how you can get it over the edge of the hill and get it to stop before it rolls into the water off the right side of the green - that's how steep it is - like 15 ft below you. Amen Corner is also duplicated, and boy is that part a real treat! Best I ever did there was bogey #11 (a real bitch of a hole), birdie the par 3 12th, and birdie the par 5 13th - playing those holes in 1 under during the Masters is a good score for the pros - the green on #12 is so skinny, maybe 10 yds from front to back, it's unreal.
The hardest hole at Renditions is actually the replica of the Scotland's Inverness Club #12 - a short par 3, plays about 140-150 yds, but the green is steeply sloped from front to back and left to right - the only way for most amateurs to keep the ball on the top front of the green, where the hole is usually cut, is to bounce your tee shot into the slight slope in front of the actual green - if you hit the green you're going to end up long right no matter where your ball lands - it's impossible to hold the green unless you can put a ton of backspin on the ball, which most amateurs cannot do, especially off the tee.
The Thought Police: To censor and protect. Craig Bruce
