Golfing Old Head Part 3

Hole 4
The Razors Edge
Par 4

427 | 423 | 415 | 388 | 357 yards

After the mundane first hole, the course builds to a 3 hole crescendo that culminates on this 4th hole. This tee box offers perhaps the most dramatic vista I have experienced on a golf course.  Like the previous 2 holes, the entire left side of this hole falls off a cliff down the the sea below.

After walking off the back of the 3rd green you approach the tees on this hole.  Ahead stretches the southern most point of Old Head with the iconic lighthouse standing sentry before the Atlantic.  It was ahead in these waters where the Lusitania was sunk.

As you stand on the tee you can see the hole plays nearly straight, with a slight bend left as it hugs the cliffside.  A pair of bunkers are the first hazards you face.  These are perched on the left border of the hole.  Beyond these, the most obvious trouble lies 200 feet below the sheer cliffs that frame the hole.

An aim stone sits just over the first bunker in this photo.  Your drive should favor the right side.  This not only takes the cliffs out of play, but the contour of the fairway will feed the ball right to left towards the center.

If you look further down the hole, you can see another pair of bunkers guarding either side of the hole just short of the green.  The fairway rises from your tee landing zone to the green, making your second shot a club longer than you might think on a calm day.

John tees off while Owen watches.  He hit a sweeping hook shot that caught the wind a bit too much and found the cliffs left.  That is one thing I have to say about this round of golf- I have never seen the ball move as much as they did here up in the fierce winds along the cliffs.  That is a scary thought knowing the day we played the winds were relatively mild!

As you walk from the tee boxes to the fairway, soak in this picturesque hole.  On a course full of gems, this might be one of the best of the day.

Once you start walking down the fairway you can see how the hole slopes towards the see from the right edge.  The green seems a long way off as you approach your next shot.

You must hit the green to find safety, or be short of the bunkers.  Left of the green drops to the sea and to the right is a rock face just a pace or two from the putting surface.

Luckily the approach right up the middle is open so running the ball up the hole is a viable option.  The green is narrow but quite deep at almost 50 yards.  Take that into account in planning your approach.

As seen heading up to the fifth tee, the green is elevated from the fairway 20 yards off.

Celebration as Lisa completes this tough but beautiful hole.

Hole 5
Hake Head
Par 4

430 | 409 | 385 | 365 | 330 yards

Hole 5 plays back the way you just came up the 4th hole.  It is above and inside 4, away from the cliffs. All down the left side is OB, beyond the wall. To the right the hole is framed by bushes, separating this hole and the fairway of the 4th hole.

Looking behind the tees, the lighthouse rises up above you.

The hole rises from the tees to the green.  A pair of bunkers sit on either side of the fairway, as hazards off the tee.  Another central bunker is also within reach of long hitters on the tee shot.  It sits about 85 yards from the green.

As you approach the green, there is one more bunker to the right, short of the green.

A look back down the hill from the green.

Hole 6
Choughs Corner
Par 5

486 | 478 | 468 | 407 | 373 yards

The 6th hole is the first par 5 of the day.  A dogleg right, again the left side of the hole is all OB with a stone wall running down that side.

At the corner of the dogleg a bunker sits requiring a 200 yard carry over.

To the right of the tees you can see the cottage lighthouse ruin.  The hole in the roof is where the "light" was burned.

Walking towards the fairway the bunker at the right corner becomes more apparent.

Running up the right side are more thick bushes, discouraging cutting the corner too much.  A tee ball placed over the left edge of that right bunker is the best line on the tee.  As you turn the corner you can see the OB wall running all the way up the hole.  The green complex is again elevated.

Lisa found the forward bunker at the dogleg.

Another shot of the approach.  A pair of bunkers short right protect the green, along with a greenside bunker left, and the stone wall not far beyond.

This green has 2 distinct tiers.  A look back down the hill still affords a view of the lighthouse at the southern point of the headland.  This hole, along with 7-9 circle around counter clockwise in the interior portion of the peninsula as you work back towards the clubhouse at the turn.

One more look at the 6th on the way to the 7th hole.  Gorse adds beautiful gold hues to the otherwise lush greens on the course.

On these 3 holes, I stumbled a bit going double, bogey, bogey to now be 6 over after 6.

Old Head Part 1
Old Head Part 2
Old Head Part 3
Old Head Part 4
Old Head Part 5
Old Head Part 6
Old Head Part 7