Florida Swing: Ranking Best 9 Holes
By Ryan Andrade
2. 18th hole at Doral
The 18th at Doral is one of the most difficult holes in all of golf.
Last season the par-4 18th hole at Doral played to a stoke average of nearly 4.6. There is no tee shot the players fear more then this one. With water lurking all the way down the left and the narrowest of fairways, there is nowhere to bail out. And when the wind is blowing in your face, good luck.
This video takes you tee to green on one of the most difficult holes in golf. Keep in mind this was made before the redesign. The 18th hole, however, was barely touched by Gil Hanse.
The only thing added during the redesign was a few more trees to the right side. There is always a lot of action over there because it’s better than being in the water. Now it’s just even more difficult to make par right of the fairway. Players actually have to make the decision to lay up short of the hazard, because it is such a long carry.
The big hitters have a big advantage at this hole. This is because the fairway opens up past 300 yards. Dustin Johnson took advantage of this last year and just took it right over the water into much wider fairways. From there it is just a short iron.
Here’s Dustin Johnson taking you through his clutch drive on Sunday at the WGC-Cadillac Championship.
For everyone else however, it’s try to fit it into this tight fairway. Then from there hold this narrow green. When the hole location is near the back, it allows you to play some runout. When it’s in the front, it’s just tough to fit it in close.
While over the green is better than short of it, it is no easy up and down. It’s down hill all the way to the hole. The 18th hole just puts so much pressure on you every shot. You’d like to have a few shots to spare here on Sunday.
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