The 9 toughest golf holes in Springfield, assembled into one round
Golf assumes the center stage this week in Springfield with two marquee events underway: the Drysdale youth tournament and the Korn Ferry Tour's Memorial Health Championship.
With that said, what if we assembled the toughest nine holes within the city limits into one course — and what would that look like?
Lance Flury, PGA professional at Lincoln Greens Golf Course, and other local pros provided input into what they consider the most challenging holes from their respective courses. Some may come as a surprise.
The collection of nine includes two par 3s and one par 5 for the perfectly diabolical nine-hole course imaginable, assembled in random order.
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1. Lincoln Greens, No. 5
This tough par-4 travels 414 yards from the blue tees and requires golfers to lay up short of the water inlet that encroaches from Lake Springfield. “The second shot over water plays uphill and often times is affected by the wind coming off the lake as well a large bunker on the right,” Flury said.
2. Long Bridge, No. 2
This signature par-4 carries 313 yards from the blue tees and forces players to lay up due to water protecting the green on the right side. Designed by the late Merle Buerkett, the second shot courts out of bounds to the left and a steep drop in front of the green.
3. Panther Creek, No. 18
This long par-4 is 455 yards from the championship tees. It harbors water on both sides of the fairway. Bunkers then surround a double-tiered green, according to Panther Creek head pro Cody Baltusevich.
4. Piper Glen, No. 8
The par-3 travels 190 yards from the gold tees perched on a hill. Golfers must attempt to hit a green over the pond down below with out of bounds to the right. Polecat’s Revenge also presents a narrow green with lots of slope, according to Piper Glen head pro Tyler Willette.
5. Illini Country Club, No. 12
Illini Country Club head pro Drew Murphy described this 411-yard par-4 as an unassuming but challenging hole. Out-of-bounds and a fairway bunker hug the left side while dense trees cover the entire right side. It then has a 25-foot deep ravine short of the green to boot. The kidney bean-shaped green slopes severely back to front and contains a false front that rolls off into a runoff area well below the surface of the green. “If you can manage to keep out of trouble on this hole and walk away with a par, you will be doing nearly 1.5 strokes better than the average player on this hole,” Murphy said.
6. The Rail, No. 8
This imposing par-5 extends 541 yards from the blue tees with water coming into play on every shot. The tee shot has to carry over water onto a fairway that slopes left to right with water running the entire right side, according to The Rail head pro Jesse Noelke. The approach shot has to carry over the water again to a green surrounded by bunkers.
7. Panther Creek, No. 8
This formidable par-3 requires 240 yards from the championship tees. It features water the entire left side and bunkers around the green, which is also severely double-tiered, according to Baltusevich.
8. Pasfield, No. 8
Flury said this 377-yard par-4 has been the demise of many rounds over the years. It takes 240 yards to carry the creek down below, but the prudent play is to lay up short of the creek and have approximately 160 yards to the green. “Be careful to not let your shot to the green stray to the right, or you’ll find the creek ready to engulf your golf ball,” Flury said.
9. Bunn, No. 18
The 428-yard par-4 usually requires golfers to lay up short of the penalty area and have approximately 175 yards to the green, Flury said. “To score well, the second shot requires the ball to be strategically placed so that you have an uphill putt or chip,” Flury added. “Do your best to stay below the hole.”
Contact Bill Welt: (217) 788-1545, bill.welt@sj-r.com, Twitter.com/BillWelt
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Golf: The 9 toughest holes from Springfield, Illinois, courses
