Canterbury Woods Country Club
Hole 6 – Par 3
Distance: 148 yards (black tees), 128 yards (blue), 112 yards (white), 66 yards (red)
The hilly terrain at Canterbury Woods reaches an extreme on the sixth hole, a downhill par 3 in which the player feels like he or she is standing on top of the green. The elevation makes club selection a guessing game for newcomers, and inescapable hazards in front and left of the green add to the challenge. But the hole is shaped like a bowl with a steep slope to the right of the green, one that can act like a backboard for tee shots, directing them close – or even into – the hole.
Club Pro Walter Reeves further discusses Canterbury’s unique hole.
Q: What’s most noteworthy to you about the hole?
A: “The nice thing is everybody can reach it. It’s downhill, they actually look forward to playing that hole. I think this year alone, we’ve had 20 hole-in-ones there. … And it’s a picturesque hole. It’s a nice-looking hole.”
Q: What’s the strategy to attacking the hole? How do you approach it?
A: “You have to play the ball to the right, because let’s face it, there’s all trouble to the left, there’s trouble in the front. You aim right, you hit off the hill, it trickles down off the hill – we cut it short there – it trickles down off the hill, and (you get) 20 hole-in-ones. … You rarely aim for the pin. Most players just play it off the right.”
Q: What are some pitfalls players can fall into with the hole?
A: “Club selection. If it’s a calm day, there are really no issues. But it always seems to be windy here in Canterbury. If you normally would be hitting, say, an 8-iron from there, you could be hitting a 5-iron when you have that 30 mile-an-hour wind in your face. That’s when the hole gets to be really difficult.”
Q: How big an issue is managing terrain, not just on this hole but throughout the course?
A: “Most of the holes here, you can hit a great shot, and you’re going to have an uphill lie, a downhill lie, a sidehill lie. That’s why, a lot of my lessons, I’ve got to take them out on the course. We’ll hit 20, 25 balls downhill, uphill, sidehill. The ball’s going to fly different distances, depending on the lie.”