RICH HARVEST FARMS — HOLE BY HOLE
The Beacon News was in search of some perspective on how the Solheim Cup participants will approach each hole at Rich Harvest Farms when the tournament tees off in August. Enter Craig Castrale, husband and caddie of LPGA Tour player and Solheim Cup veteran Nicole Castrale. From the much-ballyhooed fourth hole — dubbed “Devil’s Elbow” by owner Jerry Rich — to the spacious greens, Craig breaks down the 6,670-yard layout in detail.
Silver 1: 'Golden Vane' / 400 yards, par 4
“Pretty good long par 4, sort of tight. Definitely gotta hit driver off the tee. The green’s humongous; it’s almost 50 yards deep from front to back. They could use a front pin and it’s gonna play 40 yards shorter than if they put it in the back corner somewhere. It could be the difference of hitting 8- or 9-iron into the green or if they use a back pin, you might be using a 5- or 6-iron. With the first green being so deep, it gives that hole a lot of character and a lot of potential for making the hole difficult to start each match.”
Silver 2: 'Chance' / 501 yards, par 5
“If there’s no wind or it’s downwind, I’d say it’s definitely reachable in two for almost every player in the field. A pretty generous driving area, which will definitely favor the long hitters because they can swing away. Again the green’s pretty deep; (on) par 5s they tend to make the greens more difficult because 1) you’re going to be able to hit the green in two or 2) you’re gonna lay up and have a short wedge in. Again it’s the kind of hole where they can really change the face of it by setting the pins in a different position.”
Silver 3: 'Clyde' / 160 yards, par 3
“Good par 3, not ultra long. I think it’ll play in the 6- to 7-iron range. A medium to large green, not as large as the first two holes, but it definitely has some character with several swells and ridges, and pretty good pin placements. They can tuck it behind the bunker on the right, and there’s a good pin in the back little nook of the green. It depends on the wind and on the situation (as to) how aggressive a shot you’re going to hit.”
Silver 4: 'Devil's Elbow' / 419 yards, par 4
“That’s a great hole. When we played there in 2006, our first impression was, ‘Where do you drive it? Where’s the fairway?’ It was literally like hitting it out of a tunnel. just a few weeks ago they actually did prune a few of trees just to soften the hole a little bit. I think it was a good hole, a little too tight before, and now it truly is just a great golf hole. They totally didn’t change the face of the hole by trimming the trees up. For match play, it would be great if there were 18 holes like this one on the golf course because for match play, low score wins the hole — it doesn’t have to be a birdie.
“If you get your drive all the way to the corner, you’re going to have a clear second shot, and then that hole will be just as birdieable as any other hole. It’s when the trees get into play (that it becomes much more difficult), and there’s a bunker in front of the green, so you gotta make a decision on your second shot if you don’t have a clear opening from the fairway as to how much you wanna try and get the ball up there.
“I would say it’s the most demanding tee shot (at Rich Harvest), but it’s only the fourth hole. If it was the 16th or 17th hole, where the match was coming down to the wire, it would be a much more talked about hole.”
Silver 5: 'Amen - Holy Stone' / 125 yards, par 3
“A really cool par 3. The green is only about 16 or 17 (yards) deep from front to back. Picking the right club is the ultimate decision you have to make there because you don’t have much margin for error as far as distance. And you don’t want to be above the hole because the green is severely sloped from back to front. I think they’re going to play it pretty short. If there’s no wind I think we’ll be playing 9-irons and wedges potentially, but ... you have to be spot-on with your tee shot to have any shot at birdie.”
Silver 6: 'Bunker Hill' / 375 yards, par 4
“Pretty tight off the tee, well-bunkered off both the left and right sides. Depending on the tee markers and the wind of course, some of the longer players should be able to carry the bunkers up the right side, which would definitely make the hole a little more manageable. But all in all it’s one of the tighter driving holes that I remember on the golf course.”
Silver 7: 'Beauty & the Beast' / 500 yards, par 5
“Unless it’s straight downwind, I think it’s going to be a three-shot hole. Because it’s well-bunkered off the tee again, if it gets downwind and firm, there’ll be a few players that can get over the right bunkers, catch the downslope and probably have a chance of going for the green in two. But it’s match play and there’s also a bunker going down the left-hand side of the fairway that some players may opt to just lay up off the tee and make it a three-shot hole, get their second shot down there and have a little wedge or 9-iron into the green. This green’s not quite as big as the previous par 5, but it’s got a lot of slope from front to back and is pretty well-bunkered.”
Silver 8: 'Burn' / 395 yards, par 4
“It’s not a tight fairway, but there’s some overhanging trees down the right side of the landing area that could block you out from the green, being a dogleg right. It’s also well-bunkered in front of the green, so if you’re blocked out from the right trees, you may be seeing players just chip it down to the end of the fairway and having to get up and down from 60, 70 yards to save par. It’s got plenty of length and the green is 44 (yards) deep from front to back, so they can change the pin placements and change the club that you’re hitting into the green with each match.”
Silver 9: 'The Road Hole' / 415 yards, par 4
“A split fairway. I think we’ll be playing the tee boxes down the left side where you have to drive it over the pond and bring some more bunkers into play. I think it’s a hole that you have to shape a left-to-right shot because you can definitely reach the bunkers through the fairway on the left. On the second shot, it plays a little bit uphill and this green is biggest we’ve probably ever seen on tour at 68 yards deep. The fact that you could drive it perfectly on the fairway and ... you could have anything from a wedge to a 5-iron into the green, it’s pretty cool. This is definitely a hole people are going to remember when they see the size of the green.”
Gold 1: 'Heaven's Beginning' / 400 yards, par 4
“Pretty straightaway par 4 ... with bunkers front left, front right and behind the green. Picking the right club on your second shot is gonna be the key here because you gotta take enough club to carry the front bunker, but then you gotta stop it before it gets to the back bunker.”
Gold 2: 'Eagles Eye' / 550 yards, par 5
“Depending on the wind, it’ll be reachable (in two) by some of the longer players. It’s a dogleg right, plenty of driving room, but for the longer player it gets a bit more narrow as the bunkers come into play off the tee. Second shot, you gotta make a decision to lay well back and have a 125-yard third shot, or if you wanna take a little of a risk you can try and squeeze it up between the bunkers, get it out in front of the green and have a chip at eagle. The hole’s called ‘Eagle’s Eye,’ so there’s a good chance you could see an eagle to win a hole.”
Gold 3: 'Snead's Crotch' / 342 yards, par 4
“Another big-time dogleg left, very similar hole to No. 4. It looks like there’s more room to drive it, but there’s two huge trees right in the middle of the fairway that you have to decide on off the tee how much you wanna challenge them. You could hit a really good tee shot right up the middle and you could end up in the base of the tree and you’re taking an unplayable (lie) or you’re chipping out sideways, which for match play doesn’t (necessarily) mean you’re out of the hole.”
Gold 4: 'Hickory' / 155 yards, par 3
“It could play long. Overall it’s gonna be a 7- or 6-iron, but they can change that by moving the tees up a little or using a front pin or if it’s downwind and what not. It’s got kind of an L-shaped green, well-bunkered and definitely a good hole.”
Gold 5: 'Old Oaks' / 385 yards, par 4
“You’ve gotta hit a good drive to get it past the trees on the right to have an opening to the green. Another medium-size green, but it’s an upside-down L shape with a huge bunker protecting the whole front right and a huge bunker behind the green. You need to find the fairway first and pick the correct yardage on your second shot to avoid the bunkers around the green.”
Gold 6: 'Lake Katherine' / 470 yards, par 5
“It’s definitely a reachable par 5 as far as distance. You’ve got Lake Katherine protecting the front of the green. It’s more of an open tee shot than some holes, but you definitely gotta keep it in the fairway. There’s overhanging trees of course, and the green’s well-bunkered. there’s only a small little slot that you could run the ball up if you landed it short of the green. I think you’re going to see a lot of balls in the front bunkers there, which isn’t necessarily a good thing being that the green is 44 (yards) deep. if the green’s in the back, you probably don’t want to be in the bunker hitting to a back pin. It’s definitely a hole that can change the way the match is going if you could somehow get the ball on the green and have an eagle putt.”
Gold 7: 'Valley of Sin' / 171 yards, par 3
“The finishing holes at Rich Harvest are really, really good holes for match play. The green’s not very big; it’s 30 (yards) deep with a lot of slope from back to front and a bunker in the back of the green that you definitely want to avoid. There’s a big tree that overhangs the left side of the green, so to a back left pin location you gotta really be able to work your shot to get it close.”
Gold 8: 'The Cottage' / 387 yards, par 4
“The second shot into the green is really what makes this hole, and it could play long depending on the wind. The green is unbelievable. There’s a left side and a right side with a little neck in between, and the whole green slopes huge from the back to the front with a big lake protecting the front. It’ll be an exciting hole for match play, that’s for sure.”
Gold 9: 'Covered Bridge' / 520 yards, par 5
“Could be reachable for the longer hitters. In the practice round (June 15), most of the girls got it 20 or 30 yards in front of the green in two shots. It’s a little tighter than it looks off the tee. There’s definitely some room though. On the second shot you’re hitting over the creek and some trees to a pretty generous landing area, but it’s well-bunkered on the left side and in the front. It’s one of the smaller greens on the course, which will make it pretty cool for a par-5 finishing hole. There’s some slope and definitely a lot of options for pin placement on this green.”
