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Bethpage Black #9

• shakyjon 87 Posts

  Fri, Aug 13 2010 7:06 AM

  I've just recently noticed--by mistake really when I missed way left on my meter--the risk-reward nature of the 9th hole at Bethpage Black.  If you are daring, and the wind is with you, try driving over the extreme left hand side of the fairway bunker.  Fairway lies beyond that will roll you out, well beyond the bunker, and cut some massive yardage off of the hole.  But be warned, if you go wrong trying to do this, the best you can get is in the bunker.  There's trees just to the left of this bit of fairway, too.  It's a huge risk, but the reward for doing it right is just as big. 

• KingOfTheCourse 419 Posts

  Fri, Aug 13 2010 8:38 AM

  shakyjon:

  I've just recently noticed--by mistake really when I missed way left on my meter--the risk-reward nature of the 9th hole at Bethpage Black.  If you are daring, and the wind is with you, try driving over the extreme left hand side of the fairway bunker.  Fairway lies beyond that will roll you out, well beyond the bunker, and cut some massive yardage off of the hole.  But be warned, if you go wrong trying to do this, the best you can get is in the bunker.  There's trees just to the left of this bit of fairway, too.  It's a huge risk, but the reward for doing it right is just as big. 

  The fairway right of the bunker actually slopes left toward that bunker so If you hit it long enough it will roll left and you'll be in the middle of the fairway past the bunker without even aiming at it.

• andyson 6,415 Posts

  Fri, Aug 13 2010 10:32 AM

  KingOfTheCourse:

  I've just recently noticed--by mistake really when I missed way left on my meter--the risk-reward nature of the 9th hole at Bethpage Black.  If you are daring, and the wind is with you, try driving over the extreme left hand side of the fairway bunker. 

  Yes, very risky as you need an ideal wind, perfect aim and near perfect hit to land in a small target.  You need roughly a 280yd carry and the target is 4-5 yards wide?  Any pull with a right to left wind is in the trees and in jail.  Here's the target.

  

  and here's a replay where the shot ends up 132 to the pin.

  Cutting the corner on BPB #9

• YankeeJim 25,827 Posts

  Fri, Aug 13 2010 11:37 AM

  I've done it with as little as a 9 mph wind-Tri driver and ding. Getting the ball to follow a favorable wind will help sometimes, like aiming at the left edge of the right trap and clicking 1 or 2 pixels early into a wind going at 11 O'clock.  The risk reward isn't too bad as par is relatively easy out of that trap. Even missing into the trees lets a punch put you in the fairway an up and down away from par.

  It's not a good way to play the hole but sometimes desperate times call for desperate measures.  Remember Yang's shot on 18 at last year's PGA that beat Tiger? :-)

• TarheelsRule 5,471 Posts

  Fri, Aug 13 2010 12:18 PM

  I tried it while ago, actually had a 6 mph wind in my face and couldn't get there but wanted to see what was the area that we were talking about.  I can see how you can get there with any help at all from the wind.

  It is hard to tell on BPB where the fairway starts because of the way it is cut, I wish there was more definition between the rough and fairway on that course.

• YankeeJim 25,827 Posts

  Fri, Aug 13 2010 12:41 PM

  Look at it in the reverse view opposite the trap.

• bpierce749 116 Posts

  Wed, Aug 18 2010 1:14 PM

  i made it past the bunker by bouncing through the bunker

  enjoy

  bpierce

  http://wgt.com/gameclient.aspx?view=showReplay&JSON=%7B%20%22GUID%22%20%3A%20%22dd501a3b-cc3e-4268-9fe4-9dca00e8538a%22%2C%20%22Brand%22%20%3A%20%22undefined%22%20%7D

• zagraniczniak 1,984 Posts

  Thu, Aug 19 2010 2:47 AM

  shakyjon:

  If you are daring, and the wind is with you, try driving over the extreme left hand side of the fairway bunker.

  Fascinating. I noticed you had a huge tailwind and the drive was well over 300 yards. (Assuming that was with a master driver?) I have always driven 9 way to the right to stay off that slope that drags balls into the collection area next to the fairway bunker. But even then it is virtually impossible to hold the green (for me).

  Correction, I was looking at Andyson's replay.

• x1524807 776 Posts

  Thu, Aug 19 2010 5:29 AM

  shakyjon:

  There's trees just to the left of this bit of fairway, too.  It's a huge risk, but the reward for doing it right is just as big. 

  A sure par on the 9th---Fly your second shot into the rough off the green. If it shows you 21 yds from the hole, take off 2 yds and you will be within 2 ft of the cup

• zagraniczniak 1,984 Posts

  Thu, Aug 19 2010 10:52 AM

  x1524807:

  A sure par on the 9th---Fly your second shot into the rough off the green.

  That's the problem: I'm always in the rough off the green. It would be nice to birdie that hole once, just to see what it's like.