| Championship |
192 |
| Maroon |
180 |
| Teal |
180 |
| Orange |
167 |
| Green |
132 |
| Ocean |
132 |
| Khaki |
129 |
| D. Muirhead |
129 |
Par
(Mens/Ladies) |
3/3 |
Handicap
(Mens/Ladies) |
16/14
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To give unity to the sequence of our course, we return to the theme of the snake. This time it is smaller, more tightly coiled and more deadly. There are actually three snakes here; one which surrounds the green, and has it's mouth devouring its tail, a symbol of self-destruction so close to golf, which goes back to prehistory. The second is coiled at the tee winding down the fairway and resting just in front of the green with it's head defined in a bas-relief of Bermuda grass. There is higher grass further back fro the body and taller grass again for the rattle. In the third snake, the grass itself is shaped like a rattlesnake's head with a gnawing mouth awaiting the timid tee shot. At 180-yards, even if it is downwind, this is a challenging par 3.
In designing this hole I was influenced by the gestalt concept of isomorphism. In this theory the structural from of the object relates to a visual image, which triggers patterns of human behavior. Thus, the rattlesnake in reality of symbolic image inspires great fear and this hole is expected to do the same. Life is occasionally frightening and a round of golf is a lifetime contained in a day, like James Joyce's Ulysses.
The tees are high up the coil to engage the green and the snake's body to be clearly seen and to make both mouth and head appear that much more formidable. The sinuous curves repeat the forms of numbers 9 and 11, aiding both the rhythm and the continuity of the course.
There is enormous energy in coils and serpentine movements in general, but it is usually slowly dissipated. Here the body and the mougt/trap are dynamic yet the head/green in its circular frame is static. Only a cool state of will power and confidence will unlock the paradox of this hole. It tends to leave the golfer uncertain, incomplete. He must find solid faith in himself and his ability. Both the psychologist Jung and the philosopher Kierkegaard would have approved. I wonder if they ever played golf?
Desmond Muirhead |