Spirit Tee - 429

- 413

- 383

- 363

- 299

This hole doesn’t look like a par 4 from the tee. You see several bunkers from the tee, but no green. The green sits behind the block of trees on the right hand side. It’s a long dogleg right, forcing the player to hit a good tee shot. You can get into a lot of trouble here as you finish the front side. Since the hole is so long, it also forces the player to hit it a long way from the tee. I feel bad for the folks playing from The Spirit tees.

Let’s see what the second shot looks like.

From the Fairway

The hole doesn’t seem so intimidating once you get into the middle of the fairway. On the right hand side you can see any one of the cottages here at Whispering Pines Golf Club. The cottages are incredible, and are each themes like a different golf course somewhere in the world. It's only fitting that they use courses from all over the world here at the home of The Spirit International. From Augusta to St Andrews, members can spend the night surrounded by fitting decorations from floor to ceiling.

The second shot here will be much easier than the tee shot. There are plenty of bunkers to keep you focused coming on. There is one short left of the green, and then several to the right side of the green. The ones on the left look nasty, and can put a player into some trouble with little green to work with depending on where the pin is that day. If you are going to miss here, miss short or long and left. There is plenty of room short, and that will leave you an uphill chip shot with plenty of green to work with. This green has subtle slope from the back left to the front right.

On & Around the Green

There are several places you can miss here on hole 9. If you go long, go left. There is a small collection area back there. It’s the rough, but it will grab your ball and keep it out of the sand. The green is narrow, and as it slopes from the back left to the front right, depending on where the pin is, you can have a long speedy putt. Long and speedy putts seems to be a recurring theme out here in Trinity!

There is also a small collection area in front of the green. It will give you the most green to work with, in case you miss the green. This is a great way to end the front 9. Let’s go see what the back 9 has in store. (The signature hole is on the back side.)