Hole 1
No. 1 originally had the pond crossing the fairway in front of the green connecting to the water on No. 2. So, the second shot was over the water to an elevated green with a severe slope into the pond. If a player hit anywhere short of the green, the ball would roll back into the pond making it an extremely difficult starting hole. Player eliminated the water and lowered the entire green complex. Now, it’s a hole that doesn’t beat up the player right off the start. Player added the fairway bunkers to put more of a premium on accuracy. The one on the left is reachable from the tee for most players. The bunker on the right is reachable by only the longest hitters, allowing more room for error for the shorter hitters. The smart play is to hit a 3-wood off the tee then have a short- to mid-iron into the green.
Hole 3
Originally, No. 3 was two holes — a short par-4 and a par-3. When extra land was acquired on the marsh, Player stretched it into a par-5. It has a significant risk/reward aspect to it for the better player where it’s reachable in two but any shot offline will be wet or in one of the multitude of bunkers. For players lying up, there is much more room than there appears from the tee-shot landing areas. Once again, though, even a lay-up shot is risk/reward where players bite off as much as they dare to get the shortest approach shot into this green.
Hole 5
This hole was substantially changed in 1996. Player pushed the tee back as far as he could, adding about 60-70 yards to the hole. The pond on the right used to be closer to the tee and a finger of it came out into the fairway. Player filled the finger in the fairway and extended the pond further down the right side to place more of a premium on accuracy for the longer hitters. On the left, the grass used to run down into the marsh. He also bulkheaded the fairway all the way down the left side, shifting the tilt of the ground away from the marsh and back into the fairway. This, in essence, made the fairway substantially wider. Ideally, players want to keep to the right side of the fairway to get the best angle into the green, as trees guard the left. of the fairway to get the best angle into the green, as trees guard the left.
Hole 7
No. 7 was a very weak hole at Marsh Point; so, Player lowered the green and moved it back and to the left. He also added the pond to the left of the green. This is a target-golf hole where players need to keep the ball left to give them room to clear the trees. Long-ball hitters can try to hit it far enough to get past the trees at the turn of the dogleg, but they must be careful not to hit through the fairway. On approach shots, players need to watch the treetops to catch phantom winds they won’t feel on the fairway that can greatly affect short-iron shots. No. 7 is a truly esthetically pleasing hole.
Hole 9
To add to what was an anemic landing area, Player filled in some of the pond on the right. He also softened the slope into the pond to make it less likely to bounce down into the water. Around the 150-yard marker, he also filled in a section of the pond that blindly jutted out into the fairway. A new tee box was added, tacking on another 50 yards to the hole.
Hole 11
This hole is one of the few that didn’t need much change from its Marsh Point days. The only change was that the fairway bunker was moved back and another bunker short right of the green was added making it more difficult for players going for the green in two to bounce it on. This is one of the most photographed greens on the Island with a wide array of bunkering and stately oaks framing the hole. It was also one of the holes used in the filming of “The Legend of Bagger Vance.” In the movie’s opening scene Jack Lemmon hits his tee shot on this hole then walk off the tee down the fairway to the left rough. It was Jack Lemmon’s final movie.
Hole 13
During its Marsh Point days, bunkers used to be right in the middle of the landing area. The first thing Player did was move the bunkers to the left rough giving players less of an opportunity to be punished for hitting a good drive. The green was also substantially changed. It used to be just a narrow sliver. Player made it much wider, giving a multitude of options for challenging pin placements. Once again, a ball in the fairway is a must here. Hit a 3-wood off the tee and have an easy mid- to short-iron into the green.
Hole 15
The water used to cross the fairway right in the long-hitter’s landing area (or moderate hitters playing from the white tees). Many of the shorter-hitting women couldn’t hit their drives far enough to set up a second shot that would clear the water. So, they had to lay-up, turning the hole essentially into a par-6 for them. Then when players got up toward the green, there was a third clump of oaks on the right that sat in between the two current oaks. They effectively provided an impenetrable wall between the fairway and the green. Filling in that water-crossing and removing that cluster of oaks made this a much fairer, but still challenging, hole where the better players can risk going for the green in two over the water. Those laying up need to hit enough club to get past the oaks for a clear shot at the green on their 3rd.
Hole 17
Probably the most scenic hole on the course, water plays down the entire right side. No. 17 was a par-3 when it was Marsh Point. As Cougar Point, this short par-4 gives a player a myriad of playing options. They can play it safe with an iron to the left of the tree leaving a mid-iron to the undulating green. They can hit a 3-wood over the tree leaving a wedge or 9-iron to the green. Or, big hitters can hit over the water and fairway bunkers leaving a short chip/pitch to the well-bunkered green. Beware of hitting through the fairway, though. The green complex area was actually a house lot when it was Marsh Point. The hole was originally a par-4, was changed to a par-3 and was returned to being a par-4 when Player renovated in 1997.
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