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Winter Indoor School 2005 | Academy Women's League & Lessons

By Jamie Vandermoer

Niagara’s Battlefield course, one thing came to mind: “Do ya feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?”

With water, water, everywhere along the left side of the fairway, this 392-yard, par 4, can make or break you. The fairway doglegs to the left, hugging the water all the way to the green. If you’re feeling strong, or like a lucky punk, aim to the left of the bunkers dead ahead of you. Clear the water and you’ve got a short wedge to the green and a good chance for birdie. Come up short and it’s “Asta lavista, baby,” you’re “swimming with the fishes.” Okay, maybe I watched a few too many action movies this weekend. Whatever the case, Number 7 is designed to tempt you like cold beer on a hot day. You just want to reach out and grab it.

If you can fly your tee shot 250 yards or so, you’re fine. Go for the gusto and plant one out there. If you’re a little closer to mortal, you’ll probably want to take aim to the right of the bunkers where the landing area is considerably more merciful. Sure, you’ve got a lot longer approach, and the water is still in play to the left, but at least you’re dry. And as long as you’ve poked it out there sufficiently, you’ve got a straight shot to a slightly elevated green. When I say straight, I mean straight. You don’t want to veer left or it’s a dunk in the tank, if you fly right you’ll get swallowed up by a devilish bunker just beside the green.

Think you can manage that? Well, do ya, punk?

www.niagaraparksgolf.com. Go ahead, make your day!

Tips for playing Legends

By Jamie Vandermoer

When I first looked at hole Number 1 at Legends’ famous/infamous Battlefield course I came up with a new name for course architect Doug Carrick. I can’t repeat it here. I’m straight out of the car and this guy is making me play the longest hole on the course. I knew right away this course wasn’t going to cut me any slack. But when I looked back on it, starting the round with a 550-yard, par 5, was a “stroke” of genius.

Here’s why.

Most courses start you out with an easy par 4. They give you a wide landing area because it’s assumed you’re not fully warmed up yet, and the green is generally free of harsh hazards.

Not so at Battlefield. Renowned course architect Doug Carrick does something a little different. He packs everything into one hole, making it a preview of what’s to come. Kind of like the teaser at the beginning of a movie. There’s a little taste of all the action.

And while I may have cursed Carrick on the tee, I thanked him throughout the round. Thanks to the details in Number 1, I was prepared for the rest of my round. Fescue, large, daunting sand traps, trees, and, while it doesn’t come into play, the water I’d face later in my battle with Battlefield. It’s all there packed into one hole.

Teeing off isn’t for the faint of heart. You’ve got to carry two large traps to the left while steering clear of two large trees further down to the right. It’s better to be left so your next shot won’t be blocked by those majestic trees.

Going for the green in two is only recommended for those of you who can bench press your car. It’s a long way and this time you’re best to stay left. Sound like you’re zig-zagging? You are, just like the fairway that from above looks a little like a lightning bolt.

If you’ve tried to make it in two, you’d better hope you cleared those hungry bunkers looming about 60 yards in front of the green. Yep, they’re there for guys like you who think you can thread a needle with an approach shot into prevailing wind.

If you’ve decided to hit up, hopefully you zagged instead of zigged and ended up about 100 yards out and to the right. This gives you the best approach to the pin.

Oh yeah, the pin. If it’s placed front right, you’re golden. But it probably isn’t. It’s probably back and left, in which case it’s saddled up next to two more bunkers. Here’s my advice: come in from the right, stay below the hole. You can thank me later. The green is large so you’ve got a decent target, and the undulating green is typical of what you’ll find throughout the rest of the course.

You may birdie this whole. It’s entirely possible. But that doesn’t mean you’ll defeat Battlefield. You’ve just got a taste of what you’re up against the rest of the day.

Jamie Vandermoer is an award winning golf writer and photographer. He is the former editor of Tee To Green Golf Magazine.

Playing Number 18 at Battlefield

By Jamie Vandermoer

Sometimes you stand on the tee and your eye follows the exact path you want your ball to follow straight to the pin. And then sometimes you look out at the fairway, shrug your shoulders and say, “I don’t have a clue where to hit this one.” That was the case when I first faced Battlefield at Legends’ number 18.

You probably watched Meg Mallon take her victory walk up the number 18 fairway at Battlefield last Sunday. It’s hard to imagine the thrill of that walk, but you could certainly re-create it for yourself. Battlefield is an entirely public course and right now it’s still in the professional condition set up to challenge the LPGA pros. At trip there now and you can tee it up exactly the way the finest women golfers in the world did. That’s an opportunity you don’t get very often, and the play and stay packages offered make it even more tempting.

The final hole at Battlefield can be a bit of a head scratcher the first time you look at it. This 518 yard, par 5, has a view that’s both breathtaking and intimidating. The water to the right is foreboding. The fairway looks wide, but two lines of bunkers pop up like the beady eyes of the Loch Ness monster waiting to swallow your tee shot. A landing area bulges out to the right but the threat of all that water will make anyone with the slightest slice debate whether that’s the spot they want to aim for. It is. That’s the best -and only- way to go for birdie on 18. Suck it up, forget the water’s there and go for it. Did you really come all this way to bail out?

If you decide to play conservative, that’s okay. I can’t blame you. Those taunting bunkers dead ahead won’t come into play unless you hit way too long or way too short. In that case, you’re on your own. I’ve got nothing for you.

If you’ve placed a good tee shot to the right you can go for the green. Still, shot number two is a bit like threading a needle with a baseball bat. The shot is long, over 200 yards, and the green is guarded by bunkers to the left and water that comes all the way up to its right edge. And did I mention the green slopes toward the water? Oh yeah, a little too far right and you’ll be punished like a bad schoolboy. Nothing more embarrassing that having the clubhouse crew watch your approach end up in the drink.

Worried yet? You should be. There’s so much going on with the scenery: the beautiful water, the backdrop of the clubhouse, the sun that sets along the horizon later in the day. You can be distracted just by the sheer beauty.

Don’t worry, if you bail out by hitting a short lay-up approach, no one will criticize you. Not even Meg Mallon. Remember, she beat the course but didn’t conquer 18. She was happy to just play for par on this one.

My best advice is to stay below the hole, keeping in mind the green’s slope to the water. You’ve been through enough just to get here, 18’s green will let you finish with your dignity intact.

Remember, you can follow the footsteps of the top women golfers in the world. Fourteen of the top 15 LPGA moneywinners were on hand for this year’s BMO Canadian Women’s Open. Book a package today and you can say you played right beside Meg Mallon’s divots!

Jamie Vandermoer is a well-known golf writer and former editor of Tee To Green Golf Magazine

Number 11 par 5, 497 yards

This par five represents one of the most exciting challenges in golf. The brilliance of Doug Carrick’s design can be seen in this 497-yard hole. It’s your chance to pick up a stroke if you play smart, but get foolhardy and you’ll be punished. You can conquer number 11 a couple of ways. Here’s my advice:

To take the bite out of number 11 at Legends there are a couple of ways to play. Be careful though. Number 11 can bite back.

If you’ve got a decent drive you can play along the right side of the fairway. Be forewarned though, water travels the entire length of the hole right up to the green. Staying right gives you the best vantage point on the green but you can easily go for a swim.

The water actually makes the fairway bunkers look attractive. If you can carry the ball 210 yards, you can fly those puppies and find yourself in a nice wide landing area.

Play right and you can probably go for the green with a fairway wood. The green is guarded by water along the front right, bunkers to the back and left and has a steep slope just at the front. With pin placement near the front it’s one of the rare occasions I’d suggest hitting above the hole. Balls that stick and catch near the front have been known to roll back into the water. If the pin’s at the back, consider yourself lucky and blast one to the heart of the green and let it roll toward the stick. Hey, you’re on in two and it’s birdie time.

If you’ve taken the safer route to the left or center you can still make up a stroke with a little shotmaking. Five, yep, five bunkers pop their heads up to the left of the green but from your vantage point you should have a straight, albeit narrow, trip to the green. Lay up with a crisp shot and you’ll be fine in that thin part of the fairway. With the pin up front it’s a straightforward chip shot (some even putt from the fairway) to get you close to the pin, and your birdie. The green is relatively flat throughout so it should be an easy judge.

Number 11 at Legends is one of those classic holes. You can play within your game and still come out ahead. Try to get cocky and your scorecard will only end up bruised and battered.