Course Breakdown: The Crown holes 6-9
Hole 6: Where the Hell Do I Aim?
Easily the toughest hole on the front nine, the 6th is a dogleg right packed with trouble. One of the biggest challenges here is just figuring out where the hell you’re supposed to aim. The trees on the left close in fast and can totally block you from having any shot at the green.
What you can’t see is the pond lurking to the right of the fairway—it’s only 195 yards to reach. You can carry it, but it's 235 yards at the shortest point and up to 260 yards if you're aiming out toward the right.
Next time I play here, I’m aiming over the middle of the first bunker and hitting driver. That seems to offer the best angle while staying out of the worst trouble.
Once the hole starts turning right, the elevation drops about 10 feet from the 200-yard marker down to the green. The green itself is slightly elevated and slopes left to right and back to front. The right-side bunker also has some influence, causing a few putts to break right-to-left off of it.
Hole 7: Uphill Grind
I think this is my favorite hole on the front nine. At just 336 yards, you’d think it would be an easy one—but like my grandpa’s walk to school (both ways), it’s all uphill. From the tee to the green, you’re climbing 47 feet.
This dogleg left has bunkers between you and the green at about 235 yards. The smart play is to aim left and stay short of the trees, which are also about 235 out. Either way—stay short of that number. With the elevation, you could play it up to 250 yards, but don’t get cute.
From 100 yards out, the uphill adds the equivalent of 7 more yards, and you’re usually dealing with a hurting wind coming from the left. The false front isn’t too aggressive, but if you pair a spinny wedge with that wind, the ball is going to zip back more than usual.
If you’re going to miss, miss right—not left. The green slopes back to front, but only about 3 feet total. I always feel like I’m not quite aggressive enough with the downhill putts here.
Hole 8: Right.. is wrong
Out of all the green complexes, I think this one is my favorite. But on your way to that favorite green, make sure not to miss right. After the carry, the right-side bunkers are about 225 yards out, and from there you’ve only got 17 yards of rough before your ball might fall off the face of the planet. An absolute no-no.
Because of that, you need to favor the left side. Over there, you’ve got some trees way left and a bunker just off the fairway at 252 yards. Since this hole is only 350 yards, I usually hit my 230-yard club to give myself plenty of room to miss left. Even if I push one way out there, I should be far enough back to have a clear shot over the trees.
The green complex is shaped like a triangle—narrow in the front and widening toward the back tier. If the pin is in the back, make sure not to miss long. I’m not a fan of the right bunkers either... so I guess that means I prefer to miss left here.
Hole 9: Tough but Fair
The tougher of the two par 3s on the front, the 9th faces the opposite direction of the 3rd hole and typically plays into the wind, which only makes it more challenging. At 165 yards, this hole forces you to hit a quality shot; anything less and you’ll be facing a tough up-and-down from almost any miss.
The green sits a few feet above most of the rough, and the worst miss is in the front bunker or long left in the trees. Your best miss is short—at least you’ll have a chance to save par.
The green slopes from the back-right corner to the front-left corner and can get pretty quick in places, so watch out for those downhill putts!
