No. 15 – Par 4
(473/418/399/332)
This hole, created during a 2011 renovation, tempts you to play down the left side of the fairway the first time you see it. Then, when you arrive at the landing area, you find out that might not have been the best choice after all.
A bunker on the left side of the wide fairway and another right down the middle make it appear the direct route to the green down that left side is the optimal on this slight dogleg left hole. However, the fairway slopes sharply downhill at this point and hides the fact that a gorge cuts into the fairway very quickly down the left side.
Architect Jack Nicklaus has left you ample room up the right side, away from the ocean bluffs and the trouble that lurks just over the hill. Take what The Bear gives you and aim right of the bunker that sits in the visual middle of the fairway. Little bad can happen over there, and you approach shot won’t be appreciable longer anyway. Some players even choose to go with less than driver on days when the trade winds are helping. Distance isn’t an issue (except from the tips), and in fact longer tee shots can produce an awkward, downhill stance for your approach.
Regardless of where your drive ends up, the approach shot must carry that gorge and a collection of fronting bunkers to find the safety of a wide green framed by the Timbers Resort and Hualani’s Restaurant, named for the always-cordial Hualani Duncan, Golf Sales Manager. The back-to-front slope of the green makes chips from behind very difficult.