Round Planning - Viniterra
Haven’t done this in a while, but I am playing at the Club at Viniterra on Saturday! Should be a fun round, and I wanted to lay out a strategy before the round so I can be sure to play conservatively and give myself a chance to score well despite not being able to practice much.
Overall strategy
The goal is a new (recent) personal best, 85. That seems a little dramatic, especially considering I’ve never played Viniterra before and this is a difficult course, but I’m excited to give it a go.
Broken down by par-per-hole, I need to shoot +13 to par, or:
- Par 3s (4): +2
- Par 4s (10): +9
- Par 5s (4): +2
That means I should expect to play the hardest 13 holes at bogey, and the easiest 5 holes at par or better.
Holes, distances
This is an extremely long course, and with it being winter and the fairways being wet we will be playing the White tees, which distance out to 6117 yards. That is considerably less than my target of 6400 yards/round, but the next tee box back would stretch us out to 6700 yards, which given the wet conditions would seem impossible.
| Hole | Par | Handicap | Total Distance | Drive | Approach | Approach | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | 13 | 507 | 230 [3w] | 175 [6i] | 75 [52w] | 3 wood off the tee should carry the traps on the right hand side at 210 yards. |
| 2 | 4 | 1 | 377 | 250 [D] | 170 [6i] | - | Driver aligned up right hand side of fairway, should carry the traps at 220 yards |
| 3 | 4 | 11 | 309 | 200 [4h] | 140 [9i] | - | If the white tees are advanced this becomes a seriously short par 4. Dog-leg left keeps us from attacking the green, so we’ll go conservative to hit the green in regulation. |
| 4 | 5 | 7 | 467 | 215 [3h] | 200 [4h] | 130 [9i] | First opportunity to hit the 3 hybrid! Two layups should give us a quality look at birdie. |
| 5 | 4 | 3 | 405 | 215 [3h] | 160 [7i] | 60 [56w] | Really long par 4 that we will play as a par 5. |
| 6 | 3 | 15 | 172 | 172 [6i] | - | - | There are a ton of tee boxes, not sure what this will play as. |
| 7 | 4 | 9 | 337 | 215 [3h] | 170 [6i] | - | - |
| 8 | 3 | 17 | 126 | 126 [Pw] | - | - | - |
| 9 | 4 | 5 | 359 | 215 [3h] | 155 [8i] | 50 [56w] | Also playing this as a par 5. Tight shot over water will necessitate a layup. |
| Hole | Par | Handicap | Total Distance | Drive | Approach | Approach | Notes |
| 10 | 4 | 8 | 382 | 230 [3w] | 154 [8i] | - | No need for driver on a shorter par 4. |
| 11 | 4 | 10 | 326 | 170 [6i] | 130 [9i] | - | Advanced tees means a layup and an aggressive approach into the green. |
| 12 | 3 | 16 | 137 | 137 [9i] | - | - | - |
| 13 | 4 | 2 | 329 | 170 [6i] | 150 [7i] | 100 [52w] | Bunker placement in the fairway will require us to go short and play this as a par-5. |
| 14 | 4 | 4 | 354 | 200 [4h] | 170 [6i] | - | Laying up, longer approach, but avoiding hazards off the tee. |
| 15 | 5 | 6 | 559 | 215 [3h] | 200 [4h] | 130 [9i] | - |
| 16 | 3 | 18 | 127 | 127 [Pw] | - | - | - |
| 17 | 4 | 14 | 340 | 250 [D] | 75 [56w] | - | Probably a little risky, but the driver should carry the bunkers and this hole doesn’t appear to be as narrow as previous holes. |
| 18 | 5 | 12 | 504 | 215 [3h] | 160 [7i] | 88 [52w] | Laying up should give us a good chance to stick it close and bring it home with a birdie. |
The sum of shots by club based on this data are as follow:
| Club | Shots |
|---|---|
| Driver | 2 |
| 3 Wood | 2 |
| 3 Hybrid | 6 |
| 4 Hybrid | 4 |
| 6 Iron | 7 |
| 7 Iron | 3 |
| 8 Iron | 2 |
| 9 Iron | 5 |
| PW | 2 |
| 52 degree | 3 |
| 56 degree | 3 |
I’ve gone pretty conservative off the tee, but I’m excited to get to try out the hybrid and see if the accuracy and distance pays off. 215 isn’t a distance I could rely on previously. I’m partially worried that the hybrid will end up being closer to 220-225, and I might end up in more trouble than I’m anticipating.
Possible bogey holes
I’m planning on playing a number of holes at +1 to par. The hole is too long, or the hazards are setup in a way that aren’t conducive for my distances. Specifically, I’m looking at playing the following holes in +1 to par:
- 5 (par 4, handicap 7)
- 9 (par 4, handicap 5)
- 13 (par 4, handicap 2)
The distances on the par 3s were way longer in my app than on the scorecard. There is a good chance the two of those four will play an additional 20-30 yards longer than I see. Without playing the course before it’s hard to identify which are going to be the difficult holes to play.