At 123 yards long, the ‘Postage Stamp’ ought to be a piece of cake. And indeed, it can be, when the wind stays away.
The eighth hole at Royal Troon, which will stage the 145th Open Championship this week, is the shortest on the Open rotation.
But it can also be a terror, a bane in the life of everyone who tries to tame it, especially when cross-winds rip the ball from its intended path.
Like the 12th at Augusta National where the Masters is played and, even more so, the treacherous 17th at Sawgrass where the Players Championship is held, the ‘Postage Stamp’ is in everyone’s thoughts.
“It’s always in the back of your mind during the first seven holes,” Scotland’s Colin Montgomerie said, in his column for the Sun newspaper. “The previous holes are pretty much downwind. When you are playing number seven, you look across to the right and notice where the pin is. You’re already playing that shot in your mind.
“If the flag is at the back, you cannot go near it. If it’s at the front, you bail out left, but not too far. At around 120 yards, it would be a simple wedge shot in normal circumstances.
“But in one of the practice rounds, with the wind whipping in my face, it was a full six-iron. That guesswork over club selection is what makes it such a dangerous hole. You have a hole that is nearly 150 years old and can still generate so much drama. Fantastic.”
Sweden’s Henrik Stenson, one of the favourites to win his first Open, said the eighth will be where the drama happens. “Anyone who wants to see potential train wrecks... that’s the place to sit,” he said. “I believe it’s one of those great little par 3s.
“On the scorecard it doesn’t look much, but when the wind is blowing and you’ve got to be precise with a 7, 8, (or) 9-iron, it’s quite tricky.”
In 2004, the last time Troon staged the Open, the eighth was a tough test, with an average score of 3.09, just above its par, and yielded only 83 birdies or better across the four rounds. If you are unlucky enough to find one of the bunkers, then your chances of making par are extremely small, as Rory McIlroy can attest to, having taken six shots to get out of one of them in practice on Tuesday.
In the description on the Open website, it says of the ‘Postage Stamp’: “There is no safe way to play the hole. It is a tiny target, and with any crosswind, the middle of the green is the target. Pebble Beach’s 7th is the shortest par three in Major golf at 109 yards, but this and the 12th at Augusta National Golf Club are the two which get your heart racing.”
The highest ever score at the hole came in 1950 when German amateur Herman Tissies shot a 15 but Ernie Els managed a hole-in-one in 2004. Anything is possible.
McIlroy’s ‘Postage Stamp’ tip: Try to hit it in the middle
Rory McIlroy had never played Royal Troon before he came to town last Thursday to get ready for the 145th British Open and after his practice round on Tuesday, you could not blame him if he never played it again.
Specifically, he might not want to play the ‘Postage Stamp’, the 123-yard, par-three eighth hole.
“I think I took an eight or a nine,” he told a news conference at the Troon yesterday. “Headed into the front right bunker and it took me like five or six goes to get out of it.”
At least he got an idea of how to play the hole when things get serious with today’s opening round. “Try to hit it in the middle,” he said. “Even hitting it into the middle of the green is a good shot, and then take two putts. If you make four threes there this week, you’re probably going to gain a bit of ground on the field.”
