Hole #4 description on the Kingsley Club web site is here.
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| The 4th hole boasts another stunning green complex |
#4 is a par 4
411 from the Gold tee
385 from the Blue tee
The 4th hole makes its way back somewhat parallel to #3, though it is a straighter hole. Straighter when it comes to lack of left or right dogleg that is. It can't be called straight vertically, as it is a roller coaster from tee to green (okay, I should really save this statement for the 17th.) The fairway on this hole is funtastic!! The tee shot is somewhat blind, because of the humps and the native grass. Hitting all you've got will most likely leave you with a blind approach from the bottom of one of the many valleys. Depending upon your comfort with a longer approach, less club off the tee might be the proper order. If you lay back, you will be rewarded with a clearer view of the approach and the green. There is plenty of room left off this tee. I know; I was there twice. While the left is spacious, it isn't really preferable. You won't get a good look at the putting surface from over there. Hopefully, you were paying attention when you passed by from the 2nd green to the 3rd tee...
There is one final deep down and up right in front of this monstrous green - the second consecutive hole with a green of epic proportions. This one is a little less oddly shaped than #3, but it is challenging nonetheless. There is a rather large hump or spine that runs through the middle of the green, making it important to hit the front or the rear - wherever the pin is that day.
#4 is another really good hole in the impressive opening stretch at Kingsley.
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| From the tee |
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| The view (or lack thereof) from the left side of the fairway |
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| Closer to the green from the left side. You can clearly see the pin, but the putting surface is still well hidden from this angle |
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| Preferred angle to the green from the right side of the fairway |
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| Stray too far right and you might still get the obstructed view (or find the nasty bunkers) |
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| The right side, closer to the green. You can see the final fairway dip. |
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| A view of some of the bunkering and the 4th green from the 3rd fairway |
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| The front of the green |
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| The rear view of the green |
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| The 4th green as seen from the 2nd green |
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| The 4th green from the 5th tee. The number of holes that provide an ample view of the 4th green is a special recurring theme on the front nine! |
Comments on Hole #4 from Mike DeVries:
"The greensite was always high on my radar list from the first walking of the site -- this might be because it was a little more open and primarily brambles instead of 10-year-old regrowth from a clearcut operation, but it was always a really cool feature. In figuring out holes in the beginning, there was a tee from left of the middle of the 3rd hole that played across the 4th green and 2nd hole to the back tee on the 6th -- a wild ride of a short par 5 that would have been a heckuva hole -- only problem is, it didn't work well with the other good holes and got thrown out. So how to use this amazing double bowl feature that is the 4th green? I toyed with the green as either the front or back of the green, considering safety margins with the other holes, shots, etc. and finally decided to use the whole area again, similar to #3G, because of the different shots required into it and ability to attack via the ground or aerially.
The greensite was always very good, so how to fit it in with other good holes and have a great sequence of holes? Tom is right, in that I had to find what would make an interesting drive and transition for that green, in this case from #2 through #5, even to #7T, where you get a variety of glimpses of the various greens, fairways, bunkers, and landforms throughout your journey around the South 40. There is a very good tee further to the left, down near the big rock behind the 6th green that opens up to the left side of the fairway, lengthens the hole a bit, and has the drive hitting into the ridge more -- I chose not to put this tee in due to its distance from the 3rd green but the owner likes it and keeps talking about having me build it, and maybe we will someday . . . the one thing about this angle is that the ridge isn't as much of a factor on the drive as a landing area but the view from the tee is more open and visually friendlier than the somewhat hidden aspect of the current tees."
"12,300 sq ft [the size of the 4th green]. #13 is slightly larger than that. 9 of the greens on the course are less than 5000, with #15 the smallest at 3750."
"The line of attack from the tee is actually the left edge of the green, but lots of players go directly at the green and end up in the bowl on the right, blind to the green but with lots of info to go into the green, with the trees in the background and an open approach in the front. It is a fun drive and always great when you land on the ridge but also fun to hit shots out of the bowl and get it close from a blind spot."
"The front approach ridge was there and works very well to advance balls forward into the green and creates a certain amount of blindness to the surface from the landing area to the front part of the green, even from the high part of the ridge in the landing area. This makes the front pins difficult to get close to and demonstrates the importance of checking the pin location when walking from #2G to #3T.
The flagstick location in the picture is one of my favorite on the green (and there are many on this one!), as it is on a shelf just past the middle ridge before descending into the back bowl -- hard to stop it next to the cup but not bad to be in the back bowl, putting uphill to the hole for a makeable 20' birdie putt!"
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