The Monster
In a recent blogpost about the PGA golf championship, I had mentioned my volunteer marshaling opportunities during 5 major championships held ver the years at Oakland Hills Country Club in Birmingham, MI. For each event, I was fortunate to marshal Hole 16, the signature hole on the famed course dubbed the “Monster” by professional golfer Ben Hogan in 1951 after he won the US Open on the course. Click here for the highlights of that event.
Marshaling was really easy duty in that all we did was watch great golfers up close and personal. We also were given matching shirts, slacks and cap for free. The Hole Captain would direct 6 marshals to a particular area of the hole, with two at the tee, two at the landing spot for the drive and two at the green. Our job was to blend into the background and make sure the fans were quiet and stayed outside the ropes.
But occasionally after an errant drive, the marshals would have to clear the crowd around the wayward ball so the pro could hit the next shot. That was always a challenge as all the spectators wanted to be as close as possible to the golfer. I’m always amazed how little clearance the pros really need to hit their shots from behind the ropes down a narrow corridor of spectators without hitting anyone. Plus they typically make it onto the green!
Recently our Senior Golf Association was invited to play Oakland Hills, so I readily signed up as the course is a favorite golf venue. My plan was to take photos of each shot I played on Hole 16 for inclusion in this blogpost; however, those plans went awry when the event was rained out. I’m hoping for a make-up day later in the season. So without the first-hand photos, I went on-line to find images of Hole 16 and was not disappointed. Here’s my favorite view showing 16 green with the lake in the foreground and clubhouse in the background.
Before marshaling the 1996 US Open, there was a huge rainstorm the night before the tournament started, which flooded many of the holes, including 16, with the lake overflowing onto the fairway and even part of the green. I can recall my beige slacks splattered in mud from marshaling the next day, with play delayed several hours as the grounds crew restored the course, pumping off the standing water and repairing the washed out bunkers as shown in the following photos.
Here’s a YouTube flyover of the hole from tee to green, with hints on how to play the hole. Since I’ve never parred 16 after playing the course dozens of times, this flyover undoubtedly provides a much better perspective than any photos of my shots. Another reason I liked the hole is during Ryder Cup and US Amateur match play, Hole 16 was many times the final close-out hole for many matches because of its degree of difficulty.
As is evident from these aerial views of the course, Hole 16 is a dogleg right par 4.
It’s length is only 406 yards from the Championship tees, but it gave amateurs and pros alike a tough challenge, primarily because the water comes into play on both the drive and the difficult shot to the narrow bifurcated green.
Here’s the view from the tee. Notice the lake on the right about 200 yards from the tee. Many a player has ended up in the trees on the left just to avoid the water. Or if you lay up from the water, there’s deep rough in front of the lake that makes it nearly impossible to make a good second shot. And if you do manage to land your tee shot on the fairway, the next shot is intimidating flying the ball over the water towards the green.
The hole is so famous it’s been painted by a number of artists, the results of which are shown below and on this link. The paintings sure aren’t cheap!
Here’s how Golf Digest describes Hole 16:
"This dogleg right is the signature hole at Oakland Hills. Players must keep the ball in the fairway by avoiding water right and trees left. The second shot is one of the most intimidating shots at Oakland Hills. A short-iron approach will be one to a wide, shallow green that has a ridge running from front to back with water protecting the green along the front and right side. Some players may be tempted to use one extra club and take the water out of play. They run the risk of catching one of the three rear bunkers and leaving a difficult sand shot”.
With all this added insight, I’m definitely going to par #16 the next time I play Oakland Hills!
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