Beggars Walk-Thru January 23, 1993 Please read the file Beggars.TXT before reading this one. Also, if you would like, print this file out and follow along on the course with me. Thanks. Again, this course is laid out in what I call "rHr" fashion. Remember if you are going backwards in the hole window the wind direction is "reverse" from what the gauge is reading. It takes some getting use to, but it becomes very natural after awhile (However, you mindless LINKS players may have trouble -- keep trying!) Also, in the hole quote I remind you each time which hole is the primary hole for that hole window -- such as: Wind - 18. If you are on #1, #10, or #17 it will remind you that the wind will be different than the gauge reads. If your on the 18th, it will be normal. Walk-thru ========= #1 Par 4 / 394 yds Tight drive here for a opening hole. Lay a 3 or a 4 wood out about 230 or so, and then knock a 6 iron on the green. Tough putting here as this is perhaps the hardest green on the course. Take a four -- plenty of time for birdies. #2 Par 5 / 501 yds This short par 5 plays against what little prevailing wind there is (Beggars' is located in the "zone of the doldrums" in the central Pacific), but it is not often reached in two. Mainly, because it's so early in the round, and one is not often warmed up enough to flirt with the ocean. Still an easy birdie for the patient. #3 Par 4 / 413 yds Here I demand that you hit a good drive, and it can be a long carry against wind. However, I do give you plenty of fairway for you crooked drivers. Second shot here is also a tester -- again take a four here on this "Signature Hole". #4 Par 4 / 413 yds Same length as previous hole, but a lot different. Best drive is to clear the left fairway bunker while flirting with OB. If your drive hits the downslope you maybe left with only a 8 or a 9 iron to the green. However, if you lose your drive the least bit right, you will find rough and bunkers. From there you can have a difficult second shot over the bunker complex in front of the green, and also thru the palms. One of my favorite holes on the course! #5 Par 3 / 218 yds Longest par 3 on the course, and pretty barren except for the grass bunker lying in front of the green -- can cause a great deal of problems. Good iron shots here never seem to get close to the pin. This is the only hole at Beggars' I have never birdied! #6 Par 4 / 373 yds Another favorite of mine -- the "massive sinkhole" makes a great hazard! Again, lay-up with 3 or a 4 wood as fairway tightens after 230 yds or so. Computer players seem to hit a lot of OB balls here. Great fun to play out of the "sinkhole" -- try it! #7 Par 4 / 394 yds A few months ago I saw some conversations by fellow designers on Prodigy about what makes a great par 4. They wrote as if every par 4 on a course had to be great -- baloney! In order for anything to be very good or great there has to be average, poor, and garbage. This hole is "average" -- yet I still have a great fondness for it! #8 Par 3 / 194 yds Great par 3 if I may say so myself! Patterned after the 17th at Pebble. It is a neat thrill to watch reverse instant replays here. Green is, as the quote says, tough to hit and tough to putt. Birdies here can inspire one! #9 Par 4 / 408 yds Cross-bunkers as hazards went out with "raccoon skin coats" and "zoot suits", but I think it makes for a great change in strategy. You can lay-up, but I just blast away taking my drive to the right of the bunker. Often I find the rough. The mounding near the green makes for great viewing in the reverse angle replay! Patterned after the 18th at "Old Ballybunion" in Ireland. #10 Par 3 / 141 yds Criss-crossing the "hole window" makes for tricky wind conditions, but my main problem with this hole is always putting. This green is very subtle in its breaks, and the pins positions are difficult. It seems like I three-putt here as a rule. #11 Par 4 / 450 yds Most elevated tee on the course makes for great driving, however too far right and you find the rough. Snap hook, and you find OB! I always like to design at least one par 4 with no bunkers, and usually uphill. Patterned after the 3rd at my Deane Hill. #12 Par 5 / 466 yds Was originally supposed to be a long par 4, but I shortened the 11th so I could show the 10th green in the hole window. I started to build a small pond in front of the green in order to make the hole more difficult, but I get tired of water all the time. Anyway, I can now make an "eagle" every now and then -- so it staying the way it is! #13 Par 4 / 282 yds Like the great designer Dr Alistair Mackenzie I love to include at least one "short easy par 4" per course. However, I prefer that the green be very difficult in order to try to defend it from easy birdies. The 12th at my Deane Hill is another good example. If the good player fails to birdie, he may lose concentration, and more misery may follow! #14 Par 4 / 400 yds The last hole before rejoining the ocean. Great view from the tee, with a long iron approach over a small creek that fronts the green. The concrete bridge in front of the green may save you at times. I built it that way so those who shots were true in direction but only slightly heavy could still stay dry. Fairly challenging. #15 Par 3 / 122 yds Best view on the course. Those magnificent Willett clouds are not obstructed by trees or mountains. When the wind is up, and the pin is back it's very easy to lose it in the ocean here. Enjoy the view, but watch your head! #16 Par 5 / 562 yds Longest hole on the course. Reached only by the longest hitters. Pot bunker short of the green grabs a lot of second shots. Big sloping green is one of my favorites. By no means a certain 4! #17 Par 3 / 160 yds The most difficult par 3 on the course, and therefore it makes it one of the hardest holes. I seem to find the ocean here about as often as Bill Clinton tells a fib -- well maybe not that much! Anyway the "wind" here plays havoc with my ball. #18 Par 4 / 392 yds Absolutely the hardest drive I've ever designed. You must carry 230 to 240 or so. Would not be hard in LINKS, but it is very difficult in JNSE -- the program that turns you into a Senior player in driving distance. However, the hole works very well. You can have a three or four stroke swing on this hole alone. Well there it is. Also, if you go to the practice range you'll see that there are trees on it like there was at my Deane Hill. Hope you shoot some low numbers! Bill Permenter Prodigy # GSTM14E