| OCR Text |
Show Wo. 1 hole, a goSvingj rsiOEisfter By Aldon Rachele Epresi Sports Edi'or The number one hole on the Dinaland Golf Course is 220 yards from the blue tees and is the second shortest hole as number nine is the shortest at 138 yards, but the number one hole is far from easy as many golfers have found out during visits at the golf ball eating hole. For some golfers the number one hole will be a new experience during Eastern Utah Petroleum Invitational Golf Classic, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, but for some who have played the hole it will be a time to be careful in the golf ball slugging world. "Golfers have lost a lot of golf balls on number one. It's one of the toughest holes in the state of Utah," stated Dinaland Golf Course professional, Jon Mauss. "The out of bounds fence is right next to the green. The green slopes to the right and your ball could end up farther off to the right then you want it to be. There is a lake to the right of the green. The green is tough to putt on. It's real fast. The best bet is to just play it short in order to avoid the fence." Vernal golfer, LaMar Hawkins, remarked, "The number one hole is probably the toughest hole in the state and that's what all the pros say. A lot of golfers have been in first place contention con-tention and hooked it out of bounds on number one and lost the tourney. I get it out of bound quite often. I use a 4 wood from the blue tees and a five iron from the white tees. The main thing is to keep it in play." The hole is 185 yards away from the white tees and 174 yards away from the red tees. The number one hole has been cursed curs-ed by many professional golfers. The final hole of the 1981 Eastern Utah Petroleum Invitational Golf Classic for Kim Thompson of Cedar City was the nightmare causing number one. Thompson needed a birdie two for a victory in the tournament and a par three would have enabled Thompson to tie for first place in the tourney, but instead he was awarded a bogey four and Brad Stone won the tourney by one stroke. Many years ago a sudden death playoff took place on number one when the tournament was called the Hiko Bell Tournament between Jim Baker and Ted Hart. Hart hit his ball over the fence for a double bogey five and Baker won the tournament. Another Vernal golfer, Ned Lee, commented, "The first thing I do when I play number one is pray three Hail Marys and pray to God that I don't knock it over the fence. You line the ball up and try to keep in it bounds. If you pull it you go out of bounds. It's not hard to take a five or six on number one. There's the out of bounds on the left and the pond on the right." "It's the toughest par three hole in the state of Utah. It's an easy hole to shoot double par on and I just try for the best," said Jess York. The number one green is close to the fence and a sand trap is located below the green on the left and a large pond is off to the right. "It narrows down so much and especially from the blue tees. It is rough. I don't hit too long so I use a 4 wood and try to go down the middle," remarked Dayl Webb. A lady standing next to Webb remarked, "It's a par three hole, but it plays like a par 5. It's a tough one." Vernal lady golfer. Ginny Denton, stated. "It's really harder for the men than for the women. We usually get on the green in two, but once in a while we reach the green on one. Everyone tries to keep the ball away from the fence, but sometimes it ends up in the rough or pond. A lot of golfers pull it to the right. The men and the professional profes-sional golfers say it is the hardest one especially when they tee off by the trees from the blue tees. The hole has sand, water, out of bounds close to the green-the whole works." The number one hole is tough, but wind can make it even tougher. "It's one of the toughest holes in the state. The cross winds make it tough to keep the ball in bounds. The wind will pick it up and take it over the fence," stated Leon Roberts. "One slight little error and you will go out of bounds. It's longer than it looks. It plays long. Most people try to run up on the green instead in-stead of on the fly. There is less chance of going over the fence if you keep the ball down low." Grady Chupp had the number one hole named after him a few years ago, but the 88 year old golfer isn't on friendly terms with the hole. "It's a 1 tough hole for me out here. It's got fence on one side and pond on the other side. I usually have a four or five on the hole. I can't hit a tee shot here. The number three hole is the best hole for me." Another Vernal golfer Roy Showalter, commented, "These strangers put them over the fence. It's a hard hole, but we don't usually get it out of bounds." The number one hole is a tough hole for most golfers, but for one golfer it was an easy hole. "A pro hit the telephone pole, out of bounds with his tee shot and then it bounced back and he had a two. The ball landed right next to the flag and he one putted," stated Betty Hart of Vernal. "It's a very hard hole due to the out of bounds, sand trap and pond. I aim for the flag and hope for the best and I do a lot of praying. If you get off line a little lit-tle bit you're in trouble." When asked to comment on putting on the green. Bud Pease said, "They've been putting pretty good. It's a little faster than the practice green. You just watch where it breaks and be sure you got it read right. It might be six or eight feet away from the hole on that green if you read the break wrong. Number 1 and 8 are the two toughest greens to putt. You always play to the right edge of the green on number one. If you play for the center of the green and pull it. you end up out of bounds 90 percent of the time." "The number one hole is a dandy and a tough one," stated Lloyd Denton. Den-ton. Another Vernal golfer, Terry Ross, commented, "It's the toughest number one hole in the state. All the pros will tell you it is without doubt the toughest par three in the state because on the back tee your angle is tough, the out of bounds is close to the green and there is a pond on the right. Better hit it straight or you're in trouble. Most pros will fade it to the green. They start from the right side and bring it into the left, but most of us amateurs can't hit a ball like that." Ross and Dan Rudd netted a five stroke win in the Canyon Land two-man best ball tournament, recently, in Moab. "It's the toughest hole in the state and that's what everyone says. It "'Si . '! V ... ' , ... .. Y r Y Y .. . i" '. .- t mr v. .,.. ... - k., ! . - I.-'- ! Y Y - "--., v !Y-' , . iY ''. X Y ' ' . Y . VI FT1AI COl F(. I'. Kim Hovers, rij lit, yy.: rc.idy to blast the olf Kill down the f.jirw.jy mid just in cube Licycrs misses, Jon Mauss, Dinaland Golf Course pro, is ready to blast the golf ball down the course. However, the only thing the gun will be used for is shotgun starts at the Eastern Utah Petroleum Invitational Coif Classic this week. ' " ... ' t Y , ''- ' .Y ' ' .. ' I ......-.' t . . I - v ...Y' . . v-.v v:--v'stji--1- -'' YYY ' i i , ." ' - ' .. . ' f -. . i . - "5 v . - ...-,... ... . i, - -;., .'. . ' V . ' '' ' ' ' "-' "YY I- . . - - , '-','-,' ... .- .. , ' . , . a V ' ' .." " "' . .. .. 'Y.Y- .. i ,-..-. , J Hv; ' . " r . X : : ' i--."- " ... . Sscrx 'sf-" t ...r -. . I. : ' ' THE NUMBER ONE hole on the Dinaland golf Course has turned many possible tournament winners into losers due makes the big boys (professionals) play tensed up," stated Dick Hobbs. When asked how he approaches playing number one, Asa Johnston remarked, "With a prayer. We (Johnston and George Gore) pray a lot on number one. I try to keep it from going out of bounds. Any club in your bag will do as long as you don't hit it out of bounds. The wind can also affect your play on the hole-no question about it. Sometimes because of the wind from the north it will take two clubs to get it to the green." "It's the roughest little par three hole in the state. It makes you think. to the out of bound fence and road, which is close to f-green; f-green; sand trap on the left and a pond on the right. Hook it-over the fence. Slice it-in the pond. If you hit it straight your 're just right." Hap Swain slugged the ball from the blue tees on number one and he remarked, "My shot was medium. It's short of the green, but it could have been worse, it could have gone over the fence." Vernal golfer, Ray Kier, su a toughie. It's one of the tou.Y holes in the state. If you're pY the wind it is really a difficulY you can really do is hit it t; miss it any way the wind co;;, your problems." ' |
