By John Schwarb
In the spirit of Halloween, LINKS Magazine recently selected its 10 scariest holes in golf.
There are some truly terrifying shots on the list, from Pebble Beach to Pine Valley to Scotland, but they all trail the hardest golf hole in the world, the iconic island-green 17th hole at the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach. It's the scariest hole in the game according to the magazine.
I can't argue. I first played the Stadium Course in 2010 and, well, let's just say I didn't find the green with my first shot at 17. Not sure my second ball survived, either. All I remember is the short iron feeling like a 2-by-4 at the top of my backswing.
That's the beauty of the 17th. The hole is not long at 137 yards from the pro tees, and the green is bigger than most at TPC Sawgrass. If the water were sand, there wouldn't be 120,000 balls missing the green every year.
Of course, some other "ifs" at 17 include "if I had just taken one more club" and "if only the wind hadn't kicked up at the last second."
If the definition of a scary golf hole is one that has your attention from the moment you book the tee time, then the 17th is a worthy top pick for the hardest hole in golf.
