A Hackers Guide to Royal Ascot - Hole 5 (Brewers Pond)

The round is well under way and hopefully we've managed to come through the tricky opening holes relatively unscathed. I always feel, particularly in a competition, that if I can walk off the fourth green level with my handicap I've had a good start and have a firm foundation to kick on with. I don't mind being one behind my target as the fifth hole at Royal Ascot is a par 5 and potentially gives the player a good opportunity for par or better.

This hole is one of my favourites as it set on its own and you can't see any other hole on the course until you reach the green. You have to walk from the 4th green down a narrow path with a pond to your left. At this time of year it is teeming with wildlife and usually has lots of birds and their fledglings happily swimming. It is pretty short as far as par 5's go and is a slight double dog leg, meandering right to left off the tee and then left to right as you approach the green. There is always a tranquil air to it with horses in the fields behind the tee box and the sound of the geese and ducks coming from the pond.

The course guide on the website describes the hole as:
"A double dogleg par 5 to a heavily contoured tripled tiered green. Drive towards the fairway bunker you can see from the tee. If you fancy taking the green on in two take plenty of club, trees and deep rough extend on your line to within 10 yards of the green. If laying up, play towards the left hand fairway cross bunker, this will open the green up for the third. Don’t putt it off the green."

In all honesty, even in high Summer the fairway bunker on the right of the fairway is pretty redundant even for the big hitters and usually only poses a problem if you've leaked the drive right into the thick rough that lies in wait. Don't be put off by the out of bounds to the right as it takes a pretty wild slice to actually reach it, but if you do, be careful as the fence marking the perimeter is electrified to keep the horses in the neighbouring field in their rightful place. Probably best to consign the ball the the golfing gods than trying to reach it even if it can be seen.

There is also an out of bounds fence down the tree lined left side which is far more in play especially for those prone to a hook. There are some small trees and thickish grass to try and stop the ball flying off the extremity of the course but it doesn't take much to overdo it and have to reload.

From the tee, the ideal line is on the fairway bunker ideally with a hint of draw. The fairway cambers from right to left and so anything landing with a bit of run will kick on. This means that for some, they are suddenly presented with a quandary. A good drive will only leave between 230-250 to the green and it is definitely reachable. However to find the sanctuary of the green requires a shot over the edge of thick rough to the right side of the hole and flirting with two deepish bunkers guarding the right of the green. Anyone going for it but aiming on a conservative line will need to carry a bunker short and in the middle of the fairway, negotiate a severe downslope towards the apron and another deep bunker guarding the left side of the putting surface and the surrounding thick rough.

For most it is a three shot hole and offers the best chance of making a safe par and maybe even a birdie. From a good drive, the second shot should be aimed towards the bunker on the left side of the fairway to give yourself a shot down the full length of the long three tiered green. Care needs to be taken to avoid both bunkers set about 100 yards short though as the fairway is one of the driest on the course and the ball will run throughout the year.

Having put your second shot into the ideal spot, the approach is all about the pin placement. The green is 38 yards long and has three distinct tiers and so it is vital to try and find the correct level. It can be one or two club difference between front and back depending on the wind. Again care needs to be taken to avoid the bunkers as they are pretty deep by Royal Ascot standards and the contours of the green will make it hard to stop the ball close. The second bunker to the right of the green in particular is quite nasty and actually hidden from view as you play your shot.

Assuming you've found the green safely, the examination isn't over. If you've not put the ball on the correct level you will be faced with a very testing putt. Without question the toughest putt of all is to leave the ball at the front when the flag is on the back level. Not only are you faced with two tiers to get up and a long distance putt, but the green then falls away on the final tier and so it makes stopping the ball close to any back flag position even harder. Two putts here are always taken with gratitude and it's a sharp exit stage left towards the next tee.

It seems such an easy hole and in truth it usually is, particularly when you look at the stroke average in competitions. However as I hope you are beginning to appreciate all that seems easy at Royal Ascot ain't always so. I've had some good scores on here. Playing in the Winter League a few years ago, I was giving one of the opposition a shot at this hole. I'd hit a good drive and my second had cleared the bunkers in the fairway, rolled down the slope behind and finished about forty yards short of a flag placed no more than five yards onto the green. I decided to play it as a pitch and run and took an 8 iron to check it on the brow of the hill and run onto the green and hopefully adjacent to the cup. On this occasion, planetary alignment and the birth of a new star somewhere in the solar system meant the shot worked to perfection and I holed it for an eagle.

I was somewhat confident as one would be that we'd be taking this hole. My opponent was in the thick rough to the right of the green about thirty yards away. I like to think he took inspiration from my effort as his chip flew dead straight bounced, checked and stopped about six inches away for a birdie. Hole halved in (nett) three.

On the downside, most of my disasters have actually come from close in. I've lost a few out of bounds left and right but it is one of the most generous driving holes on the course and so I don't often have too much of an issue. My problems usually come from finding the two right hand bunkers. Both are deep and with the green being long and narrow there really isn't much green to work with wherever the flag is. As a result I am usually way too cute in the execution of the bunker escape and leave it in the sand or else get a bit twitchy and catch it too clean and over the other side. I've racked up some big numbers from being no more than twenty yards from the flag this way.

It is definitely a hole I mentally tick off as being able to get one shot back against the scorecard but like so many others it does have a potential sting in the tail. Get it on the green, take two putts (not a given) and get out of there quick.