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HOLE BY HOLE COURSE ANALYSIS

2 • EVERYTHING GOLF 2015

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Joining forcesJake Reeves in

his studio atFairways and

Greens in WestKnox County

Reeves and Malnatistrategize, discussgame changes

■ CHUCK CAVALARISCorrespondent

Golf instructor Jake Reeves may beknown for many things, including hitting abooming drive off a water bottle withoutspilling a drop. He also has a rare claim tofame in the News-Sentinel Open presentedby Pilot.

Reeves has played inthe event several timesand his No. 1 pupil,Peter Malnati, tookhome the top prize in2013.

They will join forcesagain this year whenthe 26th annual eventreturns to Farragut andFox Den Country Club.

Malnati and WesRoach, who grew upacross the street atWillow Creek, haveemerged as two of thetop talents on theWeb.com Tour thisyear and have guaran-teed their status on the2016 PGA Tour.

Interestingly enough, their game plan atFox Den could begin in the parking lot.

“Leave your driver in the trunk,” Reevessaid. “The end.”

The evolution of precision golf equipment— and the ball — have practically madethe 7,071 layout obsolete by tour standards.Even a reduction in par, by one stroke to 71,hardly seems to phase the world-class level.

Instead of length, the biggest challengesare slick putting surfaces, gnarly rough,sharp turns in the fairways (often called

doglegs), numerous out-of-bound stakes,more than 50 bunkers and five ponds.

Seems like yesterday that a 300-yarddrive was something to brag about.

My, how this game has changed.“The last year I played in this tourna-

ment, I was paired with a European Tourplayer named David Griffiths and the only

club he used off the par-4’s and par-5’s was astrong hybrid,” saidReeves, who finished at1-over in 2004. “Thatwas over a decade ago.Guys are hitting the ballat least 10 to 15 yardsfurther now. Jason Dayhit a 386-yard drive theother day. It’s amazing.”Bubba Watson unlea-shed a 392-yard driveearlier this month atFirestone’s par-5 16thand was outdriven byDustin Johnson, who hitit 409 yards.

So, maybe it’s refresh-ing to let the shotmak-ers share the spotlightfor a little while.

You don’t have to dig very deep into thestats to see why Martin Piller won the 2014event with a 22-under. He averaged 284.5yards on measured driving holes, but hit 77percent of the fairways and 82 percent ofthe greens. He also averaged about 30 puttsper round (1.678 per hole). It added up to65, 67, 67 and 63 for a two-stroke victoryover Bronson Burgoon, who closed with a62. Former Knoxville Open champion

Peter Malnati, a big Kansas CityRoyals fan and a Mizzou graduate

See MALNATI on Page 13

EVERYTHING GOLF 2015 • 5

Fox Den Country Clubcourse breakdown


No.2Par 3, 193 yards

Par 4, 409 yards

No.3


See HOLES on Page 7

Two-time state PGA Player of the Yearwho earned his way into three PGA Tourmajors (1986 U.S. Open plus 1994 and 1996PGA), Walt Chapman of Farragut, analyzeshow to play Fox Den Country Club golfcourse, which hosts News Sentinel OpenAug. 20-23.

No. 1 (par 4, 482 yards): “The first hole they converted to a par 4 last year,

it’s normally a par 5. It’s a dogleg to the right and alot of guys will hit driver over the corner, or possi-bly even long ones will hit a 3-wood.

“It’s a pretty hard opening hole because you haveto hit a good tee shot. And then you’re probablygoing to have a middle iron into the first green.”

No. 2 (par 3, 193 yards): “A par 3. On the green, if they put the pin on the left it’s

a really tough pin placement because they’ll have thegreens pretty hard, and if you pull it a little bit it can actu-ally hit on that green and go into the water. So most peoplewill try to aim a little right of the pin.”

No. 3 (par 4, 409 yards): “A par 4, little dogleg to the right. Again, a

position hole. A lot of guys will try to hit adriver over that tree [along the fairway] andthen have a short iron. Or you can hit 3-wood a

little left of that tree and then you’ve proba-bly got a middle iron more into the hole. The

second shot’s uphill, so you want to makesure you stay short of the hole position on

that green because the green slopes fromback to front. If you hit it over the green

there you’re going to have a difficultup-and-down.”


Par 4, 436 yards

No.4No. 4 (par 4, 436 yards): “Dogleg right, again a position hole. Most guys are going to

hit 3-wood out there, keep it left of the tree. The key to thathole is the second shot. The green is kind of narrow fromfront to back, so you’ve got to have the correct distance onthe second shot. And even the pond on the left comes intoplay on your second shot as well, so club selection on thesecond shot is important on that hole.”

No. 5 (par 5, 533 yards):“A par 5, kind of a double-dogleg. The long-knockers can

go for that green in two. You’ve got to hit a big drive downthat right side, then you’ve got to be able to hit somethingup in the air pretty high for your second shot. Some longplayers can get to that green in two, but you’ve got to be per-fect on your tee shot. Most guys will just hit their drive kindof down the left side then lay up and hit a third shot [to thegreen] from roughly a hundred yards.”

No. 6 (par 3, 198 yards): “A downhill par 3. Club selection is important. You’ve got

to take into account the downhill. It usually takes about 10yards off the shot going downhill. Pretty good-sized green.Again, getting the right club selection on that downhill shotis the key.”

No. 7 (par 4, 422 yards): Dogleg left. Most players will hit a 3-wood off that tee. Try

to hit a little bit of a draw with a 3-wood, then you’ve got a 7-or 8-iron into that green. A fairly good-sized green. Again,you do not want to go long on that hole, really difficult to getup and down if you miss the green there.”

No. 8 (par 4, 400 yards): “Straightaway par 4. You can hit driver there. The longer

knockers, they can get it there; they can get it within a 100yards of the green if they hit a driver. Most guys will hit a 3-wood off that tee and then you’ve got a 130-, 140-yard shot.Pretty good-sized green. If the pin’s tucked right, you defi-nitely don’t want to miss the green to the right because it’sdifficult to get up and down.”




See HOLES on Page 10


HolesFrom page 6

EVERYTHING GOLF 2015 • 98 • EVERYTHING GOLF 2015





No. 9 (par 4, 421 yards): “A little dogleg left. Uphill on the second shot. A lot of

guys will just hit driver and try and carry the corner, andthat leaves you a short iron into the ninth hole. You canhit 3-wood there, but you’re going to have a longer secondshot going uphill. It’s difficult to get the right club selec-tion on the second shot because the green is so uphillfrom you. And it’s a fairly big green, so if you can get onthat green you’ve got a pretty good putt for birdie.”

No. 10 (par 5, 561 yards): “Par 5 doglegs left and back right. A lot of guys can get

to that green in two. It’s definitely a birdie hole. If youcarry the bunker on the left, you can get there with ahybrid or 3-wood on your second shot. You will see someguys that will hit it a little right off of the tee, and thenthey’ll lay up and then have a wedge in. Most people gofor that green; it’s a pretty good-sized green. And you canget up and down from around that green, it’s not tooseverely sloped. A good birdie hole.”

No. 11 (par 4, 413 yards): “Dogleg left, a sharp left. The tee shot’s

the most important thing there. You’ve gotto draw it on your tee shot because thefairway slopes to the right, so if you hit itstraight it’ll kick your tee shot to the rightand then you’ve got a longer shot in there.It’s important, if you’re a right-handedgolfer, to hit a little draw there and thenyou’ll have a short iron into the green. Apretty good-sized green. The second shotplays a little uphill. Again, if you miss tothe right on your second shot it’s hard toget up and down.”


HolesFrom page 7

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Par 4, 368 yards

No.14

Par 4, 427 yards

No.15


HolesFrom page 10

No. 12 (par 4, 373 yards): “A little dogleg to the right. It’s got a big

pond in front of the green. It’s a lay-up onyour tee shot. You’re going to be hittingroughly 230 yards off the tee shot. You canhit a long iron off the tee, and then you’vegot a short iron into the green. Not that dif-ficult of a hole, it’s a birdie hole. A prettygood-sized green.

Par 3, 166 yards

No.13

No. 13 (par 3, 166 yards): “A par 3, really good hole. The green is fairly narrow.

It’s roughly a 175-yard shot. Pin placements are the keythere. They can put a pin back left, back right. Thewater does come into play if you push it. You can hit iton the green there, but if it’s moving to the right it cango into the water on you. Most guys will kind of veertoward the left on that shot.”

No. 14 (par 4, 368 yards):“Dogleg right. A lot of guys hit a 3-wood for position

down the middle. Short second shot, you won’t havemore than a wedge in for your second shot. You can,off that tee, take a driver and try and cut the corner,but it’s probably not worth the risk. Pretty goodgreen, the green’s got some pretty good slope to it.That’s probably a birdie hole for a lot of people ifyou get in good position on that green. The greenhas a little bit of slope on the front part of thegreen.”

No. 15 (par 4, 427 yards): “Pretty difficult hole. A dogleg to the right. Your tee shot has

to be the correct distance, you’ve got to hit it roughly about 230off the tee. If you don’t go that far you’re blocked by trees on theright. If you go too far on your tee shot you’ll end up in a fairwaybunker. You don’t want that because the green has a pond infront of it, so you have to be in position off the tee to get on thatgreen. A big green with good slope to it. They’ll usually put thepin kind of front left, and a lot of guys will hit it in the hazardthere on their second shot if they pull it at all because the greenslopes off toward the pond.”



Darron Stiles was third.Stiles, a cancer survivor, knows how to

keep things in perspective. He has saidthat Fox Den is a fun course to play andit is just up to the player to capitalize. Healso enjoys playing in front of honest-to-goodness galleries.

Although many tour players will havea driver in the bag, the only real benefitsseem to be at Nos. 1, 10, 17 and 18.Controlling the distance and the shape

of the shot are much more important,especially if the fairways are firm andthe ball has more of a chance to trickleinto the rough.

“You have to stay in position becausethere are several holes where you’re stillgoing to have a wedge in your hand forthe second shot,” said Reeves, who wonthe 2014 Yamaha Players Championshipand represents BioMech AccuLock put-ter. “You know they want to keep thegreens frosty.”

At this elite level, it often turns into aputting contest any way. Fox Den has

Bermuda fairways and A1 Bent greensand the back nine tends to be the scor-ing nine. A stat that is becoming morecommon — Three-Putt Avoidance —could also be a factor.

“Peter and I will usually map out aplan on Tuesday of tournament week,”said Reeves, who also instructs formerPGA Tour winner Wes Short Jr. of theChampions Tour; Gareth Maybin ofNorthern Ireland and the EuropeanTour; former LPGA Tour member andthree-time Lady Vols All-American EricaPopson; and Connor Froning of LMU.

“I always thought the start of the backnine at Fox Den is where you tend to seeguys get hot,” Reeves said. “A lotdepends on the course set up andwhether they move the tees up or back.You could hit a driver one day, 4-iron and4-iron make more sense the next round.You’ve just got to play smart and giveyourself as many birdie chances as pos-sible.”

Jake Reeves has joined the outstand-ing instructional staff at Fairways &Greens in West Knoxville. For informa-tion about lessons, call 865-777-4563.

MalnatiFrom page 4

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Par 3, 214 yards

No.16

Par 5, 597 yards


No.17

No. 16 (par 3, 214 yards): “Probably the most difficult par 3 on the course. Very long, it’s about 225

from the back tee. A good, wide green; bunker on the right. You’re hittingover the water, a big, huge pond.”

No. 17 (par 4, 458 yards):“A pretty long par 4. One of the more difficult par 4’s on the golf course.

Dogleg’s to the left. The second shot is uphill. You kind of have to cut thecorner if you want to have a mid-iron in there. You will see some of thelonger knockers hit a 3-wood off there and just play for the dogleg. But ifyou do it 3-wood you’re going to have a longer second shot. The green isuphill. The green has some slope to it, front to back. It’s kind of difficult toget up and down if you do miss that green.”

No. 18 (par 5, 597 yards): “Good distance. The tee shot is very difficult because there’s huge trees

on the right, so if you hit down the right side at all you’re going to beblocked on your second shot. And there’s also a bunker on the left side.You’ve got to hit the tee shot down the left side for your second shot. Formost people it’s a three-shot hole. Your third shot, from roughly a hundredyards, is to a green surrounded by a big pond. Pretty good-sized green,bunker on the left side. In the past they’ve moved the tee up and enticedguys to go for [the green] in two, which can happen. Your second shot, ifyou go for it in two, is all carry over water. A great finishing hole whereyou can maybe see an eagle if the [pin is] up, and some birdies.”

HolesFrom page 12

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