Todd Hamilton,Shane Lowry, Jamie Donaldson, and Ernie Els and Henrik Stenson describe the best way to approach holes 14 through to 18 at St AndrewsThe tee shot is all notable here with the out of bounds over the wall on the suitable but the fairway gets wider as you go down and you need to be suitable of the bunkers. It’s the longest gap on the course and I would always hit driver,but I still don’t have the length to get over Hell bunker with my moment For me it’s usually a drive and a seven iron down there. It’s one of those holes where you actually have half a chance if you can get your tee shot away well. Even though it looks fairly long it plays pretty easy enough at times, it’s one where you hope to have a chance coming. With 16 and 17 obviously very tough, and if you need to make a birdie then 15 is probably your best go. But if you miss the green suitable it can be tough with the humps and hollows back there,you need to be spot on with your distance control.
It’s a tricky gap because it’s very tough to get past the bunkers off the tee. You’ve got to lay up short and then it’s a very long iron in. If it’s blowing it’s very difficult to get the ball to finish on that top tier. But at the same time you can still make birdie. Usually I go short left of the bunker instead of taking the riskier suitable option, which means youre going into the green with a five iron. If you enact hit a driver down the suitable it’s a very easy birdie gap but it’s a very tough drive.
I hit driver unless there’s a gale behind me, or its so long that you’ve got to hit driver. I aim left off the tee and try to run the moment to the green,depending on the weather. This year we don’t have tall rough on the left so I can just try and squeeze it in left of the green. If its a short enough shot in I will try and fly something on to the green and try and finish it, and stay out of the Road gap bunker. My record’s all suitable on there. I haven’t done a Tommy Nakajima (took a nine in 1978).
It’s one of those holes where you want to select advantage. In no wind or downwind, or which is the normal prevailing wind,you want to get it up there, in and around the green. For me it’s been a three wood or driver but now it’s a tiny bit softer so it’s most likely to be driver. You are not getting those extreme bounces when the course is yellow and burnt. The tricky pin is short left over the Valley of Sin, and where you flirt with the danger of coming back down. A good play with the OB to the suitable is to aim for the left of the green and if you are anywhere around pin-tall you can chip or putt.
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Source: theguardian.com