Muirfield Hole 16
Published: Last updated:
Par 3, 188 yards
Being long here is safer than being short, even though the green does slope from back to front.
It might only be 188 yards, but clubbing yourself is no easy task as the required weapon can vary greatly depending on the wind – anything from a 6-iron to a 2-iron (or, these days, a hybrid) is not unusual. You certainly cannot afford to be short, with a necklace of bunkers waiting eagerly.
Effectively there is only half a green to aim at.
Anything pitching down the left side is in danger of sliding off down the contours into sand or rough.
The percentage play is, like the 12th at Augusta National, to pick a spot in the centre of the putting surface and go from there.
Dicing with a tight pin placement on the last day is fraught with potential disaster.
That said, it did not unduly trouble GB&I’s Peter Butler in the 1973 Ryder Cup here. He aced it.
