Hole #8 “Cape”
406 yards, 383 yards, 328 yards, Par 4
Charles Banks in 1925 “The first shot of this hole is 180 yards to a saddle crossing the fairway. A roll up or carry of the knoll gives a roll down the other side of the saddle into a broad level basin making 220 yards not difficult. The basin is the playing area for the second shot. The second shot should be a kick in front of the front right corner of the green. The green combines characteristics of both the Cape and the Redan.”
The drive for this hole is from the highest-elevation tees on the course, offering beautiful sight lines but yielding no view of the fairway itself, which must be reached by carrying a saddle. The hole is a slight dogleg to the left (and recent brush-clearing now offers a view of the green from the tee), tempting players to aim for that side of the fairway, but the sharp, side slope all along the left side will penalize any ball that misses the fairway. The fairway itself is, as Banks found it, a “broad level basin,” but the second shot, also blind, requires precise placement to a narrow, but exceedingly long green, which is canted right-to-left and back-to-front.
Scott Ramsay has added to the green at its front, increasing total size from 14,000 to 19,000 square feet, and he has expanded the ‘kick’ space before the green, offering players even more options for approach. Nonetheless, the green remains one of the most difficult on the whole course, combining the most challenging features of a Cape and a Redan. As an extreme Cape, it stands above thirty-foot deep bunkers to the left and the right. As an exaggerated Redan, it is mounded eight feet higher on its right side, allowing skilled players to play for strategic rolls but threatening other shots with accelerating runs across the green to the left side and below.