Anticipation could hardly be greater for the 2023 Open, as Royal Liverpool prepares to host the game's best players for what promises to be an enthralling four-day battle to be crowned the Champion Golfer of the Year.
The Wirral venue boasts an incredible recent run of winners, with Tiger Woods lifting the Claret Jug for the third time in 2006 and Rory McIlroy coming out on top in 2014.
However, neither of those two golfing icons had to contend with Hoylake's new 17th hole, which is sure to play a part in determining the winner come Sunday evening. Named 'Little Eye', it is a devilish 136-yard par-3 that strikes a similar chord to Royal Troon's Postage Stamp and will undoubtedly make some of the best players in the world look foolish.
It could hardly be better placed, too. As the penultimate challenge before the memorable but gentle par-5 closer, the raised green, vicious bunkers, and huge run-offs will ensure no lead is big enough until it has been safely navigated.
But while we wait to see how the pros fare, Arccos data has shed some light on how a range of handicaps might expect to do when facing this formidable creation.
Little Eye.The new 17th hole at Hoylake. A short par-3 with an infinity green and a sea of hazards.Padraig Harrington knows it will be ‘pivotal’ in determining the Champion Golfer of 2023.https://t.co/xh7ojOGJvb@RLGCHoylake pic.twitter.com/KvPJgeZqWdJuly 12, 2023
15-handicappers
From 140 yards, 15-handicappers average 55 feet from the hole, which would see them struggle to find the putting surface that is 27 yards from front to back and a good deal narrower from side to side.
That would put them at the mercy of Lady Luck, which doesn't tend to be kind when it comes links golf. From this distance, players of this calibre come up short more than long which would bring the sandy wasteland that guards the front of the green into play.
10-handicappers
The data on 10-handicappers tells a similar story. The median distance to the hole is 40 feet, while the average is 48 feet, and that's before taking into account the elements on the Wirral coastline.
Again, that means finding the green would be tricky and brings the bunkers short, left and right into play. Even avoiding them is no guarantee of success due to the severity of the slopes surrounding the raised surface.
5-handicappers
As you would expect, the distance to the hole once again improves when moving onto golfers with a handicap of five. The median is 34 feet and the average is 41 feet, giving them more hope of getting through this test unscathed. More than a few would still come a cropper, though.
Scratch players
From this distance, scratch golfers average 34 feet from the hole, with the median distance sitting at 29 feet. That might surprise some people who hold scratch golfers in higher esteem than is perhaps warranted.
Here's a table to outline the above data on how a range of handicaps perform from 140 yards.
