Footage has emerged online of golfers struggling on a ‘ridiculous’ hole which allegedly sees players average a quadruple bogey.
The 18th hole of the River Valley Golf Course has proved to be brutal during a Girls 3A State Golf Tournament held on Friday in Adel, Iowa. The final hole - a par four - saw an average score of four-over-par as players failed to get to grips with the brutal pin placement.
The video, posted to Twitter by Jake Brend, has 1.6 million views and over a 1,000 retweets as well as over 9,000 likes. In the first clip, one competitor is faced with only a three or four foot putt but she reacts immediately after playing her shot, with the ball missing the hole on the right before rolling down the hill.
The ensuing putts hardly fared better, with various players missing and watching helplessly as golf balls consistently rolls towards the hole. However, they all miss and fly off the front edge of the green and down the severe slope.
Brend’s accompanying caption with the video read: “No, the golfers weren't bad, but this had to have been the most unfair pin placement I've ever seen. This slope gave the athletes no chance.”
On the club’s website, the 18th hole is described as: “Probably one of the most notorious holes on the golf course! The green rises almost 100 feet above the tee box. The finishing hole is straight away up hill.
“Try to keep your ball in the fairway as this will help get it up to the green. When making your club choice, remember to factor in the hill. Try to keep your ball below the hole when hitting in to this three tiered green that slopes severely from back to front.
What do you think is the hardest hole in golf? Let us know in the comments section.
“Anything too short or too long will be a very tough up and down. Par is a great score on this hole! Good Luck!”
While one user pointed out that it wasn’t the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union who chose the pin location, Zimbabwean professional golfer Tony Johnstone was incensed by the video. He tweeted: “After careful consideration and in an effort to not be harsh, whoever set those pins should be hung up in the nearest tree by their genitalia!
“How do idiots like this even get to be in a position of authority?”
There have been occasions on the professional circuit and PGA Tour where players have slammed pin positions and greens. At the 2004 US Open at Shinnecock Hills, plenty of players condemned the USGA as they let the greens ‘get away from them’ - and in the final round, not a single golfer broke par with more than a third failing to break 80.
