The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

economist sunsuntribune saturday aug 30 2003 rjnsict 6s staff photosjoerd witteveen wil koopmans blasts out of a deep trap at angus glen golf club in unipnville where he is director of golf the region has many challenging holes to break me spirit of many aspiring mike weirs 3 showdown on yorks toughest golf holes by mike hayakawa staff writer theyre the curse or the jewel of the golf course on some youre forced to hit a tee shot off an elevated deck or from a tee box without a view of the green the fairways offer up a sharp dog leg or are bordered with fescue or tall trees there might be a creek mean dering through if thats not enough the green which might be tiered is closely guarded by sand traps or bordered by a huge pond welcome to golf stoughest holes york region style this area offers a variety of public playing facilities each with their fair share of challenging holes so what makes a hole nasty it depends on whos swinging the club its an individuals perception says brad selwood a sharon resi dent who enjoys time on the links when hes not coaching the newmarket hurricanes of the provincial junior a hockey league its a psychological thing said chris mcneilly a markham resident who plays weekly on the regions public courses a lot depends on how youre hit ting the ball that day it might also depend if youve played that hole before even the presence of certain elements like water can scare some people an avid golfer during the offsea son markham waxers junior a hockey coach russ herrington agrees the toughest hole to play is in the eye of the golfer there are a lot of holes everyone finds challenging it seems when you go to a course there are holes where your partner cant score well on but you can and vice versa it gets in your head as to what hole is tough to play said the aurora resident playing about 120 rounds a year i markhams phil jones says skill level is also a factor for each individual what they see as being a tough hole to play will be different because itxiepends on your level of ability said the former cfl player with toronto ottawa montreal and edmonton the challenge presented to golfers begins the moment the ball is placed on the tee playing from the blue tees in some instances the ones furthest back as compared with the white tees in some instances the ones sec ond furthest back can also make a difference says ev spence a retired newmarket high school teacher the york region newspaper group recently asked several golfers who play on public courses in the area which holes they think are toughest all distances are measured from the back tees heres what they said uplands golf club thornhill 46 uplands 9058893291 earl fritz executive director of the canadian junior golf association and richmond hill res ident thinks the eighth hole a 235yard par three is one of the meanest hes played players hit from an elevated tee into a valley that has water running across and to the side of it and a green that is elevated 10 to 15 feet above the fairway if thats not enough the green slopes to the left and has trees to its right if you hit the ball to the left youre in the creek and the greens are hard since it doesnt receive as much water youve got to hit the ball far and straight its a good test even for a pro he said angus glen golf club unionviue 10080 kennedy rd 9058870090 mike gellard a markham resident and member of the boston bruins american hockey league affiliate in providence thinks the first hole a 475yard par four can provide a rude awakening for a firstjhble you usually assume that its an easy one to play and it will get you into a groove but on this hole you play a long approach shot that goes over water and onto a small green and if the wind picks up like it did with me itplays into how you do and the fact that if s only the first hole markhams siva sivabalasingham whose son gajan is one of the top junior linkster play ers in the world said the par four420yard 18th hole has given him and pga profe fits a scenic hole which has golfers hitting off an elevated deck onto a fairway with a dogleg left the key is to begin with a tee shot that plays long and onto the fairway you have to land it on the right side of the fairway he says if you go on the left theres rough and water a creek thafs what hap pened to vijay singh on his second shot in last years canadian open where he had to take a drop on his second shot mr sivabalasingham recalled richmond hill golf club thornhill 8755 bathurst st 9058894653 for an 18th hole the 495yard par five is one that differs from other finishing holes notes mr fritz what makes it different mr fritz notes is that the fairways are split and both sides are narrow as well youre coming out of the valley and going uphill right from your tee shot water also comes into play as the don river runs along side the first fairway the 495 yards seems a lot longer than what it is he says ifs a tough hole for any calibre of golfer shawneeki golf club queensville woodbine avenue 18003878885 mr selwood thinks the 11th hole a 512- yard par five is one of the most challenging its a threeshot hole for sure the former toronto maple leaf said adog leg left is compounded by a huge tree lf youre lucky you can gethome with a long iron if you dont hit the ball long forget it he said ballantrae golf and country club whiichurchstouhville hwy 48 9056406333 wyn hughes a stouffyille residjent who y plays at least once a week thinks the ninths- arid 18th holes on the6i824yarcf facility can pose problems for any golfer the popular course opened three years ago although the ninth hole is a 504yard par five and 18th a 405yard par four he said both are similar with fairways slanting towards water you 1 can hifagood drive but if you catch the fairway wrong itll run into wateif as well he notes both greens are tiered parkview golf club markham 6402 steeles ave e 4162932833 on the 5860yard par 71 scenic valley course there are two 18hole layouts at parkview mr sivabalasingham thinks the second hole a 590yard par five in which play ers hit from an elevated tee is intriguing the green is a tough read too you have to keep the ball on the right hand side if you go left youll go into the trees and rough and the green is elevated from left to right he notes who plays about once a week youve got to get a good shot off the tee and onto the fairway and then your second shot youve got to clear the riveif he says maples of ballantrae ballantrae 14248 hwy 48 9056406077 on the 18hole 6715yard par 72 champi onship course mr boylen thinks the 15th hole a453yard par four from the back tee is the rriake orbreak hole youcafi i jiaveia great game until you get to the 15th he said what makes ittoughhsaid is thedense forest bordering both sidesofthe way iassimisym you need a straighttee shot and youve got to hope the wind doesnt get toostrong that plays into it as well he said one errant tee shot and youre in trouble want more fear behind the green is water markham green golf club markham 120 rouge bank dr 9052946156 at the nine hole 3004yard par 35 facility that was once the ibm course mr mcneilly says the second hole a 489yard par five can be intimidating the biggest factor he said is the presence of the rouge river which can come into play on the first three shots the presence of water seems to do some thing to peoples brains he said you have to get off the tee first and have a solid second shot to make your third shot your approach to thegreen another tough hole is the sixth a 363yard par four adds jim boylen a markham resident st andrews valley golf and country club aurora 9057277888 from his experiences on the 7304yard course mr herrington thinks the ninth hole a 555yard par five is a challenge with a name like twister its no wonder ifs kind of like a double dog leg left in the way it bends he said you cant hit a drive or use a wood off the tee since you run out of fairway at around 170 yards out lf a hole where i would hit a seven iron off the tee then a four iron on my next shot and then youre left with a five six or seven iron to get on the green he said cardinal golf club newmarket 2740 highway 9 9058417378 on the west course a 6315yard par 71 mr selwood thinks the 12th hole a 399yard par four from the back tee is demanding theres no play to drive it you almost have to hit an iron off the tee and if you spray it left or right youll be in jail theres a big tree off to the left and on the right theres a pond and the landing area is narrow i dont care who plays it even if its a pro ifs a tough hole the only way to play the hole is to hit long 4wff xxl fc fy for1ver 1ft