January 15, 2009

AMHERST, VA — Poplar Grove Golf Club, the final design of golf legend Sam Snead, was chosen to host the 2009 Carl Spackler Open Championship. On behalf of the Captains Club, Greg Long, Greg Garrett, and Kevin Long, continued to provide the detail surrounding the tournament course.

Greg Garrett continued with the nineth hole, "Mt. Pleasant", which is a 373-yard Par 4. "The nineth hole is very similar to the first hole," says Garrett. "It is the second of three par 4's where you cannot see the flagstick from the tee. Both the first and nineth tee drops to a fairway lined by hardwoods before dropping more rapidly towards their green."

Participants will see a checkered fairway just below a view of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The fairway will appear to end. A really good push right off the tee is your single opportunity at Poplar Grove to hit and break a windshield.

"Once again, hit the 210-yard club off the tee," says Greg Garrett. "Hitting the driver correctly is gravy as the ball will bounce down the hill towards the green."

The green is oval shaped pointing similar to 3:50 on a clock with a perpendicular ridge (9:20 on a clock) in the middle. The green is 27 yards or 81 feet deep. The left greenside bunker is very large and deep.

"The worst par 4 at Poplar Grove," says Kevin Long, Jr.. "Worst is probably the wrong word, but it truely shows the greatness of Poplar Grove."

There is one sand trap; greenside. Balls landing over the green end up in the rough well above the green. "The back side has double bogey written all over it," says Greg Long. "I got mine back there and you will too."

"The nineth hole, Mt. Pleasant, is all about hitting the green in regulation," says Kevin Long, Jr.. "The length of the hole is shorter than most, but the putting surface is very difficult."

Greg Garrett pushed his tee shot into the woods during a practice round in September 2008. The ball bounced even further right where it almost rolled into the ditch adjacent to London Lane. "Double G was starring at a pine needle lie and lots of higher branch hardwoods," says Greg Long.

Long added, "What happened next will probably remain the most ridiculous par at Poplar Grove through June 2009. Double G hit a low-iron through most of the hardwoods before it bounced off a branch most of the way through and dropped straight down. Then hit a wedge from the pine needles, which quickly grazed a pine branch and found its way to the hole. I picked up (9 inches) the only par throughout our 5 rounds."

SCORE SUMMARY: Slick played the 9th hole +3 through two days. Double G played +1 through two days. Winger played +1 through one day. The USGA handicap suggests the 10th easiest hole, however the Captains Club suggests the 6th hardest hole with 5 rounds +1.0 strokes over par.

The 2009 Carl Spackler Open Championship will begin its annual practice round on Wednesday, June 10. The official tournament registration period ends on January 28. There are 84 participants expected for the 9th annual event.