The second round of the Mountain State Golf Classic is typically referred to as “moving day.”
For a good portion of the golfers looking to maneuver themselves into position for a championship run, “moving day” will occur on some unfamiliar ground.
Round two returns to Pipestem State Park for 2023 and is a course that is far less familiar to most of the field compared to Grandview and the Cobb Course at The Resort at Glade Springs.
“I have not played Pipestem in like a year-ish or two years, but I plan on getting out there before the tournament,” defending champion Todd Duncan said. “I like the course because everything is right in front of you. There are some shorter holes and some easy holes, but you have to be able to put the ball in the fairway and between the trees. I played it well as a young golfer because it set up good for my game. It will be fun out there.”
The trick to going low at Pipestem is knowing when to step on the gas and when to back off the accelerator to stay out of trouble.
“I think the problem this weekend will be people trying too many things out there instead of letting the birdies just come to them. I just need to stay calm and patient,” Duncan said. “If I don’t get anything early, just keep playing like I planned on playing and not get too greedy. I don’t want to get over aggressive and take myself out of it.”
Summers County head golf coach Jerod Ewing is one golfer that will be familiar with the Pipestem layout.
“I have been a member there for the last four or five years now. That is usually where I play most of my golf,” Ewing said. “There are definitely some holes that you can make birdie on, but there are a lot of holes where you just have to take a par. There are even some par-5’s out there like that.”
The Geoffrey Cornish design starts out with a couple of relatively easy par-4 holes, before the difficulty pick up across the back portion of the course.
“Holes three, four and five, you just can’t miss right. That is the main thing,” Ewing said. “All of those holes kind of situate you where you are aiming towards trouble sometimes. You have to tell yourself I have to stay left.”
All three holes have out-of-bounds to the right and can wreck a scorecard early.
The third hole is a tricky uphill par-3 where club selection is paramount. Hole five is a short dog-leg left with a large bunker and trees guarding the left side for those trying to keep the ball from going out-of-bounds right.
The fourth hole is a short par-5 that is a gamblers delight. Playing downhill to the green from the fairway, a solid drive is rewarded with a good look at an eagle or birdie.
However, trouble lurks on both sides if you miss the fairway.
“There are a lot of bunkers there and if you go long over the green, you are in some deep trouble. There is a lot of risk-reward on that hole,” Ewing said. “I have seen guys hit it over the tree on the tee shot and take on the corner. Then I have seen some guys also clip the trees and make a seven or eight.”
Hole six is a birdie hole for the big hitters who will be able to drive it near or on the green. For what hole sixth giveth, hole seven can quickly take away.
“Six you can hit driver and get up near the green to make birdie, but seven is a tough hole. Seven is probably the toughest par-4 outside of No. 18 on the course,” Ewing said. “A lot of guys are not comfortable hitting a draw off the tee there and some pull it into the trees. If you hit it right, you get in trouble too. If you hit less than driver to play safe, then you have over a 200-yard shot to the green.”
After hole seven a good stretch of scoring holes await, but again, ball placement is the key.
“Holes nine, 10, 11, 12 and 13 are really the scoring stretch right there. Even eight could be too because it is pretty straight forward,” Ewing said. “You can be one or two over (par) after the first seven holes, then you make up your ground right through there. Then it is hold on the rest of the way.”
Holes 14-17 are not necessarily birdie holes, but will reward good approach shots with a solid look at beating par.
Then there is arguably one of the toughest finishing holes in the state on hole 18.
The finishing hole has a rolling fairway that pushes balls to the right side of the fairway, forcing a slight draw off of the tee. Lose your tee shot to the right and out-of-bounds lurks to shatter a good round.
The left side of the hole is guarded heavily by trees and the green plays uphill with bunkers ready to swallow errant shots.
“I haven’t figured that hole out yet. I always hate aiming towards trouble and working the ball away from it. That is pretty much what you have to do,” Ewing said “A lot of times you can win or lose the golf tournament on No. 18, but that is how it is supposed to be. You just have to hit two really good shots. If you can get a par and get out of there, you have done well.”
Adding to the second round drama this year is a weather forecast that shows a good chance for rain and thunderstorms.
Mother Nature could turn moving day into survival of the fittest instead.
