Hole 17 at Pine Valley Golf Club

Research notes

• A new championship tee on the 17th extended the hole by nearly 70 yards as part of Tom Fazio team work, which is why cards predating 2024 are short on this hole.^[1]
• The 17th is a delicate dogleg right that once had two fairways. A new tee stretches it to 414 yards, and the approach is uphill over a crater of scrubland. — Jerry Tarde (narration) (00:13:09)^[2]
• The 17th is a short birdie chance, but its green is sharply pitched and finishing above the hole is the undoing of a round; from the tee the green is uphill and to the right. (Holes to Note: 17th)^[3]
• Tree growth changed the 17th from a split-fairway par 4 into a hole played through a single chute of pines. (review)^[4]
• 1962 broadcast (older tee): the 17th drive does not have to be long but must stay away from the rough terrain on the right; the small plateau green sits high above the fairway with dangerous bunkers. (00:42:25)^[5]
• A 12-handicap guest: every drive has a forced carry and the landing area is rarely visible, but a roughly 230-yard driver carried them all from the men's tees and found generous fairways beyond. (playing the course)^[6]
• About half the approaches need a carry, and anything short is punished; laying up on the par 4s and going in with a wedge is no disgrace. (playing the course)^[6]
• Eight of the 10 short-course holes replicate approach shots on the main course (2, 3, 10, 13, 14, 15, 17 and 18), with the same elevation change and direction. (short course)^[6]
• Greens can reach 12 to 13 on the Stimpmeter at tournament time, and the aim of a putt may be 90 degrees from the straight line to the hole. — Jerry Tarde (narration) (00:06:41)^[2]
• On the 4th, 6th, 8th, 9th, 11th, 13th, 16th and 17th the player is unlikely to see the drive land. (Holes to Note: 9th)^[3]
• Recent Tom Fazio work has removed trees, exposed more sand and moved tees back; hard holes got harder. — Jerry Tarde (narration) (00:07:31)^[2]
• The landing areas off the tee are more generous than the reputation suggests; about half the greens need an all-carry approach and the rest accept a ball bounced in from the front. (review)^[4]
• Crump died suddenly in early 1918 with only fourteen holes open; the 12th through 15th were built the following year by Hugh Wilson and William Flynn to his plans. (review)^[4]
• Crump insisted on keeping each hole isolated and on a routing that regularly changes direction. (review)^[4]
• Harry Colt had a large input into the final routing; Crump consulted many leading architects but held strong views on how the course should be arranged. (review)^[4]
• Hotelier George Crump bought the land in 1912 and spent the next six years living at Pine Valley, searching out the holes. (review)^[4]
• Pine Valley has held the No. 1 spot in GOLF's world ranking for decades, with a routing that hopscotches between islands of turf across sandy ground. (3 things to know)^[7]
• The par 3s ask for roughly a three wood, 4 iron, 9 iron and 6 iron into the 3rd, 5th, 10th and 14th for a good player. (Holes to Note: 10th)^[3]

Sources

1. Our new drone footage captures the latest changes to Pine Valley — Golf Digesthttps://www.australiangolfdigest.com.au/pine-valley-golf-club-like-youve-never-seen-it-exclusive-drone-footage-of-all-18-holes/
2. Every Hole at Pine Valley Golf Club — Golf Digesthttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVL-gbO0fLU
3. Pine Valley Golf Club course profile — Golf Club Atlashttps://golfclubatlas.com/countries/pine-valley-golf-club/
4. Pine Valley Golf Club — Planet Golfhttps://www.planetgolf.com/courses/usa/pine-valley-golf-club
5. Byron Nelson vs Gene Littler at Pine Valley | 1962 Shell's Wonderful World of Golf — PGA Tourhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XdVWUTLhdI
6. Pine Valley Golf Club review — UK Golf Guyhttps://www.ukgolfguy.com/pine-valley-golf-club
7. Pine Valley: GOLF's Top 100 Courses in the World 2025-26 — GOLF.comhttps://golf.com/courses/pine-valley-golf-top-100-courses/