Hole 5 at Pine Valley Golf Club

Research notes

• At Harry Colt's suggestion the 5th green was pushed 60 yards further up the hill. Missing the green right is the worst outcome; there is fairway short of the green. (Holes to Note: 5th)^[1]
• Bernard Darwin on the 5th: one full shot over a chasm from tee to green, firs on the right and big bunkers on the left. — Bernard Darwin (HOLE #5)^[2]
• Dozens of trees have been removed to open up the vistas, notably behind the 5th and 9th greens. (article)^[3]
• On the 5th a miss right is the classic disaster, but today many players miss into the bunker complex set into the hill left of the green. Harry Colt is credited with the hole. — Jerry Tarde (narration) (00:04:10)^[4]
• The 5th is an uphill, all-carry par 3 over water and sand; a ball landing on the front half of the green rolls back off. (favourite holes)^[5]
• The 5th punishes every miss and long is as bad as wide, so the play is short of the surface.^[6]
• The 5th tee shot must carry water just beyond the tee and then a cross bunker, uphill; most tee shots come up short on the fairway in front of the green, and anything leaking right finds a deep bunker by the trees. (Best Par 3)^[7]
• 1962 broadcast: in front of the 5th tee the ground drops to a small lake, rough rises toward the green, bunkers guard the left of its narrow entrance and more bunkers and a steep slope sit right. (00:14:49)^[8]
• 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)^[9]
• 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)^[9]
• 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)^[9]
• 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)^[4]
• On the 4th, 6th, 8th, 9th, 11th, 13th, 16th and 17th the player is unlikely to see the drive land. (Holes to Note: 9th)^[1]
• Recent Tom Fazio work has removed trees, exposed more sand and moved tees back; hard holes got harder. — Jerry Tarde (narration) (00:07:31)^[4]
• 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)^[10]
• 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)^[10]
• Crump insisted on keeping each hole isolated and on a routing that regularly changes direction. (review)^[10]
• 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)^[10]
• Hotelier George Crump bought the land in 1912 and spent the next six years living at Pine Valley, searching out the holes. (review)^[10]
• 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)^[11]
• 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)^[1]

Sources

1. Pine Valley Golf Club course profile — Golf Club Atlashttps://golfclubatlas.com/countries/pine-valley-golf-club/
2. Enduring Design at Pine Valley — Geeked on Golfhttps://geekedongolf.com/2020/03/pine-valley-golf-club/
3. 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/
4. Every Hole at Pine Valley Golf Club — Golf Digesthttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVL-gbO0fLU
5. Pine Valley Golf Club course report — The Travelling Golferhttps://www.thetravellinggolfer.com.au/course-report/pine-valley-golf-club
6. Pine Valley Golf Club — Top 100 Golf Courseshttps://www.top100golfcourses.com/golf-course/pine-valley
7. Pine Valley Golf Club review — GolfCourseGurushttps://www.golfcoursegurus.com/reviews/pine-valley-golf-club/
8. Byron Nelson vs Gene Littler at Pine Valley | 1962 Shell's Wonderful World of Golf — PGA Tourhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XdVWUTLhdI
9. Pine Valley Golf Club review — UK Golf Guyhttps://www.ukgolfguy.com/pine-valley-golf-club
10. Pine Valley Golf Club — Planet Golfhttps://www.planetgolf.com/courses/usa/pine-valley-golf-club
11. Pine Valley: GOLF's Top 100 Courses in the World 2025-26 — GOLF.comhttps://golf.com/courses/pine-valley-golf-top-100-courses/