Hole 8 at Big Bay Point G&CC

Does it get any better?

First an introduction to Big Bay Point G&CC - the "under the radar" club is located half an hour east of Barrie in the cottage country of Big Bay Point. The 9 hole course was designed by Stanley Thompson in 1928 (confirmed by "The Toronto Terror" novel). With 3 par threes, and 6 par fours, the par 33 plays to a length of 2367 yards. The par fours are rather rudimentary and of little interest however this course boasts three strong par 3s. Each par 3 is of interest, with the 8th being one of my favourites in the province.

Hole 8: Par 3 - 105 yards

Tee View - note the green is partially hidden

While I generally am not a fan of blind par 3s, I believe the partially hidden green due to the hedge, works in this case because if the golfer walks to the right edge of the tee box, the entire green becomes visible. With this, the golfer can then get an idea of how to play the hole, and he must visualize the green once he tees up the ball, making the 105 yard pitch, not as easy as the yardage suggests.

zoomed in

closer to the green (around 80 yards out)

around 50 yards out

Short and left of the green

Looking back

The green is TINY. Google Earth measures it at 20 yards long, and 12 yards wide. The green is surrounded by three bunkers, a grass bunker, and multiple mounds, putting any missed tee shot in a difficult chipping position.

This hole is easily one of those par 3's nicknamed "2 or 20" meaning it is easy to make birdie if you hit the green, however you can also wreck a scorecard if you miss it.

A small model of the hole I drew, note the contours of the green labelled. Unfortunately I don't have a photo to show them, but the contours are some of the strongest on the course.