Hole and location: Hole No. 11 (par 4) at Haverhill Golf & Country Club, Haverhill
Length: 402 (Blue tees); 378 (Black & White tees); 284 (Gold & Red tees)
Course handicap: 4
Description: Founded in 1925, the fully private Haverhill Country Club makes its mark with immaculate course conditions, beautiful panoramic views from a variety of elevation points, speedy yet fair greens and an overall diversity from hole to hole. Dubbed by our sister paper, The Eagle Tribune, as “The Merrimack Valley’s hidden gem”, golfers will truly be wowed by the pristine landscaping and playability of the layout.
Stepping onto the 11th tee box can be particularly daunting, especially if you’re playing from the back tees. Players are tasked with a directly uphill, blind tee shot with white stakes marking out of bounds territory all the way along the tree-lined right side. Up to the left sits a few large trees that could potentially cause issues, too. The ideal play is somewhere near 220-230 yards (from the back tees) up the left center, which would leave you with a manageable, flat lie at the top of the fairway’s plateau. From there, everything goes back down the hill towards the green.
“On the 11th hole when (the tee boxes) are tucked all the way on the right side, it makes it so you almost have to hit a cut left to right or really test the tree line (up the right side),” explained Haverhill CC assistant pro Andrew Kemp, who pointed out the various tee box locations on the hole. “It’s also going to put you in a situation where you almost want to lay back more just because it brings those trees on the left into play. You really have to hit a great tee shot to be in good position to go at it from there.”
Having played the hole many times myself, I can tell you that anything right is instant death, as you’ll likely flair quickly out of bounds and have to re-tee for a third shot due to the white stake penalty markers. If you really want to try and rear up a driver and get it over the plateau at the hole’s peak, that can cause trouble for your approach shot as you’ll likely be tasked with an uneven, downhill lie, whether it be in the rough or the fairway.
“A lot of the bigger hitters are going to want to lay back with a hybrid or long iron, just because if you pound driver out there 260-plus you’re going to be right on the down slope,” added Kemp. “So you ideally want to hit about a 230 shot which will still leave you with maybe 170 in, but you’ll have a flatter lie.”
When attacking the bunker protected green, make sure you don’t miss long as a pitch back up towards the green from there can get away from you in a hurry. The safe miss is short center, although both bunkers on the right and left side aren’t necessarily the worst spot to be if you do catch one. Depending on where you lie after your tee shot, the approach will play about 10 yards downhill and wind can be a factor, so be precise when selecting your club.
“I’d say you just want to play a good, safe shot to the center of the green,” said Kemp. “Long is a no go; realistically those front bunkers aren’t terrible and you’ll generally catch a decent lie playing into the green that’s pitched back to front, so playing up the slope a bit which helps.
“But long can be really tough; it kind of drops off after the green so it can shoot forward if you carry it past. And if it’s a back pin and you carry the green that’s a really tough pitch to get it close.”
There’s so many great holes at Haverhill, and although No. 11 sits as their No. 4 handicap, it’s arguably the toughest on the golf course. Par sets you up great for a more forgiving stretch of holes that follow, including the short par 4 13th, which 2023 club champion Mike Souliotis miraculously aced for an albatross earlier this season.
Contact Nick Giannino at NGiannino@Salemnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @NickGiannino_SN.
