The Lobster Trap
By
Joel Getman
Nestled comfortably in the infinite expanse of space lies a galaxy known as The Milky Way. (That’s also a candy bar, but that’s a blog for another time.)
And spinning around somewhere in the midst of that galaxy lies a planet known as Earth.
And on the surface of that planet lies a gigantic blob of land that has come to be called North America.
And if you look about halfway up on the right side, in yellow, you will find an area known as Maine.
And if you look on the coast, about halfway up, you will find a lovely town called Northport.
And, since 1916, in the town of Northport one will find a sporting area known to all as the Northport Golf Club, a lovely nine hole track.
And should you decide to grab your clubs and try your luck on this delightful golf course you, my unsuspecting friend, will be forced to confront THE LOBSTER TRAP!
Allow me to explain. If you have any interest in professional golf, you are aware that several famous courses have a section, usually three holes, that is considered more noteworthy and/or difficult than the rest of the course. As such, this section of the course has been given a special nickname to set it apart from the remaining holes. The most famous example of this would be the three holes that have come to be known as Amen Corner at Augusta National Golf Club. Holes 11, 12, and 13, pars 4-3-5 respectively, are a famous, if not infamous, segment of that classic track. Similarly, the closing three holes at the Copperhead course at Innisbrook near Tampa have been dubbed The Snakepit. The Bear Trap at PGA National, The Green Mile at Quail Hollow, and The Horrible Horseshoe at Ben Hogan’s Colonial are other famous examples.
Well, this got me a-thinkin’.
Why shouldn’t Northport Golf Club have its own special segment and appropriate nickname?
With that in mind, please allow me to propose that henceforth and forthwith holes 6-7-8 at Northport Golf Club shall be known far and wide as The Lobster Trap. Why those holes in particular? Well, if truth be told, it is because these three holes have been the downfall of so many of my promising rounds that I simply felt they were owed their own special place in golf course architecturedom. Frankly, they haunt me.
Let us have a closer look at The Lobster Trap.
Hole #6 is possibly the world’s longest par 4. OK, not really, but it sure seems that way. It measures a sporty 400 yards from the whites and, to make things interesting, it features a huge gully sitting right around the 150-yard mark. Throw in some trouble left and right around the green and unless you’re very careful, you’ll find yourself stuck in, you guessed it, The Lobster Trap.
The bucolic wooded trail that connects holes 6 and 7 is a pleasant diversion from the nightmare that awaits you on the second leg of The Lobster Trap. Hole #7 is a 525-yard par 5 with an elevated green and trouble all the way down the right side. And just to add to the challenge, there are two perfectly placed traps both in front and to the right of a difficult sloping green. Take too short a club for your approach to the green and you’ll find yourself in the bunker; take too much club and you’ll find yourself up the hill behind the green with a very difficult chip.
In other words, you’ll find yourself stuck in the middle of The Lobster Trap. (Insert evil chortling here.)
If you’re still standing after these two holes, you’ll make your way to Hole #8. At first glance, this would seem to be a welcome reprieve from the challenges of the previous two holes. After all, this is a 332-yard par 4 dogleg right to an uphill green. Demanding sure, but worthy of inclusion in The Lobster Trap?
In a word, YES!
If you hit a well-placed drive, you’ll be looking at an approach shot of just 120 yards or so. A reasonable, manageable distance for most golfers. But the gradual rise up to the green and the tricky undulations on the green itself have turned the dream of a score of 3 or 4 into a nightmare 5 or 6 for myself and many others.
Walking up the winding pathway to hole #9, you can hopefully take pride in the fact that you played The Lobster Trap and, though you may have lost part of a claw, you escaped a dunk in the boiling pot for one more day.
Unless of course you’re playing 18.