The seventeenth at Black Mesa Golf Club is a visually stunning creation. From the back tees this hole will measure 424 yards to 327 yards from the forward tees, but neither distance can warn you of trails and tribulation to come.

It begins on your drive to the tee box which appears to be uphill, but from the back two tees it will appear as if your tee shot is uphill as well. This is a snapshot of the hole. The tees will set up for a draw the fairway and slope of the land will give you the impression that a fade is needed. Do you need to be more confused? Yes you do.

A deep bunker guarding the right side of the fairway and is there to catch short weak fades from which an escape of 100 yards is good. Shots from the rear back can travel further, but risk reward from here is rated slight chance of success. The bunker is kidney shaped so long shots without a high lip are rare. Another bunker further down the right side will catch stray long tee shots. This is kidney shaped bunker has a more benign lip than its neighbor, but still high enough to cause problems with shots from close to the edge. All bunkers are framed by long fescue grasses which like the siren will look pretty, but capture the unwary.

The fairway here (yes there is one) will look like a roller coaster, with flat lies and the ability to play from un-even lies at a premium. I like to place tee shots to the right center of the fairway as it is the most accessible point of the fairway. Only the most unlucky tee shots will find rough when started on this line. I have also found tee shots that fade from the left rough into the fairway present a very tough angle into the green. So make sure that you try to keep this tee shot to the right center of fairway.

From about 100 yards into the green a complex of bunkers guard the green. All the bunkers on the left side will slope from back to front and second and third shots that do not carry them will roll back into the middle or rear portions of many of the bunkers. There are steep slopes between the bunkers and green and the thick grasses surrounding them will hold some shots before they can roll back into the bunker. If you’re faced with a long bunker shot to the green, a good idea may be to play out sideways and you’re your next shot from the beautiful grass of the fairway. Some players have tried to hit this bunker shot 8 to 10 times in the same round.

Why are all these shots so difficult? The green sits above the fairway at the skyline creating problems judging distance and depth and high approaches are need to hold the green.

The right side pin placements of the long and somewhat L shaped green is much more accessible than the left side pin placements. A soft ridge runs from the left front quarter to the right rear of the green creating many possible pin placements for players.

A better player will normally play to the right side of this green on any approach as most pin placements on the right side are straight forward. The toughest pin placement on the right side is up front where a small false front returns anything short to the fairway and gives the illusion that it is a much shorter shot than it really is.

Pin placements to the left side are the ones that will run the score up. The rear of this green slopes away from the player and the collection areas are rimmed by native rough. Native rough in New Mexico means looking for a place to drop. Players who can hit very high approach shots can try for the left rear pin placements of this green. The left rear will actually slope from the players left to right so shots on the left will funnel somewhat to the left rear of the green. Shots missing the green short of the left side will need a great bunker game to get up and down.

This is my toughest hole because I like to fade the ball most of the time. This hole exposes all of my personal weaknesses and I love to play if because it makes me a little better each time. I have learned to draw the ball and my approaches now soar majestically into the sky. Bunker shots no longer make me quake in my spikeless shoes. I have always been a pretty good putter so now watch out 17 I have your number.