By Olle Nordberg, Former Asian Tour and European Tour professional

At most Tour events there are a few key holes that have the possibility to make or break a round, scoring wise and mentally. Holes that can prove pivotal to a win or top finish on Sunday afternoons if they are managed successfully or mean a missed opportunity if not executed well.

They can be risk or reward type of holes such as reachable par-four’s or par-five’s where eagles and birdies can be had, but with trouble waiting for errant shots bringing bogeys or worse into play. They can also be difficult holes where par is a good score that players will have to navigate safely to keep a good round going.

The Gary Player designed course at DLF Golf and Country Club is definitely a course where you need to be at the top of your game to have a chance to win on Sunday afternoon. It will challenge all parts of your game and can be very intimidating visually as well.

Many of the holes have no safe bail-out like a lot of other courses, a bad swing is very likely going to cost at least one shot and quite possibly more. In last year’s Hero Indian Open at DLF there were 318 double-bogeys, 57 triple-bogeys, 23 quadruple-bogeys and five more unmentionables made.

At the DLF Gary Player Course holes number nine, 14, 17 and 18 can be considered key holes for any player that has aspirations to win the championship:

KEY HOLES

• Hole 9:

This short par-four is reachable off the tee for many players depending on the wind and where the markers are placed, and the last two editions of the Hero Indian Open has seen a number of players attempting to do so. If going for the green with the tee-shot, players will need to avoid the lake guarding the right side and the sloping rough on the left.

A well-executed swing should be rewarded with an excellent chance for birdie or even eagle, and this hole has produced nine eagles and 239 birdies the past two years. It has also seen 37 doubles, five triples and three quads, so aggressive play is not always recommended.

Playing to an average of 3.940 or 0.06 under par, it has played as the second and third easiest hole in 2017 or 2018 respectively.

• Hole 14:

The long dogleg left par-4 has been the most difficult hole at DLF both the last two years, with a difficult to find fairway and an even more difficult green to hit in regulation. Only 41.08% of players did so in 2017/2018 which would explain the average score of 4.520 or 0.520 over par.

Only 56 birdies have been made on 14, against 71 doubles and 21 triples and higher with one unfortunate player carding a dreaded double-digit 10 in 2018. Par is a very good score on this hole.

• Hole 17:

The signature hole of the course and one of the most scenic holes on tour. A tee-shot that finds the fairway will leave players with an uphill second shot to a highly elevated green protected by a massive rock formation. Playing around 14 yards uphill makes it more difficult to control the distance on the approach, as the ball will be coming in on a flatter trajectory making it more difficult to stop on the green. Any shots coming up short will be bouncing off the rocks and ending up in the hazard.

The hole has played to a 4.255 average or 0.255 over par, with 112 birdies made but also 35 doubles and 14 triples or more.

• Hole 18:

Not a pleasant tee-shot if you don’t have your shot-shape dialed in, with an intimidating view from the tournament tee. The lake that goes all along the left side of the hole will catch any balls going even slightly left, and the bush to the right of the fairway is not much less penalizing. However, a precise drive can make the green reachable in two for the longer hitters and give them a chance for a closing eagle or birdie.

This is a hole where no lead may be safe on Sunday afternoon, as the wide range of scores in previous editions of the Hero Indian Open has shown.

The average score on 18 has been 5.275 or 0.275 over par, with eight eagles and 192 birdies against 62 doubles and 43 triples and higher. Included in those were four 10s and one 11 which proves that anything can happen on the last hole of the event.

ANALYSIS

DLF Golf and Country Club’s Gary Player Course is a difficult one to navigate without costly mistakes, and the route to success in the Hero Indian Open will be to keep big numbers off the card and take advantage of the easier scoring holes.

In 2018 Matt Wallace won the event by playing the key holes in one under par for the week, beating the field average by 4.64 strokes.

More importantly, Wallace played the ninth hole in 3-under par for the week, whereas runner-up Andrew Johnston, losing to Wallace in a play-off, double-bogeyed the hole on Thursday and only managed one birdie on the hole the next three rounds. A costly difference of four shots by end of the week.

S.S.P Chawrasia won the 2017 edition by making very few mistakes all week. Only six bogeys against 16 birdies meant he won by seven shots ahead of runner-up Gavin Green, and could afford to play the dangerous 18^th hole very conservatively.

Green played the key holes well for the week and was two strokes lower on them than Chawrasia, three-under-par vs. one-under-par. He made total of 23 birdies for the week and tied with Anirban Lahiri for the most of any player during the event. He also made 15 bogeys, one double and one triple to off-set his gains, which was too many to overcome in the end.