The main hole to watch this weekend during the Sea Temple Open is the 15th, one of my favourite holes out here. The main prize for an 'ace' during the tournament is a $70,000 HSV. While the 15th provides a great challenge to all levels of golfers, you may have noticed the name of the hole being 'Eden' which draws its influence from the original Eden, the 11th at The Old Course, St. Andrews. The course architect, Mr Michael Wolveridge, has been kind enough to pen a few words on the background of the 15th at Sea Temple.
The Par 3 15th hole at the Links which we call The Eden, is a copy in principle of perhaps the most famous hole in all golf, the 11th hole at St. Andrews. In the process of making both the 10th and 15th holes, the 10th hole was rather too short and I decided that the best answer was to create a double green and thus maximize the length of the 10th hole. The juxtaposition of the walk-offs was ideal for creating a double green in this instance and it quickly occurred to me that here was a mirror of the 7th and 11th at St. Andrews. Our 15th was already the perfect length for an Eden Hole, there was water beyond the green at a similar distance to the Eden River and I had brought in a great deal of fill material to elevate the green in any event.
The original green has a fierce slope from the back, ending in a steep slope at the very front which can take a ball which doesn’t quite make the plateau where the flagstick awaits, down into the nearest bunker which lies at the foot of the slope, namely Strath Bunker or Shell Bunker. It is a diabolical arrangement causing grief to most of the games’ distinguished players at some time or another….most famous being Bobby Jones in pursuit of an Open Championship in 1921 at age 19, who upon taking far too many, picked up his ball and stormed off the course! In maturity he did return to St. Andrews over the years to come and win the great championships in brilliant manner more than once. He fell in love with the Old Course, 11th hole et al, moving on towards the end of his life in 1958 to receive the Freedom of the City of St.Andrews, declaring at a most moving ceremony in his famous acceptance speech: “I could take out of my life everything but my experiences at St. Andrews and I would still have had a rich and full life”. The Eden is indeed a most famous hole.
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