Players Faced Nightmare
Hole at Saddle Rock During Colorado Open

By Joe Cervi
Southern Colorado Editor Rockies Golf Daily

AURORA -- This is how legends are made.

Ray Makloski said it gave him nightmares.

Randy Bregar said it was an unwanted wakeup call.

Mike Zaremba called it "just plain stupid."

They are talking about No. 10 at Saddle Rock Golf Course. The hole (played as No. 1 as the nines were switched for this year's open) is 431 yards of protected wetlands, narrow fairways, trees and trouble.

"It's a par-4 where I can't hit either a driver or 3-wood on," said Zaremba, the 1995 Colorado Open champ. "You have to hit a 3-iron (off the tee) and that leaves you with a 7- or 8-iron to the green, which isn't bad. But it's just not a good golf hole."

Makloski, the defending Pueblo City Champion, began the open Thursday morning staring down a true big, green monster.

"I'll admit, it kept me awake Wednesday night," Makloski said. "I mean, here you are, getting ready to play in the state's most prestigious tournament, and you have to start the entire thing on that hole.

"That hole leaves little margin for error. You have to be ready to play right out of the chute. You can't just walk up to the tee box and hit it. You have to figure out just what to hit and then hit a great shot or you're in trouble."

The wetlands that line the left side of the hole, from the tee box to well past the green, are protected. No one is allowed to even venture in the area and look for golf balls, let alone try and chop it out if a ball is found.

"They look like weeds, but there are signs everywhere saying to stay out," said Bregar, who missed the cut this year.

And there is no bail out right. This is a hole that demands a near-prefect tee shot every time.

"Everything slopes toward those (wetlands) so even shots hit right down the middle could wind up in there," Bregar added. "It's a tough hole mentally more than it is physically."

If you lose a ball in the native grasslands, there is a drop area more than 200 yards from the green.

Should you hit it short off the box, big trees impede your approach to the green.

The green itself is receptive, and nicely played tee shots can results in eventual birdies. Getting to the green apparently isn't any fun.

"We started there Thursday and we were the last group off so we had to wait 20 minutes for the morning groups to finish up," Pueblo pro Jason Allen said. "There we were, standing on that tee box and staring at that silver dollar-sized fairway for 20 minutes. It was cold and cloudy and you're staring down this monster of a hole. Like it isn't hard enough."

Allen said whether you start on the front or back, that hole is always on your mind.

"You have to be careful because you start thinking about it when you still have two holes to play on the (front) side," Allen said. "The best thing about that hole is when you pick your ball out of the cup."

And the best thing about this hole for you and me at Saddle Rock is that we can experience the exact same terror the state's best golfers experienced the past four days.

That's what golf is all about -- legendary golf holes.