Ask the Pro: 3 Most Challenging Holes at Shaftesbury Glen Golf & Fish Club

A Clyde Johnston design that boasts wide, playable fairways and excellent playability for average golfers, Shaftesbury Glen Golf & Fish Club still offers some bite to challenge the single-digit index crowd.

Enter Rick Hurst, head golf professional at Shaftesbury Glen Golf & Fish Club, who joins us in this edition of “Ask the Pro” to offer his take on the three most challenging holes you’ll encounter there:

Hole 8 – “This is a medium length par 3 with water guarding short and left of the green,” says Hurst. “There are also pot bunkers that guard both the left and right of the green that will catch errant tee shots. Any tee shot on the green is just fine.” 

Hole 9 – This one plays longer relative to its par-4 status, with a ditch that runs through the middle of the fairway about 150 yards from the green. “The safe tee shot will be to the left side of the fairway as the right-hand side of the fairways slope down towards the ditch,” Hurst explains. “A bunker guards the right side of the green and any shots that miss left of the green may kick down into the ditch.”

Hole 18 – Another long par 4, Shaftesbury Glen’s finishing hole adds a devilish wrinkle once you reach the green. “There’s a fairway bunker to the right of the fairway and a pond that sits to the left of the fairway and green,” says Hurst. “Your approach shot is to an elevated green which features a deep swale that runs right through the middle. This creates a unique putting experience on the extremely long, 64-yard deep green.”