Devilish No. 11 at Country Club of Charleston provides memorable moments in 2019

In pondering the memorable moments in Palmetto State golf in 2019, the U.S. Women’s Open at the Country Club of Charleston commands attention and especially the venerable layout’s 11th hole.

Those par-3s that look so benign can put a big blot on a golfer’s scorecard — holes such as Augusta National’s No. 12 and TPC Sawgrass’ No. 17 come immediately to mind.

Charleston’s No. 11 belongs on that list.

Playing pivotal roles in the Masters and the Players keep the gems at Augusta and Sawgrass in the sport’s consciousness. Charleston’s 11, without the benefit of annual television coverage, meanwhile ambled along in relative obscurity until the best players in women’s golf discovered a chamber of horrors.

Those who have played the Seth Raynor layout that dates to 1925 knew, of course. Some of the game’s most familiar names have struggled there.

Charleston’s 11th plays from 150 to 180 yards and is really a knockoff from the 15th hole at North Berwick in Scotland, according to historians. A Reverse Redan, architects say.

Tales of woe include Sam Snead’s 13 there. Ben Hogan once noted that Charleston offered 17 good holes, leaving no doubt about his opinion of the other. Nothing is wrong with 11, Snead suggested, that a couple of sticks of dynamite would not cure.

On the elevated tee on the 11th, golfers face an elongated green situated atop a tall mound. Deep bunkers guard both the right and left sides of the green, and the putting surface tilts from front left to back right. The steep false front is daunting.

Beth Daniel, who honed her storied career on the Charleston layout, admitted to laying up on No. 11 if the distance and wind direction created club selection problems. Imagine that: A Hall-of-Fame player by design striving to make par with a chip and a putt on a little ol’ par 3.

“Anything can happen there,” 2018 Women’s Open champion Ariya Jutanugarn said at the ’19 championship.

Indeed, double bogeys and “others” outnumbered the birdies among the world’s best women players in the Open.

“You’re obviously trying to make par . . . (but) it’s a hole where, OK, you accept bogey,” Morgan Pressel said. “It’s kind of weird to think about missing a green on a par-3 is your best opportunity to make par.”

Daniel said the 11th “requires a different mindset.”

John Bodenhamer, the USGA senor managing director of championships, called the hole “magnificent” and noted the history, “Some a bit infamous, some quite famous. It’s Seth Raynor’s gem. ... I can guarantee players think about where they want to miss it, and that isn’t left.”

But Lexi Thompson, who tied for second place, did miss her tee shot left, into the cavernous bunker. She responded with one of the great shots of the tournament.

“You can’t make 3 from there, but she did,” said Charleston member Frank Ford III, a Hall-of-Fame amateur and the Open’s general chairman. “A bunker shot to a tight pin onto a green that slopes away. ... Almost impossible to make par, but she did.”

Then, there’s the way Lydia Ko, a former world’s No. 1 among women golfers, played the devilish 11th. She drilled her tee shot onto the green and into the cup for an ace — another moment to remember from South Carolina golf in 2019.

Chip shots. The Midlands Golf Course Owners Association’s 2020 VIP Value Books, which offer special rates at 25 area courses, are available for $70. In addition to the golf course rates, the book includes specials at Hemingway’s Grill and Express Oil Change and Tire Engineers. Part of the proceeds benefit he South Carolina Junior Golf Association. The books can be purchased at both Koosa Golf locations, the SCGA office, the Spur at Northwoods, Par Tee Golf Center and online at www.scmidlandsgolf.org. ... Age-group winners in the SCJGA’s Ford-Picard Christmas Classic at the Wild Dunes’ Links Course on the Isle of Palms: Nick Ceva (Mount Pleasant, boys’ 13-18), Raegan Propes (Daniel Island, girls’ 13-18) and Blake Bocelli (Mount Pleasant, boys’ 10-12). Mark and Zachary Reuland (Rock Hill) captured the Adult-Child title.