The fairways of Copperhead’s 16th hole can give players fits as they get progressively narrower.
One of its most familiar victims of the par-4 over the years is Jordan Spieth.
The three-time major champion called the hole “one of the harder shots that we have throughout the year” after his second round at the Valspar Championship outside of Tampa Bay.
Spieth missed his target off the tee by 25 yards and wound up right in the water during Thursday’s opening round. He went on to double bogey in what was a momentum-shifting error for someone who once was tied for third at 5-under through 15 holes.
He overcompensated a day later, missing into the woods — 25 yards to the left of the intended fairway. Spieth bogeyed this time, the lone error in a seven-hole stretch where he birdied four times.
“Think the last couple days, the biggest challenge is it’s blowing pretty hard off left and you can’t feel any of it, it’s all blocked on the tee,” said Spieth after shooting a 1-over 70 Friday. “For us, we like to feel what it is. And when you don’t feel anything and you’re essentially playing a shot to miss almost into the people — if there was no wind, it’s just the trust factor on that.”
Spieth explained that being blocked on the tee leaves a player with a decision, “you can’t be second guessing.”
“You got to pick a club and pick a shot,” he said.
It all comes down to the tee shot on 16. Spieth also dubbed it “a birdie hole” when he can hit a short iron into the green.
“It’s been downwind on the second shot,” he pointed out. “This morning it was in off the left on the tee making it even more challenging than yesterday. But I think the weekend it’s only going to be more downwind so you could hit less club if you want.”
“I think this afternoon it shifts to where it’s more downwind. So, you might see some 5-woods and stuff like that, which makes it obviously a little more manageable,” Spieth added. “When you do hit the fairway, it’s not like some of the hardest holes where that next shot is just as challenging. I mean, you can be in attack mode on the next shot once you hit a nice tee ball.”