The Medalist Back Nine: A breakdown of the course for The Match and how to bet it

As The Match: Champions for Charity gets ready for tomorrow, we reached out to a friend of ours that has played this course hundreds of times. He’s basically grown up there, and knows every break in every green and can play it without a yardage finder in his sleep.

So he was generous enough to give a hole-by-hole description of every spot on the course, and we’ll use that ultra-local knowledge to try and make a few bucks on the prop bets available

The Medalist hole-by-hole: Back Nine

#10: Par 4

A Par 4 that can be played several different ways and plays with the typical right-to-left crosswind. You can be aggressive and hit a driver over the marsh and fairway bunker to have a little flip wedge into the green. You can hit a 3-wood a little further left off the tee and have a short-iron into the green. Or you can hit a long-iron off the tee and have a mid- to short-iron into this green. However, YOU MUST FIND THE FAIRWAY! Right will be in the hazard and left will be in scrub palms, and probably a lost ball. This is a birdie hole.

#11: Par 4

A short, potentially drivable Par 4. A risk-reward hole that is only 300 yards to the front edge, but the line is left over tall pine trees and and a lot of scrub palms. A lost ball is almost guaranteed with a miss left. Players can also lay back and hit a long-iron off the tee and only have a wedge into the green. This is a birdie hole.

#12: Par 3

A mid-iron Par 3 with a green that favors a left-to-right shot. A front-left pin is probably the most difficult on the green. You can get it really close if the pin is back and you use the green’s slope to feed the ball down to the hole.

Props bets to consider

Left-to-right Par 3? Say no more, we’ll take Lefty Mickelson at +175 over Tiger at +125, Manning at +600 and Brady at +650.

#13: Par 5

A long Par 5 that moves from left-to-right. The safe play is down the left side of the fairway, but this makes the hole longer and virtually impossible to reach in two. The only way to reach the green is to step on a driver down the ride side. However, if you hit it down the right side of the fairway but don’t catch all of it, the corner may block you out and force you to hit a second shot that moves hard from left-to-right. If you miss the fairway to the right you are looking at a lost ball amongst the pines trees and scrub palms. The green is pretty severely sloped. Eagle is highly unlikely, but it is definitely a birdie hole.

#14: Par 4

Another short, potentially drivable Par 4 that is less than 300 yards to the front of the green. The risk is that you have to take it over the water down the left side. However, the wind typically plays left-to-right and slightly into your face. You can also play a long-iron off the tee and have only a wedge into the two-tiered green.

#15: Par 4

A difficult, long Par 4 that moves slightly left off the tee around water which runs all the way down the left side, but the right-to-left crosswind tends to move the ball toward the water. A good tee shot down the right-center of the fairway will leave you with the best angle and a mid-iron into a pretty flat green.

#16: Par 3

This long Par 3 can play as long as 240 yards. There is water short of the green down the left side. It typically plays straight downwind, however there are sections on this green that you can’t see from the tee. The two greenside bunkers heavily influence the slope of this green.

Props bets to consider

Being downwind on a very long might favor the high ball flight of Tiger here, so he’ll be our choice at +125 over Mickelson at +175, Manning at +600 and Brady at +650.

#17: Par 5

If you want a chance to reach this Par 5 in two (although not advisable), keep it short of the massive bunker on the inside of this dogleg right. There is also a hazard all down the right side that you have to avoid. If you are going for this green, the approach shot is completely blind and into a severely sloped green that will probably not hold the approach shot. It is best to play for position for your third shot. Eagle is highly unlikely and will probably only come from a chip-in. Nonetheless, it is still a birdie hole.

#18: Par 4

A very long, very tough finishing hole that moves slightly from left-to-right around the hazard that lines the entire right side of this hole. The left-to-right crosswind blows the ball towards the hazard, and there is a steep slope running along the entire left side, which frames the shape of this hole. With a mid- to long-iron in hand, the crosswind and steep slope can result in some pretty interesting bounces if you guard against the hazard. I have seen double-crosses that end up long and left on the practice green.

Other prop bets to consider

Most Par 3 holes won, tie no bet

Woods/Manning -155
Mickelson/Brady +125

There’s two left-to-right Par 3 holes for one of the best iron players ever, and those should be right up his alley. Especially with a refund coming if it’s 2-2, we’ll take Phil/Tom here.

Most Par 5 holes won, tie no bet

Woods/Manning -155
Mickelson/Brady +125

With Manning being the better of the two quarterbacks on the golf course (3.5 handicap), the Par 5 alternate shot holes should favor the team of two better golfers. It’s a bit of a price to lay, but to lose Mickelson and Brady would have to win a couple and push at least one most likely. That seems like a high bar, so we’ll take Tiger and Peyton at -155.

Hole-in-one: +5000

Just... don’t.

Eagle in the tournament: +300

There’s a pair of reachable Par 5’s, and another one where it’s possible a team makes a green in regulation -1. The value here is just too great, and the freeroll is of course someone chipping in on a Par 4, or driving #11 and making the putt.

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