The ‘Horrible Horseshoe’ continues to test golf’s best at Colonial
The “Horrible Horseshoe” at Colonial Country Club always puts PGA Tour players to the test. It’s considered Colonial’s version of “Amen Corner,” the famed three-hole stretch at Augusta National.
It hasn’t disappointed during this week’s Charles Schwab Challenge.
Nos. 3, 4 and 5 continue to rank as the most difficult holes. More players have walked away with bogeys than birdies.
Rory McIlroy, the world’s top-ranked player, has yet to make a birdie through the stretch. He’s parred every hole his first three rounds. Justin Thomas, the No. 4-player in the world, also has yet to make a birdie during the stretch. He’s 1-over through the first three rounds on the horseshoe.
McIlroy and Thomas are playing the stretch for the first time in their careers as both are making their Colonial debuts. But even a proven player at the course such as Jordan Spieth has endured his struggles.
Spieth parred the stretch during Thursday’s first round before going 2-over during it on Friday (double-bogey on No. 3; bogey on No. 4; and birdie on No. 5). He played it at even-par on Saturday, going par-birdie-bogey.
At the end of the day, it remains a brutal stretch early in a round. Why is it called the horseshoe?
Well, Nos. 3, 4 and 5 form a horseshoe around the practice range.
Those three holes consistently rank as the toughest in tournament rounds of the Charles Schwab Challenge.
“The ‘Horrible Horseshoe’ is probably one of the toughest stretches on the PGA Tour,” said Tom Hoge, a former TCU player who missed this week’s cut. “There’s not really one ball flight the stretch favors with a dogleg left on No. 3 and a dogleg right on No. 5. If you can make a lot of pars on those holes, you’ll be in good shape.”
No. 3 is a 483-yard par-4 dogleg left where the dogleg starts sooner than most pros would prefer.
“It’s a long hole that’s just hard to keep the ball in the fairway,” said PGA Tour veteran J.J. Henry, who made his 19th consecutive start at Colonial this week (missing the cut). “You’ve got to keep the ball in the fairway to be able to score well at Colonial.”
No. 4 is a 247-yard par-3 to a raised green, the only hole in tournament history that has never surrendered an eagle. Every other par-3 has been aced a number of times over the years (nine aces on No. 8; 12 aces on No. 13; and 10 aces on No. 16).
“No. 4 is just long and usually into a straight downwind,” Henry said. “It’s just hard to hold the green and you see a ton of bogeys on it.”
And No. 5 is the most difficult hole, a 481-yard par-4 dogleg right that runs along the Trinity River. Finding the fairway is always difficult with trouble on the right and the practice range out of bounds on the left.
“No. 5 made me a better player,” said Mark Brooks, the longtime Fort Worth resident who won the 1996 PGA Championship and played in 28 Colonials. “I used to spend a lot of time hitting drives off No. 5 because it asks for a very hard fade. I drew the ball. If I told you how many drives I hit off No. 5, it’d be in the tens of thousands. Literally.
“I might not have ever learned how to hit a fade tee shot if it wasn’t for No. 5 at Colonial.”
If players can get through the “Horrible Horseshoe” at even-par or even 1-over, it’s generally considered a win. That’s what most leaders will be trying to do during Sunday’s final round.
“They are that hard,” said Franklin Corpening, a Colonial member and TCU product who played in the tournament this week.
“Once you get through that stretch, you’ve got the rest of the golf course to be super aggressive.”
This story was originally published June 10, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
