The fourth hole is a very short, downhill par 4, with out-of-bounds along the right side. The tee shot is semi-blind, the flag is visible, but anything beyond the ridge line halfway along the fairway is hidden. Players can attempt to drive the green or lay up.

Driving the green brings quite a bit of risk. The two-tiered green slopes strongly right-to-left. A bunker short-right guards any attempt to roll safely on the green. The bunker long will catch anything caught in the wind, and there is out-of-bounds beyond it.

The lay up is mostly straight forward. The ideal landing zone is the left side, and the fairway kicks left, so aiming for the center will put most players in an ideal position. The wind and downhill slope can influence the tee shot here, so a lay up might get closer than planned.

The green is complex. The upper tier is much less accessible, and the strong slope in the center will strongly influence approaches trying to get close to any pin in the center of the green. A two putt here is never a bad thing.

“This hole looks benign to the first-time player, but many a golfer has walked away from this very short par four with bogey or worse. With out of bounds down the right and trees lining the left, a long iron or hybrid will leave the player a wedge into this two-tiered green. Bunkers left and long are not of much concern, but stopping an approach close to the pin is tough on this skinny green.”

Source: Pacific Grove Golf Links