Arguably the signature hole at the Lido, Channel is a split fairway par five, that allows players a choice to approach it as a long par five, or a very high risk short par five. The "channel" is the red stake hazard on the right, which is meant to represent Reynolds Channel, which sits on the opposite side of the course from Lido Beach on Long Beach Barrier Island. The water hazard on the left side, replicates the lagoon adjacent the channel.

The hole is based on the 16th at Littlestone GC. C.B. Macdonald writes in Scotland's Gift: Golf:

510 yards. Suggested by 16th Littlestone, a dog-leg hole. Direct length, 410 yards. Latter route could be made excessively dangerous by calling for long and accurate play.

Exemplified by 4th at Lido.

This hole was also replicated by Tom Doak as the 17th at Old Macdonald, and Robert Trent Jones build a version of it as the 16th at the Lido Golf Club, near the original site.

Note: from the tee, there is undisturbed piece of land right of the hole, just past the red stakes. This is called Zager Island, and it was the location of the base station used to communicate location data with earthmovers when the course was build. It is the only piece of land that was undisturbed during construction, and gives players and understanding of what the site looked like before construction, and the depth and scale of how much earth was moved.

The tee shot here gives players a choice. The play left is a safe, easy drive over the channel. This will leave players a comfortable shot over the channel again to set up their approach.

The shortcut on the right requires a significant carry, and the landing zone is small. The good news is that this "handkerchief fairway" is a bit concave, so shots should hold if they reach it. If players reach the landing zone they choose to take another high risk shot at the elevated green. Anything short will strike the face of the fronting bunker leaving one of the most difficult recovery shots on the course. The easier option from this position is to play an easy wedge or short-iron layup short of the bunker.

The approach shot over the bunker's wall will be semi-blind, and it's important to note that the ground falls away steeply from the green on all sides except short. The green slopes gently back-left to front-right, so holding the green should not be too difficult with a wedge.