The 14th tee is one of higher points in Dakota County and the vista is spectacular, but this tough dogleg-left par 5 demands every bit of your attention.
From the back tees, a 250-yard drive downhill to the primary landing area keeps you short of bunkers and mature trees right and skirts a tree-lined ravine on the left. From there it’s a long second shot uphill to a relatively flat but heavily guarded green with bunkers left, front and right.
A courageous (right-handed) long hitter can risk a high draw over the edge of the trees for a chance to get home in two. But head pro Leon Otness cautions against it from the landing area.
“If you are Bryson DeChambeau, maybe,” he says. “Don’t try to be too aggressive on it. Realize it’s a three-shotter and leave yourself a third shot that you feel comfortable with the distance.”
Pull quote: “If you’re walking the hilly back nine, your average person by the time they get to 14, their legs are kind of jelly.”
