How To Play Half Moon Bay Golf Course

Half Moon Bay Golf Course is not a long track, but it’s tight fairways make accuracy a premium. All holes can be birdied, but make errors and every hole can punish you! Here’s some additional information to ensure you play well at Half Moon Bay…

Hole By Hole Playing Tips

  • Hole 1: Beware of bunkers on the right-hand side of the fairway. If you’re accurate with a driver it is safe to use it, but too long and too straight and you’ll be visiting the Greenkeepers compound (OOB).
  • Hole 2: This is a tight tee shot from the back markers. Up front though, be careful of the water on the right-hand side for the long drivers.
  • Hole 3: Straight-away par 3 with water both sides and some high trees to clear if you stray offline.
  • Hole 4: Another straight-away par 3. Very hard to get up and down if you leave it right.
  • Hole 5: Crucial that your tee shot is on the high side of the fairway on this difficult par 4. A tee shot of 170m leaves about 100m into a green surrounded on all sides by OOB. This is a visually daunting hole but the green is 30m wide!
  • Hole 6: Crosswinds prevail on this reachable par 5 and can quickly send a stray ball to the right, all the way to the bottom (and OOB). There’s a small false front at the green, but short is still better than long.

    • Hole 7: A good par 4, usually back into the wind. Finding the green is often difficult and putting to back pins can be treacherous.
    • Hole 8: Straightaway par 4, the only real danger from the tee are the trees on the left. Water directly behind the green is easily found on a windy day.
    • Hole 9: Par 3 with water front, rear and left! There’s usually a solid headwind to add a little pressure. There’s a large bailout area on the right, but watch for the OOB at the edge of the practice area.
    • Hole 10: Straightaway par 4. Choose your path around the fairway tree, then stay out of the bunkers front left and right of the green.
  • Hole 11: Easy par 3 but can bite if the flag is attacked. If it’s left, stay right!
  • Hole 12: Precise left-to-right tee shot. Long undulating fairway. OOB all the way down the right-hand side. There’s a reason this is our #1 indexed hole.
  • Hole 13: Dogleg right. Play tee to a maximum of 150m. OOB right-hand side all the way and water down the left for the approach.

  • Hole 14: Easy tee shot but fairway narrows for the second shot with hazard left and OOB all the way down the right side. Nice water views from the green, but don’t go long as there’s more OOB behind the green.
  • Hole 15: Difficult driving hole with hazard to the left, a hill along the right side, and trees everywhere.
  • Hole 16: Simple par 3 with a narrow green and some challenging winds. The tee is sheltered though, so watch the tree tops and then trust the meterage.
  • Hole 17: Double dogleg par 5 over the water. The fairway tree demands a conscious decision to go left or right off the tee. The smart player has already seen the pin position when playing the 11th!
  • Hole 18: Sensible to lay up on this par 4, but if you’re down by one, it can be reached! (If in doubt, wait for the group in front to clear the green). Watch out for the bunkers short of the green though.