It’s hard to get excited about another Florida stop on the PGA Tour.  Congratulations to Akshay Bhatia who defeated a crestfallen Daniel Berger who was caught by a blizzard  of Bhatia’s great shots after holding a sizable lead.  Bhatia is emerging as the real deal in the 2026 season.

We turn back to the West Links of North Berwick to cover the three par 5’s on the course.  North Berwick’s par 5 holes come in a rat-a-tat type fashion completing the front nine in holes 8 and 9 on the outward links and then 11 as you come inward.  These holes present scoring opportunities and bolster your confidence for the treachery of the back nine that is to come.  It’s a great feeling to make at least two pars here to instill the confidence for what is about to come.

The first par 5 is Linkhouse at 509 yards is a reasonable opportunity for par or better.  These two par 5’s are the final examination for a pleasant front nine with the usual prevailing following wind.  On Linkhouse, the tee shot needs to avoid the rough and the 11 bunkers that protect the hole.  Wind is going to dictate club selection and approaches to the green should be below the hole if possible.

The second par 5 is Mizzentop at 520 yards is your second opportunity to score and is the last of the outward holes taking you to the sea.   The key is keeping the tee shot in the fairway and then hitting a second shot to a position where you can avoid the huge bunkers that guard the green.  Prevailing  wind  is  favorable  making  club selection  a  key factor to  avoid  the deep  bunkers that will deprive you of making par.

After 8 and 9 , you start to move inward into a prevailing wind that will be distinctly in your face for the tour back to the house.  After a bit of initial excitement on the difficult par 4, 10th, you arrive at Bos’ns, the 11th hole at 549 yards–it looks like 700 yards with an intimidation factor of 10 on the fear meter.  The view is spectacular with the ocean on the left–its not the intimidation of the 12th at Old Head-but you might have a false sense of security that somehow you’ll be able to put the ball in the fairway in the right position.  The fairway is pretty narrow for a par 5 and reminded me a little bit of the terrain of Western Gailes links, but the hole has considerable length.  If the wind is against or crossing from the ocean, striking the ball could push well hit shots into the right rough.  Par on this hole is an outstanding score and will build some confidence and realization that there are additional challenges ahead that are to be overcome.

The Par 5’s at North Berwick have accomplished their purpose of building your confidence and then requiring you to pay attention to the changing conditions of the inward nine.  I can’t recall a golf course that accomplishes this mental feeling.  An example of the opposite effect is Pebble Beach, where the first 7 holes are all gettable with multiple opportunities for pars and birdies.  Then you experience 8 and 9, which are the hardest back to back holes perhaps in all of golf–your confidence could be shattered as you get to the back nine.  I believe North Berwick is unique in potentially building that mental acuity to survive and perhaps flourish on the most difficult part of the course.  North Berwick grinds on the entire back side and then rewards you with the pleasure of playing the 18th hole to the clubhouse.

PARdonMe Wins Nonfiction Writers Book Award

I have to crow a bit about receiving a silver award from the Nonfiction Authors Association this week.   Here is one of the quotes from their review and feedback.  “This work by Joseph Bronson takes the reader on a bird’s eye view of the world’s golf courses with many personal stories and beautiful pictures, transporting the reader onto the courses and the experiences had by Bronson”  The North Berwick story above is just an example of what we were trying to accomplish in PARdon Me.