Greg Hansen : At Fred Enke's No. 5, rounds take downhill turn suddenly

It was 182 yards from the middle tees and the sun was piercing into my eyes. My hands were cold, my nerves frayed, my confidence zapped.

There was desert to the left, desert to the right and a misty wash in front. The hilly No. 2 green at Fred Enke wasn't quite frosty enough to suspend play, but it was about as inviting as teeing off into a parking lot.

I told my playing partner: "Let's see Tiger Woods get this shot close."

You get a lot of that at Fred Enke Golf Course. As difficult as the tee shot at No. 2 can be — it may be the most underrated par 3 in Southern Arizona — the potential for trouble multiplies as you go. There are blind shots at Nos. 1, 3, 4, 11, 14 and 17, but none contributes to round-ruining scores more than the foreboding 495 yards of the sloped and dastardly par-5 fifth hole.

For the pros and scratch players, No. 5 is a 3-wood, a 6-iron and a wedge. What fun is that?

For the other 95 percent of the golf population, Fred Enke's fifth hole can be, and often is, better suited for tobogganing.

"The drive is pretty wide, open but almost always leaves you a blind second shot to get down the hill," says Walter Rice, a Raytheon employee who is an official in the Sunrise Golf Group. "Any slice or hook leaves you in the desert.

"If you don't get far enough down the hill on your second shot, you often have a downhill lie 160 to 170 yards back up to the green. Anything left or right is going to be unplayable or hard to find. Trying to be safe, a layup is difficult because of the ditch and about a 20-yard landing area."

Rice did not mention a prominent fence of rocks, wired into place, that guards the fifth green like a Middle Ages moat. If you hit the rocks, your ball is lying with the rattlesnakes.

"As a 15 handicapper, this is one that can keep me up at night," says Rice. "I usually hope to make bogey. But more often, it seems like double or higher is the norm."

The No. 5 hole at Fred Enke was designed 26 years ago by Colorado architect Bradford Benz. He hired Tucsonan Ken Kavanaugh as his field coordinator and quality-control officer.

Over the years, Benz's name has been forgotten and Kavanaugh's superb redesign work at Dell Urich and Silverbell golf courses often confuses those who play Fred Enke.

"A lot of people think I designed Enke," says Kavanaugh. "But it was simply my big break in the design business. I think No. 5 has some uniqueness. It's easy to miscalculate there. There's so much topography — uphill lies, downhill lies, sidehill lies — that it can make the second and third shots very difficult."

What goes unsaid is that the vast size of the green contributes to three-putting. The No. 5 green is among the biggest in Arizona. If you can think of a larger green, let me know.

"The green is 150 feet long, maybe 50 yards," Kavanaugh says. "If you overestimate, or underestimate, suddenly you've got a 60- or 70-foot putt. It's hard to get the ball close there."

In recent years, Kavanaugh has been involved in discussions to convert the No. 5 hole, eliminate about 100 yards, and make it a par 4. But the cost of redoing even one hole at any golf course is now ridiculously expensive.

It will remain a downhill terror, with fairway bunkers engulfing straight tee shots that are hit about 240 yards from the middle tees. It will remain one of Tucson's most imposing series of golf shots.

"Fred Enke is a great piece of ground. I've always loved it," says former PGA Tour caddie Chip Plowman, a scratch golfer who is a Tucson attorney. "Equipment changes from 1983 have altered the way it is played, but I still think some of the holes are too radical.

"At No. 5, you must pick out a target from the mountains in the background to properly get your alignment. If you don't hit it to the right spot, you're going to be in the desert."

And if the sun is in your eyes? If it's cold? Windy?

"It comes with the territory," says Plowman. "Fred Enke wasn't designed to be easy."

THE TOUGHEST SHOTS

• What: Second of the nine most difficult golf shots in Southern Arizona

• Course: Fred Enke Golf Course

• Hole: No. 5

• Par: 5

• Yardage: 495 yards from middle tee

• He said it: "As a 15 handicapper, this is one that can keep me up at night," said Walter Rice, a Raytheon employee who is an official in the Sunrise Golf Group.

• The series: 1. Del Lago Golf Club, hole No. 1

Give us yours

We want to know what shot — be it off the tee, from the fairway or around the green — that demands you to be your best? This summer, the Star selects the nine toughest golf shots in Southern Arizona. Tell us what moves you and why. Send an e-mail with your contact information to: sportsed@azstarnet.com