This week the Honda Classic is played at the Champions course, PGA National in Florida.  It is most famous for three holes (15,16, and 17) that are statistically some of the hardest holes on the PGA tour.  This 3-hole stretch of golf is called “The Bear Trap.”  At the 15th hole there is a large bear statue and a plaque for The Bear Trap.

It was designed by Jack Nicklaus (whose nickname is “The Golden Bear).  Below is a video of Nicklaus describing the holes; as well as Nick Price describing it from a players perspective.

It got me thinking about what other nicknames I could remember from watching golf on TV and surprisingly I could think of quite a few nicknames for other 3-hole golf stretches including:

Amen Corner at Augusta National (holes 11,12, and 13) where the Masters Tournament is played in early April.  This is probably the most famous nickname and was coined by Herbert Warren Wind in an article he wrote for Sports Illustrated in 1958.

The Green Mile at Quail Hollow (holes 16,17, and 18) where the Wells Fargo Championship is played end of April.

The Horrible Horseshoe at Colonial (holes 3,4, and 5) where the Crowne Plaza Invitational is played in late May.

Of course, this makes we wonder if I have a really good memory or watch way too much golf (I’m afraid it is probably the latter).