A ranger at Pinehurst asked why I hate the bonus hole, and his answer stuck with me for 3 years
I used to skip our club's bonus hole every time because I thought it was just a gimmick for kids and charity scrambles. Back in 2021 a ranger named Walt at Pinehurst told me the extra hole is the only spot on the course where nobody keeps score, so it's the one place you actually relax and swing free. I started playing it first instead of last, just to loosen up, and my regular round dropped about 4 strokes that season. Does anyone else treat the bonus hole as a warmup rather than a tiebreaker?