Irrational hole length vs club selection

[sunshine]

The 8th at my course is a par 3, it's around 160 yards in length, which generally should be a decent 7 iron to get you on the front. For some reason on this hole whenever I used to hit a 7 iron, miles through the back. A couple of weeks ago I took 8 iron, and even that went through the back - all three of my group were also long, with whatever club they took. And there was no wind. We all had a good laugh about it. But the idea of hitting a 9 iron for a 160 yard hole is ludicrous to me. The hole doesn't look to be downhill, but I think right before the front edge, where you might typically land your shot, is a little downslope that just launches the ball miles, hence it's extremely difficult to hold the green - and that might be why it appears to 'play shorter' than it really is.

For holes over water it's more a mental thing I think. I try really hard to ignore the water and just imagine I'm playing to the green as normal, so that I'm not tempted to go up a club and launch it too far, or stick with the same club but subconsciously try and hit it too harder to 'make sure' - which is a recipe for disaster. But still sometimes that water is in the back of your mind and makes you not quite as free and easy as you would be if it wasn't there. Slightly stiff on the swing, lose 10 yards, splash.

When you went over the back, did you fly the green? Or actually you rolled through?

The 8th is definitely downhill, maybe half a club. The terrain at the front and in front of the green slopes downhill, you can land it 10 yards short of the green and it will roll to the middle or even back of the green.
The tee and left side of the hole is completely sheltered by the tree line. You feel no breeze on the tee or even walking towards the green, but the ball will be affected as soon as it gets above tree height. Could well have been down wind on the day you flew it over the back.