"I don't have much good to say about 18"

View of No. 18's bunkering (click to enlarge)You throw a bunker in the center of the fairway and our boys can't deal with it! And people wonder why we get slaughtered in the Ryder Cup.

From Jim McCabe's Boston Globe round one notes column:

The pot bunker that's been added into the middle of the layup area at the par-5 18th offers a quaint look. The only thing is, does it come into play? "It definitely did for me," said Kuchar, who only drove it 240 yards and was left with about 290 yards. For sure, Kuchar had to consider the deep pot bunker on his layup, but he executed it perfectly. "I don't have much good to say about 18," he said. . . Tim Herron told Gil Hanse, who led the redesign efforts, that he didn't like the pot bunker. It was right where he would want to lay it up, Herron told Hanse, who nodded and replied that's why it was put there, to force guys to be precise with their second shots . . .

FYI, the sprinkler head on the back side of the bunker, closest to the green, is 95 to the center of the green. The nearest head short of the bunker is marked 117. Yes, they might have to hit an easy pitching wedge instead of a full SW.

Oh, and there's a good 15 paces of fairway on either side of this little bunker.

What a menace to society!

At least Rocco, who actually gives this stuff serious consideration, likes what he sees.

As for the overall changes to TPC Boston, Rocco Mediate is a big fan. "Fax did a great job," said Mediate, a reference to PGA Tour colleague Brad Faxon, who consulted with Hanse on the redesign. "Then again, I knew he would. He's old-school, so he wasn't going to force some new-fandangled goofy stuff."

I Wonder If...

...the brand platforming experts down in Ponte Vedra will note TPC Boston 4th hole's impact on day one Deutsche Bank play. Tiger Woods's double bogey 6 and Phil Mickelson's eagle 2 were run on sports highlight shows across the country.

I did notice that TGC/NBC showed it quite a bit more than any other front nine hole.

Here's what first round leader Camillo Villegas said about the hole:

Q. You talked about the new hole at No. 4. Can you give me your general impressions of that hole beyond the birdie?

CAMILO VILLEGAS: Tricky one. It's a tricky one. There's obviously -- the green just goes away. I think we should play that hole from the front tee all week, just because from the back tee it's a little too funky. You're going to be hitting maybe a 5-wood into a very narrow space, and it's going to be hard to even hold the green from 100 yards, and then if you hit driver and you get it up there where you have 50 yards, you can be in the middle of the fairway and I don't think you're going to be able to hold the green.

It's a tricky one. It's a good hole from the front, I believe, and I'm just trying to get it over that green somehow and just chip it back up. 

Here's what Tiger said about his surprising double...

Q. Can you talk about the 4th hole?

TIGER WOODS: Yeah, the 4th hole I was telling Stevie, we've got to be committed to hitting the ball right of the green. I could hit the ball 50 yards right of the green. I was just trying to hit the ball right, right, right, and I just pulled it about five yards left of the flag. I was in the bunker, the only place you can't be.

Q. We couldn't see it from where we were standing. What were you trying to do with that shot?

TIGER WOODS: I was just trying to keep the ball on the green. Trying to keep it on the green.

Q. Runs away from you?

TIGER WOODS: Yeah, big-time. I wasn't even trying to get cute with it. I said, well, if I make a mistake, make this mistake long, hit the ball over the green, chip back and try and make par that way. It just came out soft and buried under the lip.

 Q. Still in the sand?

TIGER WOODS: It was actually underneath the lip, so I couldn't get it out. 

And here's what Mike Weir said after his 65:

Q. So you liked everything?

MIKE WEIR: I liked everything, yeah (laughter).

I heard that No. 4, that that was kind of a narrow tee shot and a big -- I like the drivable par 4s because you miss it in the wrong spot with these firm, fast greens, and you're going to be struggling for par. Good risk-reward hole.

Q. As an example, and I could ask this of someone who had an eight-foot eagle putt, where could you miss it where you do get in some deep doo-doo?

MIKE WEIR: Left. I played with J.J. and he hit it left, and he had to hit it just right to get it barely on the green, and he hit a good shot and it rolled all the way down the hill and he had to make a really good up-and-down for par. That's a really good hole. If you miss it in the wrong spot, even though he was in the fairway you don't have much. Even if you miss it right, you can pitch it up the green. 

"We'll play the up tees"

Jim McCabe offers an extensive look into the TPC Boston's renovated 4th hole and looks at some of the issues that arose over how the PGA Tour would set up the short two-shotter.

Weighing Options On TPC Boston's 4th

As expected, the Hanse-Faxon-Wagner redesign of TPC Boston's 4th hole is generating the most discussion, fueled in part by the possibility that officials may play the 356-yard tee for two rounds. Since that tee was never intended to be used for Deutsche Bank tournament play, it appears the Tour officials have decided to play it at around 300 yards all four days.

Until we see actual tournament play, we won't know which option players will most often chose to take. Just from observing some play on it, the hole looks like a Redan merged with elements of Riviera's 10th. It seems that a few will lay-up with a four or five iron, most will hit three wood at the front opening or into the front bunker, while some will take driver and err on the long side of the green.

A few images, starting with the view from the tee.

 

And the view from the left center of the fairway...

 

And the view from the right center, which is the ideal layup angle.

 

Finally, the rear view which flattens out some of the neat features over the green (fall off, bumps, etc...) that may make the player driving it long think twice. There are some small mounds meant to look like the old style New England bumps that are often found in this area when crews would bury large rocks instead of trying to cart them off property. 

A Few Quick Comments From TPC Boston

Thanks to favorable weather and the efforts of superintendent Tom Brodeur, the course is dry and firm with a promising weather forecast.

I toured the course today with Gil Hanse and Brad Faxon, so it was fun not only to hear their insights, but to hear player reactions which included several fine compliments along the lines of "I'm not sure how to play this hole" or "that bunker is right where I want to layup." Of course, the players don't realize they are paying the architects a compliment!

The new fourth is a real standout and I'll post more on that with some photos when I get the chance. Both 16 and 17 could be really fun on television, while the 18th is loaded with trouble but until the original green is blown up, I'm not sure how great it can be.

Most exciting of all is how aged the fescues already look. These images are of 5 month old bunkers. In a few years when the grasses break down and see a little wear and tear, they'll only take on more of an antique flavor.

 

Greetings From Boston

Posting will be sporadic as I've landed in Boston and will be at the TPC the next few days soaking up playoff fever. WiFi willing I'll be posting some photos and other observations from the media center.

To whet your appetite, TPC Boston's pro Tom Ellis talks about the course changes and other issues surrounding the Deutsche Bank event, while Dave Shedloski previews the week in his Tour Insider column.

And over at Golf Digest a FedEx Cup gang bang broke out while I was flying cross country. Ron Sirak is lukewarm, John Hawkins offers less than encouraging reviews for the Cup and Westchester in his Golf World game story, while Bill Fields is hopeful that the playoffs will get interesting. Of course, he also quotes several prominent players saying that playoffs may have been a poor choice of words. Huh?

No, we like the idea of a playoff. It just has to act like one!

TPC Boston Before/After 4th Hole

This is the one TPC Boston hole that Hanse-Faxon-Wagner reworked most, shortening the 425-yard par-4 by over 100 yards to create a risk-reward, driveable short par-4. The new view facing players is seen in the below "after" photo.

I'll be able to say more about how the options work when I get out there and see it next week.
 

 

TPC Boston Before After 5th Hole

The TPC Boston's 475-yard par-4 5th hole, before and after the Hanse-Faxon-Wagner redo. I'll try to get a better look at that big boosting bank that has been created just to the right of the green to kick shots in. Looks interesting.

 

And after...

 

TPC Boston Before/After 15th Hole

And the 15th hole at TPC Boston before photo courtesy of Caddybytes.com...

 

After... 

 

TPC Boston Before/After 8th Hole

The TPC Boston's 213 yard par-3 8th appears to not have provided the Hanse-Faxon-Wagner team much to work with, but the bunker has less of that lovely Rees quality to it in the after shot (below). I also like the little bumpy ridge cut out short right that eliminates some of the modern shaping look and probably helps the player see into the right bunker better.

 

 

More TPC Boston: 16th Before and After

I believe this is a new green by Hanse/Wagner/Faxon at the TPC Boston, with the par-3 shortened and the green given more of a peninsula effect that should make Sunday hole locations fun.

Before and after, with the old green site sitting where you see the reddish fescue grass:

 

 

Update on 2007-08-25 21:50 by Geoff

Here's one other view of the new 16th...

 

TPC Boston Before/After 1st Hole

On the TPC Boston's first hole it looks Hanse-Faxon-Wagner raised the front bunker (or certainly didn't lower it) to obstruct a clean view of left hole locations. I can already hear the players crying foul! It's not all right in front of you!

 

 

TPC Boston Before/After 10th Hole

More of the Hanse-Faxon-Wagner redo of TPC Boston, this time the 10th hole, which only saw minor changes. More fescue and bunkering with a lot more flair.
 

 And after...

 

TPC Boston Before/After 9th Hole

The TPC Boston's 480-yard par-4 9th, with the view prior to last fall's Hanse-Faxon-Wagner renovation and the after shot below.
 

 

TPC Boston Before/After: 7th Hole

One of the more talked about additions at the revamped TPC Boston will be the "Hell's Half Acre" installed on the 600-yard par-5 7th hole. Above is a view of the hole before and below is the after shot of the Hanse-Faxon-Wagner redo, with photos courtesy of TPC Boston superintendent Tom Brodeur.

 

And the after shot, where you may note the improved left greenside bunker and the elimination of containment mounds around the green complex...