Why Did Kapalua Have To Go Soft? **

It's hard to think of Kapalua without quickly recalling the epic 2000 duel between Tiger Woods and Ernie Els (it's briefly touched on in this PGA Tour Productions film, though we're deprived of seeing the ball landing and rolling into 18).  While their back and forth birdies were thrilling, I don't think it's a reach to suggest that the 2000 event sticks with many of us because of the incredible sling-shot approaches they played on the 18th.

Could they play those shots in the 2010 event? By the looks of the last few SBS/Mercedes Championships, Kapalua is a lot greener and softer than it used to be. And despite HD and Golf Channel's many nice production twists (which seem even better this year), Kapalua is a lot less interesting to watch.

I went back and looked at Ran Morrissett's write up at GolfClubAtlas and his enthusiasm for the Plantation Course confirms my memories. It's tough to see Morrissett raving about the shotmaking possibilities today.

In one caption he wrote:

Who will ever forget the finish that Tiger Woods and Ernie Els put on at the thrilling Home hole during the 2000 Mercedes Championship? Great architecture does indeed inspire great golf.

In another caption for the photo posted at right of 18th hole, he notes:

The thrilling 18th - 290 yards out and still going for it in two!

With the approaches as soft and lush as they are today, would that still be the case for Morrissett?

And would the below described shot be possible?

17th hole, 485 yards: Broadly speaking, this hole is similar to the 18th hole at Harbour Town if that hole were laid down a ski slope. The fairway is 100 yards (!) wide. The golfer seeking the shorter way home must play over a deep gorge to a green the size of a small colony. Watching a well-played approach drift across the green from right to left toward the hole is satisfying indeed.

It was satisfying to watch too...

18th hole, 665 yards: Believe it or not, this is a gambling three shotter even though it is 200 yards longer the 13th hole at Augusta National. How far downhill, down wind is it? In a shot that he will remember forever, my (then) sixty one year old father reached the edge of the green from 315 yards out! As has been noted throughout these course profiles, this type of hole where big swings are possible (anything from a 3 to a8 awaits) is the author’s favorite type finishing hole. Just hitting this 16,000 square foot green from just 30 yards short of it in the fairway is one of the single most demanding shots on the course, all because of the front to back tilt of the green.

That 30 yard shot may still be tricky, but it's hard to envision those long sling-shot approaches on today's Kapalua. This would be tolerable if more PGA Tour venues provided similar thrills of watching the ball land doing strange things.

Update on 2010-01-11 04:25 by Geoff

**Doug Ferguson's final round notes include this possible explanation for why some of Kapalua's shot values appeared missing in action. Anyone have old photos they can email me of Kapalua showing when it was definitely not overly lush?

Maui has not received much rain over the last month, and the course doesn’t look overly lush, even though players feel as though they are not getting the roll they have received in years past.

Slugger White, the PGA Tour official in charge of the course, said the only watering this week was by hand to catch “hot spots” that are brown and can die.

Chalk that up to windy conditions.

The course was built with trade wind in mind, yet this week featured the Kona wind. The trade wind blows toward the ocean, meaning the wind goes in the same direction as the slope and the grain. The ball then rolls for miles, or at least it seems that way. This is the week to record 400-yard drives, and there have been six of them going into the final round.

With the Kona wind, it blows up the hill and into the grain, which reduces the roll.

One hole that speaks to the wind change was the 17th on Saturday, which is 508 yards down the hill as a par 4. O’Hair pounded a driver and hit 3-wood for his second shot in the opening round. The tees were moved forward Saturday because of the opposite wind, yet when O’Hair reached the 17th tee, the conditions had switched to a trade wind.

He hit a 3-wood to the right to avoid running through the fairway, leaving him an 8-iron to the green. A 9-iron would have been more appropriate, for he flew the green.