TEE TIMES
1ST & 2ND ROUND
HOLE BY HOLE COURSE ANALYSIS
2012 OPEN FIELD NEWS SENTINEL OPEN PRESENTED BY PILOT
FOX DEN COUNTRY CLUB • FIRST AND SECOND ROUND GROUPINGS FD Rd. 1 TEE 1
FD Rd. 2 10TEE
7:30
12:30
7:40
12:40
Paul Claxton
Michael Connell
Brian Stuard
Sea Island, GA
Austin, TX
Jackson, MI
Derek Fathauer
Jeff Gove
Jupiter, FL
San Diego, CA
Doug Barron
7:50
12:50
Nick Flanagan
8:00
1:00
Erik Flores
8:10
1:10
• Danny Lee
8:20
1:20
• Garrett Willis (0/1)
8:30
1:30
New Castle, Australia Grass Valley, CA Rotorua, New Zealand
8:40
1:40
Memphis, TN
• Robert Damron (0/1) Orlando, FL
• Patrick Sheehan
Palm Bch Gardens, FL
Greenville, SC
• Joey Snyder III Scottsdale, AZ
• Kyle Thompson
Brad Elder Scott Sterling
Lakeland, FL
Greenville, SC
9:00
2:00
• Sung Kang
Justin Bolli
Jeju Island, South Korea
Greenville, SC
Sydney, Australia
9:10
2:10
Diego Velasquez
James Love
Brent Delahoussaye
Bogota, Colombia
Calgary, AB, Canada
Greenville, SC
9:20
2:20
Jeff Corr
Tom Hoge
Fernando Mechereffe
Longwood, FL
Fargo, ND
Pelotas, Brazil
9:30
2:30
Brice Garnett
Adam Long
David Skinns
Gallatin, MO
Lake St. Louis, MO
Lincoln, England
FD FD Rd. 1 Rd. 2 TEE 10 1TEE
7:50
12:40 12:50
James Hahn
Andrew Buckle
Robert Streb
Alameda, CA
Australia
Edmond, OK
Matt Hendrix
Travis Hampshire
Greenville, SC
Tampa, FL
Austin, TX
D.J. Brigman
Brad Fritsch
Reid Edstrom
Albuquerque, NM
Ottawa, Ont., Canada
Auburn, AL
Mathew Goggin
Brad Adamonis
Bubba Dickerson
• Omar Uresti
1:00
8:10
1:10
• Scott Brown
8:20
1:20
• John Daly (2/5)
8:30
1:30
• Gavin Coles Bathurst, Australia
Ashville, AL
8:40
1:40
Philip Pettitt, Jr.
Josh Broadaway
8:50
1:50
• Tommy Biershenk
9:00
2:00
Luke List Jupiter, FL
Jupiter, FL
Olympia, WA
9:10
2:10
Andy Bare
Rahil Gangjee
Alex Coe
West End, NC
Calcutta, India
La Quinta, CA
9:20
2:20
Bryan DeCorso
Richard Scott
Jin Park
Windermere, FL
St. Simons Island, GA
Phoenix, AZ
Hobart, Australia North Augusta, SC Dardanelle, AR
Murfreesboro, TN Boiling Springs, SC
2:30
Shawn Stefani
Greenville, SC
Houston, TX
Steve Friesen
Jason Schultz
Brenden Pappas
Scottsdale, AZ
Dallas, TX
Sydney, Australia
Duluth, GA
Albuquerque, NM
1:00
8:00
Chris Wilson
Scott Parel
Brian Anderson
Dublin, OH
Augusta, GA
Jupiter, FL
1:10
8:10
Aaron Watkins
Craig Bowden
Fabian Gomez
Mesa, AZ
Bloomington, IN
Chaco, Argentina
1:20
8:20
Ryan Armour
Nicholas Thompson
Steven Alker
Silver Lake, OH
Coral Springs, FL
Hamilton, New Zealand
1:30
8:30
Tag Ridings
Ron Whittaker
Joseph Bramlett
Keller, TX
Little Rock, AR
Saratoga, CA
1:40
8:40
Alex Aragon Cardiff, CA
• Scott Dunlap
McKinney, TX
James Nitties
• Chris Riley (0/1)
• Kent Jones
Ben Briscoe
San Diego, CA
Old Colwyn, Wales
Jim Renner
Chad Collins
1:50
8:50
• Skip Kendall
2:00
9:00
• Edward Loar Dallas, TX
Heathrow, FL
Tacoma, WA
2:10
9:10
Bio Kim
Christopher DeForest
Nate Smith
South Korea
Cottekill, NY
Santa Cruz, CA
2:20
9:20
Adam Hadwin
Sam Saunders
Kevin Foley
Abbotsford, BC, Canada
Orlando, FL
Stuart, FL
2:30
9:30
Hunter Hamrick
Audie Johnson
Mark Silvers
Troy, AL
Lebanon, TN
Savannah, GA
Windermere, FL
Orlando, FL
Cliff Kresge
Cloverdale, IN
• Michael Putnam
FD FD Rd. 1 Rd. 2 TEE 10 1TEE
8:00
9:30
Charles Warren
Long Beach, CA
7:50
Baton Rouge, LA
• Matt Jones
• Peter Tomasulo
12:50
Dallas, TX
• Marco Dawson
7:40
7:40
Sao Paulo, Brazil
1:50
12:30
12:40
Palmerston North, New Zealand
• Alexandre Rocha
8:50
7:30
7:30
Jacksonville, FL
• Steven Bowditch Tim Wilkinson
Encinitas, CA
12:30
Pompano Beach, FL
• Len Mattiace (0/2)
Australia
Matt Davidson
Mt. Pleasant, MI
• Guy Boros
Aaron Goldberg
Knoxville, TN
FD Rd. 2 10TEE
Smithfield, NC
Warwick, RI
Kevin Johnson Doug LaBelle II
• Neal Lancaster (0/1)
FD Rd. 1 TEE 1
Cumberland, RI
• Glen Day (0/1) Alotian, AR
• Lee Janzen (2/8)
Casey Wittenberg Memphis, TN
Darron Stiles
Greenville, NC
• Brett Wetterich (0/1)
12:50
7:40 7:50
Jonathan Randolph
Chase Carroll
Scott Moran
Brandon, MS
Knoxville, TN
Knoxville, TN
Fort Worth, TX
David Lingmerth
Camilo Benedetti
Jim Herman
Tranas, Sweden
Medellin, Colombia
Palm City, FL
Cameron Percy
Mathias Gronberg
• Nathan Green (0/1) Newcastle, NSW, Australia
Melbourne, Australia
Sweden
Jamie Lovemark
B.J. Staten
San Antonio, TX
Cottonwood Hts., UT
1:10
8:10
• Shane Bertsch
Hudson Swafford
1:20
8:20
• Kevin Kisner
1:30
8:30
• Russell Knox
1:40
8:40
• Peter Lonard Sydney, Australia
Kansas City, MO
West Palm Beach, FL
1:50
8:50
Lee Williams
Matt Weibring
Oscar Serna
Alexander City, AL
Dallas, TX
Leon, Mexico
2:00
9:00
Bronson La'Cassie
Andy Pope
Andy Winings
Brisbane, Australia
Glen Ellyn, IL
2:10
9:10
Ben Martin
Tyrone Van Aswegen
Greenwood, SC
Johannesburg, South Africa
2:20
9:20
Martin Piller
Jeff Curl
Wes Roach
Dallas, TX
Birmingham, AL
Knoxville, TN
Scott Gardiner
Dawie van der Walt
Louis de Jager
Coolangatta, Qld, Australia
Kingwood, TX
Pretoria, South Africa
Denver, CO Aiken, SC Inverness, Scotland
Falun, Sweden
Andres Gonzales
James Sacheck
Austin, TX
John Kimbell
Gulf Breeze, FL
• Daniel Chopra
• Tim Petrovic (0/1)
Macon, GA
8:00
Pinehurst, NC
• Joe Durant (0/4)
Russell Henley
1:00
Melbourne, Australia
Orlando, FL
Dothan, AL
12:40
7:30
Hilliard, FL
Steve Allan
Will Wilcox
• Will MacKenzie (0/1)
12:30
2:30
9:30
Jupiter, FL
• Chris Smith (0/1)
Tallahassee, FL
Peru, IN
Alistair Presnell
Aron Price
Melbourne, Australia
Sydney, Australia
Rob Oppenheim
Alex Prugh
Andover, MA
Spokane, WA
Michael Letzig
Steve LeBrun
Brownsburg, IN
• Jerod Turner Colleyville, TX
*Names of participants indicated in bold are residents or former residents of Farragut. Bullet points Indicate PGA Tour players. Parenthesis indicate number of PGA Tour wins: (Majors/Non-Majors) *This list is for informational purposes only. Field is subject to change. Player can contact PGA Tour Headquarters for their alternate status.
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Course ‘best condition,’ Moran touts From thick rough to changes at No. 1, 23rd Knoxville Open offers unique challenges
■
ALAN SLOAN asloan@farragutpress.com
Heavy summer precipitation, which has grown the rough on Fox Den County Club’s course to thickness and levels not experienced by Knoxville Open pros in recent years, plus a new look at hole No. 1 await 23rd annual News Sentinel Open presented by Pilot. Lee Janzen, two-time U.S. Open champ (1993, 1998) joins John Daly, 1991 PGA and 1995 British Open winner, as two of 45 PGA Tour players — 17 of whom have won at least on ePGA Tour event — among a web.com Tour field of 156, in addition to 10 alternates, for this four-day annual pilgrimage to Farragut, Thursday, Aug. 23Sunday, Aug. 26. Former Knoxville Open champs Jeff Gove (1999), Darron Stiles (2002) and Kevin Johnson (2009) are among the field. In addition to most of web.com Tour’s top 25 money list, the field includes local participants Garrett Willis, 2001 PGA Tour Tuscon Open champ and Farragut High 4 • EVERYTHING GOLF 2012
state champ from the early 1990s; Wes Roach, former Webb School of Knoxville star and web.com Tour player, and exBearden High School star Chase Carroll. With the Knoxville Open at FDCC for a 14th consecutive year, “For the tournament this year is the best condition I’ve seen this golf course,” said Scott Moran, FDCC head professional who earned his way into the Knoxville Open field for a fourth year by winning Tennessee PGA Sectional Championship, a 54-hole qualifying tournament at Fox Den in July. “The golf course is as green as it’s ever been this time of year,” he added. Coming off of several renovations going into last year’s Knoxville Open, such as
new “Augusta” sand for bunkers, grassfaced bunkers and improved Bermuda fairway grass, “The pros raved about the changes,” Moran said. Meanwhile, players teeing off at No. 1 Thursday will find a par 4,482-yard hole. Until this year, No. 1 played as a par 5, 521 yard hole, which “I believe, played as the easiest hole on the golf course,” Moran said. “There was a lot of waiting. Everyone could get to the green in two [shots], pretty much. “It was a situation of making it more difficult to make birdie,” Moran added. Also, “Moving that tee forward” has allowed club and Tour officials to “put a new grandstand on the tee-box where they used to play from,” Moran said.
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“Spectators can get behind the players on the tee. … They’re going to introduce the element of having people there now, being able to cheer the players on as they tee off,” he added. One of the past dilemmas encountered by club and Tour officials, Moran said, was making No. 1 more spectator friendly. “There’s not very many courses where the first tee you can’t get people around it. And our first tee, you can’t,” he added. As for new obstacles, “For the first time in a while, the pros are going to have to deal with the rough,” Moran said about effects from above average rain. “The moisture has been getting to those areas where we aren’t able to irrigate all the time.” With Moran FDCC’s head pro since 2006, “This is as wet as I’ve ever seen it … we’re going on almost a month where we’ve had an abnormally large amount of rain,” he said. “And that’s fueled the rough … the rough is thicker and taller.” Purse is $500,000, with $90,000 going to See CHALLENGE on Page 5
Challenge From page 4
the winner. Tournament director leading more than 300 volunteers is Patrick Nichol. Head of security is Ben Harkins, retired Knox County Sheriff’s Office captain working in concert with KCSO. Basic spectator information includes: general admission is $10 per day or $25 for the entire tournament. Tickets can be purchased at the gate, by calling 865-9667693 or e-mailing info@knsopen.com Parking is $5 in the field along Smith Road about one-fourth mile north of intersection with Kingston Pike. Shuttle buses continuously run to and from FDCC starting one hour before first tee times until one hour after rounds are completed. Copper Cellar 19th Hole Pass is $125 per day, includes admission, a prime view of No. 18 hole from the grandstand and unlimited food and beverages. Heineken House on 16 Pass is $50 per day, includes admission and provides a prime view at No. 16 with full hospitality privileges. Birdie for 30 allows all spectators to buy $1 cups of beer for 30 minutes following each birdie at the par 3 No. 16. Moran evaluates the remaining 17 FDCC holes challenging Tour players: No. 2 (Par 3, 193): MORAN SAYS: “It’s kind of a peanutshaped green, angles from front-right to back-left, guarded by the bunker, frontleft. When the hole is right or middle, it’s accessible. “When the hole position is left, over the bunker — and the greens firm up at all it’s virtually an impossible hole location to get to, so everything’s always played to the right. If you hit it left side and it’s firm or
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it’s downwind, it’s very difficult to hold the green. Water will come into play along the left.” (Moran’s best estimate on No. 2 hole placement) “I’d say the first two days they’ll keep it middle to the right of the green. … Probably front-right, which is wide open. “And on the weekend they’ll probably start edging it over towards the left side of the green a little bit. “That’s why you generally see a lot of good, low scores the first two days. And then on the weekend you’ll see some low scores. “There’s a ridge that runs from the middle of the back bunker to the middle of the front bunker at a diagonal, and then it slopes to the left of the green off of that.” No. 3 (PAR 4, 409): MORAN SAYS: “No. 3 is a hole that in the memberships’ eyes plays much more difficult than it had before the reconstruction (mid-2000s). “It used to play about 390, now it’s 409. … The green used to be a vast sea of a putting surface. Now it’s guarded by a very large bunker. “Probably only a third to a half of the green is accessible by a ball that rolls up into the putting surface. … The green is narrower from front to back, and it’s wide left to right. … It’s uphill, so when the ball hits the green it doesn’t stop as quickly. “The pros, as long as they drive the ball well of this hole, won’t have much of an issue with it. They’re all long enough off the tee that they’ll get it up there … and they’ll have anywhere from an eight-iron to a pitching wedge in their hand. “If you hit it too far to the right you’ve
got trees in your way. The error side is left, but you don’t want to go too left because if it hits the cart path left of the rough then it can bounce up into the trees.” No.4 (PAR 4, 436): MORAN SAYS: “This hole has been increased in difficulty by the addition of another pond that is by the green. “The tee ball is pretty important. If it plays into the wind, some players may have to hit driver for the most part. I’ve hit three wood off of this tee to get it down to basically 160 yards from the green. This is one of the holes you try and put a good swing on it. “Get through this hole, because par on this hole is not a bad score. The green on this hole is a little sneaky, ’cause it actually does slope away and to the left once you get to the middle of the green. “A lot of players mis-read that. This is one of the holes out here where you’ve got to hit a good tee ball to get it down past the corner ’cause it’s a dogleg right. And then you have to hit a good, solid shot onto the green and just try and get away with your par. “Very few birdies are made on this hole, probably less than any other par 4 except for maybe No. 17, which is the longest par 4 on the golf course. Two good shots can reward you with a birdie if hole location is very accessible. Just like just about every other hole on this golf course, you’ve got out of bounds right and left off the tee. “From the center of the fairway the green comes out quite a bit to the right, probably almost to the edge of where the right side of the fairway runs up to the green. There’s still a lot of putting surface
straight up through the fairway and avoiding the water.” No. 5 (PAR 5, 533): MORAN SAYS: “This is, in my opinion, for all but the longest players on tour, a three-shot hole. Bunker is straight away, it’s a dogleg right off the tee. “Driver can put you into the bunker straight away through the fairway, so a lot of players will hit a No. 1 or No. 2 hybrid, which would be like a 2-iron. Or hit a 3wood off of the tee. I usually hit 3-wood off the tee to keep it from going into the bunkers off the tee straight. “From there you have an option to hit about a 170-yard layup short of approach bunkers and hit your third shot from about 130 or 140 up to the green — it’s an elevated green. “When you get into the second and third shot, the hole actually doglegs back to the left. “For those who might be a little bit more aggressive on their second shot, they can choose to hit a little longer club and get over the fairway bunker, the approach bunker. “The only problem with that, the closer you get to the green, hitting to an elevated green, the more difficulty someone may have in getting the ball to stop where they want it to, especially if the hole location is in the front. The closer you are to the green, the more difficult it is to get the ball right there in the front of the green. “If the pin’s back, someone may try to get closer to the green with a shorter second shot where they can hit something to the middle and let it release. “But if the pin is short, everyone’s best bet is to lay up short of the approach
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See CHALLENGE on Page 6 EVERYTHING GOLF 2012 • 5
Challenge From page 5
bunker and have that 130-yard shot, which is a little bit more full shot, easier to stop or spin back on this green. … Pretty much a slope from the back of the green to the front of the green. It’s much smaller than it used to play. “Has bunkers to the right of the green. If you hit it through the green there’s a large collection area back there that someone will either have to chip or putt back through onto the green. If you’re trying to hit the hole in two, that might be the area they look for. “Probably one of the two true three-shot par 5s here on the golf course.” No. 6 (PAR 3, 198): MORAN SAYS: “Downhill par 3. Usually plays about 15 yards shorter of what the scorecard says because of the severity downhill. “The slope is very flat from the middle of the green to the right of the green. To the left of the center of the green it will start to work downhill into a bowl. “The one thing that makes this hole dif-
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ficult is elevation change — it’s downhill, so any missed shot can be accentuated by the time it gets down to the surface of the green. “And the other thing is the wind, more-so than any other hole on this golf course. You may feel the wind in one direction, but it may be doing something else up above the trees. Wind will come into bigtime effect on the flight of the golf ball. (Moran said that although laser-measuring devices are illegal to use during any PGA-related event, including web.com Tour, pros will use them during practice rounds at FDCC leading up to Knoxville Open and record the information). “They now have ’em with a slope meter on ’em,” Moran said of the device that will figure slope angle and how far the hole actually plays as a result. No. 7 (PAR 4, 422): MORAN SAYS: “Dogleg left par 4 that most players will hit
a hybrid or 3-wood off of to put ’em in a 150[-yard] range up to the flag. Tee ball is downhill, second shot is uphill. “Hole has been made a little more difficult since reconstruction by putting fairway bunkers to the right of the fairway, which in line-sight straight off the tee are in play. You’ve got to really try to work the ball from right to left off the tee to keep the ball in the fairway. “But if you overdo it, you’ve got a cart path left in the rough and there’s out-ofbounds quick left to the left of the cart paths. The hole sets up for a draw, a ball that goes right to left. “Some of the shorter hitters, or some of the ones who have a lot of confidence in their drivers, may choose to hit driver just so they can get a shorter club in their hands. Some of the longer hitters who may hit driver will defi-
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nitely have 100 yards or less into this green. But most players playing back off the tee hitting a 3-wood or hybrid will have 150 to 160 to the green. “Pretty big green, it’s guarded by a bunker short-left. The right side of the green pinches in a little bit. It’s narrower on the right side of the green. It’s deeper on the left side of the green. “If your ball releases through the green on the right side there’s a collection area that’s shaven down and the ball just gathers behind the green, and you’ve got to pitch back onto the green. The green is fairly flat. “The right side of the green, where it pinches down and gets real shallow from front-to-back, works off of a slope that comes back into the center of the green. There’s not a whole lot of slope on this green.” No. 8 (PAR 4, 400): MORAN SAYS: “Hole 8 can be played a couple different ways. Some of the long hitters, [and others] if it’s downwind, can carry the fairway bunker that’s on the right side. “Most players will
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hit a 3-wood off the tee to play short of the fairway bunker. From there you don’t have anything more than a 9-iron or 8-iron into this green. “This green is different than all the other ones in the sense that it is long and narrow, where a lot of the greens up to now have been very wide and shallow or round. This one actually is narrow from right-to-left but fairly long from front to back. “Depending on hole location, there could be a three-club difference between the front of the green to the back of the green. Tee ball’s a critical part. If you choose to be aggressive and hit it long you’ve got to hit it straight. That’s why a lot of players hit hybrids and 3-woods off the tee. “This green’s kinda got a ridge that runs from the back-left to the front-right. But once you’re away from those ridges the green’s fairly flat.” No. 9 (PAR 4, 421): MORAN SAYS: “Most players will hit driver off this hole. The bunker is reachable with a driver. A 3wood short is the favorable play. “This second shot is steeply uphill, and the further you get down into the fairway toward the beginning of the upslope the shorter shot you’ll have and the easier you’ll be able to hold the green. Just a dogleg left, uphill second shot. “The severity with this hole is actually the green-side bunkers. There’s two very large bunkers to the right of the green. And this is one of the greens from the changes and the reconstruction that we’ve added hole locations where it’s actually 8 • EVERYTHING GOLF 2012
tucked behind the bunker. “Whereas before this green was just a big, round oval with a couple of bunkers around it. Now you’ve actually got a little nook-and-cranny to the back-right of the green that is protected by all those bunkers. “It’s very, very difficult to get to unless you drive your ball very far down the fairway so you have a short iron in your hands to get to. The green is flat in the back, and about the center of the green it starts to slope back down toward the front of the green. “Just like a lot of the holes out here, if the pin’s in the back of the green, back in that nook-and-cranny, back-right, you obviously want a shorter club in your hands so you may be more aggressive off the tee. If the pin’s in the front of the green, it’s a little bit more accessible with a longer iron because it’s open in front of the green. “But if you have a short iron in your hand and you’re hitting to the front hole location, it is possible that the ball will spin backwards and go off the green.” No. 10 (PAR 5, 561): MORAN SAYS: “This is a reachable par 4 for probably half the field. We’ve got two fairway bunkers, one short-left, one long-right. A straight drive into the fairway will get into [longright] bunker. “With a reasonably straight fairway shot, you’ve got 240, 250 yards, and that’s the decision that a pro will have to make. If they’ve got their ball in the left side of the fairway, they’ll have a shot to the green over the corner of the tress. “But if you hit the ball on the right side of the fairway, most players wouldn’t be able to get a three up over the trees that high so they’ll probably take the option of laying up. A lay-up on this hole is maybe a 7-iron and a sand wedge to the green.
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“It’s not that difficult as far as the layup. A lot of the longer hitters will be able to hit it over the left fairway bunker and have basically about 200 yards, and that’s really, ideally, where you’d want to be if you’re a longer player. “Green complex is much more difficult than it used to be. Used to be very flat, just a normal green. Now it runs away from you, it’s narrow from left to right, [slope] kinda goes away from frontleft to back-right at an angle. If you miss the ball to the right of the green at all, whether it’s the front of the green or the back of the green, there’s a large collection area now. “The green’s kinda elevated with a false right front, so if the ball is short or spins off the green it’ll collect in that area and run down maybe five to 10 paces from the green and you’ll have to chip out. You’ve got to keep it left. … But there’s a large pot bunker front-left of the green. “That pot bunker really only comes into play for those guys trying to get to the green in two.” No. 11 (PAR 4, 413): MORAN SAYS: “Placement hole off the tee, 90-degree dogleg left. Basically you have to hit a tee ball anywhere from 230 to 250 yards, which for most players is going to be either a 3wood or a hybrid. “It’s not one where you try to get aggressive. The more you try to bite off the corner the more the trees and out-ofbounds come into play. Outof-bounds is right and left, but the one on the left side of the hole is the one that really comes into play on the inside of the dogleg. “Most players won’t hit it too far through
the fairway off the tee, they know they have to hit it a certain distance off the tee ... 140 to 170 depending if they’re on the left side or the right side. “The green slopes severely from the back to the front; and from the middle it’ll slope to the left. The left side of the green, the front and in back are protected by bunkers. So anytime the flag position is left it brings into play the bunker that’s short-left of the green and longleft of the green. “If the pin’s on the right, the only thing that’ll come into play is missing the green to the right, [where] there is rough, the ball won’t run very far.” No. 12 (PAR 4, 373): MORAN SAYS: “Hole 12 continues a series of par 4s that really are placement holes off the tee where you have to hit the ball X-distance off the tee. Just be careful if you get it to the left side or the right side of the fairway because there is trouble long on all those [placement] holes. “And they’re all slight doglegs, 12 is a slight dogleg to the right. … Biggest attraction at 12 is the large pond that fronts the green, and [also] to the right. It actually starts about 110 yards out from the green. The second shot is almost a total carry of the water. “Off the tee there’s a large tree to the right of the landing area that you have to be careful of. Place your tee ball to the left of the tree. And there’s also a bunker to the left side of that fairway. “But if you keep your ball short of that bunker the landing area is very, very generous and you’ll have probably 140, 150 yards to the green. If you thread the needle and get it up between the bunker and the tree you’ve got about 120. “But the difference in 20 yards, especial-
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See CHALLENGE on Page 9
Challenge From page 8
ly to a tour pro — especially when you’ve got a short club in your hand — isn’t that much of a difference. You’ll see a lot of guys hitting 8irons and 9-irons to this green. “The green is guarded by a bunker left, a bunker short. Actually is a pretty severe green. The green works off of both bunkers with its undulations working into the center of the green, then everything slopes down to the right side of the green. … If you didn’t get the ball on the green where you wanted to, sometimes it can be a difficult two-putt. “A short par 4, but like most of the par 4s at Fox Den it’s about placement — how far you’re going to hit it off the tee. … If you miss your second shot to the green it’s going to be a difficult two-putt.” No. 13 (PAR 3, 166): MORAN SAYS: “Hole 13 in my opinion and other people’s opinion is the biggest change in the reconstruction. The water, which is to the right of the green coming off of 12 green, never used to be in play. “The green was very large, there was a
fairly flat area between the green and the water, so if you missed the ball to the right it would not go in the water very much. Fairly flat from the tee box all the way to the green, so a ball short would run into the green. “Now the green is what you might call a classic saddleback in the sense that the high points are in the back of the green and the front of the green is the low points in the middle of the green. “There’s also a shelf on the back-left of the green that a hole location can be set. A very small, small area if you’re short or right. The ball will come back or roll off to the right side of the green, where once a 10-foot putt turns into a 20-foot putt. This green is a little bit larger [than other FDCC par 3s] because of the severity of the water and the bunkers that guard it. But the severity of the green is what protects the hole and
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keeps from giving up a lot of birdies.” No. 14 (PAR 4, 368): MORAN SAYS: “A position hole [where] some long drivers will send it to the right of the fairway over the fairway bunkers and leave themselves with about 60, 70 yards to the green. “But depending on hole locations it can be an aggressive play or very smart play. The play is either a 3-wood or hybrid to the left of the fairway bunkers that guard the right side of the fairway. Very generous fairway. “From there it’s about a 130-140-yard shot slightly uphill to a green, which, again, is long front-to-back, narrow right-to-left, and has a very large bunker to the left side — a slope works off of that bunker into the center of the green that separates the front and back of the green. “The [green’s] high point is middle-left, sloping to the right and then it slopes to the back and down to the front as well. Fairly simple hole. As long as you make an aggres-
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sive swing with a club that isn’t going to get you in trouble, you’re left with a fairly simple second shot.” No. 15 (PAR 4, 427): MORAN SAYS: “In my opinion the last of the positioning holes. ... and the most difficult. “You can be a little bit aggressive on this hole, taking it down the right side of the fairway close to the cart path. Again the play here is either a hybrid or a 3-wood off the tee to put it down there in the 60-yard range. Pretty wide fairway. “But the further down you get toward the bend in the fairway, dogleg right, it starts to narrow up and there’s some tall pines that come into play on the right. There is a pond that’s left of the green that comes in toward the front of the green that, if you don’t have a good tee ball, you’re having to hit a shot you’re not very comfortable with. “You’ve always got the danger of missing it left of the green and into the water. The bailout is to the right, there’s a lot of room to the right, you’ll see a lot of golf balls hit over there. “Longest of all the [placement hole] second shots. It’s just a straightforward shot See CHALLENGE on Page 10
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Challenge From page 9
into the green — a large green to hit into. Very undulating. It’s got a tier in the back of the green. … It’s also got a mound short-right. Everything feeds down toward the center of the green.” No. 16 (PAR 3, 214): MORAN SAYS: “Sixteen always plays as one of the more difficult holes on the golf course. “Total carry over water. Very, very large green to try and accept the shots from that far away. The green is a little shallower from back to front, but they made it very wide from right to left. There’s a slope in the green that goes from the bunker that guards the green front-right, to about the middle of the green. There’s a small ridge there. “Most of the slope in the green is from the back to the front, which is appropriately done to try to accept the long shots from 210 yards to keep the ball on the green. “This is one of the holes that they’ll probably move up to the next set of tee boxes and play about 187 depending on wind. … probably one or two days out of
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the tournament. … If the wind is from the right and into you, the hole plays very, very difficult. So it is one of the par 3s that they’d probably move up. “For some of the shorter players, if it were into the wind there would easily be some players that would have to hit a 3-wood here. I don’t ever like to hit 3-wood on par 3s. If the wind’s helping, I’ll hit a 4-iron probably from the 214-marker. If the wind is just normal I’ll probably hit my No. 3-hybrid.” (Moran says this is the second part of a “tough stretch” that begins with the second shot on No. 15). “Most players will probably miss it left and long. … If you’re really long, your pitch is back down the hill toward the water, so you’ll end up being a little tentative on that. “Really, a decent miss no matter where the hole location is would probably be the front-right bunker, as long as it lies decent and it doesn’t plug in the sand. … tour pros can control how the ball comes out of that sand real easily.” No. 17 (PAR 4, 458): MORAN SAYS: “Unless you have a different weather pattern, the hole always plays into the wind, which makes it play longer. “The fairway’s kinda saddle-shaped, every-
thing kinda feeds to the middle of the fairway, which is good off the tee. It is a slight dogleg to the left, with a fairway bunker guarding the right side of the fairway. “Important is your tee ball; you have to get it up towards the fairway bunker on the right, which is probably in the range of 260 to 270 from the tee. “Being into the wind you want to be able to have a shorter iron in your hands so you can control the distance and the trajectory. Most players will hit driver off of 17 to get themselves closer to the hole. “The green is elevated a little bit, the second shot will be uphill slightly. There’s a large bunker shortleft of the green and there is a bunker to the right of the green. “Fairly friendly green, similar to some of the holes on the backnine. The high point of the green is in the back. “The front of the green is fairly high, and it kinda funnels to the center of the green. … Shots to the back of the green may stop quicker because of the slope.” No. 18 (PAR 5, 597): MORAN SAYS: “There may be just a couple of players in the field that’ll be able to get home in two.
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“Everyone will probably hit either a driver or a 3-wood off the tee. Driver is not necessary because it is a three-shot par 5 for everybody. Main thing off the tee, about 280 yards out on the left side of the fairway, is a fairway bunker. “Most players will choose a club that leaves them short of that fairway bunker, and then they’ll hit either a hybrid or a long iron down the fairway. “Basically choose a club for their second shot that puts ’em at a yardage to where they have an ideal third shot into the green. “The green, through reconstruction, has been changed dramatically. Used to be very player-friendly, the water didn’t really come into play that much. The green was very flat, including the areas around the greens. “Now it’s short and right to the green, it’s sloped off into the water so any short shots that missed the green to the right in the rough will bound down into the water. “Also, the fairway bunker left of the green works some slope into the green, a ridge that runs into the left side of the green makes your club selection very crucial.”
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