Dan with the trophy

Home stretch

#18

Four guys, two caddies and the toughest challenge in golf awaited us that morning in July.  The transformation that has occurred over the last 18 months at The Ocean Course in its preparation for the 2012 Players Championship has been quite amazing to watch.  I have been fortunate enough to have been able to play these hallowed grounds a number of times during this transformation.  I was even lucky enough to get to meet and talk to Pete Dye briefly during a February round. We stood in the middle of the fairway on the 11th hole during the renovation of the green complex and talked briefly about how challenging the course was.

From what I have read and discussed with some of the people in the know at OC, many of the changes have been very subtle and were done by Pete Dye in an effort to bring the course back to how  he designed it some 20+ years ago.  The blowing sand and ocean winds have modified the bunkers and dunes quite a bit over the last two decades. The goal was to get it back to the original design as well as create new approach angles to many of the holes.  They did this by adding tees, moving bunkers, changing green surrounds and fine tuning almost every hole.

Here is a quick fly-by of the changes I have noted and watched over the last couple years.  The first hole was left alone, which it should be because it is really one of the only chances to make a birdie.  The second hole which is an amazing par 5 from the tips, had the bunkers surrounding the green totally reshaped adding a new dynamic to the third shot.  I say third shot because there is no way anyone is getting home in 2 from the tips unless it is straight downwind.  No changes to the 3rd hole and none needed, landing on that narrow kidney shaped green is hard enough but it does offer a chance at birdie with a good short iron.  The 4th hole does not appear to have any changes either, there may be a new tee further back but it could have been hiding there for years. The 5th hole which is a fantastic par 3 had some significant renovation done to the entire left side of the bunker and green area. It was made longer on the left portion of the green. The bunker was extended to the left into the dunes and the old bunker that was just behind the green was totally reshaped. This change adds a whole new pin placement and exciting challenge to this very tough par 3.  The 6th hole added a new tee which adds a whole new angle for this usually easy par 4, now playing 480 and the angle of the tee forcing you to carry the long bunker down the left.  Good luck making 4 there.  It also appeared the front left bunker was reshaped but nothing of any real significance.  The 7th hole a par 5, had several changes to the bunkers.  First on the right side which come into play on the tee shot, and then all the way down the left side of the hole.  This area used to have a fairly steep slope from fairway to bunker and often left a ball pretty close to a sharp edge.  The entire left side is now rounded and runs smoothly into that bunker down the left.  This is a great par 5 which can be extremely challenging with the wind blowing.  No changes to the 8th that I can tell, still a testing par 3 with a two tiered green that can bite you hard if your yardage is off a club.  The always challenging number 9 added a bunker to the landing area of the fairway which will test players trying to hug the left side and cut the hole off.  They also changed the green surround to the right of the green, which used to have grasses and a steep slope, now flattened and trimmed down, likely more for spectator viewing than play.

Starting the back on number 10 is no easy task from this back tee, no real changes to this hole, although the bunker behind the green was re-shaped and sod added.  Number 11 had some very significant changes made to the green surround.  This is the hole we ran into Mr. Dye and got to witness the bulldozers and heavy equipment taking what was once a huge dune four to five feet above the green, to a collection area now six to eight feet below the green.  I was told this was done in an effort to entice the players to go for this green in two…No chance with that, miss left or right and you will be lucky to escape with a 5.  The 12th hole was also changed pretty dramatically and now offers a first for the OC, a drivable par 4! They also tweaked the right side of the green approach; it is now narrowed and creates a slopped kick into the water for the drive that gets too far right.  This is now a great risk reward hole.  The 13th is another hole with a new tee way back, making this hole extremely tough. They added several new bunkers to the left side of the fairway making the landing area a bit further back, preventing the long hitters from bombing it down the left and avoiding the water that runs all the way down the right.  The 14th is now one of the most amazing par 3’s I have ever played.  A new tee box was added to the very back of the existing tees, this tee box was also elevated about 15 feet in the air above the other tees.  This hole can now stretch to 243 yards! Good luck from back there, especially to this green.  Oh and I forgot to mention, this hole starts the home stretch back to the club house, along the ocean and almost always into the wind!  There were no changes to 15 or 16, both great holes along the seas already.  It did appear there were several bunkers that had minor reshaping and in some places, sod added on both holes.  The infamous 17th was also left alone, simply because there is nothing that can be done to make this hole any more intimidating.  They did modify the area to the right of the hole for grand stands. Finally the 18th, a completely new hole for some who have not been out there in several years, this hole was redesigned several years ago when they were building the new clubhouse. It now has the green sitting adjacent to the ocean and clubhouse.  They added a couple bunkers towards the landing area and extended the tee way back, which will restrict players from bombing the corner and having a short iron in.  They will now be faced with a 200+ yard second shot into a tough green.  This will be an extremely exciting finishing hole to watch!

In brief this golf course has been tweaked by one of the finest golf course architects in the world and is now ready to show its teeth to the best in the game, just a couple short weeks away!

Dan Lorentz