The PGA Tour doesn’t have the mentality of the U.S. Golf Association. It actually wants the players to make birdies.
The tour, though, isn’t interested in giving them away. It wants the players to earn them.
So while “Dubsdread” is plenty tough for the everyday player, the tour determined there were some weak spots for the best golfers in the world. Last year, Tiger Woods’ winning score was 21 under.
The tour made three major changes for this year’s Cialis Western Open to make Cog Hill more of a challenge.
All told, Cog Hill now will play to 7,326 yards, up 102 yards from 7,224 yards for last year’s tournament, which had been the longest in Open history. And it goes from being a par 72 to a par 71.
Dubsdread Course No. 4
9
The difficult ninth gets even harder by being extended to 600 yards.
2
The original
No. 2 is back. It will be significantly harder than the new No. 2, which played to a relatively easy 167 yards for the pros.
5
The pushover par 5, 525-yard fifth has been condensed to a 480-yard par 4. A deep fairway bunker now is in play off the tee.
1
PAR 4
455 YARDS
The first hole is a dogleg left with sand on both sides of the tee-shot landing area. With a good drive in the fairway, players are left with an approximate 140-yard shot to the green.
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HOW IT PLAYED IN ’03
AVERAGE: 3.958
(11th hardest)
2 strokes 3 4 5 6+
EAGLES BIRDIES PARS BOGEYS WORSE
1 88 296 59 5
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2
PAR 3
180 YARDS
After three years playing the “new No. 2,” the pros return to the original No. 2, a par 3 surrounded by bunkers with a tee shot that must travel through a narrow entrance guarded by trees to a green that contours left in front, is mounded in the middle and slopes away in back.
HOW IT PLAYED IN ’03
NEW HOLE FOR 2004
TIGER’S VIEW
‘A good switch’
“I know the (new) No. 2 didn’t quite fit the golf course. So going back to the old No. 2 is a good switch. That is one of the hardest greens on the golf course, along with 5. The front part of the green, if I remember, slopes away from you. Anytime they put the pin on the front left or front right, anything that lands just short of the flag is going to hop past the flag. You can’t keep it close. It presents a very difficult problem.”
3
PAR 4
424 YARDS
With water on both sides of the fairway near the landing area, this hole requires accuracy off the tee. Most players are left with a challenging 140-yard second shot to a two-tiered green.
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HOW IT PLAYED IN ’03
AVERAGE: 3.955
(12th hardest)
2 strokes 3 4 5 6+
EAGLES BIRDIES PARS BOGEYS WORSE
0 75 325 43 6
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4
PAR 4
434 YARDS
One of the toughest holes on the front nine, No. 4 has a creek and sand on each side of the fairway and a tight, sloping green surrounded by deep sand bunkers.
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HOW IT PLAYED IN ’03
AVERAGE: 4.265
(3rd hardest)
2 strokes 3 4 5 6+
EAGLES BIRDIES PARS BOGEYS WORSE
0 58 238 133 20
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5
PAR 4
480 YARDS
Formerly a short par 5 that was the easiest hole on the course, the PGA Tour has turned this into a difficult par 4. The wellbunkered green should provide a challenge, as the pros now will need a medium or long iron to reach the green in regulation.
HOW IT PLAYED IN ’03
NEW HOLE FOR 2004
TIGER’S VIEW
‘Be in the fairway’
“You have to drive the ball in the fairway because that’s one of the hardest greens on the whole golf course. You need to be in the fairway so you can hit that high iron to hold the green because it’s usually brick hard.” Woods said the severity of the hole depends on the wind.
“If it is downwind, it makes for a pretty short par 4,” Woods said. “Even as a par 5, downwind most guys were hitting driver and a mid-iron in there. So you move the tee up, it’s still going to be a driver and mid-iron in there, if not a shorter iron if it is downwind. But if the wind switches and goes back in your face, it becomes a very difficult hole.”
6
Par 3
242 YARDS
A long par 3, this hole features a two-tiered green that slopes to the front fringe, surrounded by five sand bunkers. The most difficult par 3.
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HOW IT PLAYED IN ’03
AVERAGE: 3.154
(4th hardest)
1 stroke 2 3 4 5+
EAGLES BIRDIES PARS BOGEYS WORSE
0 36 317 89 7
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7
PAR 4
425 YARDS
This hole doglegs right. The fairway is lined with trees on both sides, with a large sand bunker blocking the primary landing area. Most players are left with a 140-yard second shot to the elevated green.
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HOW IT PLAYED IN ’03
AVERAGE: 3.982
(10th hardest)
2 strokes 3 4 5 6+
EAGLES BIRDIES PARS BOGEYS WORSE
1 88 286 67 7
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8
PAR 4
384 YARDS
With water on both sides of the fairway and trees protecting the landing area, most players hit a long iron or fairway wood off the tee. The two-tiered green slopes forward and is guarded by deep bunkers.
HOW IT PLAYED IN ’03
AVERAGE: 4.071
(8th hardest)
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2 strokes 3 4 5 6+
EAGLES BIRDIES PARS BOGEYS WORSE
1 73 279 86 10
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9
PAR 5
600 YARDS
With a new back tee added this year, this most difficult of the par 5s now stretches 600 yards with a tight, tree-lined fairway. The green slopes slightly from back to front. If prevailing winds from the southwest develop during tournament week, this hole will be even more difficult.
HOW IT PLAYED IN ’03
NEW HOLE FOR 2004
TIGER’S VIEW
`Cross bunkers back into play’
“I thought No. 9 would make a great driving hole (as a par 4) to try to drive it in the neck of the fairway. Then again, the widest part of the fairway is back where we’re not going to be hitting into it. “It brings the cross bunkers (about 80 yards short of the green) back into play on your layup.”
10
PAR 4
380 YARDS
A great birdie opportunity if the player misses the trees on both sides and lands his tee shot in the fairway.
HOW IT PLAYED IN ’03
AVERAGE: 3.842
(15th hardest)
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2 strokes 3 4 5 6+
EAGLES BIRDIES PARS BOGEYS WORSE
0 123 277 46 3
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11
PAR 5
564 YARDS
Another good birdie opportunity, this hole is reachable in two, but a sharp dogleg on the approach can make this small green tough to hit. There is out of bounds to the right and bunkers to the left of the landing area, and second shots to the green must carry the trees.
HOW IT PLAYED IN ’03
AVERAGE: 4.670
(16th hardest)
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3 strokes 4 5 6 7+
EAGLES BIRDIES PARS BOGEYS WORSE
14 166 230 34 50
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12
PAR 3
220 YARDS
A downhill par 3 with trees and out of bounds surrounding the back side of the green, this hole is guarded by deep sand bunker
HOW IT PLAYED IN ’03
AVERAGE: 3.096
(7th hardest)
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1 stroke 2 3 4 5+
EAGLES BIRDIES PARS BOGEYS WORSE
0 62 290 90 7
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13
PAR 4
482 YARDS
This hole features a green that is tucked behind water to the left, a ravine in front and sand on both sides. It is difficult to hit in regulation unless the tee shot is perfectly positioned in the middle of the fairway. Gusting winds can make the second shot tricky.
HOW IT PLAYED IN ’03
AVERAGE: 4.356
(2nd hardest)
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2 strokes 3 4 5 6+
EAGLES BIRDIES PARS BOGEYS WORSE
0 35 249 141 24
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14
PAR 3
192 YARDS
The large green on this par 3 slopes from right to left and is surrounded by sand bunkers. The key is to land the tee shot below the cup.
HOW IT PLAYED IN ’03
AVERAGE: 3.129
(5th hardest)
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1 stroke 2 3 4 5+
EAGLES BIRDIES PARS BOGEYS WORSE
0 57 283 101 8
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15
PAR 5
519 YARDS
A prime eagle opportunity. The hole is straightaway with a slight dogleg right at the green.
HOW IT PLAYED IN ’03
AVERAGE: 4.666
(17th hardest)
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3 strokes 4 5 6 7+
EAGLES BIRDIES PARS BOGEYS WORSE
9 175 228 31 6
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16
PAR 4
445 YARDS
The dogleg left has trees to the right of the landing area, water to the left and a fairway that slopes to the left. The green is flat, with trees and sand surrounding three sides.
HOW IT PLAYED IN ’03
AVERAGE: 4.118
(6th hardest)
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2 strokes 3 4 5 6+
EAGLES BIRDIES PARS BOGEYS WORSE
1 53 305 80 10
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17
PAR 4
420 YARDS
A short par 4, this slight dogleg right requires a tee shot in the fairway. Look for most players to hit a fairway wood or long iron for placement. The level green is well-bunkered with water and brush to the right and behind.
HOW IT PLAYED IN ’03
AVERAGE: 4.049
(9th hardest)
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2 strokes 3 4 5 6+
EAGLES BIRDIES PARS BOGEYS WORSE
0 72 294 72 11
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18
PAR 4
480 YARDS
A great finishing hole and one of the most difficult holes on the course. The fairway and green both slope toward a pond on the left, often an unfortunate landing area for second shots.
HOW IT PLAYED IN ’03
AVERAGE: 4.396
(Hardest)
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2 strokes 3 4 5 6+
EAGLES BIRDIES PARS BOGEYS WORSE
0 35 244 131 39
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