Hazeltine In 2016 Won't Be Hazeltine As We Know It

Thanks to reader Phil for Michael Rand’s Star Tribune story talking to 2016 Ryder Cup general chair Patrick Hunt who reveals the committee’s dilemmas (subdued or not closing ceremony?) after visiting the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles.

And he drops a bombshell for those of us planning on Hazeltine National’s famous 16th serving as a key hole in match conclusions.

On the course, the most interesting aspect is that Hazeltine will reroute how the course plays. Players will start on what have traditionally been holes 1-4, then jump to 14-18, then back to 10-13, before finishing on 5-9.
With fewer players in the field than in a traditional tournament, that layout allows for better flow, Hunt said.

“It allows more people to be on the closing holes and to get off the golf course,” he said.

Comments

[mrobert]

Great idea on the switch for many reasons

The 16th may be iconic but the current 6,7, and 8 will make for a incredibly entertaining match play homestretch

[Ted B. (Charging Rhino)]

A million square-feet of infrastructure? **yikes**

[Ron]

That's great they are thinking of the fans and the amount of space there will be at the closing holes. Given the gigantic money grab this has turned into I feel like the TV production was starting to trump all other interests and the paying fan suffered. After all, isn't Jordan there only for the TV shot? Aren't the wives and gf rolling out team outfits for the cross market appeal. And don't they all get to stand in-front of the paying customers on the other side of the ropes because the TV audience doesn't mind.
The next thing they should do is find out how many restrooms were at Medinah and double it. Unless they are fine with hour long waits in a restroom line for the "patrons".

[mark]

The regular 7th hole has room for many many people with out a grand stand. Being a reachable par 5 with water, should be a good spot to be. It was packed during the last pga and when Tom Leham made an eagle, it sounded like a tiger roar. 16 would be fun down the stretch, but you would have to build in the lake to get any body close to the green and than the walk to 17th tee would be a nightmare trying to get through all the people. Remember, the 17th was a par 4 when it opened and the 16th green is near the original tee and all they did was to make the landing area the tee for 17. I thought when they did the big greens and fairway and clubhouse project after the pga, that they may look to move the 17 to make it a better spectator hole and give more room for the 18th tee which many cant find after playing the 17th.

[RM]

Who would object to altering the routing at...Hazeltine?

[ol Harv]

When I hear Hazeltine I think of Dave Hill's comments, Payne Stewart's major, and Trip Kuehne's shank out into the lake in the U.S. Am.

[PG]

The first man to win Hazeltine was the recipient of this http://wfirnews.com/local-news/floyd-author-neil-sagebiel-writes-about-controversial-1969-ryder-cup

[benseattle]

I know zero about course design and routing but when an architect creates a layout he doesn't dash off diagrams of 18 holes and then say "Okay, now where on the property will I put these?" Instead, I'm guessing that he looks at the terrain, the site of the clubhouse and thinks "Hmmm.... this might be a good number one, and here's a place where a solid 9th hole could return to the clubhouse and over here this piece of land would make for an outstanding18th." Etc, etc. But hell... it's all about "crowd flow" and "hospitality pavilions" and "corporate boxes" now, isn't it?

[FG-17]

Hazeltine - another modern era, big ugly golf course with limited creativity. Have at it.

[Pro from Dover]

Harv How can you forget Y.E. Yang's 2009 win and the continuation of the downward slide of Tiger's Major Championship quests?


Loved Dave Hill's comments -'could have been a fine farm' and all it was lacking was '80 acres of corn and a few cows.'

When he wrote the check for the $150 fine the USGA had given him he made the check out for a more significant amount ..."I'm not through talking yet".

[ol Harv]

Dave Hill was a beauty. Didn't he have a full-blown wrestling match with JC Snead on the driving range of a Champion's Tour event? Can you imagine having access to that on YOUTUBE? Talk about viral.

[Pro from Dover]

They had to separate Hill and J.C. on the back of the practice tee at the Transamerica back in the early 90's. Hill went after Snead with a golf club best we remember. The tussled and were on the ground rolling around exchanging punches when cooler heads prevailed and they were separated. LOL. He was a beaut, and a good bridge player!

[fyg]

J.C. Snead is a real piece of work. I followed his group in New Orleans one year. When he putted out first, he would immediately leave the green and head to the next tee without bothering to stand to the side and wait for his group to finish. I thought that was quite rude.

[Convert]

I have heard some unbelievable JC stories, the best too long, the edited version is that JC's pro am partner intentionally hits one in the water so that JC will not finish in the money, JC explodes, the pro am partner says "you are the 2nd biggest a$$ hole I have ever played with...the first biggest was you, last year, in this same event."

[ol Harv]

Yeah, ol JC was quite a sourpuss. Always looked pissed off. I still wish I could have seen that fight on the range. My imagination can see it perfectly though. I've got a friend who knows him and said he was the greatest guy. That's hard to believe.

[Prinipal's Nose]

@ Convert Now that is funny.

[rgw]

"Better flow" = more tickets to be sold = more money.

Why would anyone think there's another reason?

[Ted B. (Charging Rhino)]

Since they are leaving big-chunks of the routing intact -- just shifting back-9 closing-holes to the "out" and the front-9 closing-holes to "In" and -- I don't see all the hubbub. It's not like they've totally rearranged the routings, nor have they proposed changed the closing-holes like they did at the last British Open.

The club I play at they permanently-switched the front and back nines years ago since the old-9th was a better closing hole.

[PG]

http://lenziehmongolf.com/travel-destinations/it-ziehms-to-me-hazeltine-is-ryder-cup-ready-already/

[PG]

http://www.startribune.com/sports/golf/291172691.html