“With no wind, I can see 17-20 under par winning it,” the former PGA champion added. “If there’s wind, yeah, 7-8-9 under might be enough.”
Water comes into play on 12 holes, but the real defense of the golf course is found in the greens, which for member play can sometimes run as fast as 14 on the Stimpmeter. However, Azinger already has heard that the tour staff will keep them around 12½, so that will take a bit of teeth out of them. But they will still have some bite.
“You have to be so precise playing into the greens,” Koch said. “There are quadrants and ridges and slopes and a lot of false fronts … and, this is just me, but I would think the tour staff will err on the side of caution with hole locations. Virtually every green sits up. So once a ball veers off the green, it can run 10-15 yards down a slope away from the green. Then it does get interesting.”
“The greens are like mini-Augusta greens,” added Azinger. “A lot of small targets within the putting surfaces. You will see a lot of balls, when they hit the green, they will move away from the hole. Seldom will you see it move toward the hole. And chipping will be tough. But the grass is so pure that even I can get it close to the hole with no practice. And these guys are dialed in. Unless the wind blows, you’re going to see some guys shoot pretty low. But guys who play poorly are going to struggle. It’s the type of place that separates a field.”
