Numbers only tell half

BRYCE ALDERTON

The PGA’s Champions Tour released its rankings of the toughest

courses and holes professional golfers 50 and older compete on week

in and week out and Newport Beach Country Club found itself on

opposing ends of the fulcrum.

The par-71 layout that houses the Toshiba Senior Classic every

March placed 28th out of 31 courses, with 31 being the easiest.

Newport’s 185-yard par-3 17th, a hole that features a downhill tee

shot that must carry a lake and land on a green that is anything but

forgiving, ranked most difficult on the course. The average score was

3.224, or .244 over par, the 79th hardest hole on the Champions Tour

in 2004.

Easiest, hardest.

What does all this mean?

So I set out to discover what criteria Champions Tour officials

used to devise the ratings.

I received a prompt response from Champions Tour representative

Dave Senko that affirmed prior assumptions while striking a few

surprises.

The toughest holes took into account every golfer’s score on that

particular hole and emcompassed the average of those numbers for the

full field during a three- or four-round tournament.

For instance, No. 7 at Royal Portrush Golf Club, home of this

year’s Senior British Open, was the most difficult, with an average

score of 4.705, or .705 over par.

Several holes at the Senior British Open were difficult because of

inclement weather, Senko said.

Nerves also play a part in whether scores rise or not.

Major championships at any level, PGA, LPGA or Senior tours, often

awake butterflies that would otherwise remain asleep.

Majors usually attract twice as many players and scores often

climb, especially in the first two rounds, Senko added.

The Champions Tour’s three majors, Senior British Open, the Senior

PGA Championship and the Senior U.S. Open, had the highest scoring

averages this year.

The toughest courses were based solely on scoring average for the

three rounds.

This does include weather.

Mid- to late-March in Newport Beach often means mild temperatures

with sunny skies.

Warm weather also translates into faster fairways and greens.

Those drives that might travel 260 yards at wind-swept Royal

Portrush might roll 10 to 15 yards further at a calm Newport.

“[During the Toshiba Senior Classic] the course plays shorter than

it usually does,” said Newport Beach head professional Paul Hahn, who

competed in the tournament on his home course this season on a

sponsor’s exemption. “The fairways are cut down and firmer.”

Hahn said the rankings for the toughest courses should take

distance into account -- Newport measures 6,584 yards from the

championship tees -- and added that courses in peak condition don’t

automatically equal low scores.

So many other factors play into a golfer’s performance.

Tom Purtzer, who won his first Toshiba Senior Classic last March,

shot a course-record 60 in the first round.

He followed with a 71 in the second round before firing a 4-under

67 on the final day for a 15-under total score.

Golfers averaged 70.099, or nearly 1-under for three rounds of

this year’s Toshiba.

The 492-yard par-5 15th was the easiest hole on the course and the

ninth easiest on Tour in 2004 with a 4.461 average. The 510-yard

par-5 18th was 15th easiest on Tour (4.552).

These numbers are prime topics for discussion, but don’t carry

much credence when Hale Irwin or Craig Stadler walk to the 15th tee

on Sunday tied for the lead, with both players seeking a

championship.

Then the hole might become just a little longer, walking through

the butterflies.