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.
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