Anatomy Of A Course: Through 2 Rounds,
Players Must Save Best For Last
By Dave Shedloski
Baltimore, Md. – Seasoned golfers expect a well-designed
golf course to begin rather innocently before growing progressively
more difficult, building to a crescendo.
That’s what competitors in the 23rd U.S. Senior
Open are undoubtedly finding in Caves Valley Golf Club, the
7,005-yard, par-71 layout designed by Tom Fazio in 1991. The
youngest course in the history of this championship possesses
that old style charm of challenging golfers more stringently
the deeper they get into their round.
“After the first three holes the game is on,” said Tom Kite,
who shot a second-round 67 and with 6-under 136 total shared
second place with Jose Maria Canizares, both one shot behind
Walter Hall. “The golf course just keeps building and building
as the round goes on, and finishing up with four of the toughest
finishing holes we’ve got.”
“It takes two hours to play the front and three hours for
the back, so what does that tell you?” Bob Gilder asked rhetorically.
“You’re just having to think a lot more on the back nine.”
Players need more of everything on the back nine. Patience.
Length. Stamina.
While the back nine is par 35, it has forced higher scoring
than on the par-36 front side through two rounds of the championship.
The field scoring average of 76.145 breaks down this way:
37.920 on the outward nine, or almost two strokes over par;
38.225 on the back, more than 3 over par.
“The back nine there are much tougher holes out there,” said
Fuzzy Zoeller. “On the front nine you can get a feel for things,
but the wind, it kind of swirls around out there and gets
you a bit. It surprises you. It’s much tougher and longer.
(Jim) Thorpe grew up in this area. He’s played around here
a lot. Guys locally have an advantage, knowing how to do things.”
Most of the damage done by the inward half of the course
is occurring on the final four holes. The 15th,
17th and 18th are ranked among the four
hardest holes. The 464-yard, par-4 17th is posing
the most difficult challenge, yielding only 12 birdies to
the 156 players through two rounds, while forcing 136 bogeys.
It’s playing to a 4.673 stroke average. The par-4 home hole,
which is 455 yards, is ranked second with a 4.650 average,
amazing considering players have only hit the green in regulation
29 percent of the time.
The 15th, a 215-yard par-3, also isn’t cake.
“You’re talking about three of the hardest holes, 15, 17
and 18, that we’re going to play all year,” said Lanny Wadkins,
who added that one of the most difficult features of the golf
course is its varying length. It forces players to hit a lot
of short irons and long irons, but nothing in between.
“You want to use every club in your bag,” he adds. “It’s
tough going back and forth on the ends of the spectrum.”
Added his brother, Bobby, who bogeyed 17 and 18 each of the
first two days: “Those two (final) holes alone are enough
for us. They’re good holes, but we don’t want to see too many
like that the rest of the year.”
While most players prefer to tour a course as it is designed,
starting on one, there seemed to be a benefit to getting the
back nine out of the way first at Caves Valley. Five of the
top eight players made their move Friday by starting on the
back side.
“You’re sort of glad to get that back nine out of the way,”
said Hall. “It’s really nice to have that when you make the
turn, going to the front. You play those first three or four
holes downwind and they’re a bit easier and it makes a little
bit of a difference.”
“That walk up 11 … it’s hard to get your composure,” said
Fred Gibson. “Then you walk straight down the hill, and up
another hill, and then down 17 and 18, that’s a tough walk.
It’s a little more demanding.”
Of course, with the title on the line late Sunday, having
a demanding finish should create more excitement and have
a significant impact on whom the winner ultimately will be.
“There’s still a lot of golf left and when we get down to
the end, if it’s close among several guys, then we’ll see
what’s what,” said Bobby Wadkins. “I’d like to be there to
beat the other guys, but also to show that I can beat this
golf course, that I can go the distance. You want to see if
you can meet that challenge. That’s part of the fun.”
At the U.S. Senior Open, players undoubtedly will have to
save their best for last.
Dave Shedloski is a freelance writer whose work has appeared
previously on www.ussenioropen.com.
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