Having never played the course it is hard for me to make a real judgement, however, I really dislike the "Beartrap". In fact, I am growing very tired of Nicklaus designs in general.
I will take for example #18. A hole that Jordan Wall or any of his pals could have easily cooked up (no offense to Jordan). It is pure penalty. A double doglegged par five water on the right bunkered at every corner rough as high as summer corn mess. One could possibly call this a good tournament hole simply for the fact that if you follow the rules and execute you will prevail. over time though, wouldn't this be the epitome of boring???
I have seen small signs of this type of thinking in a lot of Jacks designs but this one takes the cake. In fact the whole "Bear Trap" mentality is based on the same mindless requirements. Couldn't any of us design a hole with such lack of creativity?
OK, I'll put my wine glass down and listen, but I have decided that Nicklaus destination courses are hereby off my list (yes I know about Dismal blah blah, I even enjoyed Kiele.) I just don't know if I want to keep searching so hard for the elements that I like vs. dislike.
Whew! pour me another glass would you sweethart?
Paul--
I found 18 (and 15, 16, and 17) to be extremely entertaining today. Number 18, especially. In an age where many people (especially on this site) bemoan the lack of shotmaking that is done on Tour due to the straightforward nature of the holes, I found the final four holes at The Champion to be a refreshing departure. I'll also argue that 18 is a strategic hole. Sure, you need to hit your tee ball down a landing strip, but you've got a few options on your second shot. You can either hit a short layup to the wider part of the fairway about 150 yards from the hole or you can gamble a bit and try to leave yourself ~100 yards in a much narrower bit of fairway. Oh by the way, that second option, if successful, will yield you a much better angle to the hole, especially for today's pin position. And back on 16, the further right you hit your tee shot (and the closer to the water), the shorter your second shot. To me, the last four holes were tremendously exciting, and lo and behold, the finish of today's play was some of the most entertaining golf this year (which many people missed because the big headliners were not around).
I'll grant you that 15 and 17 are very nearly identical, but they are solid, tough holes. I give the Tour credit for making them as different as they could today. For me, it's fun to watch those guys struggle to make pars. I love it when the winning score is worse than -10. I believe it identifies the steadiest and mentally strongest player much more effectively than a -20+ birdiefest.