"Back 74.2/154@6999y
Purposefully not 7,000, or a coincidence?"
Matt Cohn:
By the way, congratulations on your good win!
About 4-5 years ago when that new back yardage card (6,999yd) came out I asked the man who would be the best one to know if that was a coincidence or purposeful. He said it was just the way it worked out (coincidence). I basically said: "Oh come on, I could've found you at least one extra yard"
but he said that was just the way it worked out.
That new back tee on #4 was considered for a number of years now but it was somewhat complicated I guess as I think it needed to pass some permitting approval (because of where it is vis-a-vis a watercourse etc). When we looked back some years ago where it was planned it looked like that back tee would sort of lose the angle on that fairway but when we went back on it when it was first built it really didn't seem to lose the angle much at all. Also obviously a number of trees had to be taken out all up the right but when that was done it looked pretty good from back there. I think this year at some point I tried to walk off the additional yardage from the back of the old tips but it was pretty hard to do because of the topography back there. I think I recall getting something like an additional 40-50 yards so if that's what it is that would up the tips to around 7,050 on the card even though they may've also added a bit more (since that 6,999 card) on #7 and perhaps some since on #16 but I am not sure about that. If that is true though the potential tip card could be around 7,100.
On #4 there is some historical material that indicates Crump (and W.C. Fownes after Crump died) very much wanted good players to have to play essentially a wood for their second shots to the green and that it should obviously be from the top of the hill and that drives should not go over that interesing turbo-boost fairway down to the lower fairway tier which was basically what all good players were doing from the old tip tee even with 3 woods.
With this new back tee on #4 now in play I don't know if it accomplishes that purpose because some of these players today are so long but it might.
I also walked off all the yardages on that fairway. It is very interesting in the ways you can get the ball down to that lower tee because the turbo-boost really is on a diagonal (easier to get it down to the lower tier by going down the right side and if you go too far left on that fairway the longer left side turbo-boost will actually take the ball off the fairway and into the woods). However, from side to side that fairway is a tad over 65 yards wide and from the beginning of the fairway to the turbo-boost is around 65-75 yards long or deep depending on the direction the player takes off the tee.