2012 US Women's Open: the composite course at Blackwolf Run

[Joe Bausch]

The tourney starting today uses holes from both the River and Meadow Valley courses.  The composite course is essentially the back nine holes of MV for the front nine, then River holes 1-4 and 14-18 for the back nine.  I played both courses last year and did a photo tour of each, but I thought I would re-run a photo tour just of the composite course to supplement your viewing on tv.  

Here is the routing for the composite course:



The only hole that is significantly different is #1, which employs the 10th green at Meadow Valley but plays from a completely different angle.  Here is how the hole at the 10th at MV valley runs, with the composite course #1 in pink:



#1.  BR composite; par 4 (348 yards).



I don't have any tee or fairway views, but here is a view back down the hole from behind the green:



#2.  BR composite; par 5 (552 yards).











#3.  BR composite; par 4 (455 yards).















#4.  BR composite; par 4 (341 yards).











#5.  BR composite; par 4 (409 yards).











#6.  BR composite; par 3 (200 yards).









#7.  BR composite; par 5 (550 yards).













#8.  BR composite; par 3 (180 yards).











#9.  BR composite; par 4 (395 yards).













#10.  BR composite; par 5 (564 yards).













#11.  BR composite; par 4 (375 yards).











#12.  BR composite; par 4 (447 yards).













#13.  BR composite; par 3 (195 yards).









#14.  BR composite; par 4 (342 yards).











#15.  BR composite; par 4 (372 yards).









#16.  BR composite; par 5 (602 yards).













#17.  BR composite; par 3 (172 yards).









#18.  BR composite; par 4 (445 yards).

[Mac Plumart]

Joe...fantastic thread!!

The course really looks great on tv.  I've never been, but watching this and reading your thread makes me want to go.

[Andy Troeger]

Mac,
Its fair to say this course generated my interest in GCA. I saw it on TV both in Shell's Wonderful World of Golf on the River Course and later for the '98 Women's Open and thought "I need to play there someday."

I went, and it did not disappoint.

[Joe Bausch]

This composite course is pretty good, IMO.

If I was forced to give a 10 round split on the two courses, a gut reaction would be 6:4 or maybe 7:3 in favor of the River course.

[Tim_Cronin]

At 7:17 p.m., the course is playing 4.073 strokes over par. 18 is the toughest hole (4.455). It was stupid hot here in mid-afternoon (102, 110 heat index in the shade, which converts to 123 in the sun). The tar in the seams in the parking lot was squishy.

Oh, and typical 6 hour rounds for a USWO.

[Tom_Doak]

Just FYI, this is not really a composite course -- it is the original 18 hole routing of Blackwolf Run, which was later broken up to expand to 27 holes and then 36.

However, they have flipped the nines from the original routing, because crossing the river on 18 with all the gallery would be too difficult.  Also, the original tenth hole [the first on the tournament course] was completely rebuilt ... it was more severe originally.

[Matt Kardash]

It seems as thougth BWR is one of the few Dye masterpieces that he has not tinkered with. I was looking at the Google maps aerial from 1992 and it is identical to the 2012 aerial. It's rare to see Dye not change things around.

Yes, I saw what Tom said about the 1st being rebuilt and made less severe, but I believe that was very early on when they fractured the course.

[Tim_Cronin]

It seems as thougth BWR is one of the few Dye masterpieces that he has not tinkered with. I was looking at the Google maps aerial from 1992 and it is identical to the 2012 aerial. It's rare to see Dye not change things around.

Yes, I saw what Tom said about the 1st being rebuilt and made less severe, but I believe that was very early on when they fractured the course.

Matt, Pete has to deal with Herb Kohler before he moves a blade of grass there.

[Andy Shulman]

The high temps explain why there were so few spectators.  That and the six hour rounds.  The LPGA has become borderline unwatchable without first taping the action and then making liberal use of the FF function on your DVR while players endlessly analyze putts.

As for the course, while it's hardly easy, it's more playable - at least for mid-handicappers and better - than the photos might suggest.  I had the opportunity to play the Original Championship Course in Fall 2010 while renovations were occurring on the other 18 holes and am glad I did so.  Other thoughts are: (1) All of the par-3s have a do or die element to them, with minimal bailout options; (2) There are some really excellent two-hole combos, especially #5/#6 and #13/#14; (3) The pic taken from the back side of the 5th green gives a great sense of just how scary that approach shot is; (4) #13 seems to be a Dye template hole - a long, flat par-3 with water on one side and sand on the other; and, (5) It's quite walkable, which I know is the subject of much discussion on the site.

[Matthew Rose]

Should mention that the bunker on the 18th has been flooded to make a lake, like it was in '98 and for other events held there.

Is this the first known occurrance of the "tournament only water hazard"?

(EDIT: Just saw that there is a separate thread on this).

[David Royer]

I had the opportunity to play in 2010 with the routing.  I thought five and six were back to back were as good as it gets.  My initial reaction to the first hole was that it was a very unusual hole followed by a couple of holes that were Ok but nothing special.  The course really begins to take off five.  I back to backed with Erin Hills.  It was a great road trip in the summer.  I really enjoyed watching the U.S. Open last night and remembering the 3's. 

[Joe Bausch]

I had the opportunity to play in 2010 with the routing.  I thought five and six were back to back were as good as it gets.  My initial reaction to the first hole was that it was a very unusual hole followed by a couple of holes that were Ok but nothing special.  The course really begins to take off five.  I back to backed with Erin Hills.  It was a great road trip in the summer.  I really enjoyed watching the U.S. Open last night and remembering the 3's. 

My trip in 2011 consisted of Erin Hills, Lawsonia Links, BR River, then BR Meadow Valley in about a 54 hour period.   

[Phil McDade]

Shivas:

Well, 5-9 on the composite course are pretty cool, and #1 is pretty neat, too, although it was better in its original form. And the problem with the composite course is that they use some of the worst holes on the River (#11 composite, and esp. 13 and 14 composite) and as you mention, skip some of the good stuff there.

I still like #9 composite as a closer, much better than the current #18, and only the addition of a small bridge across the stream between current #8 green and #18 tee prevents it from being so. I've never quite understood the "foot traffic" argument for why you can't simply flip 9 and 18.

[William_G]

the nice thing about the back nine of the championship course is that it is very walkable as is the front nine

Herb Kohler wanted to meet demand and build a second 18 and did it by creating 2 courses both incorporating parts of the original 18

you bring in the current routing of the River course, then you get some unwalkable connections

the connections between nines on the championship routing is a bit of a hike

[Matthew Rose]

Is true about the River..... some of my favorite holes aren't in the routing....  5, 8, 9 and 11 to name a few. The others are pretty good, too.

[Matt Kardash]

Ive watched a decent amount of the coverage of the Women's open. I can't ever remember seeing a course that was so hard considering the fact that hitting the fairway poses almost no problem. The average score on Saturday was like 78 and I am sure most players were hitting more fairways than they usually do on tour.

This leads to my question. Does Blackwolf run present one of the hardest second shot and putting/chipping challenges in the world?

[Phil McDade]

Ive watched a decent amount of the coverage of the Women's open. I can't ever remember seeing a course that was so hard considering the fact that hitting the fairway poses almost no problem. The average score on Saturday was like 78 and I am sure most players were hitting more fairways than they usually do on tour.

This leads to my question. Does Blackwolf run present one of the hardest second shot and putting/chipping challenges in the world?

Matt:

My take on the course --particularly the River portions of the course, but some of the MV as well -- is that the line between being in good shape, and being in deep trouble, is pretty darn thin. Sure the fairways offer plenty of width, but significant trouble -- water, deep thick junk -- lies just a few steps off the fairway or green. (Take a look at Joe's great photo tour, and you'll see plenty of: fairway or green, take a few steps this way or that, and then it's death, near-death, or significant trouble.)

As for the greens, they are pretty large, but Dye built many of them with "sections," and if you get your ball in the right section, the greens there run really true and it's not that hard to sink putts. But in the wrong section, you're putting over a significant ridge or contour. Choi to me yesterday did a pretty basic thing extremely well -- hit the fairway off the tee, hit the right section of the green on her approach shots, and make some putts (none of the ones she sank were of the "wow, can't believe she made that" variety).

I'm not sure I'd agree this course is an all-world second-shot/putting/chipping challenge (Pinehurst #2 comes to mind as something of a top-tier 2nd-shot course, because of the nature of those domed greens). To me, this championship course is all about avoidance of trouble (and not compounding your initial trouble with risky recovery shots, as Wie and Kerr learned yesterday). Because the trouble can led to big numbers. (E.G.: Choi has 15 birdies through three rounds; Thompson has 14. Pretty even. Choi has 7 bogeys; Lexi has 7. But Choi doesn't have a double bogey yet, and Thompson has three of them. Small sample size, of course, but it points out the difference between being -8 and -1.)

[Matt Kardash]

Watching the ladies play this weekend made me realize something that might go against the grain of this website. I think if I had to pick a hole to watch for the entire day I might choose 14. Sure, it may not get a lot of love because this website doesn't like man made ponds lined with rock walls but I gotta to admit it is one of the more interesting holes to watch someone play. That mound that blocks the view from the left side of the fairway is perfectly placed and makes what should be an easy pitch to the green into a real challenge!

[Adam Clayman]

It seems as thougth BWR is one of the few Dye masterpieces that he has not tinkered with. I was looking at the Google maps aerial from 1992 and it is identical to the 2012 aerial. It's rare to see Dye not change things around.

Yes, I saw what Tom said about the 1st being rebuilt and made less severe, but I believe that was very early on when they fractured the course.

There have been some changes since the early days. Most are refinements. Where native areas are now bunkers, i. e. the 3rd (orig 12th) hole lz left. The orig 17th has also had some cosmetic surgery on that front little left shelf.

Pete built a masterpiece and "fractured" is an accurate description of what Herb did to a masterpiece. Pete was able to build 3 more courses for the client, but I wonder if he had any affection for the original.

The original 10th green was 34' higher and was flat as a pancake. I recall hitting my 185 yard club from 140 and coming up just short. Peering over that summit, to that flat green, was the second time that day I had laughed. Catching Mr. Dye's humor is always memorable.

Phil, The hillside along the original 9th also adds to the viewing pleasure of the patrons. If we're looking to justify it as a closer, in their minds. But nobody should be fooled, the difference in the climax of the golf course is massive. Playing over that river is as heroic as one could get. It's no 9th hole. Plus, from the elevated teeing ground, it is much harder to hit that narrow fairway.



 

[Dan Herrmann]

Honestly, after watching the last 2 rounds, I don't think I like this course at all.  Way too penal for a shot that misses by 10 feet.

I can't imagine this course being a private club's course at all - it'd be way too fatiguing to play day after day.  And, honestly, it seems to lack a "fun" factor - after all, "fun" is the reason 99% of us play golf, no? 

[Josh Tarble]

Honestly, after watching the last 2 rounds, I don't think I like this course at all.  Way too penal for a shot that misses by 10 feet.

I can't imagine this course being a private club's course at all - it'd be way too fatiguing to play day after day.  And, honestly, it seems to lack a "fun" factor - after all, "fun" is the reason 99% of us play golf, no? 

I think that's kind of the point of both BWR and Whistling Straits...they're supposed to deviate from the norm IMO.  I definitely wouldn't want to play everyday, but to play once or a couple times a year, they make fantastic challenges and they make fantastic championship tests.

[Howard Riefs]

MV #18 played as the #9 hole during the tournament.  I'm not a fan of the alternate green for the red tees that doesn't require an approach across the river.  Did the USGA ever use the alternate green for play or did they just rope it off as I suspect?

[Phil McDade]

MV #18 played as the #9 hole during the tournament.  I'm not a fan of the alternate green for the red tees that doesn't require an approach across the river.  Did the USGA ever use the alternate green for play or did they just rope it off as I suspect?

Howard:

The alternate green wasn't used for the US Open. (I think that's a silly green anyway...). Should've been the closer.