Who Has the Hardest Holes on the Florida Swing of the PGA Tour?

Halfway through the Florida Swing, was the Bear Trap harder than the Blue Monster?  Will either of them be more difficult than Bay Hill or the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook?

The PGA Tour actually keeps stats on this, so it’s not left to opinion or imagination.  It’s not that there is a doubt.  They track all the holes all year long and so we know which ones are the hardest. They even track non-co-sponsored event like the four Majors, which are on the golf calendar, but are not operated by the PGA Tour.  

In 2011, for instance, the hardest hole was the 18^th at Atlanta CC in the PGA Championship, which is technically not a PGA Tour event.  But it did have the hardest hole with a scoring average of +0.584 over par.  Second last year was the 17^th hole at the Honda Classic, which was almost as hard at +0.526 over par.  Third in 2011 was the 6^th hole at the PGA National, which was also a half stroke plus over par at +0.522.

Last year, 19 of the top 100 toughest holes were played at majors.   Twelve of the toughest 100 were in Florida, but only 10 of them were on the Florida Swing.  Two were at TPC Sawgrass at The Players.

This year, half way through Florida and about one third of the way through the PGA Tour season, 13 of the top 100 are in Florida, and that does not include Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill, Transitions Championship at Innisbrook or The Players which is now a stand alone.

Right now, the 18^th hole at the TPC Blue Monster at Doral ranks No.1 in difficulty, playing +0.539 over par.  Number eight on the list and the next hardest course in Florida is the 8^th hole at the PGA National Champion Course, with an average of +0.314 over par.  That’s two-tenths of a stroke harder, although if you are actually keeping score, it’s still the difference between a four and a five no matter how you cut it.   Nobody awards a half a stroke. Wish that they did. 

Now as much attention as the Blue Monster and Bear Trap have received, recently Bay Hill recently has more hard holes than the others. 

In 2011 PGA National had five holes in the top 100.  The Blue Monster had three. Innisbrook Copperhead had one.  Bay Hill had five. 

There are no marginal notes with the scores that say 30 mile per hour winds or sideways rain.  That information is also available if a person combed through enough media guides or Tour event summaries. The stats, though, are presented as a raw score.   

So far in 2012, PGA National has eight in the top 100.  TPC Blue Monster at Doral has six.  But there are two weeks to play before we know how the 2012 season in Florida actually plays out.  In addition, while the 18^th hole at the Blue Monster course is sure to remain in the top ten, it is impossible to predict how many other courses will have the kind of conditions to cause a hole to play half a stroke higher than its par.   

Also, because the 8^th hole at the PGA National is about a third of a stroke higher than par, there are going to be many holes that rank higher than that during the course of the year.  There are not going to be many ranking higher than +0.539 over par, although there may be a handful.

Just to tie up this stats stuff with a pretty red bow, the toughest course so far this season was Riviera CC, which played +1.622 over par.  Second so far is PGA National, +1.186 over par.  You can bet that there is enough space between +1.6 and + 1.1 for any number of quality courses to rear up and make themselves known.  But that’s nothing compared to 2011.

Last year, Royal St. George’s Golf Club was +3.018 over par.  PGA National was number two with +2.540 over.  In third was Shaughnessy G&CC for RBC Canadian Open, +2.521 over par, followed by Atlanta Athletic Club, +2.377 over par and TPC Four Seasons +2.354 over par.