Can a 7,700 Yard Golf Course Offer an Advantage to the Shorter Hitters?

If you continue to walk around in a circle for along enough, you’ll eventually make your way right back to where you started.

We may finally be getting to this point in terms of the lengthening of major championship golf courses.

After Tiger Woods completely decimated Augusta National back in 1997 with length previously unseen in the game of golf, courses around the country immediately began scrambling to ‘Tiger Proof’ their courses.

Unfortunately ‘Tiger Proofing’ meant one thing and one thing only: adding additional length.

Members of prestigious country clubs don’t want to see the likes of Tiger Woods and J.B. Holmes getting home in two on their par-fives with sand wedges, that’s downright embarrassing.

So, for more than a decade now, courses have been lengthened by hundreds of yards in order to contain the longer hitters and attempt to equalize the field.

There’s been just one fundamental problem with that strategy.

When you play a major championship at a 7,500 yard golf course, you are certainly containing the likes of Woods, Holmes, Mickelson, etc.  However, you are also immediately eliminating a large percentage of excellent ball strikers simply because they don’t average 320 yards off of the tee.  

In essence, by ‘Tiger Proofing’ golf courses, the longer hitters have actually gained an even greater advantage due to the fact that much of their competition has already been eliminated before the first tee shots are even struck.

So, now back to the circle theory.

Next week’s PGA Championship will take place at Hazeltine National Golf Club, which plays nearly 7,700 yards.

Hazeltine will be the longest course ever to host a major championship and already has many players, fans and golf historians wondering when the course lengthening madness will come to an end.

Although we are fast approaching the day when a major championship will take a place on a golf course where players tee off in New York and putt out on the 18th green in California, the fact of the matter is that Hazeltine is so ridiculously long, that it has actually come full circle and equalized the field.

How is that possible?

Well, for starters, there are three par-fives that will play longer than 600 yards.  This means that almost no one in the field will be getting home in two; hence a premium will be placed on accuracy and strong wedge play on the par-fives.

Second, aside from the 518 yard par-four 12th, none of the par-fours are playing overly long.

The real danger on the par-fours will lie in the thick rough lining the extremely narrow and winding fairways; which once again places a premium on accuracy more than length.

The par-three 13th plays 248 yards and will require most players to hit long irons or hybrids.

Once again, at first glance, you might assume that the bombers would have a marked advantage on a 248 yard par-three. 

But, how often do guys like J.B. Holmes, Tiger Woods, and Phil Mickelson really hit long irons?

On the other hand, guys like Steve Stricker, Zach Johnson, and David Toms are often forced to hit long irons at major championships and have become comfortable in doing so.

Amazingly enough, by lengthening a golf course to astounding proportions, things have actually come full circle, and the advantage may have even swung towards the shorter hitters.

That’s certainly not to say that guys like Woods or Mickelson will be not wind up winning next week.

Mickelson is one of the greatest short iron players of all time, and in Woods’ case, you simply don’t win 14 majors without being able to hit wedges and long irons.

But, guys like Mike Weir, Zach Johnson and Trevor Immelman have all shown how possible it is to pick apart an extremely long golf course by relying heavily on their solid wedge play.

Perhaps we could be looking at a similar outcome this year at Hazeltine.