Brennans Caddy Report-Amex Championship

The course for this weeks event is Harding Park, a municipal course located in San Francisco.  It is a great old course that has been around since the 1920's, but underwent a major overhaul in 2003. Over the past few decades the course has had very little attention and was in very poor condition, becoming an afterthought for the city who said that they have much greater things to worry about than their golf courses.  In 2003 the city was awarded this event and finally put a deserving 15 million dollars into the course and made it what it is today.  And it is a fantastic course.  If you live in the area or are visiting San Francisco it is a must play for the public at only $125 for green fees.

Changes to the course included adding some length as well as cutting back thousands of trees.  Some of the tree branches had gotten so big that they were overhanging the greens and affecting approach shots.  Not any longer though.  The city has done a really done a nice job with all the changes and made it a great course.  The setting couldn't be any better as it is located in the South side of the city overlooking the water, along side several other golf courses including the Olympic Club which has hosted many US Opens.

Playing at sea level makes the 7,000-yard course play much longer than it actually is, as the ball really doesn't travel very far.  There is also always going to be a breeze that comes in off the ocean and at times may get quite strong.  The weather this week is expected to be great with lots of sun and little chance of rain. This time of year, in the fall is considered to be the best time of year here in the San Fran area and normally the hottest part of the year. In the summer there tends to be lots of fog that keeps the weather cooler, however nothing but clear skies and sun is forecasted for this week.

The rough here at Harding Park is a little lower than I thought they might have it for the week.  With the moisture in the air here it is quite easy to get the rough to grow.  There are places throughout the course where the rough is significant but also many spots where it is very playable. The fairways are lined with beautiful cypress trees that really define the holes very well.  It requires the golfer to hit all kinds of shots and really be able to work the ball both ways to keep the ball in the fairways.

In my opinion the front nine is a much easier nine than the back nine. The best hole on the front is the ninth hole, a 474 par that plays as a par 5 for the public.  It usually plays directly into the prevailing wind and will be a very long hole, requiring some guys to hit wood into it for the second shot.

The back nine is a great nine holes of golf.  Number 10 is a reachable par 5 if you can get your drive in the fairway.  The fairway has a lot of slope from right to left which gets the ball rolling left into the rough.  If you find the fairway it is very reachable and a hole that you would like to make birdie on. 

Holes 11 and 17 are both great par 3's that require some pinpoint accuracy to small greens. 

16 is a short par 4 where you may see some guys trying to drive the green.  It will probably be a lay up for us and a wedge into the green, as Mike is such a great wedge player.  Look for lots of birdies on this hole.  

Number 18, a large dogleg left, is a tough hole that can pose a lot of trouble.  The left side of the fairway is guarded by a hazard and some large trees, while the right side has two traps that are right at aiming point.  The thing that makes it so difficult is that the tee shot blows directly downwind and makes it hard to keep the ball in the fairway. The green also happens to be one of the largest on the course and most demanding.  Look for some big numbers and some great excitement on the finishing hole this week.

Thanks for reading,

Brennan Little