Brennans Caddy Report-Wachovia Championship

Presented by Dynamic Funds™

Mike had a great finish in Houston last week at the Shell Houston Open, making his move on Sunday with a 5 under par and moving into the top ten.  It was another week where Mike was able to build on his very consistent play so far in 2006.  It's been a great first 4 months of golf and hopefully it only keeps getting better from here. 

This week's Wachovia Championship is held at Quail Hollow Country Club in Charlotte North Carolina.  As mentioned in my caddy report each year, this event is run as well as any event we play all year and is another one of my favorites. 

From a caddy's perspective, the tournament organizers are fantastic, providing us with an extensive list of host hotels (with great rates) to choose from for the week.  The caddy hospitality tent is the best of the year with a very spacious room, great food and a satellite TV-a place where we can all hang out before and after our rounds.  They also throw a caddy party at a local steakhouse on Tuesday night where they provide food and drinks for all the guys.  All in all, the tournament organizers go out of their way to make everyone feel very welcome and appreciated here at the event, and as you can see it goes a long with me!
 
To top off a great event is the golf course itself, and Quail Hollow CC happens to be in the top 5 courses we play all year.  It is a very old fashioned and demanding tree lined golf course, and the kind of course that you see at major championships and one that all the players love.  It is long and challenging, and we will soon see just how tough it will play this year.
 
This year the course is playing hard and fast and the rough is a bit higher than we have seen here in the past.  The fairways are quite firm, thus you have to be very accurate with your driver or fairway wood off the tee.  I think you will see a lot of guys hitting shorter clubs off the tees to make sure that they keep the ball in the short grass.  The last few years here the players have wanted to hit drivers a lot, attempting to get the ball as close to the green as possible.  The rough was penal in the past but not as bad as this year.  It will be much better to hit the ball in the bunker as opposed to hitting it in the rough this week.  
 

It is a tough task to talk about what holes really stand out here, as the entire course is great.  The third hole is a very challenging par 4 that doglegs left.  Tough part is, you have to drive the ball well to get it past the corner tree to have a clear shot in to the green. Second shot is uphill and usually a mid to long iron.  The 3rd green is sloped severely from back to front so you want to keep the ball below the hole.  A very good tough hole that you will take four pars and run. 

The rest of the course is great but my favorite part is the final three holes.  I know that I have mentioned these holes in previous caddy reports, but the finish is great.  16 is a tough par 4 but with a good drive it is possible to make birdie.  It is all about the approach shot into the green which requires an accurate shot.  With a sloped green if you are not on the correct side of the hole you will see some bogeys here. 

Number 17 is a very difficult par 3 that has water lurking in front and all down the left side of the green.  The bailout area is to the right of the green but from there its a very difficult chip shot. What makes this hole so tough is that it tends to blow downwind and the green is a brick!  You want to make sure not to take too little club as you need to carry some water, long is also good.  It's a good hole that you need to bear down and hit a good shot, as mentioned, bailing out to the right is a good recipe for bogey.

18 is a tough par 4 with water up the left side and it's a must to get your drive in the fairway.  If you miss to the right into the rough you won't be able to get the ball to the green in two.  If you hit the drive left it's in a creek and 5 will be a good score!  Bottom line is the entire course requires you to use all aspects of your game.  It is fair to say that the winner this week will be the one who plays the best!

I am not sure what else I can say about this event.  9 of the top ten players in the world are here, 28 of the top 30.  It has to be the strongest field of the year (non-majors).  Most of the guys consider this one of their favorite events of the year.  With a great course, great hospitality and a very good city I think this tournament should be a great platform for the TOUR as a model on how events should be run!

I think that Mike will continue his solid play this week as the course sets up well for him.

Thanks for reading,

Brennan Little  
 
 

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