Brennans Caddy Report-Buick Open
Thu, 26 Feb 2009 22:15:08
I used to think that the heat in Texas was bad but not sure that it
ever gets as hot as it has felt here in Grand Blanc Michigan this
week. After returning from the British Open last week I spent a few
days at home, then went up to Canada for five days to visit my
parents and play in a Member-Guest golf tournament. It was the
first chance for us to bring our new baby up to see most of my
family and we had a great time. It was extremely hot but great to
see all my nieces, nephews and siblings.
Not too far away from St. Thomas is Grand Blanc, Michigan, home of this week's stop the Buick Classic. This is one of the few events that remains at the same golf course in a small town and gets a great field. Warwick Hills Country Club has yielded some very low scores over the years but still is very well liked by most guys. It is understandable why Tiger plays here as he is affiliated with Buick, but Vijay, Jim Furyk, and the list goes on. This time of year it is very difficult for tournaments to get strong fields. There are good events in Europe and with the International and the PGA the next few weeks it would be understandable if people were to pass on this event. I think it is a great credit to everyone involved in the this tournament that they are able to have such a strong field which makes for some great golf.
Warwick Hills is a
classic old style golf course, the type you find up here in the
Northeast. Huge trees that really shape the holes and give
them definition, with large rolling greens. The fairways are
quite narrow but the rough isn't what I could call super tough. The
course gives you different options off the tees. You can hit
fairway woods or long irons and keep the ball in the fairways or
take driver and get the ball down the hole and if you are in the
rough take your chances from there. The way the game has gone these
days I would expect guys to bomb driver and really not be too
worried if they are in the rough. The days of guys trying to hit
fairways by sacrificing distance are long gone.
With the hot weather the course is playing quite firm and fast. We played nine holes yesterday and both par 5's on the front are 570 plus and Mike got home on both. This course isn't that long to start with but the way it's playing this week it will be rather short compared to PGA Tour standards.
What makes this course in my mind are the greens, they are very large and have some pretty good slopes to them. You will be able to hit a lot of greens in regulation this week but that may not be a good indication of ball striking. It is going to be very important to be able to have a good week with lag putting, or putting from long distance as you are going to have some 100 foot putts.
In my opinion the best holes on the course are on the back nine, it is a great nine holes of golf whereby you can make up some real ground. Number 12 is a 330 yard par 4 that gives the players the option to either hit driver up to the green or lay it back and have a wedge in. There will be guys who hit the green here but most likely for us it will be hitting something off the tee to give Mike a nice little sand wedge into the green. The hole does play uphill so the 320 to the front of the green is uphill.
Number 13 is a par 5 that is reachable but has water up the right side of the green and has a very sloped green. Players have the tendency to bail out to the left to avoid the water but that can leave for a tricky chip shot depending on pin position.
Number 14 is another short par 4 that is reachable with driver and most guys will give it a go. It is 315 yards to the front of the green but it is flat so the ball can roll up. There will be some eagles here and lots of birdies.
Number 17 is one of the most boisterous holes on the PGA Tour, a lot like number 16 at the Phoenix Open. It is a 200 yard downhill par 3 that is surrounded by fans who tend to sit around all day and get crazy. There is always the fair share of yelling and chanting and makes it look more like a NFL game as opposed to a golf tournament. It is a difficult par three that is very challenging if you hold the lead coming down the stretch.
Number 18 is a straight away par 4 that has a green protected by bunkers on both sides. It requires a good tee shot in the fairway in order to have a mid iron for our second shot. It is a hole that you can make a birdie if needed which I love on the final hole of a tournament. That's what makes this nine holes of golf maybe my favorite nine holes for tournament golf. There are so many opportunities for things to happen and for you to make a move on the weekend.
I would look for lots of low scores again this year as the conditions are great and with theweather cooling down it will be prime scoring conditions.
Thanks for reading,
Brennan
