Brennans Caddy Report-PGA Championship

Thu, 26 Feb 2009 22:15:06

This weeks event, the PGA Championship, just happens to be at a course where Mike has a lot of good memories. In 1999, my first year caddying for Mike, he had a very good chance to win this same tournament at the Medinah Country Club. The final result wasn't like we had planned but there were a lot of good things that happened that week that can be carried over this week.

Medinah is an unbelievable good old fashion golf course. It is what you would expect to host the final major of the year and this even exceeds all expectations. In my eight years caddying the major championships the 2006 courses were far better than any other year. Medinah is a golf course that is very straight forward; lots of huge trees that border the fairways, and small greens that have some good slope. The holes really have a lot of definition which forces the players to really shape the ball. It requires all types of shots and clubs; thus a very challenging course.

Mike and I had the opportunity to come play Medinah the week of the Western Open and that was very beneficial. It has allowed Mike to come here knowing what he needed to work on in his game. He has also had the opportunity to limit the amount of practice holes he will play this week to 27. I cannot tell you how many times you see players put in a lot of extra time at the majors and more often than not they burn themselves out by the time the event starts.

The course itself plays to 7500 yards but it really doesn't feel like a course that is overly long. There seems to be several holes that play downhill that make them feel much shorter than the distance. There are also a couple par 5's that are 580 and 600 which may help explain where they get the 7500. The par 3's here in my mind are the most challenging and really define the course.

The second hole on the course is a 185 yard par 3 with water in front of and to the left of the green; very challenging shot that really forces players to take the extra club and play to the back of the green. If the wind was to blow, club selection will be very tricky. Number 4 is a 465 yard par 4 that is probably the hardest on the front nine-tough hole to get the ball in the fairway as it slopes off to the right. Second shot plays uphill to a sloping green. If the approach shot doesn't make it to the green it will roll back some 30 yards and leave you with a difficult chip; this will play as one of the hardest holes this week in my opinion.

Number nine is one of the few doglegs on the course; sharp bend to the left that really sets up well for Mike as he likes to hit that controlled cut shot. 13 (or whatever hole the par 3 is) is another hole with a very small green that has some good slope to it and is the best hole on the course; 240 yard par 3 with water in frontï¿½take par all three days and run!

Number 16 is the other dogleg and is also to the left. It's the hole that Sergio Garcia had his famous run and jump routine. It is a very difficult hole as it also has an elevated green and severe slope off the front. The ball will come back 30 off the green if the approach comes up short.

Number 17 is the final par 3 and it's also over water. It has a very long but skinny green with a hole where you will see a lot of guys chipping from behind the green.

Number 18 is probably one of the only holes I would like to see changed. A driver or 3 wood then short iron in, you won't see a lot of trouble on the final hole. Overall a fantastic course and very playable. I expect to see some good scores!

Thanks for reading!

Brennan