BellSouth Classic

03 Apr 2003 - 06 Apr 2003
TPC at Sugarloaf, Duluth, Georgia

Mike and Brennan
© MikeWeir.com

We are in beautiful Duluth, Georgia this week for the Bell South Classic, at the TPC at Sugarloaf, a great course designed by Greg Norman. It is a course that Mike seems to play very well on, as he has had a lot of success at Sugarloaf in the past. It is a beautiful course, and a great set up going into the Masters, with a lot of similar qualities to Augusta National.

The TPC at Sugarloaf is a 7,259 yard, par 72 layout that is playing very quickly right now. The weather is perfect, it is hot with some wind, and there is rain expected on the weekend. There hasn’t been any rain in the area lately, so the fairways are rolling quite quickly, and there is practically no rough. This is very unusual for a PGA TOUR event, and will give the players a break if they miss the wide open fairways. The premium this week will be to hit the ball on the correct area of the large, undulating greens – whoever has the hot putter this week will be in the hunt.

Holes 8, 11, and 18 are key holes this week. The par 3’s are the strongest holes on this golf course. Number 8 is the longest par three on tour, at approximately 250 yards. Depending on the wind direction, this is either a long iron into the green, or if it is against the wind we have to hit driver on this hole. Number 11, another par 3, is around 200 yards and is a dangerous tee shot, directly over a water onto a peninsula green and a bunker guarding the back left.

Number 18, is a par 5, 576 yard hole, and is a demanding and dramatic finishing hole. A good tee shot will leave Mike with a risk/reward type of 2nd shot. It is aggressive to go for this green in two, because there is water in front of the thin green, and a bunker guarding the back of the green. The tendency for players is to hit it long into the back bunker, but it is a difficult up and down. Depending on Mike’s drive, it will leave us a long iron to a 5 wood, that demands a high, soft shot to hold the green.

Mike is playing well and confident going into the tournament, and has been working hard on his game for the past few days. He has a lot of good shots in his memory bank that he can draw on from past years, and enjoys the course and the tournament. Hopefully we will be in the hunt again this weekend.