Wachovia Championship

06 May 2004 - 09 May 2004
Charlotte, North Carolina

2004 Masters
© Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images

The last few weeks off from Tour have been both relaxing and busy. I caddied for Ben Crane at the Shell Houston Open where he finished T-37. Ben is a good friend of both Mike and I, so it was fun to be able to help him out, as well as have a different experience caddying for somebody else. I also played a little bit of golf with some friends and managed to get out fishing a few times, something I enjoy doing on my off weeks.

The Wachovia Championship is played at the Quail Hollow Golf Club, in Charlotte, North Carolina. At 7438 yards, the par 72 course is in immaculate condition. The Quail Hollow is considered one of the top 5 courses on Tour; the type of course that could host a US Open. It is an old style golf course, built in 1961, and is made on a great piece of land that has developed very nicely over the years. With lots of big trees, tight fairways, and undulating greens, this course is a challenge for any golfer.

The course has a lot of par 4’s, which in our practice round we were hitting a lot of mid irons and long irons into the green for second shots. The interesting thing about this course is that two of the par 5’s are not reachable: # 10 and # 15. It is not too often that you see that on tour anymore as they usually like to see guys taking chances and going for shots, but on these holes you may see people laying up this week.

Quail Hollow has three great finishing holes, perhaps the best three I have seen lately. Players will definitely have to earn a great finish coming down the stretch. Hole 16 is a tough par 4, with a slight dog leg right. A big trap guards the right side. The ball needs to land in the fairway, as the green is tricky and it is important to get on the right side of the pin.

Number 17 is a long iron par 3. If they continue using the back tee, it could be very exciting. I love having the 17th as a par 3, and this one is great, with water in front and all down the left of the green, it forces the player to keep the ball out to the right. If you bail out it is a very difficult chip and tough to make par.

Hole 18 is a par 4, at 460 yards, with water running down the left side of the fairway. It is an uphill second shot and a tough, tough hole, perhaps one of the best finishing hole on Tour and a great hole to end the tournament on.

Mike has worked extremely hard on his game during the past few weeks and is looking forward to testing his game on a very difficult golf course against one of the best fields of the year on Tour. After this week we move down to Texas for a two week stretch where it will be nice to be close to home.

Thanks for reading,

Brennan Little