69 things we hoped to accomplish was to find a way to shrink some of these features, particularly the bunkers, so that we could reduce maintenance. We also wanted to add some complexity, in a very thoughtful way; changes that could challenge lower handicap golfers but not beat up someone that may be in the twilight of their life.” The biggest change comes at the sixteenth. “The back nine builds to a crescendo. It is so strong, but when you got to the sixteenth it felt like it wasn’t a hole that the golfer was going to have to focus on as much. It was a safe hole that gave them a mental break,” says Powell. “The finishing sequence has always been really good,” says Muirhead. “But we wanted sixteen to really stand out as a more thought-provoking, shotoption hole.” The design team came up with a new concept for the hole that would demand a more strategic approach. By introducing two new forward teeing areas, a new lake and a bail-out area to the right of the green, and rethinking the bunkering, the new design provides golfers with multiple options. Now there is a choice of laying-up, driving over a cluster of bunkers to leave a pitch, or going for the green, on days when tee placement bring it within reach. Photo: RyanMontgomery/Monty Aerials LLC Photo: Google Earth The sixteenth hole before it was redesigned
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