Inside the course: TPC River Highlands

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A view of the TPC River Highlands course in Cromwell, Conn.

Jun. 21, 2010

The TOUR will be in Cromwell, Conn., this week for the Travelers Championship. Learn more about the host, TPC River Highlands.

Expert's Overview

Bill Masching, Head Instructor at the TOUR Academy New York, analyzes this week's course:

Kenny Perry returns to TPC River Highlands to defend his title in this year's Travelers Championship in Cromwell, Conn. Defending will not be easy, as some of the world's best players will be there with their eyes on his trophy and the $6 million purse. In 2009, Kenny Perry fired a 61, which helped him grab the trophy. The 2008 champion, Stewart Cink, describes Nos. 15-18 as "four of the most exciting finishing holes anywhere in the world." The par-70, 6,844-yard course plays around a beautiful four acre lake on holes 15-17, which provides a great challenge to the field, including past champions Hunter Mahan, Brad Faxon, J.J Henry and Woody Austin.

Solid ball striking becomes a premium on the 16th hole, a 178-yard par 3 with a long carry over water to a green guarded by water. Let's break down the golf swing at the impact position to describe what it takes to hit this long iron shot that has been known to "make or break" a player's week. When you look at some of the best PGA TOUR golf swings, there are a few similar characteristics that they share at the moment of truth. A neutral grip is a perfect way to deliver a square clubface at impact, because a slice will always find the water for your right handed players on No. 16. Controlling the hands and keeping the shaft leaning forward during the impact zone provides ultimate compression and gives TOUR players the distance they need. Coming up short on this usually windy par 3 will mean golf balls find a watery grave, so the best players will have their weight on their lead foot at impact because hitting a "fat shot" is not an option. As you watch this week's tournament in Hi Def and with some high speed video technology, make sure you notice some of these techniques that the PGA TOUR players share.

To learn more about the TOUR Academy, please click here.

Fast facts

Course superintendent	Thomas M. DeGrandi
Original architect	Robert J. Ross and Maurice Kearney (1928)
Course redesign	Bobby Weed (1998)
Par value	70
Number of TOUR events as host venue	27 (including 2010)
Course ranking	Ranked 36 (out of 51) in difficulty on the PGA TOUR in 2009
Yardage history	6,841 (2009-present)
	6,877 (2008)
	6,820 (1991-2007)
	6,531 (1990)
	6,786 (1984-'89)
Grass	Bentgrass (tees, fairways, greens); Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, fine fescue (rough)
Tournament Stimpmeter	10.5 ft
Sand bunkers	119
Water hazards	5
Course tour	Click here

Course record

Player
Kirk Triplett
Phil Mickelson
Scott Verplank
Brad Faxon
Kenny Perry

Year
2000
2001
2001
2005
2009

Round
3rd
3rd
4th
4th
1st

Finish
3rd
Won
T17
Won
Won

Holes-in-one

Player	Hole	Year
Tag Ridings	11	2009
Craig Perks	8	2007
Bo Van Pelt	16	2007
Patrick Sheehan	5	2006
Blaine McCallister	8	2004
Mark Calcavecchia	5	1999
Brent Geiberger	11	1999
Brad Fabel	8	1999
Len Mattiace	11	1998
Larry Nelson	8	1996
Allen Doyle	8	1996
Dan Pohl	8	1995
Glen Day	11	1994
Glen Day	16	1994
Jerry Anderson	11	1992
Roger Maltbie	16	1992
Fran Quinn	16	1992
John Adams	5	1990
David Peoples	5	1990
Mike Donald	16	1987
Vance Heafner	5	1986
David Lundstrom	16	1985
Lee Rinker	8	1984

2009 Rankings

Most Difficult Hole

	If there is any wind, this is often the toughest hole on the course. There's no water, but there are traps on the right side of the fairway, and another large bunker in the fairway on the left. It's 311 yards for the pros to reach that left bunker, but just 250 yards for amateurs. It takes two extraordinary shots to get home in two. Then there's a green that slopes severely from back to front. Pro or amateur, par is an excellent score here. 2009: 1 eagles, 46 birdies, 292 pars, 106 bogeys, 5 double bogeys, 2 others.
Easiest Hole
	Unless you're playing for the Travelers Championship title or you're having the round of your life, take out the driver and have some fun. You will have few opportunities in your life to say you drove a par 4 at a TPC. In windy conditions, the pros often hit an iron off the tee, leaving a full wedge to the green. 2009: 4 eagles, 201 birdies, 196 pars, 45 bogeys, 6 double bogeys and 0 others.

TPC River Highlands			2009 rankings		Last 23 years
Hole	Par	Yards	Avg. Score	Rank	Avg. Score	Rank
1	4	434	3.993	9	4.143	5
2	4	341	3.843	14	3.904	13
3	4	431	3.903	12	3.956	12
4	4	477	4.164	1	4.191	1
5	3	223	3.071	3	3.121	6
6	5	574	4.677	17	4.799	17
7	4	443	4.04	5	4.030	10
8	3	202	3.038	6	3.052	8
9	4	406	3.869	13	3.903	14
10	4	462	4.131	2	4.175	3
11	3	158	2.79	15	2.859	15
12	4	411	3.916	11	4.009	11
13	5	523	4.75	16	4.841	16
14	4	421	3.965	10	4.033	9
15	4	296	3.664	18	3.778	18
16	3	171	3.066	4	3.176	2
17	4	420	4.035	7	4.152	4
18	4	444	4.035	7	4.071	7

Course origins

As the soothing bagpipes emanate through the cool morning air and across the dew-ridden landscape of the TPC River Highlands, it signals the opening ceremonies of the Travelers Championship. The setting for the Travelers Championship is an all too fitting throwback to the ancient game founded in Scotland and a reminder of the original course architect, R.J. Ross, cousin to legendary architect Donald Ross.

The River Highlands course was not always the gallery-friendly venue viewers experience today. The original piece of property was designed in 1928 and was known then as Edgewood Country Club. It laid untouched until 1982, when the Travelers Championship was looking for a new home to replace the original venue, Wethersfield CC. The Greater Hartford Jaycees, who ran the Travelers Championship, hired Pete Dye to come to Connecticut and build a championship course to host the event.

Instead of building a new course, Dye recognized the potential the property that housed Edgewood CC possessed and decided to redesign the existing course. The TPC Connecticut, as it was called then, hosted its first Travelers Championship in 1984, with the first champion at the venue being Peter Jacobsen. Many of the new holes on the back nine, especially the finishing holes, were designed with spectators in mind, many containing natural amphitheaters for ideal viewing. However, with the great taste of change already on their plates, the course was redesigned again in 1989 and renamed the TPC River Highlands. A most fitting name, considering the course sits high atop the Connecticut River. The redesign was undertaken by golf course architect Bobby Weed, with assistance from Howard Twitty and Roger Maltbie. The TPC River Highlands is second only to the TPC Scottsdale for most spectators at a TOUR event.

In summer 2008 the new practice facility opened. The 23.5-acre facility is adjacent to the new First Tee of Connecticut nine-hole golf course that is in its initial phase of construction. --Source: Golf Course Superintendents Assocation of America

Tournament course history

Course	Location	Years
TPC River Highlands	Cromwell, Conn.	1984-present
Wethersfield CC	Wethersfield, Conn.	1952-1983

This week's Kodak Challenge hole

HOLE: The par-4, 296-yard 15th at TPC River Highlands
LAST YEAR: The 15th played to a stroke average of 3.664, with players recording 4 eagles, 201 birdies, 196 pars, 45 bogeys, 6 double bogeys and 0 others.
DESCRIPTION: Unless you're playing for the Travelers Championship title, or you're having the round of your life, take out the driver and have some fun. You will have few opportunities in your life to say you drove a par 4 at a TPC. In windy conditions, the pros often hit an iron off the tee, leaving a full wedge to the green. (Click here for TPC Southwind tour)