New courses up the learning curve for rookies on TOUR

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Chris Condon/PGA TOUR

Joesph Bramlett -- along with every other rookie -- faces a long challenge this week with four new courses to learn at the 90-hole Bob Hope Classic.

There are many adjustments that a first-year player must make when he joins the PGA TOUR. The competition is tougher, so they must learn not to cut corners when it comes to preparation. The demands on their time usually grow, depending on what's asked of them by sponsors, fans and the media. They must determine that razor-fine line between playing enough and playing too much, since a wrong decision either way can be ruinous.

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But one thing often overlooked on the learning curve is getting familiar with the golf courses. The rookies are generally accustomed to playing good courses -- there are some awfully good tracks on the Nationwide Tour, for example, as well as on some of the mini-tours -- but few have played the venues used on the PGA TOUR.

A tournament like this week's Bob Hope Classic ups that learning curve considerably since the first four rounds are played on four different courses. The Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines brings two more into the equation next week while the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am offers up three new courses next month.

So the adjustment is considerable right off the bat.

"Of the all the courses I played last year, I'd seen two of them," said second-year player Cameron Tringale. And that's coming from a graduate of Georgia Tech, one of the top college programs in the country, who made the winning putt in the 2009 Walker Cup. Tringale had only played Pebble Beach and TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas before his rookie season.

That helps explain some of Tringale's struggles last year when he was No. 179 on the money list and had to regain his playing privileges via a trip to q-school. It's the same struggle that many young players face when they join the TOUR. Golf isn't like basketball or football, where every court is the same size. It isn't even like baseball, which is played in stadiums with different outfield configurations and wind conditions. Other than the fact that each course has 18 holes, every one is unique in its shape, size and playing conditions. It takes time to understand those intricacies.

"That is definitely a learning curve that every rookie has to face here," said first-year player Joseph Bramlett. The Stanford graduate had only played Pebble Beach and Spyglass Hill, as well as the South Course at Torrey Pines, before the season began.

Most young players will benefit from having an experienced caddie. Bramlett has hired A.J. Montecito, who was on the bag for Y.E. Yang when he won The Honda Classic and the PGA Championship. Bramlett was introduced to Montecito by a mutual friend and found that their personalities matched.

"He's someone that's definitely got some experience that I don't have," Bramlett said. "I'm still trying to learn the golf courses and get a feel for it."

Young players will also try to sneak in additional practice rounds whenever possible (which invites potential fatigue later in the season) and often recruit veterans as their playing partners so they can pick their brains. One national amateur champion said he learned more from a practice round with Phil Mickelson at Augusta National than he could have ever learned by himself.

Much of the first year comes down to survival. Young golfers are under pressure to perform early, make some money, and move up in the pecking order when the first reshuffle comes. Playing well early can ensure more chances to play later.

It's just a matter of getting out there and playing. The putting surfaces change, too, from poa annua to Bermuda to bentgrass. The winds are different everywhere (they howl in Palm Springs on courses north of I-10) and there's no way to properly prepare for what they'll face from the crowds in Phoenix.

Now that he has survived to play another season, Tringale echoed the feeling of countless others as he assessed his first year on TOUR.

"I feel like I learned a tremendous amount," he said. "I was starting get the hang of it at the end. With a year's experience, I feel like I'm definitely in a better place to start the year."

A lot of other young players will second that feeling in October, if they can just hang in there in January and February.

Stan Awtrey is a freelance columnist for PGATOUR.COM. His views do not necessarily reflect the views of the PGA TOUR.