ShotLink: The ins and outs of TPC Four Seasons

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TPC Four Seasons demands accuracy off the tee and its first three holes (No. 1 pictured) rank among the TOUR's toughest opening stretches.

May. 24, 2011

TPC Four Seasons Resort Las Colinas, home of the HP Byron Nelson Championship, is a challenging par-70 that demands attention immediately off the tee:

Courses with the toughest fairways to hit

Rank	Course	Pct.	Tournament
1	Waialae CC	47.17	Sony Open in Hawaii
2	TPC Four Seasons Resort	48.94	HP Byron Nelson Championship
3	Quail Hollow Club	49.44	Wells Fargo Championship
4	East Lake GC	49.82	THE TOUR Championship
5	Torrey Pines (NC)	50.46	Farmers Insurance Open

Hitting fairways is a challenge, but negotiating greenside bunkers is less so:

Courses with the easiest greenside bunkers

Rank	Course	Pct.	Tournament
1	Colonial CC	64.46	Crowne Plaza Invitational
2	East Lake GC	61.03	THE TOUR Championship
3	Silver Rock	57.83	Bob Hope Classic
4	Cog Hill G&CC	54.38	BMW Championship
5	TPC Four Seasons Resort	54.15	HP Byron Nelson Championship

It's not the bunkers that are an issue for players, it's the rough:

Courses with the lowest scrambling percentage (rough)

Rank	Course	Pct.	Tournament
1	Redstone GC	36.02	Shell Houston Open
2	Seaside Course	42.01	The McGladrey Classic
3	Aronimink Golf Club	44.63	AT&T National
4	TPC Four Seasons Resort	45.4	HP Byron Nelson Championship
5	Whistling Straits	46.06	PGA Championship

One particularly tough test looms early in the round, the TOUR's longest par-4:

Longest par-4's on TOUR

Rank	Course	Hole	Par	Yds	Avg score	Tournament
1	TPC Four Seasons Resort	3	4	528	4.261	HP Byron Nelson Championship
2	East Lake GC	5	4	520	4.267	THE TOUR Championship
2	Plantation Course at Kapalua	1	4	520	4.107	Hyundai Tournament of Champions
4	Whistling Straits	15	4	518	4.306	PGA Championship
5	Plantation Course at Kapalua	7	4	516	4.027	Hyundai Tournament of Champions

That third hole is the cap to a brutal trio of starting holes:

Toughest opening three holes on TOUR (non-majors)

Holes	Course	Total RTP
1,2,3	Bay Hill Club & Lodge	0.470
1,2,3	Waialae CC	0.426
1,2,3	TPC Four Seasons Resort	0.378
1,2,3	TPC San Antonio	0.267
1,2,3	Cog Hill G&CC	0.264