Course Overview Mercedes-Benz Championship Plantation Course at Kapalua

The season-opening event on the PGA TOUR always presents one of the most intriguing shot-making and strategic challenges of the year. The Mercedes-Benz Championship, the exclusive winners-only event, returns to the Plantation Course at Kapalua Resort, though it was changed after the .05 edition, not that it slowed down Stuart Appleby, the reigning three-time champion. The Plantation Course underwent a $1 million renovation that included subtle changes to the contours on a handful of greens and a switch on all the greens to a new, more putter-friendly Bermuda grass called TifEagle, which, because it grows more densely, provides a smoother . and faster . surface. The length of the par-73 course remains 7,263 yards, which plays much shorter on a course that moves dramatically on hills overlooking the Pacific where a pineapple plantation once flourished.

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#1	#2	#3	#4	#5	#6
#7	#8	#9	#10	#11	#12
#13	#14	#15	#16	#17	#18

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COURSE HISTORY

Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore designed the Plantation Course, which opened in 1991, on a former pineapple plantation separated by large gulches. One of three layouts at Kapalua Resort (along with two Arnold Palmer designs, the Bay Course and the Village Course), the Plantation Course was an architectural challenge for the relatively new design partnership because of the mountainous terrain, and even more so because of the predominant trade winds that blow from the northeast. The layout.s long holes, including the downhill 663-yard par-5 18th, the longest hole on the PGA TOUR, play with the prevailing wind. Many of the longest drives of the year are struck on the home hole. When the warm Kona winds blow from the southwest, the course can be devilishly challenging as the 2006 edition proved when Appleby won at 8-under par . a far cry from his previous two wins at 20 and 19 under, respectively.