Course: TPC Potomac at Avenal Farm
Course Architect: TPC Potomac at Avenal Farm was originally designed by Ed Ault, Tom Clark and Ed Sneed and opened for play in 1986. The course hosted the Booz Allen Classic (better known as the Kemper Open) from 1987-2006, but don’t let the status as a continued PGA Tour venue fool you, as the course was one of the least favorite stops on Tour. The original design was flawed to say the least, which under normal circumstances would be the main talking point for players like Phil Mickelson or Bubba Watson, but that was the least of the trouble at TPC Potomac. In addition to an architectural design that was constantly attacked, TPC suffered from severe drainage issues which often flooded the course. As a result, the greens suffered tremendously and damaged the reputation of the course because the Kemper/Booz Allen was often played under unsatisfactory conditions. You can have long rough, divots in the fairways, thin turf on the tees…but if you mess with the greens, PGA players will revolt and that is exactly what happened. Many players crossed off the Kemper on their schedule and the tournament was relegated to “B” status on Tour. This area of Maryland is golf-rich though, and the club stepped up with plans for a 35 million dollar renovation in 2005. This was more than just a renovation though, this was also a redesign as every hole on the course was changed, altered or completely redesigned in the process. The renovation was tasked to Stephen Wenzloff and Jim Hardy, who did a fantastic job by creating strategic challenge that could be on equal footing with the aesthetic beauty of the property. In addition to Wenzloff and Hardy, Avenal Farm enlisted the help of TPC architectural veterans like Tom Fazio and Pete Dye, while also getting extended player input from Davis Love III and Fred Funk. While this week will mark the first PGA event on the new TPC Potomac, the reviews by players have been overwhelmingly positive.
Course Grass: TPC Potomac features Bentgrass greens, tees and fairways.
Course Stats: The redesign in 2007 stretched the TPC to 7,139 yards from the back tees, and will now be played to a par 70, as opposed to previously playing to a par 71. Like many par 70’s, the TPC features only two par 5’s and four par 3’s. The layout was balanced well by the addition of three short par 4’s,that will play at 360, 365 and 299 yards this week. This gives the players some added scoring opportunities, which will come in handy for players and caddies who have no experience with the current layout.
Course Features: The TPC Potomac is exactly what you would expect from this area of Maryland, which is a mixture of beautiful woods-like land that you would see at a parkland course, with the streams and creeks that run off from the Potomac River. One of the major renovations at TPC Potomac was the restoration of Rock Run Creek, a major tributary of the Potomac River. Rock Run Creek became a focal point of the course, coming into play on five holes on the back nine. One of the more interesting course features at Potomac was the decision by the architects to create both “Mid-Atlantic” and “Scottish Style” bunkers. Scottish bunkers have a distinct walling to them, that has a high side generally 3+ feet in height, while the low side of the bunkers are even with the fairway or surrounding green/rough. From an aesthetic standpoint, the styling of the bunkers adds a really cool look to a course like Potomac. Mid-Atlantic bunkers are akin to what you find on many traditional links courses, which is to say they are oddly-shaped and contoured, can be very deep, and range in size from a bath-tub in a NYC apartment to an actual NYC apartment.
With players and caddies seeing the track for the first time this week in a competitive setting, you will undoubtedly see players get themselves in some bad situations involving the bunkers. Now throw in the fact that TPC Potomac has a lot of subtle elevation changes, uneven fairway lies, deceptively undulating greens that feature false fronts that feed into newly designed collection areas…and you have a recipe for WILD golf. The course looks like it could have been painted by Normal Rockwell, but after doing my research and talking with golfers who have played the course and caddied there, I am convinced that it has serious teeth and the design team did a great job building in course defenses through the architecture. This means that players can shoot 75 with calm conditions and a light breeze. On the flipside, there are low scores out on the course, especially for those players who excel at driving accuracy and ball-striking. Length off the tee will not give you much of an advantage this week because of how the course was laid-out, specifically the yardage at which doglegs, bunkers and hazards were placed. Like any TPC course worth its salt, there are risk/reward scenarios that involve trying to cut the corner of a dogleg, or going for the green in two on a par 5. From what I’ve seen though, there isn’t an advantage to be had that makes it worth the potential for a big score.
Key Metrics: Par 4 scoring, Driving Accuracy, SG: Around the Green, Bogey Avoidance, Proximity to Hole
