Arnold Palmer Invitational: Inside the Course (Bay Hill Club and Lodge Championship Course)

Arnold Palmer transcended the game, and along the way won the hearts and minds of millions of people with his own swashbuckling, daring style of cool.  So it's fitting that whoever hoists the hardware this Sunday at the Arnold Palmer Invitational will likely have to play with that same kind of Palmer fearlessness.  Twelve of the last 14 winners at Bay Hill and Lodge have won by only two strokes or less. 

 

Bay Hill's Championship Course is a go-for-broke, par-72, 7,419 yard layout with more than 150 acres of thick rough that can grow up to four inches tall. Fairway bunkers extend out far enough so that big hitters can’t bomb it off the tee with impunity.  While greenside bunkers and run-off areas closely guard the small, firm greens, putting a nostalgic premium on short-game strategy and finesse shots. 

More than a third of all approaches since 2006 have come from over 200 yards, so you better bring your A-game with the long irons.  Over this same period of time winners at Bay Hill have gotten up-and-down more than 66-percent of the time (compared to just 55-percent for the field), so it’s easy to see why Bogey Avoidance is also paramount to success. 

 

The closing stretch on hole Nos. 16 through 18 is set up to ensure momentum swings, train wrecks, and lead changes, much like the finish at TPC Sawgrass, and always provides the most exciting moments of the tournament. 

Signature Hole
Heading to Bay Hill's par-4, 458 yard 18th hole with the lead is anything but a guaranteed victory, and presents players with the most intimidating approach shot they’ll (arguably) face all year.  A lake shields the entire front side of an extremely narrow green, while three deep bunkers protect the back.  The fairway is also downward sloping, and hitting a high shot to hold the green from this type of lie is one of the most difficult shots to execute for even the best ball strikers. 

 

 

Tee shots should generally favor the left side of the fairway for the best angles on approach.  However, players who overcook it run the risk of out-of-bounds along the entire left side.  While misses right will end up in the most brutal rough on the course.  Pick your poison here, but the gist is simple: miss the fairway off the tee and you will be punished.  

Birdie Watch 
When players arrive at the 511 yard, par-5 16th, they'll most certainly be thinking birdie or eagle.  Almost 50-percent of all birdies and eagles last year came on the four par-5s, and No. 16 is historically the easiest hole on the course.  If you don't take advantage here, you've probably lost ground on the field. 

 

 

No. 16  shouldn’t be considered a complete pushover however.  Out-of-bounds on the left will penalize wayward drives, and water protecting the front of the green will gobble up mishits on approach.  And even longer hitters who reach the green in two will still have to find the right level for any chance at one-putting. 

Bogey Alert 
The par-5, 555-yard 6th hole grabs players attention from the start with water in play on every shot from any location until you hit the green.  No. 6 curls (in a reverse-C shape) around a lake on the entire left side, and can produce a few birdies or eagles with absolutely perfect ball striking from tee to green. 

 

 

Other times however, players are just hoping to escape without complete humiliation.  The 6th hole has produced a staggering 25 scores in the double-digits since 1983, and can be absolutely brutal, particularly when pin positions will be toughest in the back-left.  John Daly went completely off the rails and made an 18 here in 1998.  

And in 2014, Bubba Watson splashed three balls in water before taking a sextuple-bogey 11, and withdrawing at the end of the round.  You can theoretically reach the green with a 340-yard drive over the lake.  If you're even a little off however, this hole will collapse egos like tents in a hurricane.