The 2019 Travelers Championship: Inside the Course (TPC River Highlands Review)

Trying to generate interest in a PGA Tour event the week after a major championship can be a struggle.  The tournament is perceived as a snooze-fest.  The world's top players often take much needed time off.  Even the fans need time to recuperate after a brutal post-major comedown. 

 

That is, unless we’re talking about the Traveler's Championship, which always attracts some of the biggest names in the game, and draws some of the largest crowds on Tour all year.  And the Pete Dye designed TPC River Highlands requires you to think your way around the course, utilizing narrow fairways, an abundance of bunkers, and firm, fast conditions to reward intelligence and precision more than brute force and strength. 

TPC River Highlands checks in at par-70, and 6841-yards long, and features a great mix of long and short holes, with gently rolling, blue-grass fairways framed by charming corridors of maple, oak, pine, and sycamore trees.  Bluegrass fescue rough is challenging but fair.  

 

Numerous lakes and ponds are easy on the eyes, but sometimes not on the scorecard.  Still, good shots on this old-style test of golf are not punished, which is evidenced by the last 24 events producing champions who recorded double-digit, under-par scores.  There are only two par-5s on the course. 

The original architects of the course were Maurice Kearney and R.J Ross (cousin of the renowned architect Donald Ross), which first opened in 1928 under the name Middletown Golf Club.  Later in 1934, the course changed it's name again, to Edgewood Country Club.  

Since then the layout has undergone multiple renovations and redesigns by Dye, who added his particular style of of genius to the course.  However, Dye left certain features untouched, like blind tee shots and moderate green sizes to retain the charm of its original design. 

 

The widely respected, four-hole closing stretch on hole Nos. 15 through 18 plays around an enormous four-acre lake, and provides the drama of pure stadium golf that's incredibly fun for fans and players alike.  Stewart Cink, who won here in 2008, called this stretch "the four most exciting finishing holes in a group anywhere in the world." 

Signature Hole 
No. 15 is a par-4, 296-yard drivable hole for just about everyone in the field.  Players who overcook it off the tee can find the pond and bunker guarding the left side of the green, and there’s a smaller bunker protecting the front right. Shots that barely reach the green will likely roll back off as the green is pitched in the front and back. 

 

Even if you lay up off the tee, precision is needed to avoid fairway bunkers lurking on the left.  In 1995, Greg Norman attempted to drive the green, but found the bunker instead.  And then on his way to victory, splashed his next shot out and into the hole for an eagle.  No. 15 is one of the most exciting holes in tournament golf. 

Bogie Alert 
Hitting the fairway on the treacherous, par-4, 420-yard, 17th hole is crucial to having any reasonable shot of hitting the green on approach.  The tee shot is hit from an elevated tee box to a very narrow landing area, with menacing bunkers protecting the left side of the fairway and a large lake wandering along the entire right side. 

 

The approach requires a complete carry over a pond to reach the green, and can be very intimidating when hitting out of the rough.  No. 17 traditionally ranks as one of the most difficult holes on the course. 

Birdie Watch 
The par-3, 171-yard 16th hole requires a very precise shot to clear the forced carry over a pond that can still gobble up balls that land on the front of a green sloping back to the water.  A cluster of four bunkers protect the back and sides of the narrow green which come into play with difficult pin positions. 

 

This is a moderately short par-3, but simply hitting the green won't necessarily translate to an easy scoring chance.  The ideal position here is below the hole as tee shots hit long will be left with lightning-fast, downhill putts that can easily roll back off the green.  Ball control and precision will be rewarded. 

A Strong Finish 
No. 18 is a par-4, 444-yard hole that has the potential to crown a champion or crush a contender, and it has Pete Dye's fingerprints all over it.  Tee shots are hit slightly uphill into a narrow fairway that's predominantly bowl shaped with bunkers strategically placed on both sides near the landing zone. 

 

Two of the largest and deepest bunkers on the course protect the green on the right side, which is where the Sunday pin position is traditionally located.  Many tournaments have been decided right here.