Harold sat down with us and talked about the changes to the USDGC course. Many of the changes involve the new Buncr (or as some like to call it hazard) rule.

Harold says, “The first 3 holes are pretty much the same. This year you have to re-tee on 3. It puts the pucker factor into a benign hole. That’s what we’re trying to do, to bring out the emotion for a mountain top experience. That also means you can also have a mountain top disaster. Most of the changes are designed to do that.”

“Number four we moved the OB line into the cypress trees. (In years past the OB was outside the trees) The Leyland’s (Leyland Cypress trees surrounding the green) were starting to be porous. Folks were having a poke and hope attitude and that’s a disservice to players of this caliber. So we try to give opportunities to give them a chance for a great shot.”

“(After) changing the OB line, now the 3 oak trees are in play and we raised the lower part of the canopy 15 feet so they could run under the trees, over the OB and up the hill to the front of the green. It changed the dynamic as it makes folks more aggressive on the drive. Folks talk about risk vs. reward but it’s really important for there to be a reward for those who take the risk. Sometimes great shots get hammered, but I want every good or great shot to get rewarded. Also on 4 (and 13) we noticed big back ups, we’re allowing practice into traveler (quieter cloth) baskets so players can spend their time enjoyably. We got the PDGA rules variance for that, it could be a good or horrible idea. Folks are happy to share their opinions with me.”

“Holes five through seven haven’t really changed.”
“Number eight. We had a drought for 2 years in South Carolina and a lot of the trees are stressed and coming down. 4 or 5 critical trees came down near the tee. So we brought the rope in on the right side. Folks can still go right or left but accuracy is required. It’s serendipitous that a big tree fell 50 feet from the target, and it’s the perfect big old bunker. Slows the rollers and approaches which works in tandem. Now the drive must be more aggressive and all the pieces have to be put together going further off the tee gives a great reward”

“Number nine changed the shape on the left side. We had a little hyzer area last year. We felt that was necessary because the screen construction had dirt in the area of the screen. So they provided the left side area. During the winter the seeding took and the grass grew up nicely. The screen is a unique man made huge obstacle and it’s right off the tee. Now the left side is completely gone and it turned out that the left side was a little easier then they’d hoped. It’s what the hole was like in 2006 except for the big sunscreen. The hole is better as the screen keeps shots out of the baseball field. The university came through and planted two beautiful trees which also makes it harder.”

As an example in his group Wednesday Harold said, “my group threw 4 different routes! Hyzer side arm, high hyzer back hand, flat straight back hand and one was really aggressive and went for it, trying to go all the way past the sunscreen.
“With different opportunities, side hill and skinny green, it works great with that elevated basket. You want to be close, you want to be very close. It creates anxiety throwing when you want to be accurate into that green. It all works together with the green angled relative to the approach.

Harold will review the rest of the holes in part 2.

USDGC ONLINE COVERAGE TEAM - USDGC ONLINE COVERAGE TEAM - Jerry Sunkin - CEO DiscGolfCenter.com - Jerry@DiscGolfCenter.com