Once described as a “torture chamber,” Pete Dye’s famous design is not as terrifying as it once was. But it looks like its old self.
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It is taken as golf gospel that Tour pros of the past were a tougher breed than today’s entitled stars; scrappier, more stoic.
But if that’s the case, how to explain the whining that went on 37 years ago this winter, when the game’s best gathered in the California desert?
“I don’t like the looks of it and I don’t like the playability,” eight-time major winner Tom Watson sniffed. “And that’s my diplomatic answer.”
“Spiteful” and “hateful,” famously hard-bitten Raymond Floyd grumbled.
“It isn’t any fun,” Ben Crenshaw complained.
The source of their displeasure: the newly built PGA West’s Stadium Course, in La Quinta, Calif., first-time host, in January 1987, of what was then known as the Bob Hope Desert Classic. Pete Dye designed it, and if player commentary was any indication, he’d made good on the mandate he’d been given to create the “hardest darned course in the world.”
Birdies could be made, but not in the usual bunches, and only by a relative few. The eventual winner, Corey Pavin, managed a 67 en route to a four-day total of 19 under (then, as now, the rounds were spread across multiple courses), edging Bernhard Langer by a shot. Both men were outliers. The final-round scoring average was 73.97, an elevated number for a tournament with a pro-am format and a reputation as a shootout in the sun.
It wasn’t long before dozens of pros signed a letter to the PGA Tour commissioner, insisting that the Stadium Course be removed from the tournament rota. It also wasn’t long before the course was modified to appease those players — bunkers softened, targets widened. But no dice. The Dye was cast.
The following year, the Tour steered clear of the Stadium Course and stayed away for nearly three decades. By the time it returned, in 2016, the game had changed. So had perceptions of the course. Under the assault of modern equipment, a layout once described as a “torture chamber” was no longer regarded as the most fearsome of tournament tests. It still isn’t. Challenging? Sure. But not overly so for golfers who can hit it 320 on a string.
This week, though, when play gets underway at what is now the American Express, the Stadium Course will offer a reminder of the past. More than it has since its very early life, Dye’s famed design is back to looking like its original self.
The transformation is part of a multimillion-dollar project aimed at sharpening the property’s Dye features while improving sustainability and playability. Along with new, drought-and-cold-tolerant turf on the putting surfaces, the greens themselves have been expanded and restored to their earlier size and contours. Greenside bunkers have also been brought back to Dye’s original design.
Over the years, some of what Dye built had been intentionally mellowed. Other elements had faded over time. Tim Liddy, a former Dye collaborator, handled the restoration. He likened the project to an “archaeological dig,” much of which was carried out by hand around bunkers and greens to unveil finds that had been covered over by years of buildup.
To fans familiar with the Stadium Course, the most noticeable of those changes is apt to be on the venue’s most recognizable hole — the par-3 17th, known as Alcatraz for its rock-ringed island green. Over the years, that green had shrunk two feet around its entire perimeter, leaving a wide collar between it and the rocks. With the recent restoration, the putting surface has been pushed out to its original boundaries, bringing the rocks more closely into play. Five feet of organic buildup was also stripped away, lowering the green, so that the rocks now rise more prominently, teeth-like and imposing. Compare the versions then and now, and you’ll note that the 17th now looks much as it did over Thanksgiving weekend in 1987, when Lee Trevino, competing in the Skins Game, jarred an ace on Alcatraz.
Ten months before he struck that historic shot, while working the NBC broadcast of the Bob Hope Desert Classic, Trevino had stood up for the Stadium Course. “There’s been a lot of controversy about PGA West this week. Some pros say it stinks, it’s a monster, it’s unfair,” he said. “Well, I want to ask you, what makes a golf course unfair? Is it unfair because you have to hit the tee ball down the middle of the fairway and good iron shots into the green? Or is it fair because you can hit the ball all over the parking lot and make birdies?”
The fact most golfers hit the ball all over the parking lot and don’t make birdies raises another point. The Stadium Course is public-access. As important as it is to pose an appropriate tournament test, it has to remain playable for everyday golfers. Among other goals, the recent changes also strive to strike that balance. Enlarging the greens creates bigger targets — more safe landing space — even as it allows for more challenging hole locations closer to water and other hazards.
Still, there’s only so much that can be done. The gap between professional and recreational golf has never been greater, and the Stadium Course is a reminder of that gulf. From the tips, its course rating is 76.1. Scratch players aren’t expected to sniff par. By contrast, when the Tour arrives this week, you can bank on two things: the winner will finish a couple dozen under, if not lower, and no one will whine about it being too hard.
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