Course Review - TPC River Highlands &; Gut Lärchenhof

After the brutality of the set-up for the US Open at Olympic Club, the US PGA Tour takes a deep breath and pays a visit to TPC River Highlands for the Travellers Championship. Located in the affluent community of Cromwell close to the geographic centre of Connecticut, the course was originally known as Middletown Golf Club when it opened for play in 1928 and six years later went on to become Edgewood Country Club.

Iconic golf architect Pete Dye gave the layout a total makeover in the early eighties with the name changing to TPC of Connecticut. Another comprehensive reworking followed in 1989, this time by Bobby Weed in conjunction with the Tour's in-house design team bringing about yet another name change, this time to TPC River Highlands.

A compact design on 65 hectares of mature woodland the comprises maple, oak, sycamore and white pine, the course meanders along corridors carved through the trees and boasts innovative design that maintains great respect for its natural setting. The layout features bentgrass fairways and greens bordered by bluegrass fescue rough with a liberal sprinkling of ponds and lakes over the rolling terrain.

Although a relatively short 6200 metres par 70 that will give up quite a few birdies as the course record of 60 will indicate, TPC River Highlands is nonetheless a good balance of challenge and excitement that is best highlighted by the four finishing holes. The driveable 15th, scenic par 3 16th and intimidating 17th are played along the shores of a large lake, whilst the 18th green nestles in a natural amphitheatre that can accommodate more than 20,000 enthusiastic spectators.

On the European Tour the BMW International Open moves north to Cologne after the past 23 years in the Bavarian heartland around Munich. Gut Lärchenhof is Jack Nicklaus' only signature design in Germany, and ticks all the boxes of Jack's philosophy on world class golf course design; a layout should be challenging, diverse and above all else fair, where a good shot should not be punished, and players should be rewarded for intelligence and precision rather than brute force and strength.

Gut Lärchenhof successfully hosted the German Masters in 1998 – less than a year after opening for play – and its spectator-friendly wide open stadium design located next to a vast forested area has gone on to host a Tour event almost every year since.

A Golf Weather
Editorial