Special Places - Bay Hill Club

This week sees the final leg of the Florida swing with a visit to Orlando for the Arnold Palmer Invitational. The only event on the US PGA Tour named after a living golfer takes place in the “King’s” backyard on the masterpiece that is the Bay Hill Club. A strong reduced field of only 120 that includes defending champion Ernie Els and Tiger Woods will pay homage to golfing royalty, and many of the players will use the championship as their final competitive warm-up before the Masters

Bay Hill opened in 1961 and gained a worldwide reputation after being purchased by Arnold Palmer in 1976. The club is situated along the Butler Chain of Lakes on the site of a former orange grove, and comprises three nine-hole courses, the Champion, Challenger and Charger. The tournament is played over the Champion and Challenger courses with a par of 72 over 6700 metres, and over the years Arnold and his design team transformed Bay Hill into one of the most prestigious of golf destinations. After the 2009 event the course went through a renovation that left no hole untouched. Tees were modified or lengthened. Fairways were reshaped and redefined, and fairway bunkers moved to more strategic positions. Greens were expanded, reduced or rotated and reseeded with Emerald Bermudagrass, run-off areas mown close and bunkers deepened and moved. The result has turned an already great course into an amazing layout that challenges at each step, demanding focus and concentration to extract the rewards that good shot-making and imagination around the greens deserve.

Bay Hill flexes its muscles right from the start of the round with a 420m par 4 and a 220m par 3, and the front nine finishes with two long par 4s. The back nine is no less challenging and world-class conditioning frames every hole. Following on from the Bear Trap three weeks ago at the Honda Classic and the Snake Pit at last week’s Transitions tournament, this week’s final three-hole run-in to the clubhouse has no nickname but is among the best home stretches in golf. Water is in play on all three, especially the 200m par 3 17th that has a peninsular green. The 420m par 4 18th will have the pin back right on Sunday, forcing a long approach over the lake for anyone needing a birdie finish. The beauty and memorability of the 18th is confirmed by being designated as the $1 million Kodak Challenge hole for the event.