Special Places - Cordevalle Golf Club

All eyes will be focused on Cordevalle Golf Club as the PGA Tour moves from Las Vegas, Nevada to neighbouring California for the much-awaited return to competition of Tiger Woods in this week's Frys.com Open. Tiger will be renewing his rivalry with defending champion Rocco Mediate whom he beat in an epic struggle to win the 2008 US Open, Woods' last Major victory.

Cordevalle Golf Club is in San Martin, 50 kms south of San Jose, which is the third largest city in California after Los Angeles and San Diego, and the tenth largest in the USA. Robert Trent Jones Jr designed the layout in 1999 and it attracted rave reviews from the players last year, with the promise of becoming a future classic. Nestled in the rolling foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains at the southern end of the San Francisco Bay this prestigious destination is ranked in the Top 20 Golf Resorts in North America and the course plays just over 6700m with a par of 71. It offers beautiful unobstructed views out over meadows and canyons, and features dramatic contours and elevation changes.

The fairways are Winter Rye Grass and the greens are seeded with Bent Grass whilst expansive bunkers provide a strong visual cue as the layout meanders through an otherwise unspoiled natural setting. On a course that will please the shotmakers the par 4 5thhole will be one of the toughest and most resistant to giving up birdies. Players will be looking to make their score on the seven-hole stretch from the 9th to the 15th that includes the three par 5's, which are all reachable for the longer hitters. Also, expect the short 325m par 4 17 to yield a few eagles. Last year Rocco Mediate holed his second shot here on Sunday on the way to his one stroke victory. Miraculously, it was the fourth consecutive day that Mediate had holed out for eagle - a hole-in-one on Thursday, hole out from 145m on the par 4 4th on Friday, and hole out from 100m on the par 5 15th on Saturday.

Trent Jones' design ranks among the finest achievements of one of golf's most iconic and prolific architects, and provides a worthy test to a strong end of year field that boasts a hatful of Major champions, including South Africans Ernie Els, Trevor Immelman and Louis Oosthuizen.

Golfweather Editorial