Special Places - TPC River Highlands

The world of golf comes back down to earth from the rarefied atmosphere of Major Championships for three weeks before the intensity cranks up again for the British Open. TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Connecticut welcomes the PGA Tour by hosting the Travelers Championship for the 28th time. Contested since 1952, the event moved to its present site 20kms south of downtown Hartford in 1984 when it was approaching the end of a sixteen-year run as the Sammy Davis Jr Greater Hartford Open. On a historical note, the 1956 tournament was the first US PGA Tour event won by Arnold Palmer.

Located on the banks of the Connecticut River, TPC River Highlands is a compact 6200m par 70 course. Originally opened in 1928 as Middletown Golf Club and then Edgewood Country Club, the layout was completely redesigned by the legendary Pete Dye in 1982 and again in 1989 by noted architect Bobby Weed and PGA Tour Design services with the assistance of player consultants Roger Maltbie and Howard Twitty. Tees, fairways and greens are Bentgrass, with bluegrass fescue rough. This mature parkland layout meanders over 65 hectares with gently rolling fairways carved out through maple, pine, sycamore and oak. The round begins with four par 4s, and the 310m 2nd hole is driveable for the longer hitters. The target from the tee on the 203m par 3 5th is a heavily bunkered green that slopes severely from back to front. The 525m par 5 6th hole is a pivotal point in the round with 15 menacing bunkers lying in wait for misdirected tee or approach shots. Holes 15, 16 and 17 are played around a two hectare lake. On the thrilling 270m driveable par 4 15th dreams of a two can fade to a six in the blink of an eye. After the scenic par 3 16th with a forced, carry over water there is an intimidating tee shot on the par 4 17th where the drive must be threaded between the devilish fairway bunker on the left and the deep waters of the lake on the right. To finish the round, upwards of twenty thousand spectators will be crammed in the natural amphitheatre around the undulating 18th green.

Accuracy rather than length usually succeeds on this little gem, although the defending champion is long-hitting leftie Bubba Smith who secured an emotional come-from-behind maiden Tour victory here last year.

Golfweather Editorial