Tour News
Fans to decide PGA Championship final-round pin location
In a game that outsiders sometimes accuse of getting stuck in its traditions just for the sake of it, the PGA of America should be commended for bringing about the latest of golf’s steps into modernity.
For the first time, the administrators of the PGA Championship are allowing golf fans — anyone with an Internet connection, really — to vote on a hole location for the final round of this year’s final major championship. Fans have a choice of four spots on the meandering putting surface of the No. 15 at Oak Hill Country Club’s East Course, located in Rochester, N.Y.
The hole is a par 3 that measures 181 yards, slightly downhill. The green measures nearly 40 yards from front to back, but is only about 15 yards wide. Three bunkers — two of them hidden from view from the tee — line the left side of the green, while a rock wall-rimmed pond lurks down the entire right side. In other words, the options are to hit a straight middle iron or suffer. Not a very fun or unique challenge of a hole, to be honest.
The PGA’s free-for-all competition to choose the final-round hole location, therefore, is something of a saving grace. Anyone who votes — especially those who end up choosing the winning pin placement — have extra incentive to pay attention to Sunday’s coverage (Aug. 11) of this year’s edition of the PGA.
The hole locations are as follows:
Choice A: 4 yards from the right — i.e., water’s—edge and 6 from the front, it might seem the easiest of the four hole locations by virtue of the fact that it makes the hole the shortest, but with the first of those aforementioned three bunkers just steps left of the cup, it has plenty of teeth. The safe play to this hole location is actually a few yards long, which is not an intuitive concept and further complicates matters.
Choice B: The remaining three choices sit in the rear portion of the green, with this one 23 yards from the front and just left of center. A little farther from the water, the safe place to miss this pin is just short and left. A few yards too long and/or left and the ball will catch one of the bunkers or a low area in the back left part of the green.
Choice C: Another 2 yards deeper into the green and 4 yards from the right hand side, this location increases the water’s influence on the shot to be played. Players who want to challenge this hole location will need complete confidence in the yardage and wind.
Choice D: A full 30 yards back in the green and roughly in the lateral middle, this hole location might not yield the highest average score, but would probably produce the fewest birdies. It would seem to pay well to be defensive to this hole location—hit it 30 to 40 feet short and left and settle for a two-putt par.
At the time of this writing, hole location C — the one closest to the water — is crushing the competition in the voting, with 62 percent of the total support. It is the obvious choice — closer to the water, more exciting, right? — but not the best. As the 69th hole of the championship, it is unlikely that players are going to be thinking of No. 15 as a birdie hole. They are most likely to be thinking defensively, looking only at the center of the green, with only poor shots ending up in the water. This will turn No. 15 into a putting contest. Boring!
If you want to see a good mix of birdies and the potential for some big numbers, especially by the leaders, choose hole location A. It sits as close (just 4 yards) to the water as location C, but because it shortens the hole, more players are likely to get greedy.
At 19 percent of the current vote, it has a great deal of ground to make up on boring-yet-obvious C. To help close the gap, go to the PGA’s website and cast your vote. While you’re at it, implore the PGA to play the hole from a front tee. Remember when David Toms aced No. 15 hole during his PGA Championship victory in 2001? Want to see another? Of course you do!
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 PGA Championship
GolfWRX is on site this week at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, for the PGA Championship.
While we see fewer equipment changes and new gear seeding at major championships, we get a look at custom gear and looks into the bags of players we rarely see, which is just as exciting. In the case of the PGA Championship, this means a look at the gear some of the PGA Professionals who qualified for the tournament will be gaming, and LIV players, such as Jon Rahm and Patrick Reed.
Check out links to all our albums from Valhalla below and check back throughout the week as we continue to update.
General Albums
WITB Albums
- Michael Block – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Patrick Reed – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Cam Smith – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Brooks Koepka – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Josh Speight – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Takumi Kanaya – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Kyle Mendoza – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Adrian Meronk – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Jordan Smith – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Jeremy Wells – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Jared Jones – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- John Somers – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Larkin Gross – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Tracy Phillips – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Jon Rahm – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Keita Nakajima – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Kazuma Kobori – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- David Puig – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Ryan Van Velzen – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Brad Marek – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Chris Gotterup – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Rich Beem WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Phil Mickelson – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Matt Dobyns – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Lucas Herbert – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Jason Dufner – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- John Daly – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Taylor Gooch – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Dean Burmester – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Joaquin Niemann – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Dustin Johnson – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
Pullout Albums
- Ping putter covers – 2024 PGA Championship
- Bettinardi covers – 2024 PGA Championship
- Cameron putter covers – 2024 PGA Championship
- Max Homa – Titleist 2 wood – 2024 PGA Championship
- Scotty Cameron experimental putter shaft by UST – 2024 PGA Championship
- Joaquin Niemann – new Ping putter – 2024 PGA Championship
- Brooks Koepka’s new Cameron putter – 2024 PGA Championship
- Rickie Fowler’s Cobra bag and Aerojet driver – 2024 PGA Championship
- Super Stroke grip – 2024 PGA Championship
- Tiger Woods – 2024 PGA Championship
- Michael Block’s new TaylorMade “Proto” 7-iron, from address – 2024 PGA Championship
- Odyssey putter covers – 2024 PGA Championship
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News
Photos from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
GolfWRX is live this week at the Wells Fargo Championship as a field of the world’s best golfers descend upon Charlotte, North Carolina, hoping to tame the beast that is Quail Hollow Club in this Signature Event — only Scottie Scheffler, who is home awaiting the birth of his first child, is absent.
From the grounds at Quail Hollow, we have our usual assortment of general galleries and WITBs — including a look at left-hander Akshay Bhatia’s setup. Among the pullout albums, we have a look inside Cobra’s impressive new tour truck for you to check out. Also featured is a special look at Quail Hollow king, Rory McIlroy.
Be sure to check back throughout the week as we add more galleries.
General Albums
- 2024 Wells Fargo Championship – Monday #1
- 2024 Wells Fargo Championship – Tuesday #1
- 2024 Wells Fargo Championship – Tuesday #2
WITB Albums
- Akshay Bhatia – WITB – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Matthieu Pavon – WITB – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Keegan Bradley – WITB – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Webb Simpson – WITB – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Emiliano Grillo – WITB – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Taylor Pendrith – WITB – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Kevin Tway – WITB – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
Pullout Albums
- New Cobra equipment truck – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Rory McIlroy – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- New Cobra equipment truck – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Eric Cole’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Custom Cameron putter – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Matt Kuchar’s custom Bettinardi – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Justin Thomas – driver change – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Rickie Fowler – putter change – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Rickie Fowler’s new custom Odyssey Jailbird 380 putter – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Tommy Fleetwood testing a TaylorMade Spider Tour X (with custom neck) – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Cobra Darkspeed Volition driver – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
See what GolfWRXers are saying about our Wells Fargo Championship photos in the forums.
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
GolfWRX is on site this week in McKinney, Texas, at the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson (FKA the AT&T Byron Nelson).
Last year at TPC Craig Ranch, Jason Day ended a five-year winless streak. J-Day is in the field again, as are Jordan Spieth, Tom Kim, and Will Zalatoris.
We have our usual assortment of general galleries, WITBs, and pullout albums for your perusal. As always, we’ll continue to add links to additional albums as they make their way to us from the Lone Star State.
Check out links to all our photos below.
General Albums
- 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson – Monday #1
- 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson – Monday #2
- 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson – Tuesday #1
- 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson – Tuesday #2
- 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson – Tuesday #3
WITB Albums
- Pierceson Coody – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Kris Kim – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- David Nyfjall – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Adrien Dumont de Chassart – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Jarred Jetter – North Texas PGA Section Champ – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Richy Werenski – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Wesley Bryan – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Parker Coody – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Peter Kuest – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Blaine Hale, Jr. – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Kelly Kraft – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Rico Hoey – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
Pullout Albums
- Adam Scott’s 2 new custom L.A.B. Golf putters – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Scotty Cameron putters – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Ben Griffin playing Maxfli golf ball
See what GolfWRXers are saying in the forums.
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Sean
Jul 27, 2013 at 2:45 pm
I don’t agree. I think “C” is the most difficult location. With “A” if you hit your yardage you could hit that opening in the front and have a nice putt for birdie (or even a little short and have an easy chip). “C” brings both the bunker and the water into play.
Weston
Jul 26, 2013 at 9:15 am
Would definitely like to see location A. The shorter distance will encourage the risk/reward thought process, which in my opinion adds to the fun in watching these guys navigate their way around!