Great insights as always Garrett! As a proud Olympic Member, I feel like it’s my duty to defend our architecture at least a little bit 😉. To say the course’s identity is tight fairways, small greens, and too difficult, along with “repetitive” bunkering simplifies the Lake too much in my opinion. That take negates the incredible routing up, down and along the hill it’s been built on that provides its overall interest from hole to hole. It gives the player thought provoking golf shots beyond hitting it straight down a fairway and between 2 bunkers near a green. Additionally, I agree the greens are not complex by many architecturally great golf course standards, but they do fit the property perfectly and I feel that anything more provocative would feel too artificial. The greens do change things up along the way sloping right to left, left to right, and front to back on occasion that keeps us on our toes when playing our approaches. Glad you think the course is a great test for championship golf! But I do think it’s more than that when given the chance and playing the correct tees to enjoy the round. Cheers!

My theory is that there was a stump not fully extracted and it rotted over time causing the depression. Makes for some interesting approach outcomes which I love. When stymied or partially blocked it's fun to roll a gravitational slingshot on the edge towards the hole.

This title needs to get some credit. Absolutely NY Post worthy.

As someone who enjoys watching Spieth play competitively, I think the exemptions are hurting him in the grand scheme of things. If he is going to find "it" again, it would probably help (mentally) to go down to the PGA B tour and grind a little bit, go earn something again.

Once again, the PGA Tour faces a problem that has an easy fix, but they will never do it -- just make sponsor exemptions ineligible for FedEx points.

Everyone cares about pace of play until it comes to the first tee shot. Start the round with a par thee, or even back to back par threes, and pace will be better for everyone all day.

I'm kind of the opposite. I don't mind a slightly tougher start. Takes me 4 holes to get warmed up anyway. If I'm going to make a bogey I'd rather it be on a tougher hole 😅.

I love this course but the set up is leaving a lot to be desired lately. I played there yesterday in the middle of the day (the high was 90°) and it was so green, wet, and soft. My foursome had multiple mud balls and there was standing water on the 18th fairway. It’s making the course play significantly longer than it should. All four of our tee shots on 16 came to an immediate stop on landing when they should be feeding down towards the hole. I can’t imagine Mr. Hanse and Mr. Shackelford are vibing with it these days.

Bruce Hepner is one of the few architects/restoration specialists who use restraint “don’t overlook the soup” as a strength. The comparisons to Chicago Golf are noteworthy. To think this relationship began with words from Tom Doak in Confidential Guide “the club’s landscape committee over the past 60 years should be lined up and shot for planting so many trees of so many varieties” 5 Doak scale May 1994. Kudos to Blue Mound for changing directions over 20 years ago.

I grew up in New England and Donald Ross is prevalent up here. So I’m bias but a great start to a course is one or two warm up holes, typically easy par 4s, then allow the course to begin. I’ve heard stories that he did this because back in those days courses didn’t have driving ranges so it allowed the player to warm up and be ready for the remaining course. A great example is Plymouth Country Club, Green Harbor (not a Donald Ross), or Boston Golf Club (Gil Hanse) with its par 5 openers allowing you to hit multiple shots to warm your body up.