ST. LOUIS, Mo. — On a reconnaissance trip in early July, Gary Woodland was playing Bellerive Country Club when he noticed a few members of the club were steadfastly following him.
“They told me they wanted to watch someone putt,” Woodland said. Woodland was startled to learn the greens were off limits to the members of Bellerive, home to the 100th PGA Championship, following a nasty 1-2 punch from Mother Nature.
For most of the summer, members were forced to play to 18 temporary greens and never set foot on the putting surfaces, which eased the stress and limited the damage. Still, when players arrived o begin prep work for the last major of the year, they quickly discovered the greens will present interesting challenges on the par-70 course that can top out at 7,547 yards.
The large greens — there is about 10,000 square feet of putting surface — were slow, crusty and patchy, especially around the edges, which required extra sodding. Players will face lush zoysia grass off the greens, a different form of grass on the fringes and then the irregular greens.
“I don't think they're going to be the smoothest of greens that we play on, but everyone's got to play them,” four-time PGA champion Tiger Woods said. “We're going to have some putts where we hit good putts and they're going to kind of wobble off line, but then again you can actually put some pretty good heat behind (your stroke) and take out some of the break.
“I think if you're able to hit the ball well and put the ball in the right sections, you'll see a bunch of birdies.”
The trouble with the greens, which were rebuilt in 2006, began with an unusually wet and cold winter, which was followed by the fourth-coolest April on record in the Gateway City. Thus, the root structure wasn’t allowed to get healthy. Then the hottest May on record pummeled the area and the greens, and no relief arose when St. Louis endured more brutal heat in June and July — the two months finished in the top five among the highest-recorded months of heat in Missouri history.
“Due to the expected high temperatures and high humidity over the next couple of days, greens speeds will remain slower than they are planned for Championship Rounds,” said the sign that greeted the players in the locker room.
"I don't think they're going to be the smoothest of greens that we play on, but everyone's got to play then," Tiger Woods says.
"I don't think they're going to be the smoothest of greens that we play on, but everyone's got to play then," Tiger Woods says. (Photo: John David Mercer, USA TODAY Sports)
Even with the forecast calling for plenty of sunshine and heat, the greens will never become firm.
“They look a little worse than they actually putt,” two-time PGA champion Rory McIlroy said. “They look slower than they are. I think the big thing is how the ball’s going to react on the greens, because there's not a lot of base underneath the grass and there's not a lot of root system. So, you're not going to see wedge shots spin a lot. You're going to see them stop dead, but you're also going to see a 6-iron stop dead.
“It's quintessential target golf, sort of. That's what it is this week. Where your ball lands, is where it's going to really stay.”
That calls for aggressive play, the players said. If you get in the right quadrant of the large greens, you’re golden. If you don’t, you’re still not in trouble because the chipping areas are pure and will allow players to spin the ball even from short distances.
“You can be short-sided and you're actually not in that much trouble here,” said Jordan Spieth, who is a PGA short of the career Grand Slam. “There's extra room with the fringes and the fairway off the bunkers that you don't have to be as precise around the greens as you maybe would on Bermuda grass.
“So, you'll see guys shoot some low scores, given when they get into trouble you're not going to see that many bogeys or doubles.
“You'll see some hole outs this week by the look of this golf course. There's nothing wrong with that at all. It's still a fantastic test of golf out there.”