The Course
The TPC Boston was built in 2002 by none other than the Legend himself, Arnold Palmer. At that time, the course looked a lot like other TPC courses, plush and well maintained with a mix of risk/reward holes that could either yield a 63 or a 78. In many ways that was the problem though. PGA Tour officials wanted the course to take on a New England feel, so they tasked remodel specialist Gil Hanse to take on the challenge with help from Brad Faxon (a former PGA Tour player very familiar with TPC architectural goals). In order to make the course experience “more-Boston", Hanse and Faxon set out to bring an old school look and feel that represented some of the classic courses in the area like The Country Club. This was accomplished by adding seemingly random mounds to the fairways and re-grading the greens to add undulation that created more difficult pin locations. The course layout really serves as the course's main defense against par, which is something I truly appreciate. There is no need to trick up the rough or roll the greens at 13 (They will be playing at 11.5 on the stimpmeter this week). The course rewards great play and is constantly whispering in the player's ear to try and do more so that they can keep pace with the scores around them. In that sense it is a true throwback and plays right into the hands of a risk-reward design. Another distinguishable feature added were grass bunkers, a design element that is very popular among courses in the North East. Playing at only 7,200 yards, grass bunkers are much more penalizing than sand because once you put a wedge in the hand of a PGA Tour pro, traditional bunkers are nearly as good as lie in the fairway.
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