Video: Rio Olympic Golf Course 4th, 5th and 6th Holes

Catching up now post-PGA on the Rio Olympic course, with the fourth, fifth and sixth hole flyovers by Golf Digest and narrated by Gil Hanse.

The par-3 4th hole 191 yards for the men and 155 yards for the women and looks like an ideal sandbelt one-shotter, only windier.


Gil's final rendering of the hole.

The par-5 fifth hole is 547 yards for the men and 493 for the women and plays gently uphill. It's hard to see, but this is a wonderful greensite that should be a great spectating portion of the course.

Gil's rendering of the fifth.

The par-3 sixth plays 196 yards for the men and 177 yards for the women. This hole features two tees, including a blind option over the dune. Strap in, this should be fun!

Gil's final rendering of the 6th includes both tee options.

Video: Rio Olympic Golf Course Third Hole

The par-4 third can be stretched to 351/321 but will hopefully be set up shorter to entice players to drive the green. 

Here is the Golf Digest flyover narrated by co-architect Gil Hanse. Here is Hanse's final rendering of the hole.

Will Trump Doral Be More Democratic This Time Around?

The rank-and-file felt discriminated against in Gil Hanse's Blue Monster makeover. Even Brandt Snedeker's caddy threw a hissyfit for the ages over the apparent bias in the design toward those who could hit it a long way, so this year the course will sport a few narrowed landing areas for the longer hitters which match the driving zones of those less fortunate.

Rex Hoggard at GolfChannel.com talked to a few players and Hanse about the changes.

“I felt bad for Gil because he was getting criticized for the redesign, and just said, ‘Here’s the objective view of what I’m seeing and why guys are upset,’” Snedeker said. “Just so it’s more playable and fair for guys who hit it my length. There were times when I was hitting into a fairway that was 12 yards wide, while some of the longer guys are hitting into fairways that were 35 yards wide.

“I understand that length is an advantage but it shouldn’t be a determining factor to the golf tournament, and it seemed like last year length was the overriding factor on who was going to win.”

None of it may matter as Doug Ferguson elaborates in explaining the scenarios facing Doral should a new title sponsor not be found. Though interestingly the PGA Tour has scouted other Miami venues.

If a new sponsor doesn't want to be at Trump Doral, there are not many other options in Miami with the property that can handle size of a World Golf Championship. The tour has looked at Crandon Park on Key Biscayne, a strong public course that once hosted a senior event. But with only one road to the course, that might not be practical.

Rio Olympic Course Has No Name, But Grass Is Growing

Ryan Herrington of GolfDigest.com reports on the PGA Show unveiling of initial images (below) from Rio of the 2016 Olympic course, where the name has not been settled on but at this point no one seems to mind.

Herrington writes:

"We're just happy to have a golf course right now," joked Gil Hanse (below right), who along with Amy Alcott designed the course and participated with Peter Dawson of the R&A, Ty Votaw of the PGA Tour and tour pros Graeme McDowell and Suzann Pettersen in the discussion.

The laughter that followed from the entire panel underscored the relief being felt that finally, albeit months later than expected, all 18 holes of the course had been grassed and legal challenges to its construction had ended.

Golfweek's Brad Klein writes about the initial impressions of the layout, which have arrived as Hanse and Alcott billed in their presentation to win the job.

What counts is that the layout – at 7,350 yards, a par 71 – has a wide-open, linksy feel to it. It’s built on sand, brings no trees into play and offers several paths and avenues for greenside recovery from the side and behind. It also features lots of what Hanse calls “half-par” holes – short and long par 3s and par 4s and reachable, risk-reward par 5s. Amy Alcott, an LPGA Hall of Famer and design consultant to Hanse on the project, is especially proud of the finishing stretch. Those present opportunities for birdies if players take the risk – as they well might at the reachable par-4 16th hole.

The images presented in Orlando and courtesy of Hanse Design. The sandbelt influence is strong in this one!

 

 

Is Driving Doral's New 16th Worth The Risk?

I consider this vital, weighty question heading into the WGC Cadillac Championship that starts Thursday.

Of course, the previous 16th hole did not look like a hole one should drive and players did it, adding some excitement to recent final years. But as I explain in this GolfDigest.com Local Knowledge item, the biggest question mark heading in will be the new 16th's risk-reward equation.

A few photos from three weeks ago, starting with the vastly improved tee view:

(Click image to enlarge)The second shot view from the lay-up area:

(Click on image to enlarge) And the rear view looking back toward the fairway (tee is to the right in the distance):

(Click on image to enlarge)