Once described as a “torture chamber,” Pete Dye’s famous design isn’t as scary as it once was. But it looks like its old self.
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It is considered golf gospel that Tour pros of the past were a tougher breed than today’s title stars; scrappier, more stoic.
But if that’s the case, how can you explain the complaining that happened 37 years ago this winter, when the game was so well assembled in the California desert?
“I don’t like the look of it and I don’t like the performance,” sniffed eight-time major winner Tom Watson. “And that’s my diplomatic answer.”
“He’s mean” and “hateful,” complained Raymond Floyd of biting fame.
“It’s not fun,” complained Ben Crenshaw.
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The source of their ire: PGA West’s newly constructed Stadium Course, in La Quinta, Calif., to host for the first time, in January 1987, what was then known as the Bob Hope Desert Classic. Pete Dye designed it, and if player comments were any indication, he would do well in the mandate he was given to create “the hardest course in the world.”
Birds can be made, but not in general masses, and only by a relative minority. The eventual winner, Corey Pavin, managed a 67 en route to a four-day total of 19 under (then, as now, rounds were spread across all courses), trailing Bernhard Langer by a shot. Both men were outside. The final match average was 73.97, the highest number for a tournament with a pro-am format and a reputation for being a shot in the sun.
It wasn’t long before many pros signed a letter to the PGA Tour commissioner, insisting that the Stadium Course be removed from the tournament rota. It wasn’t long before the course was altered to appease those players – the bunkers softened, the fairways extended. But there are no dice. The die was cast.
The next year, the Tour moved out of the Stadium Course and stayed for nearly three decades. By the time it returned, in 2016, the game had changed. So there were ideas of course. Under the onslaught of modern machinery, the building once described as a “torture chamber” was no longer considered too terrifying for the tournament’s trials. It is still not the case. Is it a challenge? Of course. But not too much for golfers who can hit it with a 320 on the fairway.
However, this week, when the game takes place at what is now the American Express, the Sports Complex will offer a reminder of the past. In addition to its debut, Dye’s famous design has returned to its original appearance.
The change is part of a multi-billion dollar project aimed at sharpening the area’s Dyeing features while improving sustainability and playability. Along with the new, drought- and cold-tolerant turf in place, the green itself has been expanded and restored to its former size and contours. Greenside bunkers have also been restored to Dye’s original design.
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Over the years, some Dye formulations have been intentionally softened. Some elements have disappeared over time. Tim Liddy, former editor of Dye, has managed the restoration. He likened the work to “excavation,” much of it done by hand around the towers and vegetation to uncover finds that had been covered up for years.
For fans familiar with the course, the most noticeable of those changes should be on the area’s most visible hole – the par-3 17th, known as Alcatraz for its rocky island green. Over the years, that green had shriveled two meters all the way around, leaving a wide collar between it and the rocks. With recent restorations, the deposit has been pushed beyond its original boundaries, bringing the rocks closer together. Five feet of organic buildup was also removed, lowering the green, so that the rocks now rose sharply, like teeth and solid. Compare the versions then and now, and you’ll notice that the 17th looks a lot like Thanksgiving weekend in 1987, when Lee Trevino, competing in the Skins Game, aceed Alcatraz.
Ten months before he scored that historic hit, while working on NBC’s broadcast of the Bob Hope Desert Classic, Trevino represented the Stadium. “There has been a lot of controversy about PGA West this week. Some experts say it stinks, it’s a monster, it’s unfair,” he said. “Well, I want to ask you, what makes a golf course unfair? Isn’t it fair because you have to hit the tee ball down the middle of the fairway and good iron shots to the green? Or is it okay because you can hit the ball all over the parking lot and make birdies?”
The truth is that many golfers hit the ball all over the parking lot as well don’t do it making birdies raises another point. The Sports Ground is available to the public. As important as it is to make a proper tournament evaluation, it should always be played by everyday golfers. Among other goals, recent reforms also strive to find that balance. Increasing the green creates a larger target – a safer landing area – as it allows for more challenging holes closer to water and other hazards.
However, there is only so much that can be done. The gap between professional and recreational golf has never been greater, and the Golf Course is a monument to that golf. From tips, its course rating is 76.1. Scratch players are not expected to sniff the ratings. Conversely, when the Tour arrives this week, you can look for two things: the winner will finish twelve under, if not more, and no one will complain that it is too difficult.
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