Let there be drama.
The Presidents Cup has a bad habit of being a lopsided affair, with the International side winless since 1998 in its biennial competition with the United States. But Medinah No. 3 will be setup to maximize the possibility of drama ― or at least that is the plan.
It’s become pretty typical at both the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup to reroute the host venue to make sure the most iconic, challenging or scenic holes don’t go untested. And this year is no different. The holes at Medinah Golf Club, located about 25 miles west of downtown Chicago, will be shifted around so that the traditional fifth hole plays as the first and the traditional fourth hole as the 18th.
There
is method to this madness, at least on paper. Data shows that fewer than 40 percent of team match-play matches reach the 18th hole, with many ending on the 15th or 16th. In this case, the sequencing guarantees that players contest the course’s most risk-reward and treacherous holes, many of them lining Lake Kadijah.
Medinah No. 3 will become the only club in the country to have hosted a U.S. Open, a PGA Championship, a Ryder Cup and a Presidents Cup. But it will look different after a reimagining by the golf course design firm of OCM, and never have been played in this order.
Mike Cocking, the ‘C’ in OCM, understands the reasoning behind the re-routing of the holes for the Presidents Cup but expressed concern that something could be lost in translation.
“When you go routing a golf course, you're putting a lot of thought into the cadence of the holes and the flow of how it works from one to 18, like a song or like an album, whether it's an easy start and a difficult middle stretch,” he explained. “When you do start to reroute and renumber holes, you lose that aspect.”
Hopefully, switching the sequence of holes will still allow for some sweet music ― and some Sunday drama.
Adam Schupak is a senior writer for Golfweek, covering the PGA Tour.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Medinah No. 3 reorders holes to boost Presidents Cup drama
