Some players cite hard greens and refuse to play Bay Hill. Arnie suggests they should toughen up.
By BOB HARIG
Published March 18, 2004
ORLANDO - The groans and grumbles from players started out small and subtle, mostly out of respect to the man who helped pave the way for them to make a fabulous living at golf. After all, criticizing Arnold Palmer's tournament would be like criticizing the man himself.
But even the most deferential of PGA Tour pros has his limits apparently. It's not enough to have a $5-million purse or a courtesy car for the week or free food in the clubhouse. Nor is simply showing up to pay homage to the King.
So after a couple of years of biting their head covers, some players who deemed Palmer's Bay Hill Club & Lodge as too stern a test (i.e. unfair) started letting their feelings be known.
"If the rough is up and the greens are firm, it's brutal to play. But it's so hard to get the ball close, even from the fairways, let alone from the rough, you have no chance."
That came from Tiger Woods, who has won the Bay Hill Invitational four straight years and will try for five in a row and PGA Tour history starting today.
Woods wasn't complaining. He was simply being honest. The 7,239-yard course's greens had a controversial renovation in 2001, and Woods has been the beneficiary. The course, which was designed in the early 1960s and bought by Palmer in 1969, favors a long hitter who can hit towering approach shots that will hold on rock-hard greens.
"There's only one style of play that has any success," said Paul Azinger, who won the tournament in 1988. "The majority of players are not comfortable flying the ball on that (high) trajectory, even if they're capable. He (Woods) won't want to play somewhere where the greens are super soft because his ball will hit and jump straight backward.
"The last four years, the greens have been cement. You can't find a ballmark. When nobody can keep it on the green on No. 2 and 17 ... the players started to take a step back."
Azinger had threatened to not return to Bay Hill, but he is here - at least for now.
Fred Funk isn't playing. He played the tournament 10 times through 2002 but vowed not to come back.
"The (course) needs to be blown up now and start where it was a few years ago," Funk said earlier this year. "It's stupid the way he (Palmer) sets it up now."
Palmer, who takes great pride in his course and has hosted the Bay Hill event since 1979, sought to combat the recent onslaught on par brought on by better equipment and stronger players.
Three years ago, after the 2001 tournament, Palmer redesigned and rebuilt all 18 greens, with the idea being to make them firmer. Whether he wanted them as firm as they became is the subject of debate.
There are some telling numbers. The first-round scoring average of 74.49 was the highest of any non-major in 2003, and the 72.995 overall average was higher than the U.S. Open and Players Championship.
"I'll be watching it on TV, watching the guys struggle, and tipping back a beer," said Chris DiMarco, who is skipping the tournament even though he lives in Orlando. "Nobody wants to shoot 75 or 76, and that's what they are making you do."
Palmer admits he is stung by some of the criticism, and yet, in typical Arnie style, suggests that perhaps players ought to be a bit more manly. After all, at age 74, he is in the tournament for the 26th straight year and must suffer the same circumstances.
"Hard greens are a part of the tour," Palmer said. "That's the game. The way the boys hit the ball now, it's just too easy for them."
Palmer has never wanted to take the easy way. For years, he has bemoaned the use of carts and tame layouts on the senior tour. And he believes the golf ball goes too far, taking some of the skill factor out of the game.
As for Bay Hill, which he takes an active role in, Palmer said the intention was not to have the greens as firm as they became. Nonetheless, he also didn't want his cherished course relegated to a pitch-and-putt tract.
And it doesn't hurt that some of the best players in the world, including Woods, Ernie Els and Phil Mickelson, have won his tournament in recent years.
"Hey, if you play well, that solves everything," Mark O'Meara said. "If you're not playing well, then you've got to figure out a way to turn your game around and play a little bit better."
Woods has won when not always at his best. Last year he was suffering from food poisoning in the final round and became ill several times but won by 11 shots. Three years ago a final-hole tee shot was headed out of bounds but hit a spectator and stopped. From there, he knocked his approach on the green and made a birdie to defeat Mickelson by a stroke.
Although he lives just 5 miles away, Woods plays the course only during tournament week.
"This golf course sets up well to my eye," Woods said. "I don't feel uncomfortable on a lot of the shots. I'm very comfortable here. On top of that, I've won here five times, going back to my junior days. It just breeds confidence. The more you win, the more it breeds confidence."
