Jason Day called Muirfield Village Golf Club’s par-3 16 hole “a stupid one.” Jordan Spieth said it was “not great in the opinion of pretty much everyone who’s playing today.” And a caddie, when asked about changes made by course architect Jack Nicklaus to the hole, noted that “it was crap before and crap now.”
Shots fired
The PGA Tour’s Muirfield Village is one of Nicklaus’s most popular courses. It was built in the 1970s with Desmond Muirhead’s help. Tour pros are not known to publicly criticize a course design, but this is especially true at Jack’s Place where the tournament’s host has won more Majors than anyone else. This week, Nicklaus extended the hole by 220 yards after adding a new teebox.
“I don’t like the length of the 16th hole. Day stated that the hole should not be played at 220.
It was always a difficult par-3. In tournament history, it averaged 3.16 and was the third-most difficult hole. The back tee was used on Friday and measured 211 yards. It played to 3.347 – the hardest hole at Muirfield Village. Only eight birdies were made while the rest of the field struggled with 38 bogeys.
Nicklaus described the hole as “not playing like I wanted it to or how the Memorial field preferred” in the program for this year’s Memorial Tournament. The green was not holding shots, particularly on the left-hand side. The left side was pitching away from you. This should not have happened. We took eight inches out of the middle and added eight to the left. “Now, even though golfers use the same club, the green runs towards them instead of away from them. This holds shots better.”
Nicklaus, during his pre-tournament media conference on Tuesday elaborated on the tee boxes – he added an additional 20 yards to hole 17 .
It’s probably downhill, maybe 14, 15 feet. Nicklaus explained that although the yardage is not as long, it’s still a very intimidating shot. You can’t sit on a tee, look down and tell yourself, “That little postage-stamp is where I am going to try and hit it from here.” “Today, it’s the driver for me. But not for them.” They’ll probably have to go back to an 8-iron. It’s still pretty good.”
Jordan Spieth hits his shot on the fairway of the 13th hole at Muirfield Village Golf Club during the Memorial Tournament. Aaron Doster/USA TODAY Sports is required to credit the image.
Ask Spieth.
Spieth commented on Thursday, when only five birdies were made by the entire field at 16. You’re trying to just get a ball and a putter into your hand. It’s 203 yard adjusted into the wind, with a green that is firm and runs away on both sides. There is one shelf where you can put it.
Jon Rahm stated, “It is just a small goal.” “That’s it.”
Smylie Kaufman, a former Tour pro and NBC/Golf Channel expert, tweeted a snide at the hole. “Besides the 16 th the golf course rewards good shots and penalizes poor or just off shots.
Patrick Cantlay (a two-time Memorial champion) chose to call his 16th teeshot his best shot, even though it meant he had to scramble and chip for a par.
“Believe or not, I just hit a nice 6-iron at 16 that bounced off the green and landed pin-high. “But that was probably my best swing,” said he.
What did it look like from the air?
Cantlay stated, “It looked fantastic.”
Did you expect to have to put in that much effort to get a 3?
Cantlay replied, “No.”
The problem is that good shots don’t always get rewarded.
Could it be Nicklaus is listening to the groans and going back to the drawing boards yet again? We’ll just have to wait and watch.
