Talking About TPC River Highlands with Fox 61

I was interviewed last week by Bob Rumbold of Fox 61 television in Hartford and talked about the design intent that architect Bobby Weed had when laying out TPC River Highlands. The video, which ran on Sunday night, can be viewed here.

Bobby discussed some interesting concepts with me including half par holes. With those, he said, they play either slightly more difficult or slightly easier than the par of the hole. The drivable par-4 15th (shown here) at River Highlands, he considers having a par of 3 1/2, while the difficult par-3 fifth he also sees as having a par of 3 1/2.

Bobby is very much a fan of the classic style of golf course architecture, giving players alternate ways to play holes but rewarding the bold golfer who challenges hazards with an easier next shot. He said that those who hit away from the trouble, "defer the challenge to the next shot," where the next problem must then be dealt with by the player.