THE WOODLANDS, Texas — If everything is bigger in Texas, the property here at The Club at Carlton Woods is no exception. Everything from the clubhouse to the buildout to the Inspiration Dome, an enormous golf-ball lookalike structure that houses, among other things, virtual reality golf, is oversized at the Chevron Championship’s new home.
Players report that the golf course feels big too, with the official yardage coming in at 6,824. It likely won’t play that long, however, as the week progresses and tees move up, but by accounts the Nicklaus Course will present a proper challenge, though nothing similar to what players faced for decades at Mission Hills Country club.
“I think just the way it makes you think,” said Georgia Hall. “You have to think a little bit more around this golf course … mostly on the greens. In Palm Springs, I thought it was quite simple to read the greens, no grain at all, but now we have the grain, I heard it’s going to be a little bit windy, as well, and a lot of factors come into play.”
Those who are familiar and confidant on Bermudagrass certainly hold the advantage.
Chevron: Photos
Here’s what several players had to say about the tour’s newest major home and how it compares to Dinah’s place:
Lydia Ko
“To be honest, I played a practice round on Saturday, and I had very — I thought I was going to run out of balls before my round ended. But I finished strong, and I’ve been playing a lot — I’ve been donating less balls to the golf course since then.
“Yeah, it has kind of like a U.S. Open/KPMG kind of golf course style, mixed, very different. I do like that I think they have like a second tee option on 18 to kind of bring that tall tree into play, which is kind of what we had to deal with on the 18th at Mission Hills to make it like a reachable par 5.”
Nelly Korda
“It’s a completely different layout. Water is way more in play this week I would say, completely different grass. This is a Bermudagrass. I don’t know exactly what the grass was in Palm Springs, but the rough isn’t as thick as it would be, let’s say, in Palm Springs. But it’s still a great golf course. You’re still going to have to play really well.
“I would say there’s more trouble off the tee and the greens are smaller, and if it gets firm, it’s going to play really tough because it is still long. But I can’t compare the two golf courses because they’re kind of so different.”
Stacy Lewis
“What it takes to win — I think it’s going to be great ballstriking. The greens are firm. They’re pretty small when you — the areas that you have to hit it to certain hole locations are pretty small, so you have to be pretty precise there.
“Then I think you could look to anyone that grew up playing on Bermudagrass, and the chipping and the surrounds, I think that’s going to be a big factor this week of just knowing how to play those shots around the greens.”
Jennifer Kupcho
“I think the biggest thing is probably the length of the golf course. It’s really long, I would say. In the desert we were hitting pretty short clubs in. All of the par 5s were reachable.
“Most of them are reachable out here, but I think we’re going to have a lot of long irons into the par 4s, and the greens are definitely a lot trickier versus in the desert they were pretty flat and pretty easy.”
Georgia Hall
“I think it’s a little bit longer than Palm Springs. Palm Springs was a little bit more pristine in the way it looks, but I think this is — I would say this is a better golf course.
“I think the greens are a little bit harder. The greens are very grainy, which is going to be quite tough, I think, to read the putts, and obviously I think a great closing hole, very similar to the one we’ve had previous years. I don’t know if anyone is going to jump in that lake, but we’ll see.”
Atthaya Thitikul
“I think it’s totally different than Mission Hills. I think they set it up pretty long, as well, this year, if they just stay at the original what they set up right now. I think the long hitters, it’s going to get advantage a little bit.
“Also the greens are pretty tricky and slopey, and you have to know where should your landing spot is.”
