Renovations make TPC Boston’s 12th new challenge
As the PGA Tour returns to TPC Boston this weekend for the Dell Technologies Championship, players will have to contend with new looks at the 12th and 13th holes, thanks to renovations by Gil Hanse and Brad Faxon to Arnold Palmer’s original design.
The changes made at No. 12 are dramatic, as the fairway now is split-level with new bunkers, and the green has been pushed back about 70 yards away from the hazard that guarded the front-right portion. The par 4 played 461 yards last year but will measure 510 yards this time around.
“The wind direction is really going to determine how difficult it plays,” TPC Boston head professional Mark Nowosielski said. “I think for the tour professional, a lot of them will be able to hit the generous fairway. The difficulty is going to come in the second shot. It’s generally going to be a lot longer than what they’re used to on the 12th hole.”
The most common line off the tee will be over the new fairway bunker on the left that requires about a 245-yard carry. This will leave an elevated approach anywhere from 185-210 yards to a green that is about 30 yards deep and 20 yards wide, with its only defense a large bunker in the front-right.
“The majority of players will hit driver off the tee, but I do think some of the longer players will hit 3-wood to carry the bunker and leave themselves a good yardage into the green,” Nowosielski said.
The farther right players go off the tee, the longer their second shot becomes. A new “principal’s nose” bunker was built in the middle of the fairway at the end of the landing zone before the drop to the lower tier of the fairway.
Those who find the bunker in the middle of the fairway will look to blast out and find short grass to the left of the hazard and try to get up and down from there to save par.