After a scintillating PGA Championship that saw Xander Schauffele finally win his first career major, the Tour heads south to Texas for the Charles Schwab Challenge played at the legendary Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth.
Though the event’s name has changed numerous times, Colonial CC has hosted this tournament since 1946, making it the longest-running event on the PGA Tour held at the same location. From its beginning, the tournament has seen the most illustrious names in golf among its champions, including Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino, and Tom Watson. Colonial is one of those rare gems that has stood the test of time, challenging the world’s best golfers year after year.
While Colonial’s storied past speaks for itself, much has changed since it hosted the 2023 Charles Schwab Challenge. The course that Marvin Leonard opened in 1936 has undergone an extensive makeover as renowned architects Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner embarked on the most significant renovation project in its history. The goal was to modernize the course in different ways and restore it as much as possible back to its original form. Hanse says the objective is getting the course back to something that looks as if it’s “been there forever.” “It will still be the revered Colonial course we are all familiar with seeing and playing, but the Hanse work will improve, update, and maximize the legendary course and routing”, said Colonial’s general manager Frank Cordeiro.
Colonial CC is a challenging tree-lined shot-makers course with tight fairways, numerous doglegs, and small greens. It is perhaps the PGA Tour’s quintessential positional course that places a premium on accuracy off the tee and on approach. Ball-strikers with past success on “less than driver” courses, who can be creative and shape their shots, and spike with the putter on the bentgrass greens will have an advantage. Jordan Spieth, perhaps, summed up Colonial best by saying, “Fit it into tight windows, hit fairways, and control the ball on the green.”
With an average winning score of 13-under over the last dozen years, the list of recent past champions here is full of quality ball-strikers who can roll the rock including Daniel Berger, Kevin Na, Justin Rose, Jordan Spieth, Chris Kirk, and Zach Johnson. Two of the last three winners, Sam Burns and Jason Kokrak took a more aggressive route off the tee by hitting driver at a 72% clip as compared to the field average of 58%. One thing both have in common with the previous group – both were among the best putters on Tour. While last year’s winner, Emiliano Grillo only hit driver 46% of the time, he followed the same approach-putting combination, gaining 4.7 strokes on approach and ranking second on the greens gaining 7.4 strokes with his flatstick.
The Field
The week after a major notwithstanding, along with the fact that it is not a “Signature” event, there is a sneaky-strong field at this week’s edition of the Charles Schwab Challenge with 11 of the top 30 golfers in the Official World Golf Rankings in attendance.
Fresh off a stint in a Louisville jail cell, the field is headlined by world No. 1 and local Dallas resident Scottie Scheffler. Colonial’s most consistent contender, and another local, Jordan Spieth returns for the 12th consecutive year where he has ten top-14 finishes, including a win in 2016. Max Homa, Brian Harman, Tony Finau, Collin Morikawa, Sungjae Im, and Keegan Bradley round out the list of elite players teeing it up this week. Other past champions in the field are Emiliano Grillo, Daniel Berger, Adam Scott, Justin Rose, Kevin Kisner, Zach Johnson, Chris Kirk, and Rory Sabbatini.
With the Charles Schwab Challenge being an invitational event, there will only be 132 players in the field with the top-65 and ties making it through the cut-line. One of the storylines to follow is how golfers perform this week who were either in contention or who struggled at last week’s PGA Championship.
Colonial Country Club – History
Located on the south bank of the Clear Fork of the Trinity River and just to the northwest of Texas Christian University sits Colonial Country Club. Founded in 1936 by Marvin Leonard, it was created out of his stubborn resolve to prove the naysayers wrong regarding the successful establishment of bentgrass greens in Texas.
Leonard convinced two visionaries in the golf architecture world, John Bredemus and Perry Maxwell to assist and help design the layout of the course. Bredemus drew up much of the original plan with Maxwell coming in after to improve the course by adjusting the routing of the holes. Maxwell specifically focused on toughening up holes 3-5 which today make up the “Horrible Horseshoe”.
When the course opened in 1936 it was quite similar to other layouts built during the same period. Narrow tree-lined fairways and tiny greens were the norm. And yes, Leonard defied the odds as Colonial sported the first bentgrass greens in Texas.
Though unspectacular in many ways, throughout the years, Colonial has become the most iconic course in Texas. It hosted the U.S. Open in 1941 and became a mainstay as an annual Tour event starting in 1946. It was nicknamed “Hogan’s Alley” because of Ben Hogan winning five different times here on his home course.
The course was partially renovated in 2008 by Keith Foster. However, many people believe that his work did not restore enough of the original Maxwell design. So as soon as the last putt dropped in the 2023 tournament, Gil Hanse and his team started their restoration of the entire course to return it to its past glory. What is typically an 18-month project was completed in 11 months just in time for this year’s tournament.
From a broad perspective, the project addressed every aspect of the course infrastructure, including a state-of-the-art irrigation system as well as new bunkers, tees, and greens. Many trees and bunkers were removed. Colonial’s abundance of trees had often made it seem like “a dark golf course”, Hanse said. ” It felt as if you were hitting into these dark corridors. Greens were shrouded in the trees.” In their place will be more rough, light enough for amateurs but thickened during tournament week. Just about every green will be lowered and “more receptive as targets.”
Most greens have been lowered, and some have shifted slightly back or to either side a few yards. Also, “barrancas” were incorporated throughout the course. A barranca is a normally dry streambed that channels water during periods of heavy rain. The new barrancas will be seen on holes 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 15, 16, 17, and 18 ― making the most of the existing, natural drainage channels on the property.
The biggest changes will be to holes eight and 13, both par 3s. “The par three eighth hole was shifted left into more of a north-to-south orientation, in somewhat of a mirror image of the original hole, with a creek on the left side rather than a river on the right,” a release notes. “The 13th green also moved back and left, with bunkers added in front of the hole.” Hanse called the changes on those holes “dramatic.”
The fairway on No. 5 was leveled on the left side. Trees were removed on the right side so players will now be able to watch errant tee shots fly into the Trinity River. In the past, it was difficult to even know the Trinity was over there.
“I was a little nervous at the beginning because of how great Colonial is,” says Ryan Palmer, a PGA player and member who lives in nearby Colleyville. “It always stands up to the professionals. I was real skeptical.” Like Palmer, PGA Tour players were concerned when first hearing about plans for the renovation. “Don’t screw up Colonial” was a common theme.
Hanse, though, asked Palmer and his former caddie, James Edmonson, a member of Colonial and club champion on more than one occasion, to be part of the process. Palmer consulted from a professional viewpoint, and Edmondson gave perspective as an amateur, walking each hole with Hanse and sitting for hours-long lunches going over every hole.
“I was shocked and impressed by how much Gil listened to us and took our advice,” Palmer says. “That said a lot about him and gave me more confidence in him and what the plan is. I think it’s going to be magnificent.”
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Finish Position and Strokes Gained Course History (2015-2023)
This includes the average finish position and Strokes Gained per round since 2015 for each of the categories. Players are sorted by SG: Total. Keep in mind that Colonial CC underwent a complete renovation and will not play as predictable as it has in past years.
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Course Features
*Much of this is based on the previous version of Colonial Country Club. Updates will be made based on new information and data on how the course plays this year from the renovation.
Colonial Country Club is a par 70 course that measures 7,289 yards. It is an above average-length classical course that has tree-lined fairways, numerous doglegs, and small green complexes. Cut through pecan, walnut, and oak trees, the course features very little sloping and elevation changes. Similar to a Donald Ross design, the routing of the course is very creative as players will tee off in a different direction after each hole. When the Texas winds start to blow, this can cause some challenging decisions on tee shots.
Colonial has a mixture of Bermudagrass fairways and rough along with pure Bentgrass greens. The rough will be grown at 2.5″ to start the week but could thicken up beyond 3″ by the weekend. And because it’s Bermuda, it will present trouble for players who spray it off the tee. As a perennial contender at Colonial, Justin Rose noted that the Bermuda rough is quite unpredictable. “It’s the type of rough here where you catch a lot of fliers, and the greens are small and tricky. So catching fliers into these greens you’ll make a lot of bogeys. I think the rough is tough enough around here if you catch a bad lie it’s hard to get it to the green.” The greens typically run around 12 on the stimpmeter to start the tournament and then are cut lower to a more speedy 13 by Sunday.
Colonial is one of the toughest courses to make birdies on Tour, and because it cannot be overpowered, continues to challenge golfers year after year. It has the third-smallest average landing zones when combining fairway width (27.5 yards) and green size (5,000 square feet).
Jhonattan Vegas summed up Colonial by saying, “This course is all about precision. There is nothing about power around this place. You can drive to the wrong side of the fairway, and still not have a clear shot to some of these holes. It’s about thinking your way around this place. Obviously, all the past winners are guys that are able to do that really well.”
Over the last five years, it has averaged 0.42 strokes over par which makes it the 10th toughest course on Tour. Thanks to only two par-5s, Colonial sees one of the lowest amount of eagles on Tour and the third-highest rate of pars. With the lack of many “birdie” holes, boring golf tends to win here. A lack of recent precipitation combined with forecasted hot temperatures and high winds should allow for firm and fast conditions.
One of the biggest changes to the course is the reduction in bunkers from 84 to 64. Taking down many trees also brings the Trinity River into play on a couple of extra holes. Along with the small greens and thick rough, high winds can also help to keep scores down. This was the case in each of the past two years when Emiliano Grillo and Sam Burns each won with single-digit scores as winds gusted 20-35 mph for multiple rounds each year.
Hole Preview
Overall, the course provides a good mix of difficult holes and birdie opportunities. Being a par-70 track, the 12 par-4 holes rule the day at Colonial. Five of them are between the 350-410 yard range while four others are between 410-450 yards.
The four par-3 are each over 190 yards and rate among the toughest on Tour. They hold the lowest combined birdie rate at only 14% with the 247-yard 4th hole sitting at only 8% with a bogey-or-worse rate of 21%.
Most players will get off to a good start as the first hole is a 581-yard par-5 which is the easiest hole on the course. It is easy to reach in two shots and has a birdie or better rate at 47%. The second par-5 (hole 11) is far from easy as it’s a 639-yard beast that is difficult to reach in two and has a much smaller 29% birdie or better rate.
After starting with the two easiest holes of the course, things quickly toughen up as the most famous section of the course is holes 3-5, known as the “Horrible Horseshoe”. The three holes wrap around Colonial’s practice range to form a horseshoe shape. They are the three toughest holes at Colonial both mentally and scoring-wise. Since 2003, they are the second most difficult three-hole stretch on Tour and play a combined 0.49 shots over par.
Strokes Gained Analysis
Off the Tee
Ben Hogan once said that a “straight ball will get you in more trouble at Colonial than any course I know.” With so many holes twisting in different directions, players who can shape the ball both ways off the tee will be rewarded. With a majority of the doglegs turning right to left, golfers who draw the ball will have an edge this week. Said 2015 champion, Chris Kirk a couple of years ago, “It’s been a course that’s suited guys who hit the ball right to left over the years…and I definitely fit into that category.”
Overall, Colonial is the fifth toughest course on Tour to gain strokes off the tee. And because it also has the 4th narrowest fairways at an average of only 27.5 yards wide, it can’t be overpowered.
Due to the heavy volume of trees lining the fairways, along with the unpredictable 3″ Bermuda rough, it becomes a positional-based course where most players will club down off the tee and take less than driver. Distance off the tee is seven yards lower here than the average course. Those who find the rough or try to cut across the doglegs and fail will have to deal with plenty of tree-blocked approach shots. Fairway-finders playing “target golf” rule the day here at Colonial. Speaking about being accurate off the tee, Adam Scott remarked, “You can’t be wild around this golf course. You have to really hit the fairway this week. There’s a premium on that.”
All that being said, it is important to note that some of the “bomber” types like Sam Burns and Jason Kokrak have demonstrated over the last couple of years that lines can be taken over the doglegs which allows for the longer hitters to hit over the top of the trees. While few winners over the last decade have ranked highly for the week off the tee, the 2021 winner, Kokrak, let the field OTT with 6.2 strokes gained.
Approach
With tight fairways and tiny greens, Colonial is a course that will test a player’s ball-striking skills. With the fifth-smallest greens on Tour and the fifth most penal rough, there is a high emphasis on strong approach play with short to medium irons. Last year, 56% of approach shots were hit from the 100-175 yard range. 13 of the last 16 winners ranked inside the top 10 for GIR% and 12 of those 13 ranked inside the top seven.
The most important component to success at Colonial is simply hitting greens in regulation. Last year, it ranked as the ninth toughest course in which to gain strokes on approach. Players ranking high in Good Drive % combined with past approach performance on other small greens have a great chance to contend this week.
Around the Green and Putting
With a below-average GIR rate at 62.8% on these small greens, all players will get plenty of practice grinding out pars. Though sand saves and scrambling are easier here (ninth easiest to gain strokes on Tour), it is still a huge positive to be proficient around the greens. Many past winners have been among the best short-game players in the world. This includes the likes of Daniel Berger, Kevin Na, Jordan Spieth, and Kevin Kisner. With many of the greens being lowered, it remains to be seen how differently the course will play in that area this year.
In addition to the winners usually ranking high for both GIR and Scrambling, many are excellent putters who typically get hot on the greens this week. Putting is easier by a good margin on these smooth Bentgrass greens. 18 of the last 20 winners have ranked 17th or better on the PGA Tour in putting average in the year of their victory. Though Maxwell was known for his severely undulated greens, the contours and sloping at Colonial are some of the most basic that he constructed.
Most Important Stats For Success at the Charles Schwab Challenge
*In order of importance
- SG: APP
- Distance From Edge of Fairway (DFEF)
- Good Drive %
- SG: Par 4
- Proximity 100-175 yds
- Bogey Avoidance
- SG: Less Than Driver Courses
- SG: Putting (Bentgrass)
- Scrambling
- Birdie or Better %
Key Rabbit Hole Filters
- Course Region: Texas
- Scoring Conditions: Difficult
- Course Length: Long
- Greens Surface: Bent
- Green Speed: Fast
- Green Size: Small
- Rough Surface: Bermuda
- Rough Penalty: High
- OTT Club: Less Than Driver
- Fairway Accuracy: Difficult
- Gain OTT: Very Difficult
Weather Forecast – Fort Worth, Texas
