Common themes from player interviews about the Oaks course at TPC San Antonio:
- Winds are common and will impact ball-striking.
- Run-off areas around the greens are similar to Augusta National. Tough Around the Green play.
- Challenging course: tough start with holes #1-4.
- Keeping the ball in play off the tee is paramount.
- Bunkers and hazards abound for those spraying wide with driver.
- Take advantage of the par-5s.
- Did you know Charley Hoffman loves this course?
- The rough doesn’t grow in thick this early in the year, very non-penal.
- Second-shot course.
- Must miss approaches in the proper spots with the tough pin positions.
- Pays not to force birdie looks.
- Greens tend to be firm even after it rains.
On the Wind and the Course in General
Kevin Chappell: It’s a good mixture on this golf course, a lot of holes run north/south. With the wind blowing out of the south today, you know, you had a good mixture of both. For me, I played enough rounds around here that I probably played every wind they have. So, you know, I look forward to the challenge. My game tends to rise in more difficult conditions so I look forward to that.
Charley Hoffman: There’s low scores out there, still going to make some putts in the right spots. historically, you’ve got to make birdies. If the wind doesn’t blow, guys can shoot 5, 6, 7 under on this golf course. If the wind blows, it’s a totally different story.
Matt Kuchar: I actually think it’s a wonderful spot just before the Masters. I think there’s nice topography out here, nice undulations, nice kind of change of elevation. You’ve got to drive the ball well here, and then the approach shots have some characteristics similar to Augusta with the elevation changes, with the runoffs, the collection areas. I think it’s a nice warm-up for next week’s Masters as well.
Jimmy Walker: A lot of guys like to show up and play a tough golf course. There are guys that enjoy coming and playing tough tracks where you don’t have to shoot 18, 25-under. We shot 9-under last year and won, something like that. It’s a tough track. The opening stretch here is pretty good. 1 through 4 you got to kind of have all your stuff together. You do have a par-5 in there but it’s really not too reachable by 90-some-odd percent of the field.
Anirban Lahiri: I’ve been here a few times. I know how hard this course can be. I think the key is basically to try and put yourself in the fairways as many times as possible. There’s some holes out there, depending on the wind, you know, a hole on any given day could be really, really difficult and the wind switches and the next day that’s the hole you have to make birdie on. It’s kind of how the golf course sets up. Try to take advantage of the par-5s and just try and stay as clean as you can, keep it in play. There’s a lot of trouble, so you have to navigate and execute.
Steven Bowditch: The golf course just doesn’t give you too much, there’s no let-up out there. Every hole you can make a birdie and hit a good shot. But every hole can also be a bogey or a double.
Kevin Stadler: Didn’t hit a ton of fairways, but didn’t miss wide, so I was kind of always in play out there. And honestly, this kind of course is more my favorite where you’re really just pretty much playing defensively. So there’s disaster out there all over the place. You’re just kind of playing for pars and take the birdies when they may present themselves.
On the Fairways and Driving OTT
Jordan Spieth: The golf course here is really challenging. It’s just a really difficult driving golf course. You can’t make many mistakes off the tee, you’ve got to be hitting fairways because it’s not just like bunkers on one side. A lot of holes you have that rocks and that brush off both sides of the fairway. So you’ve got to drive it straight in the wind. The trouble isn’t the hazard. You’re going in to try to find your ball or you’re walking up thinking you’re going to find it in a good spot. And then when it’s not in a good spot, well, now I don’t want to find it. You want to play it as a lost ball. So because it’s so challenging on both sides of the fairway, you will hit shots astray, which will happen tomorrow in the wind.
Charley Hoffman: You’ve got to shape tee shots. You’ve got to be in certain spots hitting iron shots into the green. I guess it just fits my eye and I really enjoy playing this golf course. You’ve got to hit right to left, left to right, and make a few putts, and I’ve been able to do that so far and throughout my career. Tee to green is very visual, shapes with the trees and it’s a tough driving golf course. I usually drive it pretty good and got to be accurate when you’re hitting in there. It gives you plenty of room out there but if you start hitting it unsolid you can find the native area very quickly and, if that happens, you’re just trying to get it back in play and hopefully have a putt for par or make a bogey and get out. No rough, no overseeding. Premium on driving isn’t quite as much. You can hit them in the rough and have a shot at the green.
Jimmy Walker: Driving the ball in the rough isn’t going to be a big deal this week, just because it’s not very long. You can get some pretty nice lies in the rough. So that’s just a South Texas thing right now this time of year. You still got to be precise. It’s got some tough tee shots.
Rickie Fowler: It’s fairly generous off the tee until you get some wind blowing out here, which I know it can, but it’s very much a second-shot golf course. There’s some tough but fun second shots out here.
Cameron Tringale: If you keep it in front of you on this golf course, I think you’ll have your chances. So just getting it in play, in position off the tee, and then I’ll be able to attack.
On Approaching the Greens
Kevin Chappell: Missing it in the right spots is the key. It was windy enough you had to really think about what shots you can take on and, if you did, getting the ball in the right place. I was fortunate to be chipping back into the wind a lot and that made it a lot easier.
Jordan Spieth: When the wind starts to blow it gets dicey in different places you miss around these greens. So you can feed balls into holes and make birdies, but if you miss the spots, you can get into some trouble. Tee to green it’s just a very fun challenge.
Anirban Lahiri: You need to leave yourself in the right positions on the greens. Given the pin positions and the wind, you’ve got to really have a good game plan as to which holes you can attack.
On the Short Game, Around the Greens, and Putting
Andrew Landry: You can get some pretty sketchy lies around those greens. Not sketchy as in it’s in bad shape, but sketchy as in the ball sits down and you’re having to hit some higher shots on some tight lies. All around the greens, it’s really tough. The winds kind of swirl all over the place.
Kevin Chappell: It’s such a difficult scrambling course because of the wind and how severe some of the runoffs are around the greens. It’s important to get the ball on the green when you can and not necessarily force a shot in there to try to get a birdie look because there’s not many out there.
Jimmy Walker: I still think the greens are going to stay relatively firm. They were still getting some nice bounces and release after the rain. The greens can be a little tricky to read. They’ve got some South Texas grain in them. It can play with you a little bit.
Steven Bowditch: The greens are so perfect to putt on, if you get your putter rolling, you might come from anywhere. Balls running off the green, the rough is sticky around the greens, it can be hard to get it up and down.
Featured Image Credit: PGA Tour