Course setup always draws great intrigue ahead of tournaments and it is the length of the rough that is a point of focus ahead of this year's BMW PGA Championship.
With just two weeks to go until the Ryder Cup, all 12 playing members of Team Europe are at Wentworth Club's West Course.
In the lead up to this year's Ryder Cup, the thickness of the rough has at the Italian venue has been discussed.
But could the course setup at this week's fourth Rolex Series event serve as the ideal preparation to what is to come on the outskirts of Rome later this month?
Well, Rory McIlroy believes so.
"The course is in fantastic shape," said the four-time Major Champion in his pre-tournament press conference.
"The greens are pretty firm, I guess, after the good weather that we've had over the last couple weeks.
"Rough is pretty thick which is a good precursor to a couple weeks' time. So, overall, it's in fantastic shape."
Ahead of the 69th edition of the BMW PGA Championship, the DP World Tour caught up with a senior member of the greenkeeping team to provide an insight into their preparations for event week.
“We look at ourselves,” said Dan Clarke, Golf Courses Manager at Wentworth Club.
“We know how the golf course plays. We will drop a ball in and see how it sits.
“We made a decision early this week that we would move the rough from three and a half inches to four inches on our last cut.”
Seven of the top 20 players in the Official World Golf Ranking are in the star-studded field this week, with Clarke expecting them to face a testing examination and a premium put on finding the fairway off the tee.
“There are a lot of trees lining the golf course," he added. "The wind tends to swirl around.
"That combined with the thick rough and the firm greens will ensure we are in for an exciting event.”
The West Course is synonymous for its tree-lined fairways, with the prestigious Wentworth Club hosting for the 39th consecutive edition.
Up until 2019, the tournament was held in May, but it is now played in September on the DP World Tour calendar as many of the world’s best descend on the Surrey heathland course.
Since Alex Noren won the historic tournament with an 11 under par total in the first staging of the event after an extensive revamp to the course in 2017, the 72-hole winning total has hovered around 19 under.
Last year, Shane Lowry reached 17 under for his three rounds on his way to victory but could this year bring about a higher winning total?
