Steven Brown gives his insight into the West Course at Wentworth Golf Club, home to both the European Tour and the BMW PGA Championship.
There’s certainly positives and negatives,” says Brown.
“People think when it’s your home course you should do well but in a way it’s not my home course when we play this week in some ways. Tees are further back and the greens are so much faster, so a putt I’ve hit a thousand times all of a sudden the break is twice as much, which means you have to adjust.”
There’s also an added element of pressure and expectation attached, which Brown admits took him a little bit of time to adjust to.
“I definitely put extra pressure on myself the first time I played it,” said Brown, who made his debut in this tournament in 2018.
“I always wanted to play it, I’d always watched it as a junior, an amateur and then as a pro when I wasn’t getting into those events so it was a dream come true to play.
“I remember the first time I put so much pressure on myself that I made double down the first hole, and obviously I had a lot of expectation, and most of the crowd were people I knew. Last year it felt a lot more comfortable so I played better.”
The West Course has experienced several changes throughout the last decade, redesigned by Ernie Els in 2010 and later in 2017, which marked the very first Rolex Series event.
The changes were well received, and the course has developed into a challenge that Brown describes as a course where anyone has a chance – as long as they can find the fairway from the tee.
“It’s a tee shot course,” he said.
“If you can get it into the fairway you’re going to have some really good chances. That’s why over the years it’s not necessarily been a long or short hitter that has always won - it’s really just about who hits the fairway and can give themselves the best chances.”
Hole 1
It’s all about making par on the first hole, which is a par five for members.
The first is a great tee-shot hole because there are a lot of options, and you’ll see a lot of players either hit a driver to try to get down the hill and leave themselves a wedge in, or hit a there wood or iron off the tee to avoid getting stuck in the rough on the right hand side.
It’s a hole I always normally hit driver on because I do that when I play with mates, but the greens are normally firmer and I’ve seen a lot of players in that rough so this year I may lay up and take a longer club in.
Hole 2
The second is a beautiful par three, that from the back tee is usually around an eight iron. It’s not a long hole, but it can easily catch you out, and is another hole you’d happily take par on. The green isn’t massive but you need to carry it at least 5 yards on the green or it will roll back down the slope, so here the plan is just to drop it in the middle of the green to give yourself a chance.
Hole 3
The third is a really tough driving hole, and will play as one of the hardest holes on the course. There are bunkers up the right hand side which are difficult to reach the green from if you’re quite close to the lip and there’s heavy rough down the left, so there’s a premium on hitting the fairway. It’s such a demanding tee shot you can’t do anything but hit driver and leave a 6-7 iron, but if you miss the fairway it really brings bogey in, so you’d be happy with a par.
In all honesty if you gave guys the option of taking 4-3-4 on the first tee holes they’d walk straight to the fourth.
Hole 4
It’s the first good chance really if you get your tee shot away, and will play as one of the easiest holes of the week. Now that they’ve added a new back tee you need to hit a slight draw but it can land on a big downslope, which helps get you another 30 or 40 yards. That will leave a mid-iron into the green, which presents a good chance for an eagle or a birdie to kick on your round.
Hole 5
From the back tee this hole is a really strong par three now because they’ve added quite a bit of yardage over the years, and into the wind it can be a 4-iron or 3-iron into a green that slopes front left to back right.
In general the par threes at Wentworth can really catch you, so getting the distance right is the key, and if you aim towards the middle of the green you’re never far away. Wentworth isn’t really a course where you can shoot a really low score since the changes they’ve made so pars are never a bad thing, especially on the par threes.
Hole 6
The sixth is the start of a three-hole stretch of shorter par fours, but the tee shot is the key. It used to be an iron off the tee here but now most guys will take a three wood or a driver just to try and miss the fairway bunkers. If you do hit a good tee shot you’re going to have a few chances here with a short iron or wedge to the green.
Hole 7
Featuring a blind tee shot down to the flat of the fairway, the seventh is another short par four. It’s not driver off the tee here but instead an iron for position, which will give a short iron into a two-level green. If the pin is at the front there is a really good chance for birdie here because you can use the slope at the back, but it will be slightly harder if the pin is on the top part of the green.
Hole 8
The eighth is another par four, and it’s paramount to hit the fairway to give yourself a chance here. There’s water short and left of the green so a lot of guys will choose an iron for position off the tee again rather than a driver, and take a short to mid iron into the green.
Hole 9
The ninth is a straight hole but a pretty tough par four. There are some bunkers in play to avoid, and most will hit driver or three wood from the tee, and then a mid-iron into a slightly blind green which is guarded at the front by a bunker.
You can’t necessarily see where it lands on the green, and there’s a big slope to the right, so this hole is about aiming for the middle of the green, taking your four and walking on.
Hole 10
A lovely par three that’s difficulty is very dependent on where they put the pin. Left is dead here and the green is tight at the front and widens at the back, so when the pin is in the tougher position it doesn’t give you much room for error.
Hole 11
It’s just about missing the fairway bunkers that are in play to have a short iron in, so you can be quite aggressive here. If you do get in one of the four bunkers it can be tough to even get to the green because they have quite deep faces on them.
Hole 12
The 12th is a par five where there’s a lot of opportunity, and you really want to take advantage here as you’re about to go into a tough stretch of the course.
There’s a bunker down the right-hand side that you need to miss off the tee, but everyone in the field will be able to reach the green in two as long - as the wind isn’t strong. The green is quite raised and slopes from front to back, providing plenty of opportunity to get it close if the pin is at the back. Expect to see some good shots to this hole.
Hole 13
The 13th hole is a really strong par four.
Trees cut in on the left so you really need to be on the right half of the fairway to give yourself a straight shot into the green, or you could be blocked out by the trees. The second shot is slightly uphill and the green sits almost diagonally at you which makes it a tough approach shot, and a sloping green makes it hard to get it close. A par is good here.
Hole 14
The 14th is an uphill par three, and the hole they regularly use for the hole-in-one prize. It’s not necessarily a tough hole but it can still catch players out because it has a false front so if you are short it can roll all the way back.
There are almost four sections of this green and it feeds into them, so they tend to use those for the pin positions, and if you hit a really good shot it can get really close. You need to be quite aggressive here, because if you play safe and get the wrong side of the some of the slopes on 14 you can have a really tough putt.
Hole 15
The 15th is a really tough par four, and it probably plays as the hardest hole on the course.
There’s difficulty down the right and out of bounds and trees down the left, which leaves no margin for error off the tee. And even then, if you hit a good tee-shot and it’s not downwind, there is still a long way into a green which slopes right to left and is guarded by both bunkers.
The green is also tough for such a long hole, and while left of the green is better than right, there are plenty of good pin options they can use to tuck them away to make it difficult. If you make a pars on 13-15 you’ll be gaining on the field.
Hole 16
This hole has changed so much over the years, and it does feel like there are some chances for this one. It will be a long iron rather than a driver off the tee for most guys, which will leave a mid-iron in to the green. There’s bunkers down the right hand side that you’ve got to miss and it’s a bit sneaky if you do go down on the left you could be blocked out by the trees so its just about choosing a club that will get you in the fairway and then it’s a pretty flat green.
Hole 17
There is a big potential for eagle on the 17th depending on where they put the pin, and what tee they use.
Off the back tee this hole is two very big hits to get to the green, and a lot of the field won’t be able reach. There’s left out of bounds so most guys will send it down the right-hand side, try to get around the corner with their second and leave a wedge into a green that slopes off heavily on the right hand side.
There’s a really good pin position back left here, and if they play off the forward tee you will see guys reach the green with a bit of a draw and get it releasing up to the back. The miss here is short left, which will also leave a good chance at getting up and down for birdie.
Hole 18
The 18th is a really exciting par five now, especially since they flattened out the fairway a couple of years ago, and I think they’ve got the balance perfect now. I think what makes it such a good finishing hole is the disparity of scores that could happen without doing too much: You can make eagle but the water can also catch you out and you could make double.
Most guys will hit driver over the trees here and if they find the fairway will have anything from a 5-iron to a 5-wood into a green that sits at a slight angle with the water short and a bunker on the right. Staying away from the water is the key here, but last year Ross Fisher made a two on this hole with a four iron so there’s a great chance to score here. It’s definitely one where you’d want to be coming down the last with a two-shot lead, but if you are one behind or something, you still have a chance. A lot of people would say its one of the best finishing holes on the courses that we play.
