Lonard gets sneak preview of USPGA's Oak Hill layout
IN: News | US PGA | US PGA Championship (2003) | General | by Bruce Young | 11 Aug 2003
Despite not playing last week in Colorado, Peter was not exactly idle. On Tuesday Peter left Orlando early and flew via Atlanta to Rochester in New York, in order that he could get an early look at the Oak Hill layout, venue for this week's PGA Championship.
"It was a bit of a marathon" said Peter on Sunday night referring to the long day. "I was really pleased I did it however and all things being equal I think I will continue to prepare for majors in this way." It allowed me to see the course in close to its tournament condition without the hype of tournament week and therefore I was able to absorb perhaps more than I would in a normal practice round."
"I was unable to play all eighteen holes as thunderstorms were threatening but it was great to get an early feel for what lies ahead. I played fifteen holes using an experienced local caddy who was able to offer his take on the course and its history."
"It is a very good golf course, although with a lot of rain in recent weeks, it was playing a lot longer but less fiery than I imagine the PGA would have liked. Still there was, at that time, a week before the event starts and if the course does dry out at all, then it is obvious that the fairways will become difficult to hit. The fairways were reasonable in terms of the size of the landing area, especially with it being soft but there is enough camber on them to suggest that there will be a premium on accuracy if the conditions get drier. The rough is seriously long and the greens are, in the main, quite small.
"I'm really looking forward to it and I'll be heading up there tomorrow (Monday afternoon US time) go to the course and probably hit a few putts late afternoon. I'll then play a practice round with Andre Stolz on Tuesday. Andre is having his first start in a USPGA event I think and we are both managed by the same management company so am looking forward to catching up with him again. I've continued to work this week on my game although it's been a couple of weeks since I have played an event (Irish Open) my game feels in good shape."
Source - www.peterlonard.com
