Back Nine Blog

We are now officially less than a month out from the release of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 (and what a long month it is going to be).  Within this next month, we’ll start to get in hands on reports and more extensive details leading up to the August 26th release date.  Please enjoy the blog from Tiger 09 Producer Travis Sailer by hitting the jump.

Greetings everyone, my name is Travis Sailer and I was one of the Producers who worked on Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® 09.  Every year new courses and players are added to the game to give the users a fresh feel to go along with the new features.  This year was especially huge on the courses side, as Scott Malo touched on, with the revamping of all the old courses making them look better than ever.  On top of that we added five new courses this year that are sure to not only catch your eye but be a challenging and fun experience to play.  One of the things the production team does is pay attention to the forums and we do our best to listen to the users and adhere to their requests and suggestions when possible and one of the things we heard was the community’s desire to play unique and exotic locations. I’ll try my best to give you a brief description and history of each new course.

Going alphabetical, let’s start with the prestigious Bay Hill Club & Lodge.  This course is located right in our backyard in sunny Orlando, Florida.  Bay Hill is one of the most popular courses on the PGA TOUR®, playing host to the Arnold Palmer Invitational every year.  It’s also the King’s course, where Arnold Palmer lives and plays.  Open only to Club members and guests staying at the Bay Hill Club & Lodge, and now you, this breathtaking course sweeps across 270 acres along the shores of the Butler Chain of Lakes.

Originally, the Bay Hill Club & Lodge was the vision of a group of investors from Nashville, Tennessee, who in 1960 sought to develop a private retreat at which to enjoy their favorite pastime.  Thirteen months after the original conception, Bay Hill’s championship 18 holes opened for play.  And after being invited to play an exhibition match in 1965 with Jack Nicklaus, Don Cherry and Dave Ragan, Arnold Palmer fell in love with the course.  And then in 1976, Palmer purchased the Bay Hill Club & Lodge and it has been the winter home of the Palmer family ever since and host to one of the most exciting and illustrious events on the PGA TOUR®.  We’ve set it up like the tournament does, playing to a Par 70 at 7,114 yards from the back tees.  It’s sure to challenge your game and if you do have a good round going when you come to the 18^th be sure to find the green with your approach.

The next course is one of the exotic tracks I mentioned earlier.  Gary Player Country Club can be found in Sun City, South Africa.  This course is almost thirty years old and yet it remains the course against which all others are measured and is consistently ranked as the best by leading golf publications in South Africa.  Pretty remarkable considering South Africa was voted the number one golfing destination in the world, a true reflection of the high standard of courses throughout the country.  Home to the Nedbank Golf Challenge for more than 20 years and the Women’s World Cup of Golf, Gary Player Country Club is one of the most difficult and demanding courses in southern Africa.

The course uses kikuyu grass on the tees, fairways and semi roughs, like most South African golfing links.  It plays to 7,162 yards from the back tees and the Par 72 track leaves no room for complacency as the comparatively flat nature of the course can be misleading.  Making up for the lack of gradient are cunningly sited bunkers, pins hidden on kidney shaped greens and water hazards.  Visually, the course looks amazing and is a real joy to play.

Now we head to the Far East, China, home of Sheshan International Golf Club.  Sheshan International is most noted for hosting the European TOUR’s opening event, the HSBC Champions of which Phil Mickelson is the current defending champion.  Pretty fresh, the course opened in October 2004 and was designed by Neil Haworth.  The natural forestation was integrated into the course design.  10,000 trees and natural foliage were preserved providing a very pleasing experience to the eye.  Two 1000 year old ginko trees grace the 4^th hole.  16 million cubic meters of dirt was moved to create elevation, bunkers and valleys.

This majestic course plays to a Par 72 with a length of 7,195 yards.  And the natural beauty and rolling hills make it both a spectacular and intimidating golf course.  The most noticeable holes are the 16^th and 17^th, which play over a water filled, rare quarry, which is very much in play on the 16^th for those players opting to go for the green on the short par 4.

And then the risk/reward par 5, 18^th is sure to provide some drama with water sweeping along the entire right side of the hole and then surrounding the front and right of the green.  Try not to lose focus as you marvel at its beauty and see if you can stay dry.

Wow, that’s a lot of information to digest; maybe we should stick to three courses for now.  Check back next week, I’ll have more on the other two courses, hailing from London, England and Mesquite, Nevada.

- Travis Sailer