Newtown Square, Pa. – The best place to watch golf Aronimink for this week’s PGA Championship? It may not be on the property at all.
Instead, it could be from the backyard of a well-appointed home that borders the 13th green, where the neighbors built a large platform, setting up a perfect vantage point from which to watch the action.
On Wednesday, as the players completed their final pre-tournament preparations, so did the platform builders, preparing the structure for four days of front-row viewing.
However, good news for those of us not invited to the Platform Party: No. 13 may still be the most interesting hour of the week without an invitation on N. Newtown Street Rd. That’s because the short par-4 begs an interesting question off the tee – lay up or push it to the green? – that players are responding in different ways.
During Wednesday’s practice round, No. 13 played into the wind, which meant taller players could get the tee from 385 yards. But a wind breaker on Thursday meant a trickier decision: try to cover the bunkers or lay back, leaving a mid-to-long iron?
Players were clearly confused by the wind, bunkering and the issue of club selection, which led to much scattering off the tee on Thursday and understandable uncertainty. With no clear way to solve the puzzle, the 365-yard par-4, the shortest on the property, played almost exactly par.
;)
ShotLink
No. 13 will have different twists throughout the week, with the wind and hole location dictating different strategies. But on at least one day — possibly during Saturday’s third round — tournament organizers are expected to move the ball about 50 yards, turning the hole into a truly driveable par-4.
;)
ESPN
In a way, no. 13 is an outlier; it is the only accessible par-4 on the property and the only one under 400 yards. But in other ways it typifies Aronimink’s test: you can get aggressive off the top, but you’ll pay the price if you miss the fairway – and the real defense comes around the slippery, multi-tiered undulating green, which has some pin positions that can make these guys shudder.
And provide plenty of good viewing for those in the backyard next door — or those on your couch at home.
