Plantation Course at Kapalua: A test of fitness for the field at Hyundai Tournament of Champions
The dreaded Plantation Course at Kapalua, the venue of this week’s Hyundai Tournament of Champions in Hawaii, is not only notoriously famous for its length but has some of the highest altitude gains on the PGA Tour.
Measuring a colossal 7,411 yards, par-73, Kapalua is coupled with some 800 feet of sudden ascents from tee to greens, which will test the cardiovascular systems of many of the sturdy players on the field.
The season-opener on the PGA Tour, Hyundai Tournament of Champions is usually studded with some of the top-ranked players on the tour who regularly come down to swing their clubs at the scenic course pitched in front of the emerald waters of the Pacific ocean.
Gary Woodland, one of the key players on the field this week, may be scared of the breathless hikes during the sessions but he admits that he would never miss the opportunity to play the event.
"I don't know if I'm ready for that," said Gary Woodland, who is making his debut here at the season-starter.
The course has been built on a mountain top which justifies the sudden drop and ascents in the height at different points, making it all the more difficult to formulate a shot strategy.
Adding salt to the misery are the high trade winds that lash the course during the early hours of the day, giving an impression of Links golf.
"Obviously, with the winds, it reminds me of Kansas," Woodland said. "I grew up in the wind, so to be on a golf course where I can hit driver all over the place ... I can let it go a little bit. And the par 5s are reachable. I'm pretty excited".
Webb Simpson, one of the successful players on the PGA Tour calendar last year, who also surged to the top of the FedEx Cup money list, stumbled on several surprises during the practice session just ahead of the tournament.
Playing alongside one of the best caddies in the business, Paul Tesori, Simpson threw in a ball on the par-four, 532 yard for the green from 104 yards to find it delectably sliding 60 yards on to the green, just missing the hole.
Tesori explained the reason why a new comer is not likely to win the event over the weekend and only the ones who have played here have a chance to surge to the top.
Steve Stricker, for instance, has played the event on five previous occasions and although he has not been successful in lifting the title on the weekend, he is still confident of his chances this time around.
"There is a lot of local knowledge here," said Stricker who lost in a playoff here to Daniel Chopra in 2008. "Sometimes yardage doesn't mean much here. You have to know the course and the wind".
The event is one of the only two events on PGA Tour calendar this year which will start on Friday and will conclude on Monday instead of the regular closings on Sundays.
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