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I think it's pretty obvious that this course is a unique one. There's the course length that can measure almost 7,600 yards. There's the 1,000+ bunkers. All of the water hazards. The thing that strikes me the most is the green size. I just saw on Golf Channel that they average 7,500 square feet. This sounds just HUGE to me. I'm wondering what the average green size usually ranges at most courses.

Anyway, I'm really looking forward to seeing this course. I've seen a lot of shots but I can't get enough so I started this thread for us to discuss the different aspects that make this course "unique."

Average size greens are around 6,000-6,500 sq ft. Anything less than 5,000 sq ft would be considered small. I'm like you-can't wait to see more of this on TV. Blimp shots should be spectacular. The quote I've read from the pros could be summed up as a love-hate relationship - yes, it's great to look at, but I really don't want to play it!

Oh, okay. I guess 7,500 square feet compared to an average of 6,000 to 6,500 square feet isn't that much larger. Maybe it's just the course I played at last Friday. They had at least 5 greens that were peanut shaped and very small.

I think back to my first house I built on a 7,000 square foot lot which was 70' x 100'. Trying to imagine that as a green is huge to me.

Yes I have always been very interested in Whistilng Straits since i think it was the 1998 LPGA US Open at Blackwolf Run (whistling straits neighbor). I think WS was either a brand new course then or it was just being completed-well i dont know-but I was excited to know that a PGA tournament course was being built and heard it was being built off of Lake Michigan modeled after those courses they play in the British Open. Even though I only live 40 miles away from WS I've never had the oppurtunity to see it, though I have been in that area often. Finally on Saturday I will have the chance to see it and it will be the first time I have ever been to a professional golf event!

tdubbs, be sure to come back here and post a report of your experience at the PGA. From what I've seen, it will be a beautiful setting and you'll get to see all of the greatest players in the World. Any plans on playing the course after the tournament is over? I know it's pretty pricey there, huh?

I played at Bandon Dunes in Oregon about a year ago and strickly from the photos of both courses you could not tell which is which. If the winds blow scores are going to be VERY HIGH. I can not wait.

victory: Thanks for starting this thread; it forced me to go to Golf Magazine, Golf Digest, and GolfWorld to study up. Still need to check out some websites, such as this one:
http://www.golfweb.com/tournaments/pgachampionship
but for now, here are a few things that struck me about Whistling Straits:

Welcome to the NFL: First hole is a 491-yd par-4.
Repeat: Welcome to the NFL: Three longest par-4's in major-championship history: No. 8 is 507 yds, No 15 is 518 (240 to reach the fairway! hope the wind isn't in your face!), and No. 18 is only 500 (but at least it's uphill).
Tough par-3 toward the end: No. 17, 223 yds. Greenside bunkers on the left are 25' below the green. Got a 70° wedge?
Someone shot 67 here once: Terry Mauney, at the 1999 PGA Club Pro Championship. Course was set up shorter for that event.
Pete Dye thinks -8 to -10 will win: Depends on the wind, I'd say.
OK, so it's not completely natural: Dye and company moved in 13,126 truckloads of sand to make the place. And the "dunes" are made of relocated lakeshore clay. Well, at least the place looks as if it could be a naturally occurring land mass. Can't wait to see it.
Hey, we can all play it: Only $270. To play the Ocean Course at Kiawah (7 years ago, off season), I paid $165. Thought that was a lot. Supply and demand, I guess.

tdubbs: I envy you! Enjoy it. You might consider spending part of your time near No.'s 4 and 5 and No.'s 13 and 14 (the extreme ends of the course). Crowds might be thinner there, giving you a better look. Just a guess. Whatever you do, please report back to us!

greenguy: As always, your observations will be a huge contribution to this forum. So glad you're here!

Andlikeit: Nice to see ya. This place is kinda different from that other place, isn't it?

i just saw on the golf channel, one of the analyst were trying to see what differnet shots the pga tour players would be facing and sunk a 210 ft putt... yea thats right, 210 feet.. thats like 70 yards....
seems huge to me..maybe it was just that one green, but he had to almost make a half turn.. (his first try was like 80 ft short or somethign)..

The 18th green is huge - don't know the sq footage, but they may have been talking about that green. The rest of the greens vary, but most of the them would be in the above average category for size.

Yeah, that was Dave Pelz, the short game guru, illustrating the difficulty of putting on such huge greens. The first putt he hit ended up 50 feet short, so he blasted the second and the darn thing went in! They replayed that putt at least 10 times. Something else that he was trying to show was that a player on the front section of that 18th green could not putt his ball to the right or left sections because of the slope of the green that funnels balls to the middle, and because of the design that creates these "arms" that extend so far that you'd be putting over greenside rough to reach the hole. He mentioned that Phil is thinking about the possibility of chipping from that front position to pins on the sides if necessary.

This may be the only course in the world where you could wear yourself out just walking on the greens!

I was lucky enough to be chosen as a volunteer for the PGA Championship and was there Tuesday to walk the course for the first time, and all I can say is that the course and its views were amazing. I don't know if I'd like to play that course though, the walk alone is very physically demanding. It's even worse for those spectators who have to walk all the way from the parking lots in the surrounding farm fields. I'm lucky I get to be shuttled to the entrance. But It's still a long walk to the course its self. And once on the course there aren't many formal paths and the paths that are there are very tricky to navigate and can lead to alot of slipping and slidding.

Concerning the the size of the greens, from what i've seen that 18th hole is exceptinally large compared to the other greens. And will be a great finishing hole for the weekend. If the weather continues the trend it's been around here lately cold and windy the score could be be very high like +5 for the leader but I guarentee it should be very exciting neverless.

Sportsfan88, I hope that you will share some stories about the PGA with us.

I found your comments about the course and the challenges for the gallery very interesting.

This ain't no Buick Open, that's for sure!

I am very much looking forward to watching golfers of this caliber be challenged by a golf course. Sure, it was fun to see the pros look immortal at the Buick Open (with scores of like -23); but when they are battling for a major championship, I want them to have to pull out every trick in the book to stay in contention.

Let's here it for Whistling Straits!

A volunteer at a Major championship. What a job! I'll bet there's a lot of work involved that most of us TV viewers have no idea about. If you can find the time, and you're not to worn out from your volunteer duties, we'd like to hear about your experiences and your insights from the tournament. Please start your own PGA Volunteer thread if you decide to share your experience. That would make it easier for everyone to follow.