PGA Tour stars cant hide feelings about decline | Golf News

Brooks Koepka, Shane Lowry and Billy Horschel have all lamented adjustments made to PGA National in current years as the course hosts the Cognizant Classic.

The Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, course boasted a status as one of the most brutal assessments on the PGA Tour, significantly after Jack Nicklaus carried out a sequence of renovations, including the creation of the notorious “Bear Trap.” But the problem the course poses has waned since its Bermuda grass was overseeded with ryegrass.

The change was made to make the course more aesthetically interesting with more lush fairways, and although it has made the duty of taming PGA National simpler, many gamers consider the overseeding has detracted from the event’s identification.

The grumbles about the grass coincide with growing frustration over the decline of the event previously recognized as The Honda Classic, with none of the world’s top 25 concerned this week.

Eight-time PGA Tour winner Horschel closely criticized the adjustments last 12 months, and he aired his frustrations again on social media this week, arguing that course setups needs to be managed by the tour, quite than the golf equipment internet hosting tournaments. “One thing going forward that we need to do is make sure we have complete control of the setup of all Tour courses,” he said.

Koepka, making his third start on tour since quitting LIV Golf in December, summed up why the overseeding has had such a profound impact on scoring.

“Chipping around the greens has gotten a lot simpler,” the Palm Beach native said. “I positively assume that [scores] might be decrease just because of the overseed. I feel you noticed last 12 months with Jake, those scores are positively attainable. Not saying anyone goes to do it this 12 months. They very nicely might, but it is positively gotten simpler.

“It was always a little bit, not sketchy, but anybody that knows or lives down on the East Coast knows that Bermuda isn’t exactly the easiest thing to chip off of, especially when it’s been trampled down over plenty of days, and it’s a little grainy into.

“But now at least you may get under the ball and have good contact with it. It makes chipping a lot simpler.”

Lowry, who lives in nearby Jupiter, made clear that he is not a fan of the changes to the grass composition. He said: “It’s most likely going to play simpler, which I do not like. I’d favor to see it – look, I’m a member of a few programs down right here, and all Bermuda, and the golf programs this time of 12 months are unbelievable. The Bermuda golf programs down listed here are unbelievable.

“I feel like it’s going to look great on TV. It’s going to be lovely and green. It’s going to be amazing. But I probably would like to see a bit more of the old traditional setup. It is what it is this week, and you just have to deal with the cards you’re given.”