Inside the course: Bay Hill Club and Lodge

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Arnold Palmer's Bay Hill Club and Lodge is a popular stop on TOUR.

Mar. 23, 2009

The TOUR hits its next Florida stop this week for the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill Club and Lodge in Orlando, Fla. Learn more about this venue.

Fast facts

Course Superintendent	Matt Beaver
Original architect	Dick Wilson, Joe Lee (1961)
Redesign	Arnold Palmer (1989)
Par value	70
Number of TOUR events as host venue	31 (including 2009)
Course ranking	Ranked 18 (out of 54) in difficulty on the PGA TOUR in 2008
Yardage history	7,239 (present)
	7,157 (2008)
	7,137 (2007)
	7,267 (2005-2006)
	7,239 (2002-2004)
	7,208 (2000-2001)
	7,207 (1997-1999)
	7,196 (1996)
	7,114 (1990-1995)
	7,103 (1979-1989)
Grass	Bermudagrass overseeded with perennial ryegrass (Tees, fairways, rough); Bermudagrass overseeded with Poa trivialis (Greens)
Tournament Stimpmeter	10.5 ft
Sand bunkers	103
Water hazards	7
Course tour	Click here

Course record

Player
Andy Bean
Greg Norman

Year
1981
1984

Round
2nd
2nd

Finish
Won
T6

Holes-in-one

There have been 11 aces recorded at Bay Hill Club and Lodge

Player	Hole	Year
Pat Perez	2	2008
Marc Turnesa	7	2008
Dean Wilson	2	2007
Andrew Magee	2	2005
Steve Lowery	17	2000
Kenny Perry	14	1991
Fulton Allem	2	1990
Mark Lye	14	1990
Don Pooley	17	1987
Hal Sutton	17	1985
Hale Irwin	17	1983

2008 Rankings

Most Difficult Hole

	The par-4 460-yard 4th The fourth hole is a 460-yard par 4 infested with pesky hazards from tee to green. This hole was changed from a par 5 to a par 4 for the 2007 tournament. 2008: 0 eagles, 19 birdies, 235 pars, 90 bogeys, 10 double bogeys, 2 others.
Easiest hole
	The par-5 580-yard 12th Players can step on the gas at the 580-yard, par-5 12th. Even though the landing area for drives is hidden from the tee by an elevated bunker and a slight dogleg right, the lay-up shot sets up an approach with a wedge. The green is heavily protected by bunkers to thwart off any thought of running the second shot up. 2008: 5 eagles, 137 birdies, 216 pars, 22 bogeys, 2 double bogeys and 0 others.

Bay Hill Club and Lodge			2008 rankings		Last 25 years
Hole	Par	Yards	Avg. Score	Rank	Avg. Score	Rank
7	3	441	4.194	4	3.040	13
14	3	218	3.055	11	3.152	7
2	3	395	4.118	T6	3.190	6
17	3	460	4.319	1	3.222	4
13	4	384	4.016	13	3.897	16
10	4	558	4.817	17	4.015	15
5	4	197	3.008	14	4.015	14
3	4	459	4.06	9	4.050	12
11	4	467	4.118	T6	4.083	11
15	4	400	3.866	15	4.098	10
9	4	438	4.05	12	4.140	9
8	4	580	4.683	18	4.149	8
1	4	364	3.835	16	4.221	5
18	4	206	3.06	9	4.245	3
4	4	425	4.086	8	4.295	2
16	4	485	4.288	2	4.350	1
12	5	219	3.165	5	4.780	18
6	5	441	4.202	3	4.857	17

Course origins

The Bay Hill Club has hosted 26 annual PGA TOUR events. The club also hosted the 1991 U.S. Junior Amateur. Bay Hill is owned by Arnold Palmer, is among the five most enjoyed stops on the PGA TOUR and is rated in the top 100 courses in America.

The course has everything Palmer admires in a golf course: Wide open fairways that provide plenty of room to swing the driver, risk/reward options that will tempt the go-for-broke player and multiple rows of bunkers protecting spacious and well-defined greens.

The breathtaking course sweeps across 270 acres along the shores of the Butler Chain of Lakes. --Source: Golf Course Superintendents Assocation of America

Tournament course history

Course	Location	Years
Bay Hill Club and Lodge	Orlando, Fla.	1979-present
Rio Pinar Country Club	Orlando, Fla.	1966-1978

This week's Kodak Challenge hole

HOLE: The par-4, 411-yard 18th at Bay Hill Club and Lodge
LAST YEAR: The 16th played to a stroke average of 4.202, with players recording 0 eagles, 44 birdies, 253 pars, 59 bogeys and 2 double bogeys
DESCRIPTION: The finishing hole looks simple on paper. It's straight away to a wide fairway, but that's where simple ends. The large, kidney shaped green is fronted by rocks and water, requiring a longer carry to the right half. The bunkers left of the green await errant shorts of the hydrophobic.(Click here for Bay Hill tour)