But now it’s two weeks before the first day of summer and the Korn Ferry Tour is back in Ponte Vedra Beach for the first time in nearly five years.
What will hot weather golf be like for the 156 players who will begin preparing on Monday for the Korn Ferry Challenge at TPC Sawgrass, at Dye’s Valley?
Like much about golf in Florida, it depends on what Mother Nature decides.
Dye’s Valley may be as difficult as the players make it when the first round begins on Thursday.
Between 2010 and 2015, when the Korn Ferry Tour had fall tournaments at the Valley (the former Winn-Dixie Jacksonville Open and the Korn Ferry Tour Championship), high rough, narrow fairways, firm greens and dry, windy weather resulted in winning scores that were as high as 6-under, and no lower than 14-under, with an average of 10-under.
But lighter wind and recent rain that have softened the playing surface could make it play a bit easier for those who hit the fairways, setting up relatively easy darts into greens that don’t have the undulation of the sister course on the other side of the property, the Stadium.
If the field has some rust to scrape off — and the last time the players experienced competitive golf was three months ago — it might result in missed fairways into some thick, tangled wet rough, making approach shots decidedly more difficult.
TPC Sawgrass director of agronomy Jeff Plotts said there’s not much he and his staff can do to toughen it up, especially if there is more rain prior to the first round — which is in the forecast.
“It was playing very firm up until last week,” he said. “Then we had some rain, got more humidity and it’s playing longer. That isn’t a problem for these Korn Ferry guys. They hit it so far and they’re always going full throttle. The guys who keep it in the fairway will have some great chances to score.”
Plotts said rules officials have told him to cut the rough at about 2 inches for the first round, then stow the mowers except for the fairways and greens. If there is rain after the first round, the rough will grow quickly and the weekend field will find it very hard to gouge shots out of the high grass and onto the greens.
Speaking of the putting surfaces, he said the plan is to get them rolling about 12 in the Stimpmeter, which is moderately fast. But the Valley course has relatively flat greens and players at this level don’t mind speedy putts when there isn’t much undulation.
Since Dye’s Valley doesn’t have the Precision Air system under the greens, they’re even further at the mercy of the weather.
Between Jan. 1 and May 23, Plotts said the course had 5.8 inches of rain. Since then, it’s sustained nearly 4 inches.
The only hope for some drying out is the days are getting as long as they get all year, and there will be more hours of sunshine to dry it out — provided there is some sunshine.
“They’re going to be throwing darts in there,” Plotts said.
The course will play to a par of 70, with Nos. 8 and 17, which are par-5s for resort play, converted to long par-4s. Even taking two reachable par-5s away from the players might not matter.
“I talked to a few of the local guys and no one is hitting more than a 7-iron into No. 17,” Plotts said.
Imagine how the players would be chopping up that hole as a par-5.
Plotts said he’s come to expect the unexpected this year when it comes to weather. March and early April were hotter than normal, and May cooler than usual, with a few nights when the temperatures flirted with the high-40s.
The extended forecast calls for temperatures in the low-to-mid 80s, with the rain chance between 30-40 percent on the days of competitive rounds.
“Not much in 2020 has been normal,” Plotts said with a touch of irony. “The guys might have a level of rust but they’re going to have some pent-up energy. Ten-under was a good score here in the fall and it might be pretty good next week.”
The other characteristic of Korn Ferry Tour events at the Valley course has been close decisions. Five of the six tournaments played at the Valley between 2010-2015 were decided by one shot or in a playoff.
The only margin greater than that was a two-shot victory for Chesson Hadley in 2013.
