Tournament: BMW Championship – Crooked Stick GC, Carmel, IN
Hole: 8th – Par 4, 456 Yards
Architect(s): Pete and Alice Dye – 1964

Architectural Summary:

The 8th hole at Crooked Stick is a 456-yard dogleg left par four featuring a man-made lake protecting the entire left side. Accuracy will be paramount as the lake will be in play off the tee as well as on the approach. Competitors must decide whether to challenge the lake with their drive for a shorter second shot and a better angle into the green or play conservatively to the right side of the fairway. While many drives will likely be played to the right side of the fairway, a demanding 150-175 yard approach shot over water will be needed to the elevated green jutting into the lake. The kidney-shaped green measures 17 yards wide and 35 yards deep and is protected by a lone bunker to the right and the lake to the left and rear. Approach shots that are played away from the lake are likely to find the large greenside bunker. Pin positions throughout the tournament will alter competitor’s strategy as the green significantly slopes back-to-front on the front portion of the green, while the rear half which is closer to the lake is relatively flat. Overall, the hole will reward aggressive precision and par will be a good score.

Statistical Analysis:

When the BMW Championship was last played at Crooked Stick in 2012, the 8th played to a scoring average of 3.97 (1 Eagle, 57 Birdies, 182 Pars, 30 Bogeys, and 10 Doubles).

Fun Facts:

• Crooked Stick has previously hosted the 1991 PGA Championship, the 1993 U.S. Women’s Open, the 2005 Solheim Cup, the 2009 U.S. Senior Open, as well as the 2012 BMW Championship.
• Rory McIlroy won the 2012 BMW Championship at Crooked Stick with a score of -20. McIlroy managed one birdie and three pars on the 8th hole for the tournament.
• Crooked Stick was one of Pete Dye’s earliest designs and was heavily influenced by a 1963 trip that Pete and Alice Dye took to Scotland to tour many of the country’s famed courses.