2022 Arnold Palmer Invitational: The Complete Bay Hill Guide
By Matt Hupfer
Bay Hill Club and Lodge is the host this week as it has been since 1979. The private club, just 25 minutes southwest of Orlando, opened in 1961. In 1965, the same year that Walt Disney purchased 27,000 acres of land nearby, Arnold Palmer won a charity exhibition here. He loved everything about the course, especially the privacy, so he bought it in 1975.
He convinced the Tour to hold an annual tournament here in 1979 and the rest is history. The par-72 course was designed by Dick Wilson and measures 7,466 yards with Bermuda grass fairways and greens. Bay Hill was the first golf course planted with Tifway Bermuda grass.
At nearly 7,500 yards, this is one of the longest courses on tour. The fairways are narrow and the rough is a few inches thick, so Bay Hill tends to play even longer than the number on the card. Most of the approaches last year came from about 160 yards out with just under half coming from further than 200. Therefore, length is advantageous this week.
On average the greens run at about 12.5 on the stimpmeter but can run faster if conditions dry up. Scoring on this course is highly dependent on the wind. Tyrrell Hatton won this tournament in tough conditions in 2020 at -4, but Matt Every won in 2015 at -19.
Players need to be accurate tee-to-green because this course has water in play on half of the holes.
Bay Hill is rough around the edges but gentle on the inside. The first and last two holes are four of the hardest five holes on the track. The four par 5s play the easiest on the course so players need to take advantage of them. The only other holes that played ever so slightly under par were the 10th and 14th. Players would gladly take par on the other 12 holes.
The most intriguing hole is the par-4 18th. The large, kidney-shaped green is protected by water and rocks, calling for a longer carry to the right-half, where the pin is located on Sunday. This pin location on Sunday is brutal and the approach is one of the hardest the pros will face all season. Many players will miss the green long and left and those who make it just onto the front will face an over 100-foot left-to-right breaking putt. The finishing hole would have played closer to par the last two years on Sunday if it was a par 5. If you need birdie on 18 to tie, you’re likely finishing second. If you need birdie on 18 to win, this is likely going to a playoff. Unless, of course, you’re Tiger Woods.
The par-5 6th hole has one of the more entertaining tee shots on tour. On the card, this is a 555-yard hole but the fairway curls around the lake. The carry from the tee box to the green is only around 360 yards. Bryson pulled out and that’s unfortunate because he’s probably the only player on tour who would consider going for the green. He’d have trouble holding it but downwind he has the firepower to get it there. Rory McIlroy, the second-longest driver in the field last year, put two in the drink on Sunday trying to cut the corner. Seeing the lines players take on this hole is always interesting.