A host of new challenges will confront Europe’s finest golfers when they tee up on the West Course at Wentworth Club for the 1999 Volvo PGA Championship.
Over the past 12 months a number of changes have been made to the course, toughening what is already one of the most examining courses on the European Tour.
The first change players will notice is simply the view from the first tee with the completion of the Driving Range and Tennis and Health Club. The old Pro Shop has been demolished and the area around the putting green landscaped.
On the course itself the first notable alteration has been on third where the round drainage ditch has been piped and crowds can now walk up both sides of the fairway.
On the sixth bunkers have been re-shaped while on the eighth another ditch, this time at driving distance, has been piped. New tees have been built and a bunker re-shaped on the ninth.
The tenth hole is 22 yards longer than last year, now measuring 398 yards. Also the bunker at 180 yards has been enlarged and there is a new large bunker on the right-hand side of the dog-leg 254 yards from the tee.
The 12th hole has similarly been lengthened from 483 yards to 510 yards. There is a new greenside bunker on the left, making the second shot more challenging. The fairway has also been re-shaped.
On the homeward stretch the 16th fairway has a new shape and the green has been extended at the rear and right-hand side which will provide extra pin placements behind the bunkers.
The 17th, a hole traditionally full of drama, has a new fairway shape and on the last the bunkers on the corner of the dog-leg have been deepened to further punish a wayward tee shot.
These changes combine to improve the course and test world-class players further during an enthralling week.
