• By Mike Wilcox
• Posted Friday, July 15, 2011

We're Reversing the Nines!

Tanglewood is pleased to announce that the Championship course is being returned to its original routing. By reversing the nines, it is our desire that the holes be played and the challenge presented as its famed architect Robert Trent Jones Sr. intended. The legendary Mr. Jones designed more than 400 courses of which over three dozen have hosted national or international championships. The Championship course which was opened in 1958 was the site of the 1974 PGA Championship. Those who remember it will recognize the new layout as the same one played at that time.

The original nines were reversed for the Vantage Championship which was played from 1987-2002. It was recommended that the course be played in reverse order (i.e., holes 10-18 then holes 1-9) for the tournament. This made it possible for more spectators to watch and enjoy the excitement of the finishing holes because the viewing areas around the original front nine, particularly holes 8 and 9, are much more spacious than the surrounding areas on holes 17 and 18. After the last Vantage Championship in 2002, there was no longer a need to accommodate an exceptionally large group of spectators. In order to preserve the design philosophy of Mr. Jones, the course has been returned to his intended sequence.

Thank you for your patronage and enjoy the challenge of the Championship course!