Bobby Weed and Pete Dye’s layout combines contemporary strategy and Golden Age aesthetics
HARTFORD, Conn. – The Travelers Championship – scheduled for June 23–26 at TPC River Highlands – will host the top-ranked player in the world and four of the top five players in the Official World Golf Rankings. Eight former Travelers Championship winners will also tee it up.
“TPC River Highlands has great balance and variety,” said golf course architect, Bobby Weed. “The New England terrain offers exciting semi-blind and tree-lined holes. Combined with holes along the Connecticut River, there is drama at every turn.”
In the 1980s, Edgewood Country Club was purchased by the PGA TOUR, where Pete Dye rebuilt it as TPC Connecticut. In 1989, Dye protégé Bobby Weed, serving as the PGA TOUR’s Chief Designer, along with player consultants Roger Maltbie and Howard Twitty, oversaw a golf course redesign and rerouting of the new TPC River Highlands. Weed returned with PGA TOUR Design Services in 2016 to institute a course-wide modernization and bunker renovation. The enhancements in strategy were guided by years of ShotLink data.
Half-par holes are prevalent throughout TPC River Highlands, where the back nine offers many scoring opportunities.
Hole 13 is an S-shaped par 5 that is reachable in two. The risk/reward 15th is a drivable par 4, where eagles and double bogies are often recorded. The 17th is reminiscent of a Cape Hole, where players must commit to a clear strategy from tee to green. The closing hole is one of the best on the PGA TOUR, lined with spectators and corporate hospitality.
“The final four holes are fan favorites, and offer great views of exciting golf,” continued Weed. “This finishing stretch in a natural quarry-like amphitheater is very compelling, where no lead is safe!”
TPC River Highlands is fully certified by the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf Courses. The club supports ecologically-sound land management practices that safeguard wildlife habitats.
About Bobby Weed Golf Design
Bobby Weed Golf Design (BWGD) possesses some of the most innovative minds in golf. Bobby Weed has designed over 50 new courses and comprehensive renovations spanning from the “golden age” of design to the “modern era.” His work features a balance of visual appeal, sustainability and playability, all informed by an environmentally-sensitive aesthetic and an exceptional hands-on approach.
His professional career began in the 1970s with an extended apprenticeship under Pete Dye, sparking a 40-year friendship with Mr. Dye. Hired in 1983 as the Golf Course Superintendent at TPC Sawgrass, Weed went on to become the PGA TOUR’s first in-house golf course architect. He was responsible for many of today’s best known TPC venues, which continue as host sites for prominent professional events. In 1994, Weed’s career reached new heights with the formation of his own design firm. Both his original and renovated courses are consistently ranked at the top of their respective design categories.
BWGD is also a leader in golf course repurposing – a means to update layouts through redesign and reallocation of partial acreage for higher value land uses – which results in successful, refined and durable golf course designs.
Weed is a member of the American Society of Golf Course Architects. He is also a 40-plus year member of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, was a former Certified Golf Course Superintendent and is a member of the Florida Turfgrass Association.
More information: bobbyweed.com, 904.910.2876.
