2006 
Honda
Classic:
 Golf Tournament:

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The new Tom Fazio designed championship Sunrise golf course at Mirasol is in it's final year as host course for this week's Honda Classic golf tournament on the PGA Tour.  The Honda Classic golf tournament has played on many different courses over the year's beginning with the Jackie Gleason Classic at Inverrary, then the Honda at Eagle Trace, Weston Hills, Heron Bay, now with the venue at Mirasol Sunrise and it moves again in 2007 to PGA National also in West Palm Beach, FL.  This original Arthur Hills designed 18th hole is all that's left of the original host course for the Honda Classic first held at Mirasol in West Palm Beach in 2003.  Here is our review of that 18th hole at Mirasol with pictures and an overview.  Be sure to check out our new Slide Show of holes 15 -18 of the new Tom Fazio designed championship Sunrise golf course at Mirasol -Click Here!





Caddybytes.com 'Featured Hole of the Week' at this year's Honda Classic is of this 475 yard par four 18th finishing hole at the Golf Club at Mirasol tournament golf course.  


The new championship Tom Fazio design layout retained the original Arthur Hill designed 18th hole that was originally host to the 2003 Honda Classic.  (The new Rees Jones design is comprised of holes 1 -17 with this 18th included as it finishes back to the club house).


This golf course was cut into the natural terrain alongside and through the grasslands and wetlands in West Palm Beach, Florida.



From this simple tee a drive is required to 'fit' the right handed player's draw which would start out at the inside fairway line of the right hand bunker and draw back into the center fairway. 





This is what the left and right side landing area looks like off the eighteenth tee at Mirasol.  The bunker to the right is in play at only 253 yards to it (from the back cut of grass) from the championship tee box.





It's 275 yards to get by this bunker down the left side of this tee shot.  You can also gather from the pix of some of the uphill topography of the second shot framed by the grandstands in the distance.





If you did choose to lay it back behind this bunker off the tee, then you would have a long second shot of about 225 yards slightly uphill into the middle of this crowned finishing hole and you don't want that shot when it matters!



Here is a view of the tee shot landing area down the right side and looking back over the water and forced carry to the tee box in the distance.  It's only about 210-220 yards to carry the water from the back cut of the championship tee on #18 here at the Honda at Mirasol.  



This bunker in the pix (left) and located in the foreground of the picture is the preferred target with the driver off the tee and is reached at 325 yards off the tee.  (It's the far bunker you see off the tee in the middle of pic #1 previous)



If you're feeling your 'oats' and drive it perfectly 310 to 315 off the tee at this bunker then it's only a scorable short iron into 18th green here at Mirasol.  That would be especially important if it's your last hole to make the cut on or win the golf tournament!





Here's a view of the topography of the terrain from the second shot angle and approaching into the 18th finishing green here at Mirasol.




Many of Hill's greens sit at an angle to the approach shots like this one with more carry of the second and approach shot required to the right or left fronts over hazard of bunker or water. 




Here you also get a good look at the air conditioned 'sky boxes' that are now very much a part of the primed 'seating' surrounding the finishing holes of today's PGA Tour events.



This view (left) gives you a good overall look at the 18th hole looking from above back and down the fairway.  



The finishing green here falls  away from the fringe over the green and right, and over the back left causing any errant golf shot to err even further.   The recovery then requires a more difficult pitch for an up and down and saved par 4 here.  The first 17 holes have greens that are even more severe than this one.  



The caddy in the picture is marking off the 'carry' in yards via two orange poles to check his marks from the fairway to the front of the green and to carry the 'left front' of the green over the bunker there, when the pin is cut back left (right in this picture as you are looking back down the hole here from behind the 18th green.)



For some more great pictures of this Tom Fazio designed championship layout be sure to check out our exclusive Slide Show of the Mirasol Golf Club!

Click Here for an exclusive 2006 Slide Show in digital pictures of the Sunrise golf course at Mirasol:

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Click Here for an exclusive 2006 Slide Show in digital pictures of the Sunrise golf course at Mirasol: