BlogRSM Classic Preview and Picks

The Buzz:

The RSM Classic is an event in a small resort town or should we say island in Georgia which has been well received since it started in 2010.  Davis Love III got behind it and his charities are the benefactors of this event.  Love also gets behind the tournament to get his friends and fellow players to attend.  The event also has a great sponsor in McGladrey who is a tax and consulting firm.  The good thing is that folks like Zach Johnson and Matt Kuchar, who live in Sea Island are playing which helps.  But still in the future you just can’t have an east coast event followed by one in Asia, it’s too hard to get to Asia.

This year will see a change as the field has been increased to 156 and two courses will be used.  Each player will be on the Plantation course for one of the first two rounds.  The Plantation is the first course at Sea Island, it was a nine hole course which opened in 1928.  But by Walter Travis, it opened when ferry service was first introduced to bring people over to Sea Island.  A year later the Seaside course was built.  The land on which the course was built was a working plantation.  Some of the oak trees that are on the course were planted over two-hundred years ago.  In 1998 the ownership of Sea Island brought in Rees Jones to upgrade the original course.  The course was turned into a “parkland by the sea” course as it has views of the Atlantic but is parkland in nature.  It’s totally different than the Seaside Course which is links nature.  The Plantation course will play at 7,058, has a 74.8 rating with a slope rating of 138 and to a par of 72.  It does have wide open fairways but lakes come into play on 10 of the 18 holes so it will present a different challenge for players.

Seaside Course information:

• The Seaside course is part of the three courses at Sea Island Golf Club.  The Seaside course which is the venue of the McGladreys is a classic Harry Colt and Charles Alison design dating from 1929. Tom Fazio completed a renovation in 1999. It’s another of those hidden gems that not many people know about, it’s a true Scottish links course near the Atlantic with ocean views that plays fast and firm.
• The main challenges could be in the greens, which are nearly impossible to read. The layout features other notable challenges like the bunkering which is old fashion and truly memorable. They offer a variety in size and shape but they are all strategically placed to deliver a formidable test for even the most experienced players.
• The first nine goes out and back in a counterclockwise fashion while the second nine follows a clockwise direction. Each of the four par-3s faces its unique direction which is unique for any course, so players get a different feel on each par 3 when it’s windy that is always the case at Sea Island.
• The course meanders through marsh lands and lakes with water or marshes coming in play on most of the holes.  There are only 40 sand bunkers on the course, but they are all in strategic spots to catch drives and wayward shots to the greens that are average size of 7,000 square feet.  The course has bermudagrass all through it with a 72.3 rating and a slope of 137.  In 2015 the course played to a 69.422 average score (.578 under par) and was the 28th toughest course of the 52 courses used.
• It’s been the venue for some significant amateur competitions over the years including the US Senior Amateur and the US Senior Women’s Amateur.
• This year three of the four rounds will be played on the Seaside Course.

COURSE KEYS

A new item to help gauge how a player needs to play a course and then look at his yearly stats to help us find the players with the best totals.

Each course has historical stats for different stats catagories and ranks them with the other courses on the PGA Tour for that year.  So we are going to take the four stat catagories that are tough for the week and then take the players in the field, look for their ranking for those stats compared to all the other players.  We add up their rankings for the four different catagories and figure out which players are top for the week.  We are still working on the format but here is a taste of what we are working on, giving out the top-20 in this year’s field off of our list:

Key for playing well at Seaside Course at Sea Island Resort:

This is based on the most important stats for Seaside Course at Sea Island Resorts, based on data from last years RSM Classic, and using data from all the players for with stats from 2016.

*Greens in Regulation: Lots of greens were hit last year as the Seaside Course ranked 48th hardest of the 52 courses. 73.64% of the greens were hit so players that do well in this stat will have an easier time this week.
*Scrambling: Since lot’s of greens are hit that means that for those that miss the greens, you have to get up and down. Especially this year with high winds, getting it up and down will be very important for the week. Last year the Seaside Course was the 14th hardest scrambling course as 55.29% of the shots that miss the green got up and down.
*Strokes Gained Putting: A formula that is based on average putts made from different lengths, this is a barometer to show how players are putting. Last year the Seaside Course was the 4th hardest course in overall putting average and 10th in putting average
*Par 4 average: The 12 par 4s were the T-30th hardest on the PGA Tour last year. The 442 yard 14th hole played the hardest at 4.218. Last year’s winner Robert Streb found the par 4s to his liking as he was 7 under on them, the best for the week was 8 under.

Click any column title in the table header to sort columns.

Here is the link to all the players in the RSM Classic field with stats for 2016

Here are some of the secrets of what it takes to play well at The RSM Classic:

Key stat for the winner:

This is a true links course so players will have to be able to play firm fast fairways and be good in the wind.  Hitting into the greens tend to be very tricky and for those that miss the greens getting it up and down is a key.  In looking at the first three winners they aren’t among the leaders in scrambling, Slocum in 2010 was T20th, Crane in 2011 was T41st and Gainey was T35th in 2012.  But the three have one big stat in common, and that is they all led the scrambling for the fringe stat, while 2014 winner Chris Kirk was 5th in scrambling and last year’s winner Robert Streb was 25th, so this is an important stat  So go to this page on PGA Tour.Com to see who it’s the leaders from this year’s scrambling category, look, and you will see guys like Vaughn Taylor, Michael Putnam and Tim Wilkinson who are on top and playing this week, they should be players that do well this week.

Here are some more key stats to look to for this week:

One of two stats is key, you either have to hit a lot of greens or putt really well.  Look at the five winners, Slocum in 2010 was T7th in greens hit and 39th in strokes gained putting.  Crane in 2011 was T26th in greens hit but 2nd in Strokes gained putting while Gainey in 2012 was T23rd in greens hit but 3rd in strokes gained putting.  In 2014 Chris Kirk was T15th in greens hit, and T11th in strokes gained putting, while last year Robert Streb was T-47th in greens hit but 2nd in strokes gained putting.  So you can see what is important to win this week.

All five winners had one thing in common, and that was the ability of playing the par 4s.  In 2010 Slocum was 11 under on them, the next closest player was 9 under.  In 2011, Crane was 12 under, the next closet was 11 under and in 2012 Gainey was 12 under the next closet was 11 under.  In 2014 Chris Kirk was 6 under, while last year Robert Streb was 7 under the best for the week was 8 under.  So if it’s Sunday and you’re looking for someone with the edge look at that stat.

Driving accuracy means nothing on this course that makes sense since it’s a resort course.  Last year it was 43rd while in 2014 it was 42nd, in 2012 it was 44th in driving accuracy, while it was T43rd in 2011 and 38th in 2010 so poor drivers could do well this week

Most people disregard putts per round, but this is something of importance on this course.  As you don’t have to drive the ball straight on this course to succeed, you do have to take the least amount of putts.  In the putts per round category Seaside has been 4th last year and in 2014, 2nd in 2012 and 2011, 3rd in 2010.  In a way, this is because it’s a resort course but still putting is important.

Look for a good mix of players from Sea Island, Jacksonville and Ponte Vedra to be in the field, a bit of local knowledge.

We find a course that is completely Bermuda and that is important because it takes a special player to win on Bermuda grass. Last year Robert Streb won and he is from Kansas, which has bermuda grasses.  But previously Chris Kirk (born and lives in Atlanta), Gainey (born and lives in South Carolina) and Slocum (born in Louisiana and lives in Georgia) are southern boys that have been around Bermuda all of their lives.  Ben Crane was born in Portland and went to school in Portland, Oregon which isn’t a place to learn Bermuda, but look at Crane’s wins, three of the four have come on courses with Bermuda and he does live in Texas today.  The point is, look for a player that does well on Bermuda courses.  Also, I can’t see a player that was born, raised and lives in the North and Midwest winning.

Lastly have to talk about the weather.  it’s been a main point as the last two events have not finished till Monday.  Those rain clouds have seemed to live in the suitcases of the players as on Thursday look for heavy rain and thunderstorms, 100% chance of rain.  But the forecast gets better in the rain department as it will be dry for Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  But high winds will hinder the players, look for winds in the 15 to 20 mph range which will make for an interesting week.