Course Strategy
Inside the yardage book: Bay Hill
David Cannon
The Arnold Palmer Invitational will again be played at Bay Hill, where it has been played every year since 1979.
A handful of holes will stick out in viewers’ memories, but the par-5 sixth, famous for wrapping around a lake and the 18th, known for its boomerang-shaped green and dramatic, tournament-winning moments are the most iconic. Tiger Woods has sunk eight (!) winning putts—several in dramatic fashion—at Bay Hill, which is more than any other player anywhere else on the PGA Tour … except for Tiger Woods, who has also won eight times at Firestone C.C. and Torrey Pines.
Bryson DeChambeau held off a resurgent Lee Westwood last spring, but won’t be defending his title as he recovers from hip and wrist injuries. DeChambeau made waves in 2021 for taking a unique route off the sixth tee, playing straight across the water to just right of the green. He made an easy birdie, but more importantly, gave us one of the most iconic screenshots of the year.
Before his passing in 2016, Arnold Palmer, who owned the resort and designed the course, would wait by the 18th green on Sunday evening to greet the winner with one of his famously firm handshakes and a few words of congratulations. He’s not there, in person, anymore, but the winner still dons a red cardigan, just like Mr. Palmer used to.
With the help of yardage books from Strackaline, a company that scans and provides detailed books of thousands of courses (look up your course's yardage book), we can get an in-depth look at each hole players will try to conquer this week near Orlando.
Here’s a map of each hole:
Legend
Hole 1
Hole 1
Hole 2
Hole 2
Hole 3
Hole 3
Hole 4
Hole 4
Hole 5
Hole 5
Hole 6
Hole 6
Hole 7
Hole 7
Hole 8
Hole 8
Hole 9
Hole 9
Hole 10
Hole 10
Hole 11
Hole 12
Hole 12
Hole 13
Hole 13
Hole 14
Hole 14
Hole 15
Hole 15
Hole 16
Hole 16
Hole 17
Hole 17
Hole 18
Hole 18