Justin Thomas had his caddie place hole-sized discs on every corner of the 17th green at Aronimink, all of them perched on knobs.
Whether he was chipping or putting, it was a challenge.
Aronimink is marked by its 180 bunkers that frame the landing areas, except for the longest hitters. The first official day of practice for the PGA Championship brought a reminder that accuracy this week is more about shots into the green than avoiding bunkers or the healthy rough.
These are big greens with big slopes.
“Off the tee it’s not extremely challenging,” said Keegan Bradley, who won on a soggy Aronimink in 2018 at the BMW Championship. “But the greens get really crazy, and they are really mounded and hilly just like a lot of Northeast courses. So, to put the ball in the right spot is really important.”
The course was full, inside and outside the ropes, despite temperatures that struggled to reach 60 degrees Fahrenheit (15 Celsius), which can happen with the PGA Championship moving to May and being held in northern part of the United States. Bethpage Black was even colder in 2019 until it warmed as the week went on, and that’s expected to be the case this week.
Thomas was among the few who made a scouting trip during one of his weeks off. It was a chance to get reacquainted with a course that has fewer trees than the last time he played in 2018, and was in perfect condition. The last day for member play was November 2.
“It’s pretty generous off the tee,” Thomas said. “I don’t remember, but it feels like at some point you can tell they took out a lot of trees. The holes that feel open, the rough is healthy. But the greens have a lot of slopes. It’s going to be dependent on how firm and fast they can get.”
There was another reason for an early trip to Aronimink. He could get in 18 holes without feeling as though he lost an entire day. That’s typical in the days leading to a major championship.
“Practice rounds at the PGA are the most miserable ever,” Thomas said after playing nine holes Monday morning as the first one out on the back nine. “Unbearably slow.”
