PGA Championship 2025: The 15th hole rule change that closed a clever loophole
CHARLOTTE — When players approach the tee of the 577-yard 15th, they're greeted with a sign informing them that the neighboring 16th hole, which runs left of a lake on the left side, has been declared out of bounds.
Again, tournaments often employ internal OB in such situations because players have been known to exploit advantages like this. It's worth pointing out why, in this case, this was such a good decision.
/content/dam/images/golfdigest/fullset/2022/IMG_5271 2.PNG
First off, if the 16th hole wasn't declared out of play, it's a shot players could very much pull off. Here's how it looks from the tee. There's a small TV tower in the way, but players could pretty easily go over it. and If not over, then definitely around.
/content/dam/images/golfdigest/fullset/2022/line2.jpg
Let's say a player hit a 310-yard drive down the 15th fairway as it was designed. That drive would gain them about 0.1 shots on their competitors.
/content/dam/images/golfdigest/fullset/2022/shotpatter.jpg
But if that same pro hit that same drive down the 16th fairway, they would gain about 0.3 shots on their peers.
/content/dam/images/golfdigest/fullset/2022/pattern3.jpg
And better yet, the next shot would become way easier, too. It'd play about 200 yards from the 16th fairway. But that same drive down the 15th would result in a 260-yard approach.
The good news is that this hole is not all that particularly difficult—at the time of writing, it's currently the easiest par-5 on the course. But had they not made this change, this already scorable hole would've become laughably easy.
It would've also created a pace-of-play nightmare, with multiple groups cycling through the 16th fairway at the same time.
Overall, a smart rule. And now you know why.
MORE GOLF DIGEST PGA CHAMPIONSHIP COVERAGE
