PGA DFS Hole By Hole Breakdown: The American Express

January 18, 2023

Josh Bennett's Hole-By-Hole Course Breakdown for The American Express (2023), an in-depth look into the host course for PGA DraftKings tournaments.

Welcome to the latest edition of the PGA DFS Hole-By-Hole Breakdown, where Josh Bennett (@JishSwish) breaks down the course the PGA Tour is playing each week.

We think this course breakdown is an important slice of the "PGA DFS pie" and will help change the way you do your research for every tournament. A good understanding of the course that's being played is extremely important before diving into individual players. Each week, this article will give you everything you need to know about the course, strategies players could take, and statistics that fit the specifics of the layout.

This week features the Stadium Course at PGA West for The American Express on the PGA Tour. This course is played for two out of the four rounds for those that make the cut, so it's the featured course in this article. It's also the only course featuring a shot tracker. La Quinta and Nicklaus Tournament Courses are the other two courses they will play in one of the first three rounds in attempt to make the cut. The Stadium Course will require iron shots to be extremely accurate, so guys better be dialed in with irons or be ready to chip it well around the course. Be sure to also read all of our other top-notch weekly PGA DFS and betting articles to help you win big!

Stadium Course at PGA West: Par 72, 7187 Yards

Hole 1: Par 4, 445 Yards

Off the Tee: The goal off the tee to start the round should be to avoid the couple trees that are hanging around on the left side, and for some that probably will mean to lay up off the tee. The fairway is really wide if they take fairway woods and can almost guarantee a fairway hit to start the round. If the rough is not penal, the long hitters will be able to carry the trees and they can just aim farther left to take the fairway bunker out of play. The rough length will likely determine the shot hit off the tee here.

Approach: Even with a lay up off the tee, it should still be just a short iron into the green that has no real protection. The bunker that is there is far enough off the green that it won't be an issue for anyone. As long as they aren't blocked out by the tree or in the fairway bunker, this shot should be pretty easy and the hole should give up a lot of birdies. Green Size: 25x20 Yards

Advantage: Ball-Striking, SG: Approach, Par 4 Scoring

Hole 2: Par 4, 371 Yards

Off the Tee: Long hitters especially will have to be careful with this tee shot if they grab driver because it will roll out into the rough or a bunker no matter where it lands in the shot pattern. The hole is very short, so what we will see more than likely is irons hit off the tee that will still leave wedges into the green. Due to the size of the green, making sure they have a good lie in the fairway or rough will be extremely important to be able to put perfect contact on the approach.

Approach: There is hardly any room to miss with this approach. The size of the green is it's real defense, even though there are some bunkers present. Even a small miss to the left or right will miss this green. Extremely accurate wedge players should be able to put it close and have a good chance to score. The rest will have to settle for a par. Green Size: 10x35 Yards

Advantage: SG: Approach, Proximity to the Hole

Hole 3: Par 4, 471 Yards

Off the Tee: It took three holes to get to the first auto-driver hole, and this one is going to require some power for several reasons. Most importantly, having average or better power will eliminate the fairway bunker on the left. There is also shorter cuts of rough after you get passed the bunker. The hole is long, so in general being longer is helpful, but when you look ahead to the green you can see why being closer will be more important. The green is tiny, so having the shortest club into it will be a huge advantage.

Approach: Many will have mid-irons into this tiny green that will be very hard to hit. Much like the last hole, the real defense to the green is it's size. The closer they can get to the hole off the tee, the better chance they'll have to get it on the green. Unfortunately, most of the field will just have too long of clubs and will miss this green often. Par will be a good score here because of that. Green Size: 10x40 Yards

Advantage: Driving Distance, Proximity to the Hole, Scrambling

Hole 4: Par 3, 170 Yards

Approach: The first par 3 gives us the first green that is decently sized. With just mid irons in hand and no real protection to the green, it should be in the go-zone for the field. This should be a scoring hole for everyone. Green Size: 20x30 Yards

Advantage: SG: Approach, Par 3 Scoring

Hole 5: Par 5, 535 Yards

Off the Tee: This tee shot will be tough. Nobody in the field will be able to take the water out of play, so they'll have to move their shot pattern to the right, which will highly increase the chance that they find the rough or fairway bunkers on the right side. If they miss the fairway, there is almost no chance that they will be able to, or even want to take a shot at the green because of how much water is in the way.

Approach: Water is the main defense on this approach, especially for those that make it into the fairway off the tee and are going to give the green a shot. There is a large layup area about 50 yards off the green that many will elect to play to and then take a chance with a short wedge. The good news is, as long as they can avoid the water on both the tee shot and approach, this hole is scoreable. Green Size: 25x15 Yards

Advantage: Ball-Striking

Hole 6: Par 3, 223 Yards

Approach: Like the last hole, water is this hole's defense. The approach is long, and can be made longer with 2 other sets of tee boxes that can push it back to 255 yards. However, the green is massive, so even at that length they should still have a good chance at getting it on the green. Pins that are short and left will likely have players bailing out to the large fairway area, otherwise getting it onto the green won't be as big of an issue as it would be on other holes on the course. Green Size: 30x45 Yards

Advantage: GIR, 3 Putt Avoidance

Hole 7: Par 4, 346 Yards

Off The Tee: This hole is very short, but because of the water and the fairway size, we won't see many (if any) drivers hit on this hole. Irons off the tee will leave short wedges into the green. Keep it out of the water and get ready to make a birdie.

Approach: A short wedge for everyone in the field here. Water guards the front of the green and there are some bunkers around, but none of it should be in play unless they really mess up the contact. They should be able to attack any flag here and score. Green Size: 15x25 Yards

Advantage: SG: Approach, Par 4 Scoring

Hole 8: Par 5, 559 Yards

Off the Tee: There is a lot of room on the left on this tee shot, so they'll try to avoid the large bunker on the right. Long hitters may have issues running it into the fairway bunker on the left, so being accurate here will be important if they want to take a shot at the green. However, the majority of the field won't go at this green in two anyway, so a miss as long as it's in play won't be very penal.

Approach: Another green here that is thin. Even if they hit the perfect drive, it will be extremely hard to get the ball onto the putting surface from this distance. There is a large lay up area just short of the green-side bunker that we will see many use and then take their chances at the green with a very short wedge. Even taking that route, they should still be able to score fairly easily. Green Size: 10x35 Yards

Advantage: Ball-Striking, SG: Approach

Hole 9: Par 4, 452 Yards

Off the Tee: Much like the last hole, there is room on the left on this hole so they can aim more left and avoid the fairway bunker. Long hitters will have a bit of an advantage, the bunker can be taken out of play and the fairway actually gets wider just after the bunker. At that point, they just have to make sure they avoid the water. Long will also be helpful because they can aim further right, which will bring the approach that much closer to a hole that bends that way. A miss short and left will leave a very long approach to a small green.

Approach: The length of the approach here is highly dependent on length and direction off the tee. It could be anywhere from 120 yards to over 200. Shorter is key because this green is actually protected well, and it's small. Wedges into this green will be a significant advantage. Those with longer clubs into the hole will have to be happy with par. Green Size: 15x30 Yards

Advantage: Driving Distance, Ball-Striking, Proximity to the Hole, Scrambling

Hole 10: Par 4, 405 Yards

Off the Tee: Water is in play on this tee shot, so if they want to hit driver they'll have to aim relatively far to the right. Shorter hitters will have fairway bunkers in play, Longer hitters will just have less fairway. Since the hole is short, we could see fairway woods or irons off the tee that will leave short irons or even possibly wedges still to the green.

Approach: As long as they keep it out of the water, even with an iron off the tee they should still have a short iron to this green. Once again there is no real protection to the green, but the green is small so a wedge or short iron is very important to have in. Get it on the green and have a good chance to birdie starting the back nine. Green Size: 15x25 Yards

Advantage: SG: Approach, Proximity to the Hole, Par 4 Scoring

Hole 11: Par 5, 591 Yards

Off The Tee: This par 5 is long, but it won't be difficult and that starts with the tee shot. The fairway is wide for what we've seen on the course so far, and there are shorter cuts of grass that extend far enough on each side to catch any other misses. Unless they are very long off the tee, they don't have any chance to get to the green anyway, so there really is no crazy strategy here, just aim down the middle and play from wherever it ends up.

Approach: Due to the size of the green, even long hitters that are in range of the green likely won't go for it. Water can sneak into play without much issue. The whole field will likely lay up to a comfortable distance and attack this hole with a wedge. From there, it should be a green light and a lot of scoring chances. Green Size: 15x40 Yards

Advantage: SG: Approach, Proximity to the Hole

Hole 12: Par 4, 363 Yards

Off the Tee: From the surface, it appears this hole was designed for them to lay up. The fairway is huge in the area where irons and fairway woods would be hit to. However, Long hitters can bypass all of the bunkers and other issues and get going right at the hole and leave very short wedges to the green. If they choose to go that route, it will be a slight advantage, but even with a lay up off the tee they'll still have wedges into the green.

Approach: Some kind of wedge will be in hand for everyone. The green has a bunker that surrounds every side except the right side, but with wedges it shouldn't be in play. If it's in play for anyone, it will be for guys like Cameron Champ if they hit driver and it heads towards the green. This will be a scoring hole for everyone. Green Size: 15x20 Yards

Advantage: Driving Distance, SG: Approach, Proximity to the Hole

Hole 13: Par 3, 195 Yards

Approach: This will be one of the hardest holes they play. The approach is long, and the green is narrow. Water will grab any ball that misses left. We will probably see many bail outs on the right side of the green to make sure the ball stays out of the water. Par will be a great score here. Green Size: 15x35 Yards

Advantage: Proximity to the Hole, Scrambling

Hole 14: Par 4, 389 Yards

Off the Tee: Another short hole here, but there is no incentive to hit less than driver. Actually, the way it plays now, they should absolutely use driver to eliminate the fairway bunker. Long hitters may run out of fairway, but it won't matter because the approach will be so short.

Approach: A short approach for everyone left after hitting driver. There is no protection at all, especially with a wedge. This will be a scoring hole for the field, which will be a good bounce-back opportunity from the last hole. Green Size: 20x25 Yards

Advantage: SG: Approach, Par 4 Scoring

Hole 15: Par 4, 468 Yards

Off the Tee: This hole will play difficult, but it won't be because of the tee shot. Just grab driver and let it rip, that's all they'll need to do. Tons of room on both sides here, so just hit it as far as possible and try to get as short of a club as possible for the approach.

Approach: Another narrow green here and another long approach to it. Long hitters will have an advantage by having shorter clubs to hit, but it will be difficult to hit it on this green no matter what. Like the others similar to it, the defense on this hole is just the size of the green. Par will be a good score here. Green Size: 15x40 Yards

Advantage: Driving Distance, Scrambling

Hole 16: Par 5, 600 Yards

Off the Tee: This tee shot should be pretty simple. They'll avoid the bunker on the left, but will bring some rough into play on the right for shorter hitters. Long hitters will be able to eliminate the bunker completely, have a wider fairway, and have a shot at the green. Hit it long if you can.

Approach: Long hitters will be able to take a shot at the green, although unlikely to keep it on because of it's size. It is narrow, like many other greens we've seen so far. The difference on this hole is there is no easy spot to lay up to, so they'll just try to hit it down to the green as far as possible and play the wedge from wherever it ends up. It should still be a scoring hole even though the approaches onto the green might not be from the fairway. Green Size: 15x30 Yards

Advantage: Driving Distance, SG: Approach, Proximity to the Hole

Hole 17: Par 3, 165 Yards

Approach: This shot is similar to the famous island green at TPC Sawgrass, and should be just as difficult. The green is not huge, so being a good iron player will be important, or the ball has a better chance at ending up in the water. However, it isn't a long hole so those good iron players should give themselves good chances to score. Green Size: 20x20 Yards

Advantage: SG: Approach, Par 3 Scoring

Hole 18: Par 4, 439 Yards

Off the Tee: One of the more difficult holes will close the round, and that starts with the tee shot. They'll have to avoid the water, and the longer they hit it, the less fairway there is to work with. We will see many drives end up in the rough or the fairway bunkers, increasing the difficulty of the upcoming approach.

Approach: The approach is not long, but the green is protected by water on the left, and the difficulty will be higher because many approaches will come from the rough or fairway bunker. Scoring is possible with a great tee shot, but they should be happy to close this round out with a par. Green Size: 20x25 Yards

Advantage: Driving Accuracy, Ball-Striking, Scrambling

Conclusions

Off the tee, there is no clear-cut advantage to a specific style. There are many holes where they'll hit less than driver, which lowers the impact off the tee has. However, there are a handful of holes where having extra length will be handy, especially when approaching these small greens, so siding with Driving Distance this week is not a bad idea.

The greens may measure out to not be small, but the images above show how difficult they will be to hit because of how narrow a lot of them are. Proximity to the Hole will be a key statistic this week, as will Strokes Gained: Approach (especially from 125 yards and in). Even well struck iron shots will miss some of these greens, so the closer they can keep it to the hole (obviously) the better.

Since the greens are so small and many will be difficult to hit, having a good short game, whether that's scrambling or Shots Gained: Around the Green will be extremely important. It will be especially helpful on the par 5's that will require good short games to actually score.

Other stats to consider: Ball-Striking, Par 4 Scoring, Bogey Avoidance, Total Driving, GIR

Assumptions

Images and measurements were done on Google Earth. These satellite images can sometimes be up to five or more years old and not show very recent changes to courses if there were any.

Carry distance is used for off-the-tee distances shown in the images. The average carry distance on tour in 2021 was 281 yards, so that is what is used here.

I used a total dispersion off-the-tee of 60 yards. This comes from an article that Jon Sherman wrote for Practical Golf (@practicalgolf) discussing average dispersion, and I took 5-10 yards off from that number.

I assumed a 10-15 yard roll out from the carry distance to start the measurement to the green. Measurements to the green were rounded to the nearest five yards and measured from the center of the fairway to the center of the green.

Green measurements were also measured to the nearest five yards.

Things like weather, rough length, elevation, etc. are not taken into consideration on the measurements. I can only see and assume so much from satellite images. However, I do note where possible on each hole if things like elevation and wind could impact how the hole plays.

Scorecards:

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