The Porter Cups are finally here. Play begins on Wednesday morning at 7:30. For the first time, the women's division will tee off first, followed by the men's bracket. The Niagara Falls country club will host the 67th playing of the event. Niagara Falls country club is an A.W. Tillinghast design that has seen renovations over the years from a number of architects. The course tips out at 6800 yards for the men and 6400 yards for the women. Many of the world's top amateur golfers block out Porter Cup week on their schedules, to ensure that they keep their competitive games sharp while away from university golf. Let's get right to our preview of the course and the competition.
Critical Holes
Front nine holes that will prove important are the birdie holes (two and three) and the potential bogey holes (four, five, eight, and nine.) After a solid handshake at number one, the Porter Cup contestants have two consecutive opportunities to have wedge approach shots at the second and third holes. Both holes feature expanded putting surfaces, as current restorative architect Tripp Davis has succeeded in pushing the putting surfaces outward. While the sixth and seventh will also feature short approach shots, they won't offer the guaranteed birdie looks that two and three will provide.
The front nine has plenty of places to throw a scare into the competition. The fourth hole offers an undersized green for the length of tee shot required, and the fifth greets the field with a narrow opening for the tee shot. As if that weren't enough, the fifth is the number one handicap hole on the card, so par feels like birdie. After a two-hole respite, it's back to the grind. Eight is as awkward a right-to-left tee shot as you can find, and nine follows with an equally-awkward, left-to-right tee ball. Both greens feature tricky spines, splines, and undulations. Seven holes of great work can be undone by lapses in attention at eight and nine.
Back Nine holes that will offer birdie opps are more plentiful. The first six holes on the inward half are all gettable. Ten, fourteen, and fifteen are all short par-four holes, and wedge will be the anticipated approach club for all of them. Many golfers will putt for eagle at eleven, and a few will reach the long thirteenth in two as well. The twelfth, aka Tiger Woods' ace hole, sets up well for a tight draw with nine iron or wedge, so expect a number of roars there as well.
Sixteen and eighteen can both be had with nice irons from the tee, while seventeen is a question of survival. The epitome of the half-par hole, seventeen demands your day's best tee shot, followed by one heck of an approach shot. Both sixteen and eighteen feature greens that tilt severely from back to front, so below the hole is critical. Seventeen is surrounded by the Sahara, and many bunker games will be tested along Route 104.
Women To Watch
Local favorites include Anna Swan of Erie (Oral Roberts University) and the precocious Natalie Wasik of Nardin Academy. Jazy Roberts of Australia is the 34th-ranked player on the WAGR list, the highest position in the field. She will be joined by D1 players from Auburn, Notre Dame, and Oklahoma State.
Men To Watch
The local list is not as touted in recent years, so perhaps this is the one when a WNYer steps up for a run at the title. Jack Tebeau, Billy Hanes, and Kris Boyes all possess the game to get around in under-par figures, but will their hearts and minds cooperate? We'll find out soon.
The men's field will offer a wide-open, western shootout. No clearcut favorite sits atop the podium at Wednesday's dawn, so resist the urge to gamble on any name. By Thursday evening, we'll have a clearer picture of who the challengers are.
