The Castle Pines Golf Club awaits Hideki Matsuyama and the other 49 top FedEx Cup players for the second leg of the FedEx Playoffs. The iconic golf club will be making its return to the American Tour after hosting a stable-ford format tournament, The International, in 2006. On the other hand, the BMW Championship will return to Colorado after a decade since hosting it in 2014 at Cherry Hills.

The Castle Pies GC has crowned many winners, including Ernie Els, Phil Mickelson, Jose Maria Olazabal, and more. It is one of the best Jack Nicklaus designs from his 400+ projects, called the Augusta National in the Woods. Jack Vickers, the owner of the land, bought the 8,130-yard plot in 12 years and started the construction in 1979. Even though the two Jacks rarely agreed, the Augusta in the West was inaugurated in October 1981 and, since then, has been one of the best courses in Colorado.

Coming from TPC Southwind, Castle Pines offers the 50 PGA Tour pros a unique feature that may not help them for the BMW Championship. Unlike the previous venue, Castle Pines sits at an altitude of 6,200 feet, which allows the ball to fly farther than it would on any other course at sea level. The PGA Tour reports that the altitude adds about 10% more distance to the shot. Technically, this means that a 300-yard drive will travel for about 332 yards at Castle Pines.

So, the distance might look daunting but it is all about altitude and the changed environment in Colorado. Thus, even though the Castle Pines GC has become the longest course in PGA Tour history, taking out the added yardage because of the altitude, it approximates around 7,350 yards, which is the average for the PGA Tour. With this feature, the players will have a challenge at their hands on top of the pine trees surrounding fairways, the steep bunkers, and occasional streams causing havoc.

With all their glory, all 18 holes at Castle Pines differentiate from one another and give a different challenge. But these three holes will be the pinnacle of them all.

Three holes to watch out for at Castle Pines GC

The first is the 254-yard par-3 hole 4, which has the tee 30 feet above the greens, giving a better view of the putting area and the two bunkers that await the layers on either side. But getting the ball there would not be an easy task, as between the green and tee sits a deep barranca, challenging any golfer’s skills. Any miss from the left to right fairway would mean that the ball will end up in the stretch, which is filled with vegetation.

Another challenging hole for the top 50 fields would be the 655-yard par-5 hole, now 14. After the latest renovation of the Castle Pines, a diagonal stream at the 14th hole was brought closer to the green to be a pond on the left side with a lone bunker sitting on the right front. Furthermore, the 14th hole also has fairways surrounding the thick pine trees on both sides, which may force many to miss the fairways as the right-to-left hook comes into play.

This is another par-5 at the 17th hole, measured to be 532 yards (481 yards at sea level), which has always been easier for the golfers to make par. The hole has dense pine trees on the right and Cally’s Creek on the left, which players will have to avoid at any chance for a birdie. Usually, the easiest hole on the course will have more cheer than any other hole, as it’s relatively easier to make a birdie or eagle. With only two days left for the 2024 BMW Championship, the golfers have plenty of time to learn about Castle Pines and its infamous altitude.