Silverado Resort is celebrating its 10th anniversary as host of the PGA Tour’s Fortinet Championship this week and decided there’s no better time to shake things up.
The resort’s North course was rerouted to make the final stretch of holes more accessible to fans, highlight the course’s signature par 3, and reconfigured the order of 10 holes on the 7,123-yard layout.
Holes 1-7 and 18 will remain the same as in years past. The reshuffling is designed to create a new finishing sequence that should lead to more thrilling finishes – though it will be tough to top Max Homa’s chip-in for the win last year – as a par 4, par 5, par 4, par 3 and par 5. The signature par 3, which plays over water – traditionally No. 11 – will become tournament No. 17.
Located in the heart of California wine country, the course, opened in 1955, was refreshed by World Golf Hall of Fame member Johnny Miller in 2010, which ushered in a new era of tournament golf. Silverado’s history with the PGA Tour dates back to the Kaiser International Open Invitational, from 1968-1976.
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“I sure thought about redesigning these courses about 4,000 times, probably as far back as the early 1970s,” said Miller who lived on the course for many years and competed at Silverado dating back to his days as a junior. “I said we could do one course and show the world what the potential of these courses is and breathe a little life into this iconic property.”
“I like it better now, and yeah, it makes total sense. When they first explained it to me, it was hard to wrap my mind around what we were doing, but that little loop around 5 and 6, it actually — it is probably how it should be just for the tournament,” said Homa, the tournament’s two-time defending champion. “Once Sunday, watching the lead, I just feel it makes a lot of sense if you’re out here. For the fans, you could almost stay parked on one tee box and see quite a few golf shots and see the leaders come back around.”
The new routing isn’t the only benefit for fans attending the tournament. The South Course, which used to be open for public play during the tournament, will instead be used for parking – no more shuttles! – and lead tournament spectators into a fan village with local food options such as world-renowned chef Thomas Keller’s Bouchon Bakery cookies, Model Bakery English Muffins and the Original Burger Dog. Merchandise tents, bar areas and other child-friendly activities will be available.
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