We asked a host of professionals on the DP World Tour what they think an 18 handicapper would shoot around this week's Hero Indian Open venue - the DLF Golf & Country Club - and the answers were unanimous.
The verdict from Todd Clements, Niklas Nørgaard, Calum Hill, Richard Mansell, Matteo Manassero, Simon Forsström, Jens Dantorp, Rafa Cabrera Bello and Jeff Winther? A LOT.
The DLF Golf & Country Club is hosting the Hero Indian Open for the fifth time this week, played over the challenging 18-hole Championship Course designed by Gary Player, and is known as one of the toughest tests on Tour. In last year's tournament, 11 of the 18 holes played over par, with just seven bogey-free rounds and a cut mark of four over.
The venue started in 1999 with the opening of an 18-hole Arnold Palmer-designed parkland course, where almost 15,000 trees were planted during construction and almost 200 floodlights were installed to allow night golf. That course hosted the DP World Tour for the first time at the Johnnie Walker Classic, several years prior to Player being commissioned to build a new course when new land became available in 2015. His design saw him build nine holes on the land and reconfigured nine of the existing Arnold Palmer-designed holes. The result is a course filled with dramatic landscaping and bunkering with two very distinctive nines, which are routed around two large lakes, featuring the Lakes Nine (1-9) and Quarry Nine (10-18).
It makes for a difficult exam, and when we asked a handful of professionals what they think the average 18 handicap golfer would shoot around the difficult Dehli layout from the tournament tees, every answer was over 100. From 105 to 120 and a staggering 160, here are some of the best answers.
"I think I can easily see 80 for myself," said Nørgaard, "I think we're close to 150, maybe 160. Such a difficult course"
"There's got to be a handful of holes you're probably not making the cover," added Hill. "You'll be laying up onto other tee boxes. It may be like a DNF. Do not finish."
"I don't think they're gonna make it around if you don't bring plenty of balls," agreed Forsström. "I think it's too tough for them."
"105," said Winther. "Because it's on steroids, this course"
Watch the video to hear what everyone else had to say!
