The Crucial Holes at Preston Trail

Last year I finished tied for second here in the Byron Nelson Golf Classic. In 1970, I finished tied for third. In 1969 and 1971,I finished tied for fifth. In fact, every single time I’ve played in the Byron Nelson I’ve finished tied with somebody for something. Six ties in six tries. Now the way I figure it, there’s only one sure way to finish untied in a golf tournament. And I figure it’s about time I untied this one. Now don’t start spreading it around that Trevino says he’ll win the Byron Nelson this year because I didn’t say that, now did I? All I said was that I figure I’m due to finish untied. It’s just that for a couple of good reasons, I wouldn’t be too surprised to finish untied for first place.

One reason is because I want to. Maybe I should say I desire to, since that’s how the real sportswriters always put it. Desire. You know, “desire is half of winning” and all that. Except in this case it’s more like “Lee, you’ve got a whole lot of friends here in Dallas and they’re going to be watching you all over that golf course.” That kind of desire.

The second reason is that I ought to win. Preston Trail is a good golf course for me and I’ve played consistently well here over the past several years. Which is not to say that it’s an easy course. On the contrary, it’s tough – one of the very toughest layouts on the tour. But for the most part it’s a course that happens to be well-suited to my game. It fits my style of play. Specifically, Preston Trail demands a great deal of accuracy off the tee, especially with the driver on the par fours. The fairways are generally tight and very strategically bunkered, not to mention a few troublesome trees and an overabundance of out-of-bounds possibilities (on at least 10 of the 18 holes). There is little room for error off the tee and a misplaced first shot can be extremely difficult to recover from. If there is one most important key to playing Preston Trail, I’d have to say it’s knowing exactly where you have to put your tee shot and then doing it.



Of course, just about any golf theory can backfire on you and the ol’ tee shot theory exploded right in my face here last year. I was standing on the #7 tee in the fourth round and still had a chance at winning the whole thing. I was thinking tee shot theory – “Man, I’d like to belt this one way out there, right around the dogleg and up the hill.” And then I did it – just like my theory calls for. Trouble was I hit it too good. I couldn’t believe it – that little pellet took off, faded right around the dogleg, bounced up the hill, and rolled to a stop out there in Nicklaus country. I was so pumped up by that drive that when I finally got to the ball I couldn’t make up my mind whether to make my birdie pitch with a 9-iron or a wedge. I don’t even remember what I chose, but it didn’t really matter because I hit a real chilidip. Sent two pounds of God’s earth further than the ball and ended up with a bogey on the hole. So much for theory.



Preston Trail is almost two different golf courses – the front nine and the back nine. The front side, except for the 590-yard monster #3, is generally shorter and tighter – and more difficult – than the back nine, which opens up a bit. I think you’ll see the majority of the birdies racked up on the back side, which will make for a great stretch run for the spectators and the TV cameras. But unless you can hold your own on the front nine – especially by keeping the tee shot out of trouble and avoiding bogeys – those backside birdies aren’t going to mean much. In fact, any golfer who plays four days of par golf over the first nine holes should have a good crack at winning it all; assuming, of course, that he gets his share of birdies on the back side.

Assuming birdies is another golf theory that can hurt you – and it’s hurt me here. I consider # 15 at Preston Trail a birdie hole, meaning I expect to play it in two-under par for the tournament. But for some reason I’ve never been able to birdie this hole consistently. Last year I played the hole under par the first two days and figured I’d do the same the third day. Bogey. So I won’t assume any back nine birdies this year; I’ll just anticipate a few.

The weather has always been a big factor in this tournament. This course is at its best when it’s hard and dry – those are the conditions it was designed for. Unfortunately, it’s often been plagued by rain in past years which makes the course play much longer. For the sake of my own game, I hope it’s hotter than a firecracker out there this year because it makes such a big difference in the way this course putts. When they’re dry (and can be cut every day), the greens at Preston Trail are extremely fast. And I love those hard, fast greens – part of my upbringing on Dallas golf courses. The tournament is scheduled a week later in the season this year (May 5-11) which should help the chances for prime dry conditions.

On the following pages, I’ve selected nine holes which, in my opinion, will be the crucial holes. The do-or-die holes. They’re not necessarily the toughest or the easiest or the prettiest holes. But they’re the ones that should be the most decisive in terms of scoring. The birdie holes that must be birdied, the long par fours that must be parred, the hazard holes where trouble must be avoided. For that reason, they are generally the best spectator holes, so keep your eyes on them.

As for who to keep your eye on – well, I’m not going to make any rash predictions. But I’ll say this much – whoever wins darn sure won’t tie. And I’ve got the odds with me there.