Listening to the players: Two key changes made to JCB course

ROCESTER, England – The golf course that LIV Golf’s 54 players will attack starting Friday at LIV Golf UK by JCB will have a couple of significant differences from the one they competed on last year.

Graeme Macdonald, CEO of JCB, and Sam Horsfield of Majesticks GC, who resides five minutes from the course, laid out some of the important changes made ahead of this week’s event.

“We did listen to feedback from both the LIV team and the players, and we've made a big investment over the last 12 months. We've made a lot of modifications and improvements to the golf course, and we really do value the relationship we have with LIV,” Macdonald said.

Many of the changes made were based on some player feedback given after last year’s event at JCB. Horsfield, who’s a member at JCB, outlined some of the notable changes made. “They added some new tee boxes for us to make it a little bit longer and a little bit more challenging. Yeah, they made some great changes. They took all the feedback that us as players told them and obviously did something with it, which is awesome to see from a player's side,” he said.

One of the main points of contention from the players last year was that on the par-5 third hole, the fairway was sloped severely on the left side of the approach, causing good tee shots to roll down into the water on the right side. So, trees were removed and the hillside was softened to assist in playability as well as provide a view of the green on the second shot.

"The third hole last year was a bit controversial,” Horsfield explained. “There was a bunker about 30, 40 yards short, and it would sort of kick down into the water. So they've taken that out, flattened that area, which I think is great. When guys are drilling a 4-iron, 5-wood in 10 short of the green, you don't really want it bouncing in the water when you've hit a good shot.”

The other issue from the players perspective was that the tee box on the par-5 13th needed to be adjusted so players weren’t forced to hit less than driver into a reachable par 5. The course listened to the feedback and lengthened the hole, which Horsfield explained.

“[Moving the] tee box on 13 I think is great, the par 5,” he said. “They've cleared out all the trees on the left side, and it's a lot more open now, and I think visually it looks great. Adding a new tee box back, you can hit driver and not worry about running through into the water, whereas last year I hit 3-wood to keep it short of the water and it was – you never really want to hit a 3-wood off a par-5 tee. You're hitting your driver sort of into the same area, but now it demands a good drive so that you can get there in two. It's a great risk-reward tee shot hole.”

In addition to the major changes to holes three and 13, there have been some other minor changes made to elevate the spectator viewing experience and make the course more challenging.

The 12th hole tee box has been moved further back; the 14th tee was shifted to the players’ left to make more room for the fan area; and trees were removed near the small pond to the left of the landing zone on the 18th hole.

With the golf course and players working collaboratively to enhance the layout, golf fans should expect an even more exciting tournament in 2025.