Esteemed golf course architect Robert Trent Jones Jr has predicted his redesign of the Hyatt Regency Coolum course will present players with a more difficult challenge at this year's Australian PGA Championship.
Jones Jr has overseen changes to six holes on the course, meaning seasoned veterans could well be struck with a feeling of unfamiliarity when the tournament starts on Thursday.
The 70-year-old was largely unsure about how the field would deal with the changes, but forecasted it could be the toughest assignment yet since the Australian PGA was moved to the Hyatt Regency in 2002.
"My gut sense is that probably, it's a half-shot harder," Jones Jr said.
"I don't know. I'll be interested to look at the statistics and see what they played on good days before … and look at say the top 30 players (this time)."
The most notable difference brought about by Jones Jr's revamp is perhaps the opening hole, which has shifted from a par-four to a par-five and is now almost 500 metres in length.
"The first hole is a pretty tough opener, it's a wakeup hole, I like to say the first hole at Coolum is tougher than Beethoven's Fifth," he said.
Tasmanian Matthew Goggin, who practiced on the new course for the first time on Tuesday, was in agreement with the multi-award winning course designer.
"They're quite tight (the new holes), the first hole is quite tight which makes it a very different opening hole to what we are used to," Goggin said.
"The old first (hole) was a pretty lazy hole - you could hit an iron and a mid-iron no problem, not much pressure, (but now) you'll have to hit a good tee shot there."
"It's going to be different this year because the course is different, you sort of feel like it's so familiar but then there's six holes that you've got no emotional attachment to or any good memories about."
Jones Jr suggested it was not his goal to make the course harder, but that it was simply due for an update after the changes in technology over the last 20 years.
"We wanted to make it modern - they didn't have big-hitter drivers, they didn't have Big Berthas when we built the original course," he said.
"They didn't hit the ball into orbit … so now it's a different game."
"Somebody once complained (at another course I designed) that the greens were too fast, too slick and they said 'you're embarrassing the best players in the world'."
"We're not trying to embarrass the best players in the world, we're just trying to identify them."
Jones Jr said he was looking forward to hearing plenty of 'whingeing' about the par-four third hole.
"The players today hit the ball so far, so we have to have a hole with real value."
"They are kind of used to just slugging their big-hitting drivers ….so it's an old fashioned par-four, which shocks them and I think it's into the wind which makes it even longer."