"We want it to be a good challenge, and a stern challenge for the professionals," Stott said. "When the course is challenging, the best player wins."
The reviews in the first two years since the tournament moved to Maryland have been mostly positive, sometimes glowing. There was some grousing after the inaugural tournament in 2007 that the greens were inconsistent, too fast at the beginning of the week and too slow at the end. Unseasonably warm weather for early October - the temperature was near 90 degrees the final day - caused the greens to grow as the tournament progressed.
"I don't remember that complaint, but I don't think we'll ever hear a complaint [again] about the greens being too slow at Baltimore Country Club," Terry said.
Much of Terry's work in setting up the course involved mapping out hole locations for four days of a major championship. At many tournaments, there is a huge disparity between pin placements for the members and the pros. At BCC, there are few options because of the limited spaces to put the pin.
"You really have to be careful putting the ball in the proper position," said Tom Watson, who finished second to Loren Roberts in 2007. "They're big greens, but they play small."
The greens, pitched from back to front in the trademark Tillinghast style, are what sets Five Farms apart.
"There are no flat putts on this golf course," Terry said. "That's the character built into the golf course. It's the greens, and you're so limited because of that character. The members will play the ... same things we play."
The other big challenge is the short time in which the transformation takes place. Since members can play the East Course through the Friday before the opening round, Terry and his staff often have to work around a foursome or two. Most tournaments, particularly majors, close the course the week before.
"The real challenge goes into the superintendent and his staff ... getting the golf course ready from members' standards to major championship standards," Terry said as he worked around one such group Thursday afternoon.
While helped by the fact that fall is growing season and divots can disappear more quickly than in summer, staging pro-ams on two of the three days preceding the opening round is not the optimum for readying the course.
This marks the third year that the final major on the Champions Tour has been staged on a Five Farms course that has been ranked in the top 100 by Golf Magazine.
