Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, and the other high-profile withdrawals from this week’s European Tour event may wish they were playing in the Turkish Airlines Open, what with its unique rooftop tee high above the Regnum Carya Golf and Spa Resort.
The European Tour set up a rooftop tee box at the Turkish Airlines Open
Without the star power of Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, and other top players who withdrew for various reasons, the Turkish Airlines Open offers the European Tour’s first rooftop tee.
The 16th tee.
— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) November 1, 2016
From above and below.#TurkishAirlinesOpen pic.twitter.com/AENewbg2vl
The 78 players braving recent bomb attacks that forced McIlroy, Patrick Reed, and Henrik Stenson to drop out of the tournament (Woods cancelled to continue rehabbing his back) will hit drives from a specially constructed 16th tee atop a villa rooftop covered in grass. The back tee is some 40 yards behind the tee golfers normally hit from on the par-4 and looks down on a swimming pool between the two areas.
Padraig Harrington got in some early practice from the back tee, which adds 34 yards to the usual distance, topping out at 463 yards.
And here's 3-time major winner and Portugal Masters champion @padraig_h teeing off on 16. #TurkishAirlinesOpen pic.twitter.com/qZuEaz46Fj
— Phil Casey (@pcaseysafc) November 1, 2016
Harrington proclaimed the gimmick a success.
“I like it. It’s a bit of fun and the hole takes it very nicely,” Harrington told SBTV. “I like anything that’s a little bit different and new and it’s certainly at a good time in the round.”
Too bad Phil Mickelson’s not in the field this week; the tee from what would normally be out of bounds would seem to fit Lefty’s penchant for hitting balls from unusual places just a bit outside the ropes.
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