What do players think of the Ocean Course?

So what do the players think about the Ocean Course?

   They think it's long. 

    "A big golf course," Rory McIlroy said.

   "A big ballpark," Tiger Woods said.

   "They're going to make us work," Bubba Watson said.

   Officially, the Ocean Course measures 7,676 yards but it won't play its full length during the PGA Championship. Set-up man Kerry Haigh plans to move tees depending on the wind, which is predicted to kick up, particularly Friday and Saturday afternoon, gusting to 30 miles per hour.

   The par-4 12th hole, listed at 412 yards, will play 305 or thereabouts at least one day, tempting players to try to drive the green.

   There's a lot of target golf involved in playing the Pete Dye design, plotting your way around the course from spot to spot. It's not a subtle course. The penalty for a poor shot is generally severe.

   "A lot of it is visual," Woods said. "There's a lot more room out there, whether it's on the fairways or the greens, than you think. He just makes you look the other way. He's a masterful designer in that way.

   "If you play conservatively, he gives you a lot more room but also you're far away from the green all the time."

   What does the Ocean Course remind players of?

   Whistling Straits, another Dye design, where Martin Kaymer won the PGA Championship two years ago.

  "It's very similar to Whistling Straits," McIlroy said.