Usually at golf events, players will wait until they are finished playing before retreating to their villa. However, this week in Turkey, players will stop by one villa during their rounds.
The back tee at the 16th hole this week has been positioned on the roof of one of the villas at the Regnum Carya Golf and Spa Resort. The hole will play 34 yards longer due to the new teeing area and will measure 463 yards when used.
"Obviously it's the first time Regnum Carya Golf & Resort Spa have hosted a European Tour event and we took a look at the course and how we might set it up,” said Tournament Director Miguel Vidaor. "The original 16th hole was altered during the construction of the villas and the new tee on the roof is pretty much where the old tee used to be."
The new rooftop tee box was received well by the players as well. England's Chris Paisley was first to tweet a photo of the villa during his early morning practice round on Tuesday.
16th tee is on top of a villa this week! Great for @EuropeanTour but the people staying there must be fuming 😤 pic.twitter.com/EjYsodPICZ
— Chris Paisley (@ChrisPaisley86) November 1, 2016
@haotong_li teeing off on the 16th @regnumcarya @T_A_Golf @EuropeanTour Tee box is on the roof of a villa!!😳 pic.twitter.com/AOvf0dPSpP
— Jamie Gough (@jamiegoughgolf) November 1, 2016
During practice ahead of the first Final Series event, each player climbed the stairs by the villa to give the shot a try. Here is Portugal Masters champion Padraig Harrington hitting driver from the roof.
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) 1 November 2016
"The raised tee really enhances the hole, gives the players a great view, brings the bunkers into play and looks great on TV,” Vidaor told us. "We were able to get real grass on the roof and the tee is in good shape. It takes 4 men to lift a hand mower up the stairs to the tee! I'm looking forward to watching players head up there throughout the week."
Keep a look out for ProTracer on this tee this week throughout the broadcast. Play gets underway at the Turkish Airlines Open at 10am local time on Thursday morning.
