TPC Piper Glen

Arnold Palmer has contributed several entries to the TPC network of courses, including TPC Boston and TPC River’s Bend, and TPC Piper Glen stands strong among them.

A “piper” is a marsh bird known for walking among the shallows, but Piper Glen does not give them as much real estate as other Palmer designs, or other modern courses in the Charlotte area. Instead, the architect uses the terrain and large bunker complexes to defend against par. That said, many of the photos you’ll see from the course will be from its closing hole, a 540-yard par five that features a forced carry from the tee, with the lake remaining along the entire left side of the hole.

Palmer is not necessarily an architect associated with the template holes of C.B. Macdonald, but there seem to be some short holes that draw inspiration from the National Golf Links at Piper Glen. Is it possible that No. 8 is a daring take on the Redan, or that No. 12 is a quiet tribute to the Eden?

The course hosted the PGA Champions Home Depot Invitational for 11 years, beginning during 1990.