Major Change Unveiled To Bay Hill's 17th Hole Ahead Of Arnold Palmer Invitational

For decades, one of the most distinctive features of the par-3 17^th hole at Bay Hill has been its beach bunker to the right of the green. However, in time for the 2025 Arnold Palmer Invitational, it has been removed, with a bank of rough now in its place.

The extent of the change can be seen in before and after aerial photographs published by the PGA Tour’s X account. The side-by-side images clearly show the difference, with the huge expanse of sand along the entire right side of the green now replaced with a more traditional-looking bank.

One player in the field for the signature event is Michael Kim, and he has posted a close-up image of the grassy bank on X. The American also reported that, such is the thickness of the rough, it shouldn’t be too hazardous for players – provided balls don’t stray too close to the lake.

He wrote: “Some of you sickos will be disappointed to hear that the rough is so high on the bank of 17, that it likely won’t bounce back into the water as long as you don’t get super close to the water. The ball you see here landed a foot left of where it stopped.”

While that may be true, the shoreline of the lake that runs up against the right of the hole now encroaches further on the area where the beach bunker used to be. That means that even though greenside bunker shots were far from straightforward in the past, the change naturally leaves less margin for error for errant tee shots to avoid the even worse fate of finding the water.

Ahead of the tournament, it was unclear whether the removal of the beach bunker will ultimately help or hinder those who miss the green to the right off the tee, although, of course, we’ll likely have a far clearer picture once the final putt drops on Sunday evening.