Follow this link to a hole by hole preview of The Honors Course
OOLTEWAH, Tenn. -- The discussions have died down a bit among the coaches because they've seen the results.
And there's nothing that those who oppose the new format can do about it for a few more years.
The NCAA golf championship will be contested over six days for the first time in history. And for the second straight year, it is three days of stroke play, after which a medalist will be declared and a cut will be made to the low eight teams.
Then those squads will fight for the trophy in head-to-head match play.
"The goal is to win the whole thing, but you need to get in the top eight, and then anything can happen from there," Stanford coach Conrad Ray said. "Most of the guys, when they qualify for the top eight, feel that they have a new lease on life and they can let it go from there because match play is so unpredictable."
Texas A&M emerged victorious from the match-play format last year at Inverness Country Club. The Aggies defeated Arkansas 3 and 2 in a dramatic match that came down to the last hole.
The drama is part of the reason the switch was made. Perhaps match play lends itself better to television.
But NCAA golf committee chairman Darin Spease said the NCAA championship is no closer to getting a TV spot than it was 10 years ago.
"What a lot of people don't grasp is that golf is a totally different animal to televise," Spease said. "You can't just put up three cameras like you can for a softball game. It's a venue that stretches over acres of land."
Arizona State coach Randy Lein's Sun Devils won the 1996 championship held at The Honors Course.
"I'm not so sure match play is the right thing," Lein said. "We don't play it during the regular season, and the way it is now, by the time the last two teams play, everybody else has left.
"Up until this year, I thought it was a good idea, but I'm not sure now."
Former UNLV All-American Ryan Moore won medalist honors in 2004 with a four-day total of 267, which is the lowest four-round score since NCAA records go back to 1965.
"I personally don't agree with what they've done to it," Moore said during the Masters. "It's weird -- a bit hokey, to be honest. But I guess in some regards it makes sense, but it seems like an extra-long week now.
"It's a great event, and the best team wins every year."