ORLANDO - It may be Florida's second best-known course and you'll see a different look when it's back on television in the spring. It's still Bay Hill and it's still Arnold Palmer, and it probably still will be Tiger Woods' winning warmup for the Masters. But it's a better course and there will be a few tweaks for the tournament.

The course had a complete makeover this summer. It started as a redo of the greens, which often have been a problem, and gradually expanded to a complete job.

"We decided to do the greens, then we said, 'Let's do the bunkers while we're out there'," said Erik Larsen, the executive vice president of Palmer Course Design. "Then someone said, 'Let's do a little work on the fairways, and then the tees got involved.

"Finally, Arnold said, 'Go on and do the fairway bunkers.' We looked at each other and realized that there was nothing else. So it was the whole thing."

The changes are throughout the course and many are designed to challenge the overpowering hitters of today's PGA Tour. Some fairway bunkers have been moved toward the green, and some have been pushed into the fairway to tighten the landing area.

It will be longer, maybe up to 7,400 yards, and the scorecard will reflect that by going to a par 72. In recent years, nos. 4 and 16 have been par 4s.

"It was easy to change the fourth hole," said Palmer, "with a new back tee. We can't lengthen the 16th but we'll still make it a par 5. Fans want to see birdies and they can make eagle there, too."

If you haven't been to Bay Hill - and it should be on your calendar - you need to know that the 16th tee is built out into the lake that you better know as the water that fronts the 18th green. The green is backed up to houses. There is no way to lengthen it.

The famed final two holes have significant differences. The "beach" in front of the par-3 17th (Yes, they call it the "beach") is three times bigger, producing a new and scary look and the 18th is longer with the addition of a new tee that almost touches the 17th green.

Palmer says he's comfortable with the changes.

"It looks good," he said during a visit this week. "We needed to do the greens and I'm glad we did the rest.

"The new greens have a grass called Emerald. It's from Texas and I talked to a lot of people, and I heard nothing but good things. It really looks good."

Indeed. If it's as good in maturity as it is in its youth, it will rival anyone's.

Bay Hill is Palmer's home and the course is his jewel. His company has projects around the world - they just did two courses in China - but everything comes back to Bay Hill. He lives across the street from the clubhouse and his personal cart (with the golf bag) frequently sits outside the clubhouse.

The club's success has brought exclusivity. You once could pay and play, but access is very limited today: members, their guests and people staying in the lodge attached to the clubhouse. The club's only outreach is to get convention business.

"It's a wonderful place," said former Jacksonville public relations executive Jim McCarthy, who now lives at Bay Hill. "The course doesn't get much play and the clubhouse has everything you need. Plus, Arnold Palmer knows your name."