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NORTON - The TPC Boston has undergone golf's version of "Extreme Makeover."

Renovations to the PGA Tour-owned course off Route 140 in Norton have just been completed, less than four months before the fifth annual Deutsche Bank Championship is to be played.

That PGA Tour event gains added significance this year as it becomes the second round of a four-tournament playoff that will result in crowning the FedEx Cup champion, which carries a prize of $10 million, by far the richest in golf. The Deutsche Bank Championship's purse has been increased from $5.5 million to $7 million.

To take TPC Boston to the next level, the PGA Tour spent $3 million to dramatically alter the layout originally designed by golfing legend Arnold Palmer. There were two goals in mind:

** Give the course a more New England feel. ** Emphasize shotmaking over distance, long a criticism of the course.

Course architect Gil Hanse, whose work at some Boston area courses has received praised, was brought in, and PGA Tour veteran Brad Faxon, a member of TPC Boston, was used as a consultant.

The result is that top 10 players such as Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh and Adam Scott, who have each played and won the Deutsche Bank Championship in years past, are unlikely to gain an advantage in course knowledge from other players the tournament is likely to attract, such as Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els and Sergio Garcia.

The course has changed that much.

In terms of appearance, Hanse has eliminated the rows of clean-cut bunkers guarding fairways and greens, often combining them in one enormous hazard. The total number of bunkers has decreased from 103 to 52, although square footage is only down 3 percent

But he's done more than that. Long grass now droops over the edges of the sand, giving the bunkers a coastal New England feel. Some large traps even have islands of high fescue grass in the middle.

"Chocolate drops," small mounds along the edges of fairways and greens which typical of many New England coruses, have been created. Stone walls are now a more prominent feature.

The course's length has also shrunk by 3 percent, or 231 yards. Hanse believes the shorter distances will place a greater emphasis on shotmaking rather than length.

The most dramatic changes are on the fourth, seventh and closing holes, the 16th, 17th and 18th. Here's a look at them:

FOURTH HOLE (298 yards, par 4) - This hole is significantly different. A routine 425-yard par 4 with a sharp dogleg right, the green is now straight ahead and reachable to most pros. But it also offers risks in the form of sand and high grass around a tiny green. "Great short par 4 holes should provide many options for the golfer as he stands on the tee," Hanse said. "The opportunity to drive the green needs to be seductive enough for the player to attempt it. This seduction needs to be in the form that success is possible, but failure is not fatal. Too strong a reliance on either ease or disaster, and the choices become easy. "We are hopeful we have found the right balance with this new hole."

SEVENTH HOLE (600 yards, par 5) - An enormous bunker - a tribute to the "Hell's Half Acre" sand trap on the seventh hole at Pine Valley, a private New Jersey club often rated America's top course - covers the entire fairway about 140 yards from the green. The bunker is so high that players who lay up before it face a semi-blind shot to a smaller green. Those who try to place their second shot over it face not only landing in the hazard but also a difficult area of sand and fescue around the green.

SIXTEENTH HOLE (161 yards, par 3) - Hanse saw that all four of TPC Boston's par 3's were about the same size, so he moved this green up by 50 yards to vary the length. That also brings the water much closer into play, upping the chance that players could get birdie - or double-bogey. "Our goal was to create an exciting hole that would still feel like it belonged to an older course," Hanse said.

SEVENTEENTH HOLE (380 yards, par 4) - This hole was also shortened, and two large grassy mounds were added on each side of the fairway, making it possible - but difficult - for players to place a draw between them and create a shot at birdie.

EIGHTEENTH HOLE (543 yards, par 5) - Many PGA Tour players tried to reach this green in two. That will be more difficult - but not impossible - now that mounds and rough have been added. But players who lay up also face the hazard of a bunker in the middle of the fairway, just a wedge away from the shrunken green.

MIKE KIRBY can be reached at 508-236-0344 or at mkirby@thesunchronicle.com.