It's a decade since the PGA Tour last came here, and Detroit Golf Club will make its debut on the circuit. The North Course on which this tournament will take place has been extended to fit in the modern monsters of the PGA Tour, but at 7,334 yards this par 72 is on the short side, and while designed by Donald Ross, it just doesn't look that much like his other courses to me. The tournament is a real puzzle.

Still, let's start with Ross, whose other courses on the roster include East Lake, Aronimink, Sedgefield, Pinehurst and, occasionally, Plainfield. He's also the man behind Oakland Hills and Oak Hill, just to further confuse everyone, and was an architect known among other things for the sheer volume of courses he created.

Ross will be the starting point for many this week, and in the absence of other information I can see why. It is certainly possible to identify players who have thrived across his body of work, who relish being asked to work the ball both ways and to hit pinpoint approaches to green complexes which are notoriously devilish, often sloping from back to front.

As a very, very broad rule, it is quality iron play that has been rewarded at most of these courses. The Wyndham Championship, held at Sedgefield, has been won by Henrik Stenson and Sergio Garcia. They don't come much better when it comes to hitting approach shots. Ryan Moore, one of the most reliable iron players around, has also won the event.

Aronimink, which hosted the BMW Championship last year, has produced contenders of varying styles, although the leaderboard in September was a who's who of quality drivers. Perhaps that will be the case here in Detroit, though I couldn't be sure. The first opportunity to really learn about this course and how it will play comes when TV coverage begins on Thursday.

My best guess? It'll be quite straightforward despite the lack of familiarity, and in an event distinctly lacking in star quality, don't be surprised if Dustin Johnson puts on a show. He's the 6/1 favourite in a field where Chez Reavie is the fifth-most-likely winner according to the market. This is DJ's bread and butter.

But backing someone who has never played the course before at such a short price is fraught with danger, and for all that I'm drawn to some of those potential Ross angles - Billy Horschel in particular, but also Brandt Snedeker, Moore and Jason Dufner - I haven't been able to build a proper case for any of them.

I am instead convinced that this is a fine opportunity for those who have perhaps not been featuring regularly to go ahead and change all that. There are just six events left for players who are not in the majors and WGCs to lock up their FedEx Cup Playoff places and with just one of the world's top 10 in attendance, this is an opportunity not to be passed up.

It's also a fairly rare visit to the north of the US in general, with just one event now on the schedule in neighbouring Ohio, and that's an angle I want to pursue. Two years ago my solution to a similar conundrum was to back Daniel Summerhays in Maryland owing to his big improvement for heading to that part of the US, and that's a thread worth pulling at.