TPC Las Colinas, Err...Four Seasons Set To Go

After rumors that it would not be ready after lousy weather hampered their turf grow-in, it seems the course formerly known as the TPC Las Colinas is not only ready to host the Byron Nelson, it's been rebranded! 

2008 EDS BYRON NELSON CHAMPIONSHIP TO BE PLAYED ON REDESIGNED TPC FOUR SEASONS

Irving, TX – The completely redesigned TPC Four Seasons Resort Las Colinas will host the 2008 EDS Byron Nelson Championship, April 23-27, according to officials from the PGA TOUR, Four Seasons Resort and Club and the Salesmanship Club Charitable Golf of Dallas, the Championship’s sponsor.

After a thorough review of all aspects of the golf course by PGA TOUR, BentleyForbes, Four Seasons, and Salesmanship Club of Dallas, the PGA TOUR is pleased to announce the TPC Four Seasons will host the 2008 EDS Byron Nelson Championship.

"So many parties have pulled together under challenging weather conditions to get the course ready and make this announcement possible,” said Henry Hughes, Executive Vice President and Chief of Operations for the PGA TOUR. “D.A. Weibring has been the driving force with tremendous support from both BentleyForbes and Four Seasons.  The Salesmanship Club will undoubtedly continue to produce record charity dollars to benefit the less fortunate in Dallas. The PGA TOUR is proud to congratulate all involved in this huge accomplishment."

Immediately following the 2007 EDS Byron Nelson Championship, D.A. Weibring/Golf Resources Group embarked on an $8 million redesign of the TPC Four Seasons.

“In redesigning the course, our goal was to honor the legacy of Byron Nelson,” said Weibring.  “To that end, we created a cleaner, more defined course that incorporates traditional tee, bunker and green elements
throughout.”

Cleaner, more defined. Translation: ugly.

“PGA TOUR players will be faced with more shot options from tee to green, creating additional drama for spectators and TV viewers.  At the same time, for resort guests and Sports Club members, we created a very playable layout for all skill levels,” he said.

Utilizing input from dozens of PGA TOUR players, Weibring and his partner, Steve Wolfard, redesigned every hole on the 76-acre course, including all tees, fairways, and green complexes.  The course is now distinguished by traditional square tee boxes, softer mounding, better sight lines and dramatic white faced bunkers framing the fairway and green complexes. PGA TOUR professionals Harrison Frazar and J.J. Henry served as player consultants on the project.

Bring your sunglasses boys!

“The changes didn’t require us to dramatically lengthen the course.  We added just 200 yards overall,” Weibring said. “Instead, PGA TOUR players will see the biggest impact in the realignment of tee shots and better contouring of bunkers and greens.”

The changes start at a redesigned 20,000 square foot putting and chipping green, designed to meet the exacting standards of PGA TOUR professionals. The course culminates on the beautiful and dramatic 18th hole, highlighted by a series of four lakes with cascading waterfalls and a challenging risk/reward decision by the player.

Not three lakes, but four lakes. Nothing but the best for Las Col...Four Seasons. 

"East Lake was just slow. These are not just slow."

Considering Tiger's sensitivity to what he deems to be iffy greens (Pebble Beach, Riviera) and their effect on his putting stroke, you can sense his enthusiasm for Bay Hill's diseased putting surfaces:

Q. How was the course out there today?
TIGER WOODS: Well, the fairways and the tee boxes are in great shape.

Q. So talk about the greens.
TIGER WOODS: Well, they are not very good. It's going to be an interesting week on them. You're going to see a lot of guys hit good putts and they are going to go weird ways, unfortunately.

But, hey, we've all got to deal with it, we've all got to putt on them and you just have to accept hitting good putts and they may not go in but hopefully we hit enough good ones where they do go in.

And...

Q. Does this venue present as big a challenge for you as any one you're playing in the next couple of months?
TIGER WOODS: Definitely. Definitely. Especially with what we have to putt on this week. It will be quite a test.

Q. Worse than East Lake?
TIGER WOODS: East Lake was just slow. These are not just slow.

"If ever there was irrefutable proof that we long ago reached the saturation point on golf instruction, it is the knowledge that even Tripp Isenhour is involved."

GolfBrief.com's Jim McCabe offers this entertaining take on the Tripp Isenhour hawk killing fiasco:

With this story still having shelf life, part of me just can’t get away from one angle that continues to amaze. That is, the endless stream of infomercials, books, videos, and gadgets which promise to make you a better golfer. I’m not sure any of them have made improvements upon “Ben Hogan’s Five Lessons: The Modern Fundamentals of Golf,” that came out more than 50 years ago, but needless to say, the flow of money being poured into whatever quick fix is thrust into public view hasn’t evaporated.
   
“Practice Like a Pro” is a DVD collection offered for “3 easy payments of $29.98” — plus the infamous shipping and handling, of course — and if you Google it, whose face pops up but that of Tripp Isenhour. He’s there with a big grin on his face, so we assume the photo was taken before the red-shouldered hawk fell into his world with a resounding thud. Standing next to Isenhour is Dr. Bob Rotella, who knows a thing or two or three or 20 about books and videos that promise better golf. Isenhour is billed as a “PGA Tour pro,” which begs the question: Does anyone know of any “PGA Tour amateur?”
   
Reportedly, the Dec. 12 session was to film a video in the “Practice Like a Pro” series and you’d be wise to wager that there won’t be anything about a drill on taking aim at feathered creatures in trees. As to whether or not these videos are “revolutionary” or truly reveal “secrets of the short game,” as the advertisement states, that’s for you to decide.

This is America and thanks to our precious capitalism, Isenhour, for sure, is free to cash in on his status as a professional golfer and pitch products like the “Practice Like a Pro,” just as you are within your rights to purchase the Medicus dual-hinged Driver, the Brush-T, the Heavy Putter, the Swing Glove, or any magazine that announces on its cover that you can cure your slice or hit your drives 20 yards further.
   
Getting better at golf is a huge industry, but I guess it took the unfortunate death of a migratory bird to make me realize once again just how huge it is. I mean, Tripp Isenhour offering help with golf instruction? I hadn’t heard much of him since he won the Trinidad Open.

"But things are OK with you and him now?”

I know I should never delete the digital recording of a tour telecast until the dust has settled, but I just didn't want that Pods disaster clogging up space. Now I see on the HookedOnGolf blog that I missed one of the epic boondoggles in post-round interview history and a chance to share it with you via YouTube.

Note to Tommy Roy: rush Jimmy Roberts to an Orlando ear doctor and have those canals steam cleaned.

Shocker: Pods Ratings Down

This isn't really of much significance except for the face we see ratings published so rarely. Thomas Bonk reports:

The combined overnight ratings for the PODS Championship on NBC were down slightly from last year. Saturday's rating was a 1.7 and four share, up 21% from a 1.4 and four share last year; but Sunday's were down 10% to a 1.9 and four share, compared to a 2.1 and four share last year.

12-Player Pile-Up At Innisbrook; Maybe It Would Be Better If They Don't Find A New Sponsor

I know some people watch NASCAR to watch the cars crash and that some dizzying amount of readers (76%) voted for protecting par in last week's Golf World/ESPN.com survey, but sheesh was that final round at Innisbrook painful to watch.

Anyway, congrats to Sean O'Hair for making it out of turn three ahead of the pile-up and winning under that yellow flag.

Now the PGA Tour needs to find a sponsor for the event. Or would a quick death be such a bad thing.

Oh right, the charity.  

Humane Society Latest To Confuse PGA Tour and PGA of America

While nothing is funny about this episode, Thomas Bonk reports on the letter mistakenly sent by the Humane Society's Wayne Pacell.

"By setting an example of compassion for the public, the PGA has the chance to make a difference for our communities and instill an ethic of animal protection," Pacelle said in his letter.

However, the humane society might have missed its mark. The PGA of America has no jurisdiction over Nationwide Tour players, who are governed by the PGA Tour.

"Like fairways."

Steve Elling follows up on his report about Bay Hill's greens with this item:

Daniel Chopra, a Bay Hill member and resident, was asked to describe the shape of the greens and quipped, "Like fairways."

And..

There’s a formal PGA Tour notice hanging this week in the Innisbrook locker room about Bay Hill, explaining the massive mouth-to-mouth they have given the greens. The second paragraph reads as such: “On a more positive note, the overseeding of the tees, fairways and rough has excellent density and uniformity, and is holding up quite well to the high volume of winter play.”

So the greens are in such sketchy shape that a formal tour advisory was issued to players, but the course is still open to resort and membership play? Yikes.

"I mean, it's fixed for the tournament."

Steve Elling reports on what is sure to be a much discussed and revolutionary sounding last minute greens fix at Bay Hill, where an unidentified fungus took hold:

The root structure of the greens was so meager and the surface grass was so sparse, club officials three weeks ago elected to remove the sod in the affected sections, replace the sand base, then re-seed the greens with winter rye grass, a PGA Tour official said Tuesday.

The root of the crisis, if you will, remains unclear. The tournament begins March 13.

"It stumped a lot of people," said tour rules official Jon Brendle, who took a first-hand look at the ailing Bay Hill Club & Lodge greens on Monday. "They brought in a lot of people to look at the problem and they didn’t have a clue."

Emergency surgery or not, Brendle said the greens have grown in nicely and should present better surfaces than those seen at some of the West Coast stops, like ever-bumpy Pebble Beach, he said.

"I can tell you they have come a long way in 2 1/2 weeks," he said. "I mean, it's fixed for the tournament."

Els Wins Honda; NBC Announcers Slip In Only Two Million "Bear Trap" References

How about that Bear Trap, the work of PR gurus!

You know I still get trapped trying to figure out which is No. 15 and which is No. 17, but that's another story.

Mercifully, Greg Stoda in the Palm Beach Post explains why some of us spent most of our time watching UCLA-Arizona and the Lakers-Mavs:

Hey, it's as rugged track as re-designer Jack Nicklaus intended it to be. The 15th through 17th holes aren't called the Bear Trap for no reason. And it gets windy in these parts. But what would have been wrong with a couple of more accommodating pin positions late in the test? There simply was never a sense someone would, or could, do something sensational.

And...

There just wasn't an opportunity make a closing rush under pressure. Green's birdies at the 16th and 18th holes don't qualify, and neither does Robert Allenby's finishing birdie that got him a quiet share of fourth place with Jones and Calcavecchia.

They weren't contenders.

The 77-player field managed all of 30 birdies across the final five holes in the fourth round. The field made 25 double- or triple-bogeys across the same stretch. The finishing five holes, in order, ranked as the sixth, third, fourth, first and seventh toughest statistically in the final round.

"You're just trying to make pars," Jones said.

Without question, the most pitiful element of it all is No. 18, potentially a compelling risk-reward hole that is mostly a whole bunch of risk. Would it have killed them to play the tee up today at least? Or has the old tee been bulldozed?
 

"It's a great warm up for Doral, frankly. It's like Westchester was prior to the U.S. Open."

Jim Moriarty on the Golf Digest's Local Knowledge blog quotes the Honda Classic tournament director on their new date in '09:

"Looking at the big picture it's going to help us," says Ken Kennerly, the Honda event's executive director. "Wedged between the two World Golf Championships with Match Play being the event before us I think will help. Half the field is eliminated by Wednesday and then another 16 by Thursday. If it was a full field event prior to us and a full field event after us, that's a lot of big golf right in a row and I think that would be a little bit more concerning. But, I think with Match Play before us a lot of the international players are going to stay in America because they're going to want to play at Doral.

"We've really upgraded [the Honda Classic] substantially. It's a very similar golf course to Doral, in terms of condition. Bermuda greens, Bermuda grasses. It's a great warm up for Doral, frankly. It's like Westchester was prior to the U.S. Open."

Honda is to Doral as Westchester is the U.S. Open. I smell an SAT question.

Walters Cleared; AT&T Invite Will Not Be Lost In Mail Until 2010

Brian Hewitt reports that America's most famous sandbagger has been cleared to defend his title next year and quotes a USGA official who suggests that the pro handicaps are "the real handicap crooks."

Tiger's Match Play Win In Perspective

It's not easy to say anything fresh about Tiger's dominance, but a few columns managed to do it. Thanks to reader Clive for spotting this Iain Carter piece on Tiger's match play win, that includes two this tidbit that John Huggan noted a few weeks ago:

A couple of weeks ago we could say that the gap between Woods at the top of the rankings and Phil Mickelson in second place was greater than the margin between the number two and the guy ranked at 1000 in the world.

We can’t even do that now. Woods’ point average is 11.12 ahead of Mickelson, who has a rating of 10.12. This means ANY golfer registered on the rankings is closer to Mickelson than Lefty is to Tiger.

Finally, a decent use for the world ranking: quantifying Tiger's complete dominance.

And..

Bookmakers are offering a measly 12-1 for the calendar year Grand Slam of all four majors - 12-1 for something that’s never been done before!

Steve Elling offers some other stats:

In a span encompassing mid-1999 into late 2000, Woods won 17 of 30 (56.7 percent) of his official starts worldwide, a span where he also managed three seconds. That tallies to 20 of 30 (66.7 percent) events with either first or second as his final result. He was outside the top 10 four times and won four majors.

 In his current stretch, Woods has won 16 of his last 29 starts (55.2 percent) dating to his win at the 2006 British Open. He also has five runner-up finishes in that span. So, that's first or second in 21 of his last 29 starts (72.4 percent). He finished outside the top 10 four times and won three majors in that span.

"Sedgefield has a great deal of Wyndham Championship history"

Forest Oaks has been dropped as host of the Wyndham Championship effective immediately and in its place is Donald Ross's Sedgefield which hosted the Greater Greensboro as recently as 1976. That didn't stop this quote from being issued...

"Sedgefield has a great deal of Wyndham Championship history," Sedgefield Country Club president Joe Depasquale said. "It makes so much sense for the tournament to come home to Sedgefield, and we are delighted to have it back. We understand the value this tournament represents for the entire Piedmont Triad, and we plan to do whatever is necessary to be good stewards of this important event. We are very proud of the facilities at Sedgefield, and we look forward to providing a first-class venue for the Wyndham Championship."

Don't people do a disservice to the current sponsor by forcing them in like that? Just as it was absurd to say that the Riviera first hosted the Northern Trust Open in 1929? 

Sergio Goes With Two Putters; Champions Tour Just Twenty Two Years Away

Steve Elling reports on Sergio's latest attempt to improve his putting.

For the headshrinkers, the psychological merits of such a decision can be bandied about, of course. On the positive front, if he putts poorly, he has a fallback plan. But mentally, failing to commit to a putter might subconsciously undermine the whole endeavor.

"I'm sure it's a deal where he has something he can go to if he's having a problem," said Vijay Singh, who often has switched between belly and short putters, but never in the same round. "I'm sure it's a confidence thing."

The Fijian also added that even when his putting was at its worst, he never considered such a drastic plan.

"I did make a decision early on and I went with it for pretty much the whole round," Garcia said. "But then I started not feeling quite as comfortable. I hit a couple not very good putts. So I decided to go with the safe route the last couple of holes."

The short and long of it: Garcia missed a six-footer for par on the 14th to lose the hole, but made a clinching eight-footer for birdie on the 16th to cement the match.

"It felt really good on the putting green," Garcia said of the shorter option. "But it's different, the putting green is, than when you're out there on the heat of battle and the pressure is on. So I wanted to take just like, you can call it a safety net, just in case I didn't feel quite as comfortable."

Do the guys with white ambulances, padded cells and strait-jackets use nets to catch the crazies?