"Come to think of it, the 'TPC at Virginia Water' works pretty well, too."

And just one more bit of Wentworth piling on from John Huggan:

Actually, in view of the often radical and deeply controversial work that bears the signature of three-time major champion Ernie Els, it is time for Wentworth to break out a new nickname. Long gone is Harry Colt's design, to be replaced by what in places is so pseudo-American it might as well be called 'I-95' or, on days when the sun shines, 'Route 66'. Come to think of it, the 'TPC at Virginia Water' works pretty well, too. Only the absence of a completely inappropriate fountain in the pond short of the 18th green revealed that we were not actually in Florida.

“I suggested to (R&A chief executive) Peter Dawson yesterday maybe we should introduce some kind of scheme along the lines of that which we have with historic buildings in this country,”

Tony Jimenez tells us about Paul Casey pulling aside R&A secretary Peter Dawson with a little advice to prevent the Wentworthization of classic courses by giving them the same status as listed historic buildings.

“I suggested to (R&A chief executive) Peter Dawson yesterday maybe we should introduce some kind of scheme along the lines of that which we have with historic buildings in this country,” Casey told reporters on the eve of the PGA Championship.

“(For instance) Ernie’s beautiful house by the 16th hole with the thatched roof and the (superb) plaster work. He owns it but that doesn’t give him the right to paint it pink and put a tin roof on it.

“When you’re an owner of a Grade II listed building it’s much like you’re the caretaker for the next generation… (similarly) if you’re the owner of a golf course does it give you the right to make the changes you want?

“Is that in the best interests of that particular course or for golf in general?”, added the world number eight.

The Briton went on to suggest the rule-making R&A could play a role in protecting venues.

Uh Paul...don't go there.

“I think we need to keep courses in as good a condition as we can… but maybe (owners) need to go through a procedure to make sure these changes are in line,” said the 32-year-old.

“Maybe that’s something that would have to go through the R&A… along the lines of listing golf courses.”

Okay just one question for Casey. Was Peter Dawson nervously twitching, sweating or otherwise behaving oddly as you told him this?

Just curious. After all, he's going around to the Open venues and...altering them!

Somehow I'm guessing the irony was lost on young Paul, but he gets major points for a wonderful idea. He's just talking to the wrong folks.

“I love it. It’s a good layout. But I think some of the greens are a little severe for the shots we’re hitting.”

Kevin Robbins' blog post on the early concerns about the difficulty of Greg Norman and Sergio Garcia's (LOL) co-design of the new tour stop at TPC San Antonio should make Thursday's first round worth watching.

What I did gather is this: The 7,435-yard course is too hemmed by native areas to play at its full length. In a torrid wind (see: today), holes such as the 213-yard No. 3 (all carry over water), the narrow 481-yard No. 4, the 447-yard No. 10 (to a plateau green) and the 241-yard (enough said) No. 13 are just too much. And the greens? I spent a good hour with a caddie I’ve known for a while. He played Division I college golf. He’s played the mini tours. He was not impressed with Greg Norman’s multi-level, elevated greens at TPC San Antonio, which are running about 10 on the Stimp because anything faster would eliminate too many positions. “Stupid,” the caddie called them.

Now let’s be fair. Omar Uresti, the Austin resident and former Longhorn, had lots of praise for the Oaks, which he’s played three times.

“It’s hard,” Uresti said. “I love it. It’s a good layout. But I think some of the greens are a little severe for the shots we’re hitting.”

Now, we hear this quite often at courses the players haven't seen, especially at majors. It'll be the hardest course we've ever seen, etc... and the first round lead is 65.

But Norman does have the distinction of building a course that was too difficult and never opened, so it is possible that he's built something the players will be justified in hating.