TPC Las Colinas
Golf Magazine has an article on the renovation of the course in Organizers hope a redesign will save struggling Byron Nelson Classic. I will attend the tournament on Sunday to see the winner come in and to check out the new course design.
After holing out for a 67 and the first-round lead at the 1983 Byron Nelson Classic — the first Nelson played at the just-opened TPC Four Seasons Resort in Irving, Texas — the dependably impolitic Lanny Wadkins addressed the media by the 18th green. The moment begged for a kind comment about the eager-to-please new venue, but Lanny couldn’t help himself. “This is not my favorite golf course,” he said.
Wadkins was only saying aloud what others were whispering and what they would continue to mutter under their breath through the years. Although the superbly maintained course had good bloodlines — Jay Morrish designed with Ben Crenshaw and Nelson consulting, and it was a hit with members and resort guests — these are Tour players we’re talking about. They had played gems like Augusta National and Harbour Town before the Nelson, and would play Muirfield, Colonial and the U.S. Open after. By comparison, the TPC Four Seasons Resort was as clunky as its name, a themeless journey between its namesake office park and tile-roofed homes built in the Texas-giant architectural style. So when Byron died in 2006, and the tournament got an unattractive date two weeks after the Masters, a lot of the best players, by which we mean Tiger and Phil, found something else to do.
Another article from the Dallas Morning News, Golfers give TPC a round of applause.
At the TPC Four Seasons at Las Colinas on Monday, it seemed that the drugs had taken effect.
“These are some of the best greens I’ve seen,” Tour player Troy Matteson said after walking off 18.
Veteran Paul Goydos also appeared to be hallucinating as he practiced for the EDS Byron Nelson Championship, which begins Thursday.
“The conditions are mind-boggling,” he said.
Wasn’t this the course that was awash in criticism last year? The one where players cursed the brown, bumpy greens? That same course was swimming in superlatives Monday.
Players hailed the remodeling job of D.A. Weibring’s Golf Resources Group. They praised the smooth greens, lush fairways and uniform rough.
I won’t be able to take photos unfortunately, as cameras aren’t allowed during the tournament and I’m not going to be able to sneak out of work and take in a practice round.