The Dawning of a New Era in Golf for the PGA Tour in the Lone Star State
Flanking both sides of The Masters Golf Tournament this year are the Shell Houston Open (March 31-April 3) and the Valero Texas Open (April 14-17). Both tournaments will offer a great combination of veteran players and young exciting professionals who are rapidly becoming the new faces of the PGA Tour and will be for years to come.
The two venues, while very different in many respects, have certain key similarities that will produce a similar type of champion, a player who will have the ability to hit it a country mile off the tee and will also have incredible short game prowess. Both courses—The AT&T Oaks Course at TPC San Antonio and the Redstone Golf Club Tournament Course—are very long and have very difficult green complexes that challenge even the best of short games. Expect many of the new long-hitting sensations such as Jhonatton Vegas (coached by Houston’s Kevin Kirk), Bubba Watson, Robert Garrigus, Gary Woodland, Bill Haas and Dustin Johnson to be major factors come Sunday in these events.
Gone are the days when the 300-yard drive was amazing. Welcome to the age of the 360-yard drive and precision wedge play. Yes, technology has gotten much better over the last 10 years. But the fact is that the modern ball and driver don’t go any farther than they did seven years ago. The main difference is, we now have bigger, stronger athletes dominating our sport.
The greatest thing about the “New Breed of Tour Player” for fans is the personalities and names that accompany the great golf. We have Jonny Vegas and Tommy Two Gloves to go along with Lefty, The Big Easy and Tiger. We have Ricky Fowler wearing all lime green hitting bunker shots on a dirt bike. We have the amazing swings and shots produced by Dustin and Bubba.
These guys bring back great memories of The King, the Golden Bear and Seve swashbuckling their way to exciting victories. The PGA Tour and The Texas Two-Step are alive and well and are available for all Texans to view in our back yard this March and April. We still will have our favorites and locals to cheer for, but the New Breed is here to stay and the Shell Houston Open and Valero Texas Open are here to display the best golf talent on Earth.
Four years ago, the Shell Houston Open changed their course set up to entice the field they wanted to attract. The Tournament Course at Redstone has been conditioned to emulate the playing surfaces which are featured at Augusta National in order to create “the perfect warm up” scenario for The Masters.
With green speeds over 13 on the Stimpmeter, moderate rough heights and tightly mowed short game areas, the goal has been achieved and the response has been extremely positive from the Tour players. Several of the best players in the world are now playing in the event and using the tournament as their personal warm up. If I was still out on the Tour, I could not think of a better opportunity to prepare for The Masters than playing the week prior to the event under similar tournament conditions.
The TPC San Antonio offers another unique challenge for players. The Greg Norman-designed Oaks Course offers a very demanding layout with beautiful Hill Country views. While The Oaks has great length, it is also exceptionally demanding off the tee. Hill Country native areas protect both sides of most fairways. Miss a green on the short side and getting up and down will be very difficult. Great driving of the golf ball is essential here. Adam Scott did prove last year that if you drive it long and straight there will be scoring opportunities.
Texas will be represented well in both events. Because of a victory in the Southern Texas PGA Championship in 2010, I have received an invitation to play in the Valero this year. Who knows, maybe this 45-year-old, middle-aged club professional can find lightening in a bottle this year and surprise a few folks! I can’t wait to try and hope to see you out at the events cheering for your favorite players.