Source: The Commercial Appeal (Memphis, Tenn.)
As Loren Roberts contemplated the ceremonial first drive at the Tournament Players Club at Southwind, Memphis's 16-year-old PGA Tour course made new again over the summer, he said: "This is worse than the first tee at Augusta."
Roberts was not implying that the changes had somehow made Southwind anywhere near as testing as Augusta National, the home of The Masters. He was joking about the pressure of having to hit the first shot onto the course since it shut down in June following the 2004 FedEx St. Jude Classic.
No need to worry, not with one of the most accurate drivers of the ball in PGA Tour history in control.
The ball drew straight down the center, and someone in the crowd of 100 or so golfers said: "That's a good omen."
The "new" Southwind officially reopened Friday for its membership, and more members will get a taste of their extremely made-over course this weekend.
Though it's not Augusta National, the staff at Southwind is very pleased with the final result.
Changes to the course have cost between $5-6 million. That's not including the new clubhouse, which will open in December.
"A lot of the costs for us are wholesale because of the Tour, but this entire project would probably retail at $10-$12 million," said Bill Hughes, the regional director of TPC operations for the PGA Tour.
The most noticeable change is on the greens, where the hybrid grass known as Champion Bermuda replaced the old bent grass greens, which often wilted because of the combination of extreme Memphis summers and the duress of hosting a PGA Tour event.
Early reviews were that the greens roll fast and true, and the young Champion surface, with a reputation for firmness, seemed to accept approach shots well.
Other changes awaited golfers on almost every hole, some more dramatic than others.
More dramatic: The par-3 eighth hole, where architects turned the green completely around, so that the wide side faces golfers and a bunker, with new crystal-white sand, frames the hole.
Less dramatic: On No. 6, the fairway dogleg is cut with more definition, and trees planted along the fairway accentuate the shape of the hole. Many holes have much cleaner lines from tee to green, giving them more definition; the original layout featured extremely wide fairways with lots of built-in swales and humps.
"In the '80s, those whoop-de-doops in the fairway were popular, but we tried to take them out," course superintendent Jeff Plotts said. "Now it looks more like a classic-style golf course. ... We wanted it to have more of a quaint, intimate feel."
More dramatic: Almost every hole has a runup area 15-20 yards in front of the green with another hybrid Bermuda, Tiff-Sport, creating an area where golfers can bump-and-run approaches; golfers whose approaches stop in the runups have the option of chipping, pitching or putting onto the green.
Plotts said other courses have already called to ask about the runup areas. He said Roberts and Memphis's other Tour pros, like Vance Veazey, Shaun Micheel, Doug Barron and David Gossett, consulted on many of the changes and were especially enthusiastic about that idea.
"That really makes this course unique," Hughes said.
Less dramatic: Every hole is now mowed in opposite directions so that half the zoysia fairway appears to be a light shade of green, the other half a darker shade. Plotts and his staff are also allowing many of the native grasses to grow unfettered around the course in an attempt to recapture the feel of the farm that once used the property.
One of the first groups to play No. 8 got a full taste of the new changes.
One golfer, John Blair, faced a chip from the left side of the green, but when his wedge ran past the hole and into the runup area, he switched to a putter and sank a par.
Another golfer, Brian Keithley, made his tee shot follow the well-defined shape of the hole, landing it 10 feet away and then making the birdie putt.
Plotts said the changes were directed more at members than for the PGA Tour pros.
"I think we've made it more playable, but at the same time, we can make it tougher for when the Tour comes in without sacrificing the course for our membership," Plotts said.
