As noted in this earlier post, the Tournament Course at Redstone Golf Club — the new home course of the Shell Houston Open golf tournament — received mixed reviews from the players who played in last week’s tournament, a view echoed in this GolfWeek magazine report after the tournament. However, it appears that the verdict on the new course from spectators may not even reach the level of mixed.
First, Chronicle sportswriter and columnist John Lopez noted over the weekend that some spectators were complaining to him of the inordinately long walks between the parking areas and the course entrance, and also the long hikes between the 1st hole green and the 2nd hole tee and the 17th green the 18th tee. That view was shared by a spectator who made the following comment to the Chronicle’s Sports Update blog:
“The golf was fine, but the layout is very poor and too massive for a fan-friendly event. The walking distances are much too long and there is minimal multi-hole viewing. The HGA has really messed up on this venue.”
But that barb was nothing compared to the scathing criticism that I received yesterday from a friend who attended the tournament over the weekend:
“I got to go to the Shell Houston Open on Friday and Sunday. What the hell is the HGA doing? That course is not PGA quality nor fan-friendly. The only holes you can watch easily are 1 and 18. Not too many folks want to make that 20 minute walk over the bayou to chase down another group on holes 2-17. I also got to watch first hand some pretty pissed-off caddies as they lugged their bags from 17 to 18. That was about a 10 minute walk. The viewing sites are sparse, no spectator mounds. No decent food pavilion. This tournament is doomed when it moves to the week before The Masters.”
The Golf Week link is pretty much the same quotes Singh had in the Chronicle, along with some stuff from Bob Estes. Not a lot new there.
However, your emailer confirmed something for me I noticed when watching on TV – where are the “stadium” type features we used to see at the Woodlands? It looked, from the air, like an open field with a few stands of trees on it. 18 looked nice, however. The HGA better think real fast about adding some features to accomodate the fans better, or this thing will be in serious trouble. Is the new Redstone course the Toyota Center of golf, i.e. a big new venue designed to sell corporate tents/tickets and keep the average fan far back from the action? Seems so.
Don, nice analogy of the Tournament Course to the Toyota Center.
Based on the comments that I’m hearing, the HGA better sit up and listen. The positive thing is that the course overall is a good tract and there are several places on the course where spectator mounds could easily be constructed. For example, the area around the 6th green, 7th tee, and 7th green would be a great place for spectator mounds.
But the HGA better come up with a creative solution for the long walks between holes 1 and 18, on one hand, and the rest of the course, on the other. If the HGA doesn’t, then even if they build the spectator mounds, there may be no one out there to use them.