Kemper at Tobacco Road

[Adam Lawrence]

Tobacco Road has hired Kemper Sports, though for 'consulting services' rather than a full management contract.


Smells to me like an attempt to move a little further upmarket. Anyone else any thoughts?


http://www.thegolfwire.com/story/329391?mc_cid=0343b65ca7&mc_eid=c20c92e751

[Joel_Stewart]

I found this curious as well.


Architecturally it should be a top 100 course but conditioning holds it back.


Hopefully Kemper can improve the conditions as well as the management.

[Tom_Doak]

Architecturally it should be a top 100 course but conditioning holds it back.

That's a strange assessment.  Everybody knows that Tobacco Road is a love-it-or-hate-it design and that it's not particularly tailored to the GOLF DIGEST definition of what's great.  It's quite short from the back tees and there are lots of features that certain low-handicap golfers would be keen to pronounce "unfair".  I would think it would place higher on the GOLFWEEK or GOLF Magazine lists, but it's not high on them, either, and conditioning has less to do with those.

[Carl Rogers]

One of the compelling parts of TR was its price point was lower than Mid Pines, Pine Needles and Pinehurst.  To keep all the bunkers at TR pristinely raked would take an army.  Part of the attractive look and feel to the place is an element of scruffiness.
Have played True Blue, Caledonia & Royal New Kent, the Strantz idiom, IMO, works best in the Sandhills.

[rjsimper]

I found this curious as well.


Architecturally it should be a top 100 course but conditioning holds it back.


Hopefully Kemper can improve the conditions as well as the management.

What's wrong with the conditioning? Before they switched to champion greens, the greens were dependably dogpoo, but now I think they are excellent. Fairways have always been firm and fine, and the hazards are...well..hazardous. I don't think conditioning holds it back.


They already changed the rate structure so that, I believe, the pricing never drops below 100/round (maybe not including January/February). It used to be 59 or so in the middle of winter and in the middle of summer.


Personally I love the place, but I have offered to take clients there multiple times from the Raleigh area and usually they are uninterested. Price is not an issue for those people (I'm buying) and none ever ask about the current conditions. It's gotta be the layout. It's just not for everyone.

[Ronald Montesano]

Kemper has a track record of unparalleled success. Perhaps the "consulting" contract is a dip of the toe in the water. I applaud someone who kicks the tires and test-drives, before putting a ring on it.

[Ross Harmon]

Just to provide a recent point of view... I played Tobacco a few weeks ago with a group of Golf Digest and Golfweek panelists... we had no complaints about the conditioning.[size=78%] [/size]




I'd be curious as to what Joel's specific areas of improvement might be in that area.