Tom Doak to renovate Houston's Memorial Park

[Steve Lang]

Mike:


I thought the rough wax perfect last year.  They didn’t have to chip out, but they had to play defensively from the rough because they couldn’t hold the greens out of it.

Bermuda wax at that!!


How can you expect anyone to hold a green playing out of waxed rough? 

[Kalen Braley]

Tom I'm curious if you've made any tweaks to the course since last year's initial playing and/or if there are any other requests in the hopper?

We added a couple of tees BEFORE the event last year, but the only change after the event was to the bunkers on the left of #9 green, which provided some really awkward trouble to a few players last year.  As a result, the course has one or two fewer bunkers this year!


I am hopeful that I managed to make the case for moving up the tees on 17 one day so players can have a crack at the green, which they didn’t try last year - won’t know for sure until I get there.  I will be in town all week.


I think it’s a testament to how well the event went last year, that they are letting us play the Renaissance Cup the Monday and Tuesday following the Houston Open.  Can’t wait to see what my friends think of a PGA Tour setup 

Thanks Tom,

No changes to any of the greens then? I would have thought there would be at least some complaints around there being no safe place to aim to with a few crowned centers.

[Don Mahaffey]

Kalen,
I doubt there’s ever been a 144 PGA tour player field with no complaints about the golf course.


Thank god a complaint doesn’t end up meaning the course must be altered. 


I think it’s like any tour venue. Some players like it better than others.


I recommend listening to the get a grip podcast with Max Homa after last years event. Max goes into pretty good detail about what he heard from fellow players, and shares his opinion about the course.

[Tom_Doak]

Tom I'm curious if you've made any tweaks to the course since last year's initial playing and/or if there are any other requests in the hopper?

We added a couple of tees BEFORE the event last year, but the only change after the event was to the bunkers on the left of #9 green, which provided some really awkward trouble to a few players last year.  As a result, the course has one or two fewer bunkers this year!


I am hopeful that I managed to make the case for moving up the tees on 17 one day so players can have a crack at the green, which they didn’t try last year - won’t know for sure until I get there.  I will be in town all week.


I think it’s a testament to how well the event went last year, that they are letting us play the Renaissance Cup the Monday and Tuesday following the Houston Open.  Can’t wait to see what my friends think of a PGA Tour setup 

Thanks Tom,

No changes to any of the greens then? I would have thought there would be at least some complaints around there being no safe place to aim to with a few crowned centers.

No changes to greens.


I don’t think Phil Mickelson enjoyed making 9 at the par-3 9th on Friday.  I doubt he will be back this year.


For me, if my client and my consultant were both happy with it, that’s a success, and they were all smiles.  I also had dinner with Victor Hovland and he’s the one who talked about how important it was to hit fairways and how unusual that was on Tour now.

[Mike Nuzzo]

Mike:


I thought the rough wax perfect last year.  They didn’t have to chip out, but they had to play defensively from the rough because they couldn’t hold the greens out of it.

Thank you Tom, that is a much more accurate picture of last years rough.
I don't remember how hard it was for me last year, as of now, for me the rough is significant.

[Steve Lang]

   Yep, the Memorial rough has grown... not like Hermann Park anymore...