TPC Las Colinas Gets Extreme Makeover
03 Dec 2007
[Editor's note: This article was reprinted with permission from The Dallas Morning News.]IRVING – In taking the job of remodeling the TPC Four Seasons at Las Colinas, D.A. Weibring had 18 holes to shape and four bosses to please – the Four Seasons Resort & Club, EDS, the Salesmanship Club and the PGA Tour. He gathered feedback from players on the PGA and Champions Tours. Tiger Woods suggested changing some tee boxes. Vijay Singh wanted the 14th hole to stay the same. A homeowner asked for a mound to be lowered to protect his view of the 16th fairway. Even motorists stopped to offer opinions.
Record rains immediately put the project about 50 days behind schedule. Two conference calls per week kept everybody updated. Alternate plans have been made to play the EDS Byron Nelson Championship at neighboring Cottonwood Valley if the TPC isn't ready by March.
“It was important to get everybody working together,” Weibring said. “The one common denominator was Byron. I said if we do something first class out of respect for Byron then everything will work out.”
After much scrambling, the biggest pieces of the puzzle are in place. Fairways are lined with sods of Bermuda, and crews raced to beat the Nov. 1 deadline for overseeding with rye grass. Greens are gleaming with new bent grass.
PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem stamped his approval on the project's status last week after touring the facility with Henry Hughes, the Tour's chief of operations. Officials from EDS, Four Seasons and the Salesmanship Club also gave a thumbs-up.
The Tour has closely monitored the project after the TPC fell below PGA Tour standards two straight years. This year's tournament, the first since Byron Nelson's death, was overshadowed by player criticism of the bumpy greens. Weibring's Plano-based Golf Resources Group began the renovation a week later.
“D.A. and [lead architect] Steve Wolfard have done an incredible job creating not only a beautiful layout but a challenging course,” said Andy Stern, chairman of Salesmanship Club Charitable Golf of Dallas. “I think the pros and the fans are going to be pleased with what they see.”
Actually, most people will be shocked. Just as subtle design elements have created a dramatic transformation, the overhaul can be described in three letters: W-O-W.
Every tee box, green and bunker has been redone. About 165 trees have been moved.
Other parts of the landscape have been altered for shot value and to improve views. Mounds have been softened. A new irrigation system is in place.
It's a clean, less-is-more look that should intrigue pros, members and resort guests. When fans arrive at the April 24-27 tournament, they will find open viewing areas that will bring them much closer to the action.
The course's most defining characteristics will be the square tee complexes, white sand bunkers and closely mown areas around the greens.
Most important to the tournament is that this layout will create a buzz among the pros. It will challenge the world's best, not run them off.
Dallas' Harrison Frazar and Fort Worth's J.J. Henry devoted lots of time in making a design that lures Tour players.
The course will make them think with several risk-reward holes and will provide a variety of strategic options, particularly with the short game. Players and fans will enjoy the strong finishing stretch.
“You hear competitive and you hear challenging, but the word you have to hear is fun,” Weibring said. “It's got to provide all levels of player the visual opportunities to play a shot. Do they have a bailout? Can they bounce the ball on the green? Will they remember the holes?”
Nos. 11, 17 and 18 will attract the most attention. The 11th, a short par-4, will invite drama. The driving area has been cleared and the angle changed, tempting big hitters to drive over the water and onto the green.
Special care has been taken to make the par-3 17th the focal point, similar to the 16th at the TPC Scottsdale. The mounds that create a natural amphitheater behind the green have been lowered slightly to expand and improve viewing.
Fans can line both sides of the hole because landscaping has been cleared on the right. With boxes potentially placed near the tee and along the sides, players could make a dramatic entrance out of the tunnel from 16.
Mounds above the green have been softened and brush cleared to enhance viewing. From this popular spot, a person can watch shots into the first and second holes, the tee shot on No. 3, and everything on 17 and 18.
On the left side of 18, a natural-looking water feature with a series of cascading falls has replaced the pond. The green has shifted left and mounds reduced, creating a much cleaner look.
The course still has hurdles to clear before Tour approval. Much will depend on the condition of the greens and fairways, so a grow-in specialist will assist in the process. A decision isn't expected until early March.
“At the start, the weather got to the point of being over-the-top ridiculous,” Wolfard said. “It's a testament to all the people in the project who persevered and got it done.”
TPC REDESIGN
What: Redesign of TPC Four Seasons at Las Colinas
Who: Architects D.A. Weibring and Steve Wolfard of Plano-based Plano-based D.A. Weibring/Golf Resources Group.
When: 2008 EDS Byron Nelson Championship is scheduled for April 24-27, 2008.
Notable: Bent grass greens are in, Bermuda fairways have been sodded, and overseeding of rye grass was applied before PGA Tour-imposed Nov. 1 deadline. Decision on course usage for tournament depends on the grow-in of fairways and bent-grass greens.
PROJECT AT A GLANCE
- Reshape all greens and surrounding areas
- Rebuild and reshape all tees into square complexes, and clear landscaping to improve views
- Rebuild bunkers and eliminate, add and relocate bunkers for strategy and framing
- Regrade fairways to improve drainage, shot value and strategy
- Replace irrigation system
- Reduce visibility of cart paths
- Relocate and/or remove trees to add variety to canopy horizons and define corridor
FROM THE DESK OF D.A. WEIBRING
Architect D.A. Weibring's highlights from the TPC redesign:
- No. 1 has changed dramatically with the left side of the landing area tilted left to improve visibility from tees, reworked fairway bunkers on right, and the green shifted back into the hillside.
- Separation and lowering of 5th and 9th greens allows for increased viewing area. The par-3 5th has a narrower target, and the 9th green has a low area in front for bump-and-runs.
- Landscaping on the hill rising above the first and second greens has been cleared and mounds softened, allowing fans to watch action on five holes from here.
- The par-3 17th enhances its reputation as the signature hole. Gallery room and spots for viewing boxes are created around the tee and along the left and right side to create a stadium feel. Mounds around green have been softened to expand seating capacity and improve views.
- No. 18 becomes more challenging with the pro tee moved left to direct drives into the right-to-left slope of the fairway. A water feature defined by rocks guards the left and is in play on the drive and approach shots. Green has been shifted left and lowered, and mounds softened to improve viewing.