2012 Shell Houston Open Discussion Thread

[mvmac]

It's always cool to see how they set up the Redstone Golf Club like Augusta with how they mow the fairways from tee to green , greens are immaculate.  Here's more

Quote:

Turf Talk: Redstone Golf Club

By David McPherson, PGATOUR.COM contributor

This week’s TOUR stop is the final event the pros have before The Masters and the year’s first major. Randy Samoff, superintendent at Redstone Golf Club in Humble, Texas, and his staff, are ready to test the pros with major-like conditions, too.

“The goal of our tournament is to get them to face similar conditions to what they will face at Augusta,” said Samoff, who leads a year-round crew of 40.

Prior to taking the helm at Redstone in 2004, Samoff was an assistant at The Woodlands — the previous host of this week’s TOUR event. The key to getting a course ready for the world’s best players is starting early.

“Like I tell everybody, it’s a 12-month process,” he said. “As soon as the tournament is over, we are already thinking about what we are going to do for next year.”

Preparation for the TOUR event really ramps up in late October when Samoff and his crew start overseeding with ryegrass. “From there, it’s just a matter of refining and getting the right fertility,” he said. “Then, when March comes, it’s about high intensity mowing and constant grooming.”

Redstone’s greens are running fast; again, the course does its best to emulate the speed for which Augusta National is known. Samoff said the rough, which is about an inch and a quarter, is not a factor this week like it was last week at Bay Hill.

“What we are trying to do is make any chip shot or short game shot around the greens that the players will face be either from the sand or from a short, tight fairway cut,” he explained. “That presents a number of challenges. The pros are pretty good at what they do, but I think they would prefer to hit out of a little bit of rough than try to hit from a tight lie.”

Other touches that TOUR players will notice this week are about aesthetics.

“All of our mowing patterns in our short grass areas are going to be from green to the tee,” Samoff said. “All of our rough heights are going to be the opposite … we are going to mow everything from tee to green, so you will get that sharp contrast of two different colors; it really stands out visually.”

One final touch that Samoff is proud of, and thinks will show well on TV, is that the player’s tees have been cut a little lower than the fairway height and they are in a square.

“When they stand on the tee box, instead of seeing eight to ten mowed out tees, players are going to see their tee box only and see the fairway, so it kind of gives them the impression that the course was made just for this event,” he concluded.

Article about Lee Westwood getting ready for the week

Quote:

"I’m here to try to win this tournament, the Shell Houston Open," Westwood said. "It’s all such a mental game. You have to be so mentally focused to do well that — certainly for myself, I’m not smart enough to concentrate on two things at once so I have to concentrate on the thing at hand, which is trying to win this week."

So don’t expect Westwood to be hitting shots on the Tournament Course this week just because he thinks he’ll need them to play in the season’s first major.

"I like to play each tournament and give it the respect it deserves and play each course on its merits, play a shot when it’s necessary," the Englishman said.

[jhwmusic]

I guess it's not cool enough for anyone to watch it. Where is everybody? They have a decent field and at pretty damn good course.

[brocks]

I've been hearing for years about how True Golf Fans watch for love of the game, and don't care who's playing. I guess they're not as thick on the ground as I thought.

[Shorty]

Originally Posted by brocks

I've been hearing for years about how True Golf Fans watch for love of the game, and don't care who's playing. I guess they're not as thick on the ground as I thought.

Where have you heard that?

[iacas]

Originally Posted by Shorty

Where have you heard that?

From the people who can't admit that Tiger's the only guy in the game who really moves the needle.

I had it on at the building downtown yesterday and I looked up and say Curt Byrum and his partner talking for about five+ minutes. They normally cover the NW Tour and I remember wondering what was going on and why they weren't showing any golf.

[Zwick]

I usually don't watch golf the week before a major.

But according to ShotTracker, Mickelson is showing some form. -5 on the front nine.

[brocks]

I usually don't watch golf the week before a major.  But according to ShotTracker, Mickelson is showing some form. -5 on the front nine.

For an old guy with arthritis, Phil's off to one of his best starts ever, demolishing Tiger at the ATT, and damn near winning at Riviera the following week. Only trouble is, it's Phil. He can look unbeatable one week, and Hooters Tour material the next.

[Bullitt5339]

I usually only get to watch on the weekends because of work, but I do track the scores on pgatour.com.

The best thing about this tournament so far?

I'm in the lead right now in the Sandtrap Draftstreet deal.  I took some risks on my picks that are paying off, namely Oosthuisen, Barnes, and Gainey.  All of which are playing well.  Kyle Stanley is my only player in the doghouse right now.  Hunter and Fowler round out my team.

[k-troop]

Originally Posted by jhwmusic

I guess it's not cool enough for anyone to watch it. Where is everybody? They have a decent field and at pretty damn good course.

My wife can only handle so many days when golf fills the TV screen for half the day.  Since she'll be inundated with golf on TV next week, and Easter weekend even, I'm building some capital this week.

[walk18]

I can honestly say I watch every PGA tournament, and enjoy it regardless of who's playing. But I also realize I'm in the minority as far as that goes. That said, it looks like a nice course, and it's cool to see Couples here after winning last week on the Champions (I think he won?). But with the rainout and them playing extra holes today, I think it's too much for him. Good to see Phil playing well. I was hoping Ernie could win to play next week. he'll need to catch fire though.

[michaeljames92]

I think Oosthuizen knows that he has a win coming out of his ranking points this week and the Open will drop out soon. So he's probably getting his arse into gear.

[brocks]

I think Oosthuizen knows that he has a win coming out of his ranking points this week and the Open will drop out soon. So he's probably getting his arse into gear.

Tiger had the same kind of incentives most of last year, and it didn't seem to help much. Then again, Oostie is a proven winner :-)

[sean_miller]

Speaking of the rain delays, one time Tiger was killing time during a rain delay when someone said, "Hey Tiger . . . "

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by Shorty

Quote:

Originally Posted by brocks

I've been hearing for years about how True Golf Fans watch for love of the game, and don't care who's playing. I guess they're not as thick on the ground as I thought.

Where have you heard that?

From a lot of the people who don't post much at this site any more. The guys who enjoyed the break from 24/7 Tiger Tiger his relatively brief period of sucking ass provided them.

[WWBDD]

Good to see Brian Davis at the top of the leaderboard.

[bplewis24]

So it looks like AK withdrew with a shoulder injury.  I wonder if he will ever be capable of having another good, healthy, full-season.

Any word on why Spencer Levin withdrew?  I can't find any info on it.

Brandon

[brocks]

The guys who enjoyed the break from 24/7 Tiger Tiger his relatively brief period of sucking ass provided them.

Jeez, can you stop posting about Tiger for once?

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by brocks

Quote:

Originally Posted by sean_miller

The guys who enjoyed the break from 24/7 Tiger Tiger his relatively brief period of sucking ass provided them.

Jeez, can you stop posting about Tiger for once?

lolz, that reminds me of Tiger's 70+ wins and 14 majors. Gosh darn it he's awesome!!