Do You Think The Quality of The Course Affects the Quality of Competition on The PGA Tour?

[2nd Swing Golf]

This week's Quail Hollow Championship in Charlotte.

I think that better golf courses means better fields and better fields make for more interesting tournaments. Take a look at San Antonio and New Orleans. Both are good cities with great food, but the fields certainly lacked buzz. I believe that there are a lot of great players on tour — more than just the ones that receive all the hype — but the general public doesn’t agree.

The top players aren’t going to play every week and I don’t think it is a coincidence that many skip the bad courses. Earlier this week, Zach Johnson tweeted about his upcoming schedule. He said he was playing this week in Charlotte and would play The Players, Colonial and the Memorial.

Which event is he skipping? The Byron Nelson. I can’t imagine he will be alone. The TPC Four Seasons Resort at Las Colinas (try saying that fast five times) was ranked No. 49 by the players and Golf World.

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WHAT DO YOU THINK?

[MSchott]

I think the main reason top pros choose a tournament is the prestige of the tournament and not the course. Otherwise, sponsorship is a factor as is quality of the course. The ATT attracts a good field as it's the first prestige event of the season. It doesn't hurt that the courses are great and that the Monterey Peninsula is spectacular. Of course the WCG tournaments attract good fields as do Colonial, the Byron Nelson Bay Hill, The Memorial the Players Championship, the Barclay's, the Deutsche Bank and the BMW Championship. It's surprising that the Canadian Open is a run of the mill tournament these days. It seems that the tournaments that follow majors do not have strong fields. If I was a tour pro I'd love to play the Heritage (despite the horrible sport coat :-)).

[newtogolf]

I'm not sure the course quality enters the decision as much as the type of course, OWGR points and timing of the event.  A number of the top golfers like to take the week before and/or after a Major off so those events might suffer no matter how good the course was.

[brocks]

I'm not sure the course quality enters the decision as much as the type of course, OWGR points and timing of the event.  A number of the top golfers like to take the week before and/or after a Major off so those events might suffer no matter how good the course was.

That makes sense, but you have to work hard to explain Tiger playing this week, if it's not the quality of the course. Quail Hollow is one of the toughest driving events of the year, gets no bonus WGR points (it's strong for a regular event, but well below the majors, Players, WGCs, and FedEx Playoff events), and it's held the week before the Players. All that argues against Tiger playing it, but he plays it whenever he can.

[x129]

Timing is huge. Some guys like to play the week before a major (or something like the players) but don't want to play 3 weeks in a row. Others want to play 2 weeks before and then take one off. Others want to play 3 weeks (before and after) in a row and then jet back to their house in the UK. I am sure there are some guys pick events based on their chances to make money. I am sure some guy avoid courses if they don't think they will do well since it doesn't suit their game but I doubt many focus on the looks too much.

Originally Posted by newtogolf

I'm not sure the course quality enters the decision as much as the type of course, OWGR points and timing of the event.  A number of the top golfers like to take the week before and/or after a Major off so those events might suffer no matter how good the course was.

[2nd Swing Golf]

Originally Posted by brocks

That makes sense, but you have to work hard to explain Tiger playing this week, if it's not the quality of the course.

Quail Hollow is one of the toughest driving events of the year, gets no bonus WGR points (it's strong for a regular event, but well below the majors, Players, WGCs, and FedEx Playoff events), and it's held the week before the Players. All that argues against Tiger playing it, but he plays it whenever he can.

That's true.  Many big players are in Tiger's same position regarding this situation.  Interesting point.

[newtogolf]

Tigers may have some endorsement obligations that must be met so he picks from the courses he likes most or thinks he can do best at.  It could be he likes to use it as a tune up for the Players.   As x129 stated each player has their own preference to how many weeks before a Major they play in another tournament.

Originally Posted by brocks

That makes sense, but you have to work hard to explain Tiger playing this week, if it's not the quality of the course.

Quail Hollow is one of the toughest driving events of the year, gets no bonus WGR points (it's strong for a regular event, but well below the majors, Players, WGCs, and FedEx Playoff events), and it's held the week before the Players. All that argues against Tiger playing it, but he plays it whenever he can.

[brocks]

Tigers may have some endorsement obligations that must be met so he picks from the courses he likes most or thinks he can do best at.  It could be he likes to use it as a tune up for the Players.   As x129 stated each player has their own preference to how many weeks before a Major they play in another tournament.

That is absolutely true, but it's still hard to correlate it to Tiger playing Quail Hollow. Phil likes to play the week before majors. Tiger doesn't. And AFAIK he has never had any endorsement connection to Wells Fargo or Wachovia. In fact, he had an endorsement contract for several years with American Express, which competed with them (though not intensely) in the financial services area.