{"id":3021,"date":"2020-10-30T11:06:25","date_gmt":"2020-10-30T11:06:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theaposition.com\/teemoore\/?p=3021"},"modified":"2020-12-14T16:07:07","modified_gmt":"2020-12-14T16:07:07","slug":"toms-doaks-redesign-of-memorial-park-gc-new-home-of-the-houston-open","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/teemoore\/golf\/3021\/toms-doaks-redesign-of-memorial-park-gc-new-home-of-the-houston-open","title":{"rendered":"Tom Doak’s redesign of Memorial Park GC, new home of the Houston Open"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cSomewhere I was typecast as someone who didn\u2019t know how to build courses to challenge professionals\u2026and I don\u2019t like it when people tell me what I can\u2019t do.”\u00a0<\/i>\u2014Tom Doak<\/p>\n

\"Tom<\/a>

Tom Doak<\/p><\/div>\n

I read the above statement in Tom Doak\u2019s annual \u201cYear in Review\u201d email sent this past January. The context was in regard to his re-design and complete renovation of Houston\u2019s Memorial Park GC which will be the new venue for the Houston Open starting this week. Knowing I\u2019d be in the Houston area in early March, I immediately made plans to visit the course. When Doak is presented with a challenge, he invariably rises to the occasion and often something very special emerges. I wanted to see the outcome\u00a0from the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame member and celebrated course designer.<\/p>\n

Before the pandemic crisis reared its ugly head, I visited Memorial Park (MP) and was given a thorough tour by local resident Mike Nuzzo, the on-site associate designer for Doak\u2019s Renaissance Design, Inc. It was a typically busy day at MP with every hole filled with a foursome of golfers, largely walking, which is always a refreshing sight.\u00a0(Note: And this was before the pandemic-driven cart restrictions.)<\/span><\/p>\n

A municipal course, first opened in 1936 and designed by Jim Bredemus, MP is set within a bustling public park and attracts 60,000 rounds per year. (Incidentally, the story of Brademus is interesting. Born in Flint, MI, Bredemus ended up in Texas where he designed over a dozen courses, including Colonial in Ft. Worth. He was inducted into the Texas Hall of Fame in 1981.)<\/p>\n

\"Brooks<\/a>

Brooks Koepka<\/p><\/div>\n

As background, Houston Astros owner Jim Crane offered to rebuild MP, under the auspices of his Astrosgolf Foundation, for the city of Houston so he could move the PGA Tour event back downtown. He not only hired Doak but he also retained Brooks Koepka, the #1 player in the world at the time, to be a special consultant on the project. It helps to have deep pockets.<\/p>\n

The city of Houston accepted Crane\u2019s generous offer and closed the course in January 2019. On Nov. 4 of 2019, it amazingly re-opened for public play. In that short time window, MP was transformed from a largely pedestrian layout to one hosting a PGA Tour stop.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Okay, back to my course tour with Nuzzo. From the first tee and looking out at the expanse, the course seemed intriguing but certainly not awe-inspiring. Of course, given Doak\u2019s admired minimalist design ethos, that first reaction is quite common. It\u2019s the subtle elements of design and shaping of the golf course that remain Doak\u2019s enduring appeal.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But first I wanted to get the take on the course from one of the course starters. Starters are usually a ripe source for unvarnished reviews, hearing so many in any given day from paying customers.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo what\u2019s been the opinion of golfers about the new course?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople like it,\u201d a starter replied. \u201cThey like the new holes and how different they are. There\u2019s been a very positive reception to it overall, especially by better players.\u201d<\/p>\n

Well, that\u2019s a good start, I thought to myself.<\/p>\n

Since I was a first-time visitor, Nuzzo explained the previous layout was a \u201cpretty stock design, with bunkers right and left, standard greens, and no memorable holes to speak of.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also said the work on the course in the ’90s largely improved its drainage but really didn\u2019t touch the design of the course.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the new design, all the fairways and greens were redone,\u201d said Nuzzo. \u201cNuisance ponds were removed and fairways given more movement as were the greens. It\u2019s a far more interesting golf course now.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Nuzzo was also proud the latest renovation provided a state-of-the-art rain catchment system by enlarging and deepening ponds that will greatly reduce course water usage.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe golf course was reshaped and drained to allow the 60 acres surrounding the pond to shed water directly into the irrigation system for reuse,\u201d said Nuzzo. \u201cDuring the summer grow-in, the greatest demand for water, we rarely turned on the city water. The new grass was being irrigated with primarily rain water.\u201d<\/p>\n

Without any prior experience of MP, I could only imagine the herculean labors that took place. Nuzzo said several hundred trees and considerable brush were removed, allowing new sight lines and vistas. There are fewer bunkers now, only 19 in all where previously there were 50. But in keeping with Doak\u2019s philosophy, the bunkers are pivotal and strategic.<\/p>\n

The greens had noticeable movement to them, but nothing too severe. Nuzzo pointed out most of the greens have short-grass run offs which can confound players, even Tour pros, when missing the putting surface.<\/p>\n

\"Second<\/a>

Second hole at Memorial Park<\/p><\/div>\n

The second hole, a par-three, is a new hole where the green was moved to the other side of the ravine. It looks like it was there when Flint\u2019s Brademus was around. The other holes on the front side all offer added charm but also some sharp teeth from the back tees.<\/p>\n

As we toured the course, it was apparent the holes knit together well with a solid routing and flow. I liked how the old timey feel of the layout\u2014with greens and tees near one another\u2014was retained. True to a Tour-level test, the course now has a treacherous closing stretch of holes which, according to Doak, are not his \u201cnorm.\u201d\u00a0 I<\/span>n Doak\u2019s words \u201cin-your-face water hazards\u201d lurk now on 15, 16 and 17. On the par-four 17th, there\u2019s even a peninsula green. Well, Doak did once serve on Pete Dye\u2019s construction crew.<\/p>\n

Recently in an email, Nuzzo reported\u00a0the turf at MP \u201cis great and ready to go.\u201d He also said Tour officials are expected to set up the 13th and 17th as\u00a0driveable par-four holes on select days.<\/p>\n

Given the tour and all the insights imparted by Nuzzo, I was quite impressed with Memorial Park. Doak and company have delivered a first-class golf experience for lucky Houston residents and golfers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As the Houston Open tees off on Thursday,\u00a0 I’m betting\u00a0<\/span>Doak will lay to rest any silly claims his designs don\u2019t challenge Tour players. I can almost hear him say, \u201cBring \u2018em on!”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Photos courtesy of Renaissance Design (top), the PGA TOUR and Mike Nuzzo.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cSomewhere I was typecast as someone who didn\u2019t know how to build courses to challenge professionals\u2026and I don\u2019t like it… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":47,"featured_media":3193,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,17],"tags":[2832,1036836,152651,976018,1013160,1005606,1028376,789490,1028378,1019640],"class_list":["post-3021","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-golf","category-courses-and-travel","tag-terry-moore","tag-pga-tour","tag-jim-crane","tag-renaissance-design","tag-terry-moore-golf","tag-brooks-koepka","tag-memorial-park-golf-course","tag-houston-open","tag-tom-doalk","tag-mike-nuzzo"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/teemoore\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2020\/10\/Memorial-Park-2nd-hole.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/teemoore\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3021","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/teemoore\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/teemoore\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/teemoore\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/47"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/teemoore\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3021"}],"version-history":[{"count":22,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/teemoore\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3021\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3242,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/teemoore\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3021\/revisions\/3242"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/teemoore\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3193"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/teemoore\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3021"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/teemoore\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3021"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/teemoore\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3021"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}