All New Course Needs Is Event

The PGA Tour doesn’t build one of its Tournament Players Clubs without the intent of moving a tournament there, so when the TPC at Valencia opens in June, the big question will be what tournament is going to be played there?

Course design consultant Mark O’Meara, fresh off his victory at the Skins Game over the weekend, visited Valencia on Monday to discuss the progress of the course. He said that the original intent of building the course was to have a PGA Tour event there, but it’s more likely now the Champions Tour will play there first.

“When it was originally planned, we were hoping to bring the [Nissan] Open in here,” O’Meara said. “But now we’re looking at a senior event.”

The Champions Tour, formerly the senior tour, plays the SBC Senior Classic at Valencia Country Club, across from the TPC. The contract between the Champions Tour and Valencia Country Club runs through 2004, with an annual renewal option, according to tournament director Brian Fitzgerald.

The PGA Tour’s Nissan Open has a deal with Riviera Country Club through 2005, but Riviera is a player favorite. The PGA Tour has played there 40 times since 1926, including 27 of the last 29 years. That kind of history makes it almost impossible to pry the tournament away though Perry Dickey, general manager for the TPC at Valencia hasn’t ruled out any type of tournament.

“There isn’t anything concrete in the works, but the intent is to bring the SBC across the freeway,” Dickey said. “But we could have any number of things here from the seniors to maybe even a special event.”

The course probably wouldn’t be tournament ready until then anyway, but O’Meara acknowledged he thought of possible future tournaments when consulting on the design.

“When building a course such as this, you gotta have in the back of your mind what are the long-term goals,” O’Meara said. “Everyone takes pride in having the best players in the world play their course.”

The PGA Tour owns 33 TPCs worldwide. The PGA, Champions or Nationwide (formerly Buy.com) Tours play tournaments at 22 of those.

The philosophy behind these clubs has been the same since the original TPC at Sawgrass opened in 1980: quality golf courses owned by the tour that would challenge professional players and provide enhanced viewing areas for spectators.

The TPC at Valencia meets the criteria. The front nine will meander through homes, but the back nine will be a tree-lined, quiet experience.

There are only 27 bunkers on the course -- tame by today’s standards -- and water comes into play on only two holes, but length and elevation changes will make for a challenge. The course measures a beefy 7,260 from the back tees and includes a 244-yard par three. Fortunately, there are five sets of tees.

The greens will be subtle, said O’Meara, who added that the average weekend hacker will be able to enjoy the course if they choose the right set of tees.

“It’s not a lot of fun going out and losing your golf ball,” O’Meara said. “I tried to keep the average to high handicapper in mind, but from the back tees it will be all the golf course you want.”

Green fees have not been set yet, but the TPC at Valencia is a semi-private club. Members will have priority for tee-time reservations and will be allowed to make reservations for friends up to 30 days in advance, director of marketing Marcus Slaton said. The general public can make reservations seven days in advance. The club has sold 168 memberships.

“It’s going to be difficult for the general public to get tee times,” Slaton said.