TED BITS, Ted McIntyre - SAW-WHET TEE SHEET JAMMED, SHORES COURSE REPLACES POPPY HILLS AT PEBBLE BEACH EVENT, AND TIGER’S 2010 SCHEDULE

The death of golf has been greatly exaggerated. As I’ve been saying all year, while the golf market remains a struggle, the demand for affordable golf is a constant. Consider the following evidence: My significant other, Mary (a.k.a. Little Bear) and her bestest buddy Diane teed it up yesterday at 2 p.m. at Saw-Whet Golf Course in Oakville. They hoped to get as many hopes in as possible before the sun fell, but called it after nine holes…and three hours. The course had a jammed tee sheet, as they do again today, expecting 300 players or so over that two-day span. It may be the second week of November, but given decent weather, golf enthusiasts clearly are unwilling to call it a season just yet.

PEBBLE BEACH’S NEW ROTATION
The last work of gifted modern architect Mike Strantz, whose intriguing designs include True Blue in Myrtle Beach and Tobacco Road in North Carolina, occurred on a splendid slice of California real estate at the Monterey Peninsula Country Club five years ago. Strantz was diagnosed with an aggressive form on tongue cancer and endured chemotherapy treatments (losing close to 80 pounds and most of his hair) during his passionate redesign of the private club’s Shores course, which was hastily crafted on a shoestring budget in 1959.

Monterey Peninsula’s Shores Course was designed by Mike Strantz in 2002-2003.

Utilizing the best part of the property, which brought much of the course closer to the Pacific, Strantz designed 12 new holes and reworked six existing ones. The final product, which opened to praise in June 2004—a year before Strantz would lose his battle to cancer—measures 6,914 yards.

Strantz’s work will be on display for millions to see during the second week in February when it replaces Poppy Hills in the rotation at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Poppy Hills, incidentally, marked the last previous change to the rota when it replaced Cypress Point in 1991.

Expect the Shores course, which was used in the event’s 1965, ‘66 and ‘71 events, to be lengthened to around 7,000 yards for the AT&T, with wind playing a much more significant factor than was the case at Poppy Hills.

2010 PGA TOUR SCHEDULE, AND TIGER’S SCHEDULE
Well, here it is: the official 2010 PGA Tour Schedule. The events bolded below are the ones we expect Tiger to Play, based upon past habits.

Jan. 4-10 SBS Championship (Kapalua, Hawaii)
Jan. 11-17 Sony Open (Honolulu, Hawaii)
Jan. 18-24 Bob Hope Classic (La Quinta, Calif.)
Jan. 25-31 Century Club of San Diego Invitational (La Jolla, Calif.)
Feb. 1-7 Northern Trust Open (Pacific Palisades, Calif.)
Feb. 8-14 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am (Pebble Beach, Calif.)
Feb. 15-21 World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Champ. (Marana, Ariz.)
Mayakoba Golf Classic (Playa del Carmen, Mex.)
Feb. 22-28 FBR Open (Scottsdale, Ariz.)
March 1-7 The Honda Classic (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.)
March 8-14 World Golf Championships-CA Championship (Doral, Fla.)
Puerto Rico Open (Rio Grande, Puerto Rico)
March 15-21 Transitions Championship (Palm Harbor, Fla.)
March 22-28 Arnold Palmer Invitational (Orlando, Fla.)
March 29-April 4 Shell Houston Open (Humble, Texas)
April 5-11 The Masters (Augusta, Ga.)
April 12-18 Verizon Heritage (Hilton Head Island, S.C.)
April 19-25 Zurich Classic of New Orleans (Avondale, La.)
April 26-May 2 Quail Hollow Championship (Charlotte, N.C.
May 3-9 THE PLAYERS Championship (Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.)
May 10-16 Valero Texas Open (San Antonio, Texas)
May 17-23 HP Byron Nelson Championship (Irving, Texas)
May 24-30 Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial (Fort Worth, Texas)
May 31-June 6. The Memorial Tournament (Dublin, Ohio)
June 7-13 St. Jude Classic Memphis, Tenn.
June 14-20 U.S. Open (Pebble Beach, Calif.)
June 21-27 Travelers Championship (Cromwell, Conn.)
June 28-July 4 AT&T National (Newtown Square, Pa.)
July 5-11 John Deere Classic (Silvis, Ill.)
July 12-18 The Open Championship (St. Andrews, Scotland)
Legends Reno-Tahoe Open (Reno, Nev.)
July 19-25 RBC Canadian Open (Etobicoke, Ontario)
July 26-Aug. 1 The Greenbrier Classic (White Sulphur Springs, W. Va.)
Aug. 2-8 World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational (Akron, Ohio)
Turning Stone Resort Championship (Verona, N.Y.)
Aug. 9-15 PGA Championship (Kohler, Wis.)
Aug. 16-22 Wyndham Championship (Greensboro, N.C.)
Aug. 23-29 The Barclays (Paramus, N.J.)
Aug. 30-Sept. 6 Deutsche Bank Championship (Norton, Mass.)
Sept. 6-12 BMW Championship (Lemont, Ill.)
Sept. 20-26 THE TOUR Championship (Atlanta, Ga.)

This entry was posted on Monday, November 9th, 2009 at 12:01 pm and is filed under TED BITS (RSS: ). You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.