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Course Review - Tour 18, Houston, Texas

Great review!

I often play at 'Renditions' in the DC area when I travel down that way - a lot of similar holes. It's a really, really fun experience and very easy to get lost in the fact that these are only replica holes. Feels legit!
 
Great job on the review Tim! That added touch of the leaderboard was really cool IMO.
 
Great writeup Tim. It was really neat to go through this. I like the idea of the course alot.
 
Well done, TBT! So, who went for #13 Augusta in two?
 
That looks like a blast. I would love to play Amen Corner and TPC Sawgrass #17
 
Hawk said:
Well done, TBT! So, who went for #13 Augusta in two?
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None of us.....you would be amazed how big of a draw you actually have to play to get around that corner...it's crazy! Amol hit a great drive(the only good one in the group) with a nice draw and when we get there he was still 240 or so out.
 
I figured if anyone was doing it, it would be Amol just because I know that's his shot shape. I think he should have gone for it.
 
Hawk said:
I figured if anyone was doing it, it would be Amol just because I know that's his shot shape. I think he should have gone for it.
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that hole should set up perfect for him.
 
Great writeup. I have not played that course in over 15 years. The photos may be deceiving, but it actually looks like they've improved the look of some of the holes. The hole with the church pew bunkers used to have a significant slope on both sides, because the essentially dug the hole out of the ground to create the elevated tees and green, and then used that dirt elsewhere on the course to create mounds.

I was part of the litigation team that represented Tour 18 back when it first opened. They were sued by Harbour Town, Pebble Beach, and Pinehurst, the only public courses that were copied. The Private courses didn't really have a claim for monetary damages, and Augusta National issued some public statement about imitation being the sincerest form of flattery. I guess its possible that Augusta National sued them later for some trademark infringement, since it wasn't until the late 90s that August National got serious about protecting its Intellectual Property.

The Tour 18 concept was really unique at the time. Creating replica holes was nothing new, but these guys took it to a whole new level. First, since the Houston area is so freaking flat, they were essentially working with a "blank canvas". Then, they visited each hole they wanted to copy, and took detailed measurements, including aerial photography that enabled them to measure elevation changes with incredibly precise detail. For quite a few of the holes they were even able to get architectural blueprints of the greens to match every subtle hill (of course, being so far South they had to use bermuda greens -- or at least that's what they opened with).

They certainly had their limitations. Just looking at the photographs of the Amen corner replicas, they couldn't come close to matching the landscaping, so they didn't even try. Also, you may have noticed that they copied #14 from Pebble Beach, rather than the more iconic 18th. That's because there was no way they could match the Pacific Ocean, and just digging a lake there would only have emphasized the differences. (And, they were lucky they copied 14, because if they had copied 18 there's a chance the judge would have made them change it!).

I always thought the course was overpriced. We had a few law firm outings out there, in part to toss a little business our client's way, but I only played the course as a casual foursome on 1 occasion. They actually saved a lot of money in building the course, because they didn't have to hire a golf course architect, so I never really understood why it had to be so expensive. For $100, they should at least have in-cart GPS.
 
Interesting thoughs there Rusty. Did Tour 18 have to play anything out as a result of the litigation? There is a course up in Dallas called the Tribute that copied the famous golf holes of The British Open (The Open) courses. Know if anything happened to them as a result?

The Amen corner isn't exactly like the orig. but it's as close as they were going to get with the land conditions. The important part of those holes (and the other famous holes) to me is what the holes looked like from the tee. That is where the awe set in. No it wasn't exactly like the hole but it gave you a good idea what the hole played like. Pretty cool, esp. Amen Corner.
 
No doubt this is a fun course to play! We got a similar taste of this type layout while playing Bears Best for the Atlanta Invitational.
 
Great review TBT! Love the pics too

Sent from my Samsung S2 using Tapatalk 2
 
Nate said:
Interesting thoughs there Rusty. Did Tour 18 have to play anything out as a result of the litigation? There is a course up in Dallas called the Tribute that copied the famous golf holes of The British Open (The Open) courses. Know if anything happened to them as a result?

The Amen corner isn't exactly like the orig. but it's as close as they were going to get with the land conditions. The important part of those holes (and the other famous holes) to me is what the holes looked like from the tee. That is where the awe set in. No it wasn't exactly like the hole but it gave you a good idea what the hole played like. Pretty cool, esp. Amen Corner.
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The litigation actually went pretty well for them, if I do say so myself. The primary goal was to avoid having to move any dirt to change the course, and that was accomplished. They didn't have to pay any monetary damages. They were kind of over-using the trademarks of the various courses in their advertising, and items around the course such as their menu, and they scaled all that back. The primary issue was whether copying a hole from another course could amount to trade dress infiringement, that is, would the copy itself cause golfers to think there was some type of association with, or approval from, the original course. The disclaimers were put on the tee boxes early in the litigation as a suggestion from our firm. We also suggested they remove the lighthouse from behind the Harbor Town green, but Tour 18 decided to stand their ground on that (the lighthouse they had was made of corrugated metal, and actually pretty ugly -- I suggested they replace it with an oil derrick).

Anyway, the judge ultimately ruled that copying a hole could possibly amount to trade dress infringement, but only if you copied the signature hole from a famous course. As I said above, they did not copy the signature hole from Pebble Beach, and Pinehurst admitted that No. 2 does not even have a signature hole. So that left the Harbor Town hole, and one thing the judge noted was that Tour 18 included the lighthouse; and since a lighthouse has nothing to do with golf, the ONLY reason it was there was provide the look and feel of the Harbor Town hole. So, they took down the lighthouse, and that pretty much ended the litigation. There was an appeal, but it didn't get very far.
 
TripleBogieTim said:
None of us.....you would be amazed how big of a draw you actually have to play to get around that corner...it's crazy! Amol hit a great drive(the only good one in the group) with a nice draw and when we get there he was still 240 or so out.
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Hawk said:
I figured if anyone was doing it, it would be Amol just because I know that's his shot shape. I think he should have gone for it.
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ddec said:
that hole should set up perfect for him.
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I hit my drive over to the left side of the fairway, but it hit into the upslope and got no roll. I got down there and I was really close to the creek, and I had some overhanging tree limbs between me and the green. So I had 230 out, and would have had to hit a 3 wood from a lie above my feet and hit a big hook with a creek right in front of the green. I just don't have that shot in my arsenal. I laid up and then missed the green because my wedge play sucks. :banghead:
 
The last part made me chuckle. I get very angry when that happens.
 
arydolphin said:
I hit my drive over to the left side of the fairway, but it hit into the upslope and got no roll. I got down there and I was really close to the creek, and I had some overhanging tree limbs between me and the green. So I had 230 out, and would have had to hit a 3 wood from a lie above my feet and hit a big hook with a creek right in front of the green. I just don't have that shot in my arsenal. I laid up and then missed the green because my wedge play sucks. :banghead:
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you could have been in Rae's creek twice like me.....LOL


Rusty, Thanks for your insight into the litigation...that was very cool to read.
 
Very interesting insight on the litigation. As for the course, it looks like fun. My only thought is there doesn't seem to be very much/deep rough. My imagination, weather conditions, or how it normally is? Great review.
 
oiler3535 said:
Very interesting insight on the litigation. As for the course, it looks like fun. My only thought is there doesn't seem to be very much/deep rough. My imagination, weather conditions, or how it normally is? Great review.
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It's bermuda rough so it doesn't have to be really long to be nasty.....miss a green or fairway by just a few feet and the ball disappears into thick tangled bermuda rough.
 
Great review and write up.

I finally got to play the Dallas version this summer. Cool experience for sure. I would like to play it again when it's not 108* out.:angry:

The 17th at Sawgrass is very cool. Very intimidating, even in replica form. Only GIR for me on the day though. Put a few balls in Rae's creek too. And, Tim is right about how brutal the bermuda rough can be.
 
TripleBogieTim said:
It's bermuda rough so it doesn't have to be really long to be nasty.....miss a green or fairway by just a few feet and the ball disappears into thick tangled bermuda rough.
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Gotcha. Never played bermuda grass. None up here in S.Ontario that I know. A lot of Bent and Poa.
 
I've played both Tour 18's and I have to say that I really enjoyed the layout at the Houston Course. The course has been through some rough times but it was a lot of fun to play.
 
Great review! I'd love the opportunity to play that course.
 
To revive an old thread - just played Tour 18 in Houston yesterday. Course was in pretty decent condition and I got a GolfNow for $35 (x3 - I took two non-golfers from Istanbul out for a round). We had a blast and the iconic holes were a treat for them. Nothing like getting a pic @ Golden Bell / Augusta. Pace of play was really good (we never waited and hardly saw anyone - we played a "scramble" off my ball which kept them from getting frustrated and things moving along (I had a flight to catch).
 
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