Network of TPC courses thriving

Tuesday, Oct. 12, 1999 | 11:21 a.m.

The PGA Tour's Tournament Players Club network has maintained a reputation for operating high-quality clubs since its inception nearly 20 years ago.

The TPC network continues to grow, with nearly 30 facilities currently open or under construction, including several overseas. Las Vegas is home to two TPC courses -- the TPC at Summerlin and the TPC at The Canyons.

By the end of 1998, nine domestic TPC courses either were in the panning or construction stages.

TPCs encompass all forms of golf-related operations -- resort facilities, corporate/private membership clubs and daily-fee courses -- and, as such, PGA Tour Golf Course Properties, Inc., is able to match the type of facility with the demands of each market in which it operates.

The network represents the highest standard in the golf course industry, commensurate with the members of the organization it represents: the players of the PGA Tour. Each Tournament Players Club embodies the trademark of excellence first established with the flagship TPC at Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., which opened its world-famous Stadium Course in the fall of 1980.

The commitment to overall excellence serves as the foundation for the network's success.

The TPC network was born through former PGA Tour commissioner Deane Beman's desire to provide PGA Tour players with quality golf courses that also would offer spectators enhanced viewing areas.

Beman also reasoned that development of quality facilities would alleviate the Tour's dependency on the television dollar while providing rent-free venues for tournaments. The savings in rent, in turn, would generate both increased purses and greater charitable contributions by the tournaments held at TPCs.

The TPC at Sawgrass was the first Tournament Players Club to hold a PGA Tour event, becoming the permanent home of The Players Championship in 1982. Today, a growing number of PGA Tour and Senior PGA Tour events are held at TPC facilities each year.