The Byron Nelson Tournament

My son and I went to the Byron Nelson golf tournament on Saturday, 5/19. It was the 50th anniversary of the tournament. It was also the inaugural year for a brand new venue. For the last 35 or so years, the tournament was held at the TPC Four Seasons in Irving, TX. The new course is Trinity Forest in southeast Dallas. 

The Nelson has never had adequate nearby parking and that problem continues. When in Irving, the parking was at the old Texas Stadium location. Now, parking is at a big Fair Park parking lot. The good news is that parking and the shuttle buses to the course are still free. It seemed like a somewhat longer bus ride, but not bad. 

I am glad they moved the tournament. I never liked Four Seasons. It was a mediocre course that was terrible for the spectators. There were very few places on the course to actually see golf. No locations where you could see multiple holes. 

The new Trinity Forest location is a bit strange. It has only been open for about a year and a half. Although it is actually located in a large forest, the course itself doesn't have a single tree. No, the golf architects didn't clear-cut the site. It was formerly a garbage landfill that has been reclaimed. It is a links style course that features wide fairways, large greens, a lot of traps, and a few areas of very tall native grass rough. 

Trinity Forest Golf Course, Dallas, TX

It is a great venue for watching golf. There are a couple of shared greens and tees. Because there are no trees, it is easy to see several holes from one location. A big improvement over the old location. The downside is that there is little natural shade and a late May in Dallas can be hot and sunny. The day we went started out mostly cloudy with temps in the 80's. It got sunnier and hotter later, but not too bad. That's what sunscreen and beer are for. There are several enclosed, air-conditioned places on the course although most require some kind of sponsorship connection or an additional fee, a couple are open to the general public. If you just want to go to a party, I would suggest upgrading to one of the premium venues. The same goes if you require adult beverages other than beer and wine. If you actually want to watch golf and drink beer or wine, there is no need. 

The other thing about the course is that it is different from almost every other course the pros play here in the States. Think the British Open courses like St. Andrews vs the tree-lined courses like Augusta National, home of The Masters. 

Augusta National Golf Course

We walked most of the course and found several vantage points to comfortably watch a lot of golf. We walked over 6 miles during the day since we wanted to check out the whole place. 

My biggest concern for the course going forward is the scoring. The cut was -4 and the winner, rookie Aaron White, was at -23. Thirty-one players finished at -10 or better. Links courses can be fairly easy when there is no wind and rain softens up the greens. That turned out to be the conditions for most of the rounds. Saturday, the day we were there was the toughest since the winds were blowing. The PGA is making several changes to the 2019 tournament schedule. It will be interesting to see where the Byron Nelson falls. Will the new dates make the course a little harder? I hope so. I think 23 under par is too much. 

Overall, the new Trinity Forest venue is a big improvement. It is a farther drive to get to for those of us west of Dallas. That is more than made up for by a better course. 

I'm ready to go back next year. Until then, here in DFW, we have the Colonial coming up this week in Ft. Worth. That has always been a favorite course and tournament of mine. From the very new Trinity Forest links course to the very old Colonial tight tree lined location. We'll be there again this year. 

wjh