MARK'S KADDY KORNER - SHELL HOUSTON OPEN PREVIEW

 

Shell Houston Open Redstone Tournament Course

They moved to the Humble area in 2003 from The Woodlands and Fred Couples won the first event at the Redstone Golf Club, now they are playing the Tournament Course and the old man is still a contender. To be honest with you I’ve only been on the Tournament Course once for a practice round but they tell me it is long and hard, set up a lot like the Masters with slick greens, and the temperamental weather makes it a difficult week. There have actually been a couple of tournaments cancelled because of rain in the Houston area over the years.

Scheduled the week before the Masters Redstone always draws a strong field and this week a few of the top dogs are missing and my personal favorite to win, J. B. Holmes. For some reason he decided not to play, he was my incoming favorite after the last few weeks and his second place playoff finish last year. This is definitely a course for the long knockers and deft putters. The field has gone fairly deep into the school so it isn’t quite as strong as years past so look out for a long shot.

The caddies will be quenching their thirsts and telling stories at Lloyd’s in downtown Humble where the best men in world have relieved themselves on the bathroom wall. No urinals just a wall with cascading water and a trough below, probably the finest relief station on tour. They take pretty good care of us, some home cooked meals every night, a pool tournament, and the shuffleboard competition gets quite heated, plus the beer is ice cold.

DL III is trying to win his way in to Augusta so watch out for him. My long shots are a couple of rookies, Josh Teater and Blake Adams and look out for Derek Lamely again, he’s still playing pretty good. But, here are the guys to put your money on. Hunter Mahan has a great track record here, Anthony Kim’s ball striking could eat this course alive, and Martin Kaymer’s length will be a great asset.

Houston has always boded well for first time winners. My brother won at the Woodlands with Tony Sills in the early 90’s, first time for both of them. Take a look at the past champions it’s sprinkled with grizzled veterans and first timers. It’s always a fun tournament to watch and the Houston Golf Association does a great job of putting on, and promoting the event.

 

Mark Huber is a semi-retired PGA Tour caddy doing a little writing. You can contact him at markskaddykorner@gmail.com or check out www.MarksKaddyKorner.com for more stories about golf and life. He's caddied twenty-one years on every tour for over fifty players mainly Bob Murphy, Ray Floyd, Doug Tewell, and worked for Tom Watson twice in 2009. Mark grew up in Havana, IL attended Illinois State on a baseball scholarship and played semi-pro ball with the Eau Claire Cavaliers after spring training with the White Sox way back when. He is a die-hard Cubs fan.

Mark has freelanced for many sites, including ESPN. He will now be contributing his insights to Docksquad Sports...