Tuesday, April 30, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.
Too often, golf course architects approach their trade as if they were trying to split the atom or performing brain surgery.
Raymond Floyd, on the other hand, takes a very simplistic view toward designing a golf course.
"The easiest thing any of us can do is make (a golf course) so hard it's only playable for golf professionals," he said. "You've got to make it interesting and you've got to make it challenging, but I think the buzzword is fun. Golf courses need to be fun. Golf is a game and games are supposed to be fun."
That is the philosophy Floyd has brought to his latest design, the Tournament Players Club at The Canyons, a new 18-hole resort course being built across Summerlin Parkway from the TPC at Summerlin.
The 7,000-yard course, scheduled to open in October, will serve as the site of the Las Vegas Senior Classic beginning in 1997. The course also will be open to the public, which challenged Floyd when he was designing the layout with fellow course architect Bobby Weed.
"We have built a golf course that is somewhat unique, knowing what we were trying to accomplish going in," Floyd said. "We had one thing, knowing that we were going to build a golf course for the tournament, for the Senior PGA Tour, so we had a goal in mind there. We also had in mind that it is a resort golf course, so we went in addressing both of those things.
"The most important thing, in my mind, is building a golf course that is enjoyable for the people who play it 51 weeks of the year."
To that end, Floyd designed the course with four sets of tees on each hole, bringing two major washes that snake through the course into play from the back tees. The forward tees, on most holes, will give the ladies and high-handicap players relief from having to carry the washes and other hazards.
Unlike many desert courses, the TPC at The Canyons will not be a target golf course, Floyd said.
"That's where it differs from your desert golf courses in Arizona," Floyd said. "Target golf courses don't allow high handicap players, ladies or older men to play and I don't want to be a part of that. It just eliminates the majority of your golfers."
Although he admits he is biased, Floyd said he and Weed have designed a course that will be unique to Las Vegas.
"When you think desert, you think that's a pretty blah, nondescript piece of property to have to do a golf course on," Floyd said. "But we were fortunate here in that we had two tremendous washes that run down through this property. We did a routing plan down through there that I think is incredible.
"I think it's going to be a unique golf course and I think people are going to enjoy playing it. We're going to put a product in there that is going to enhance the beauty of the area."
Chip shots ...
* SENIORS TO DEFEND: The Senior PGA Tour team of Jack Nicklaus, Hale Irwin and Raymond Floyd will attempt to defend their title when the Wendy's Three-Tour Challenge moves to the SouthShore Golf Club at Lake Las Vegas in November. The Three-Tour Challenge features three-player teams from the Senior PGA Tour, the PGA Tour and the LPGA Tour competing in a team format that uses the same scoring system as in the Ryder Cup Matches. The PGA Tour and LPGA Tour teams will be announced later this summer.
* UNLV RISES IN POLL: Despite losing a four-shot lead after two rounds and finishing third in its last tournament, the UNLV golf team moved from fourth to second in the most recent Rolex Collegiate Rankings. Defending national champion Oklahoma State was ranked No. 1 in the men's poll.
* EXPENSIVE CLUBS: A set of MacGregor woods once owned by President Kennedy sold for $772,500 at last week's auction of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis' estate. A set of Ben Hogan Power Thrust irons and a putter, also belonging to the late President, sold for $387,500 and $67,750, respectively.
* UPCOMING EVENTS: The PGA Tour is in Texas this week for the Shell Houston Open at the TPC at The Woodlands. Payne Stewart is the defending champion of the $1.5 million tournament, which will be televised Saturday and Sunday by ABC. ... The Senior PGA Tour heads east for the $800,000 PaineWebber Invitational at the TPC at Piper Glen in Charlotte, N.C. Bob Murphy won last year's event. ESPN will televise Friday through Sunday. ... The LPGA Tour is in Daytona Beach, Fla. for the $1.2 million Sprint Titleholders Championship. Val Skinner is the defending champ. ... The Nike Tour is in Gautlet, Miss., for the Mississippi Gulf Coast Classic. Allen Doyle won last year's tournament.
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