on the Growth Green

Nicklaus’ course and its signature event roll out updates in time for the Memorial

TTHE 37TH ANNUAL MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT, beginning May 28, will debut some of the newest upgrades to Muirfield Village Golf Club – including a new practice range for players and some technology upgrades and other amenities for patrons.

Muirfield Village Golf Club will be the first course in the world to host a Ryder Cup, Solheim Cup and Presidents Cup. The Presidents Cup is coming in 2013, and it was one motivation behind Jack Nicklaus’ overhaul of the practice range, which had been unchanged since the course opened nearly 40 years ago. The drainage on the practice field was bad, leading to thousands of golf balls buried there each spring, he says.

“It’s been on our list for several years and we just needed to get it done,” Nicklaus told the Memorial Insider in October. “We had a modern driving range that (was) not a modern driving range, so it’s time to modernize it, … Nowadays you see a practice area with greens and bunkers and color. You’ve got trees and fairway areas and all the things that come with designing modern golf courses. Well, why not the same for Muirfield Village?”

So Nicklaus launched a dirt-moving project – not unlike the recent rebuild of the course’s 16th and 17th holes from tee to green.

The circular range was 286 yards from its longest point – more than enough when it opened in another equipment era. By shifting the tee counter-clockwise toward the main golf club entrance off Memorial Drive and clearing a wooded area on the west end of the practice range, the range now measures up to 330 yards.

Mounding was added to the perimeter and trees were planted there. Several target greens are now framed by bunkers, and the range features a new chipping area. The practice area also has two defined “fairways.” All areas resemble the course itself, so practice is more like playing a hole or holes.

For this year’s tournament, patron bleachers have been shifted and separated into two sections relocated behind the new hitting areas. The autograph area, frequented by children who attend the tournament, is in the vicinity, says

Tom Sprouse, tournament spokesman. He expects kids and adults alike will continue to jam the walkway between the Pavilion and clubhouse seeking to catch players leaving the course and interview area.

Previously, many patrons arrived by bus or shuttle and got off on Kinross Drive, a short residential street. Now they’ll be dropped off in a depot on Memorial Drive and walk through a new entryway, bounded on one side by the tree-lined embankment around the practice area. On the other side: a 350-foot long mural wall with a montage of all winners of the tournament first played in 1976, a year after the course opened. Until now, winners have been remembered only by the record book. The temporary wall will be taken down, updated and re-erected each year.

At the end of the entry walkway will be another patron-related innovation: a scoreboard, continually updated with the by-hole scores of every player, not just the leaders. That information will be hand-written by a calligrapher who will post names and update scores during play.

Several patron-related technology features have been added. Nationwide Insurance, the tournament’s presenting sponsor, has a tent near the Pavilion featuring an expanded display of touchscreen computers with which visitors can find an array of information about the tournament and other topics.

The tournament reconfigured and expanded its highly-popular concession stand between the 14th green and 15th tee, creating a “social media café.” An enclosed 2,000-square-foot tent houses the concession stand, which features an upgraded menu with such items as the Memorial Tenderloin Slider, salads and a veggie wrap. It has tables, plus a perimeter counter that seats 90. Visitors can browse social media using hand-held electronic devices provided by Verizon, a tournament sponsor. Staff members will explain and assist users of approximately 30 devices. Patrons can watch play on the 18th fairway from a deck.

The tournament will post periodic trivia questions daily on Facebook and Twitter, occasionally awarding prizes. Another electronic effort will be a trivia quiz contest on social media that will entail answering several questions for a chance for a large prize and probably several smaller ones. Prizes may range from tournament badges for future events, including the President’s Cup, to merchandise.

“This is a way for the Memorial to engage patrons whether they’re here or at home,” Sprouse says.

Duane St. Clair is a contributing editor. Feedback welcome at laurand@pub groupltd.com.