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TPC Las Vegas Will Celebrate The Rich History Of Golf In Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS, NV (December 10, 2007) – The PGA TOUR announced today that TPC Canyons in Las Vegas – part of the TOUR’s TPC Network of premier private and resort golf facilities will be renamed TPC Las Vegas, effective on Monday, December 10.   The renaming is part of an overall re-positioning initiative designed to more closely align the club with the worldwide resort destination of Las Vegas, as well as to celebrate the rich history and storied past of golf in the city of Las Vegas.
National advertising reflecting the name change will begin running in mid-December.  Over time, all of the club’s branding materials, including the logo, club signage, etc. will transition to the TPC Las Vegas name.   A major component of the re-positioning will be an extensive re-design of the clubhouse interior with artifacts, photographs and memorabilia depicting great moments in Las Vegas golf history, and paying tribute to the players, tournaments and iconic personalities that have transformed the city of Las Vegas into one of the most exciting, dynamic and desirable golf resort destinations in the world.  The club’s caddie program will further help bring to life the story of golf in Las Vegas, with walking caddies serving as storytellers about great moments in Las Vegas golf history as they assist golfers in enjoying a true PGA TOUR experience.
            “We are very excited about the re-positioning of the club, which will have a dramatic effect on our ability to market the property to a worldwide audience of leisure and business travelers, event planners and conventioneers,” said General Manager Dan Hammell.   “At the same time, our tribute to the history of golf in Las Vegas will help golfers to fully appreciate the considerable impact the city of Las Vegas has had on the game of golf.” 
            The PGA TOUR’s newly named TPC Las Vegas is the sister club to the private TPC Summerlin, home to the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, scheduled for October 13-19, 2008.  TPC Las Vegas is located at 9851 Canyon Run Drive in Las Vegas.  For more information, please call (702) 256-2500.

About The PGA TOUR
The PGA TOUR is a tax-exempt membership organization of professional golfers.  Its primary purpose is to provide competitive earnings opportunities for past, current and future members of the PGA TOUR, Champions Tour and Nationwide Tour; to protect the integrity of the game; and to help grow the reach of the game in the U.S. and around the world.
In 2007, the three Tours will compete in approximately 110 events for approximately $340 million in prize money.  Tournaments are being held in six countries outside the U.S. and in 36 states.  In addition to providing competitive opportunities for its membership, TOUR events also generate significant funds for local charities.  In fact, the three Tours have surpassed the $1 billion mark in overall charitable contributions.  The PGA TOUR’s web site address is www.pgatour.com and the company is headquartered in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL.

About The TPC Network

Licensed by the PGA TOUR, the TPC Network is comprised of 17 premier private, resort and daily fee golf properties designed by some of golf’s most elite architects.  Nine additional clubs are operated by affiliates of PGA TOUR Golf Course Properties, Inc.  Each TPC has hosted or has been designed to host TOUR-sponsored golf tournaments.  Since the TPC  Sawgrass first opened its world renowned Stadium Course in the fall of 1980, TPCs have provided the PGA TOUR with rent-free venues for tournaments, helping to boost championship golf purses and increasing charitable donations to grass roots non-profit organizations.  At the same time, TPCs have provided recreational golfers with the unique opportunity to test their skills on the same layouts where the world’s best golfers compete.
Distinctive in character but consistent in quality, TPCs are known for their outstanding conditioning and amenities, as well as a commitment to environmental excellence.  To date, all 17 TPCs are certified as Audubon International Cooperative Sanctuary Systems.  The TPC Network is also distinguished by its unwavering commitment to further the PGA TOUR’s giving back mission through support of charitable and community-based programs.  For more information, please visit www.tpc.com.

The PGA TOUR is heads and tails above all other major sports when it comes to giving back. Charity: It is the way to people's hearts. It is the way to people's smiles. Giving back is the way of the PGA TOUR.

The TOUR, its players, tournaments, volunteers and sponsors are united in making an indelible mark in each community they visit, leaving it better off than before they came. The PGA TOUR has generated more than $910 million in charitable giving since the first donation was made in 1938. It is a commitment unparalleled in professional sports.

Within the next 12 months, the PGA TOUR expects to reach $1 billion in charitable giving. The TOUR launched its "Drive to a Billion" at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. It will conclude at the FBR Open in 2006. To add perspective to this staggering number, the PGA TOUR provides more charitable contributions than professional baseball, football, hockey and basketball combined.

In the modern sports world this is an incredible accomplishment. But how does the TOUR manage to be so successful in this capacity? Here are some statistics:

• According to Market Tools 2003, 93.3% of Americans feel the PGA TOUR's image is a positive one. This percentage leads all major sports, including NASCAR.
• According to Market Tools 2003, 95.1% of Americans say the PGA TOUR provides good role models. This percentage also leads all major sports, including NASCAR.
• According to American Demographics, 79% of Americans believe that companies have a responsibility to support charity.
• According to American Demographics, 81% of Americans will even switch brands (assuming equal quality and price) to support a charity.
• According to American Demographics, 77% of Americans feel that corporate charity commitment is important in deciding what to buy and where to shop.

In a nutshell, the intrinsic qualities of golf are regarded so highly by the public and business world that it forms a symbiotic relationship that is unequalled in the sports arena. People enjoy watching golf and the principles it promotes. As a matter of fact, according to 2003 Nielsen Media Research, an average PGA TOUR event has the second highest household reach behind an average NFL game. Due to this popularity, major networks purchase the rights to televise PGA TOUR events. In turn, the networks sell air time to advertisers.

At a different level, corporations properly align their product by purchasing sponsorship of PGA TOUR events. They receive exposure to a valued demographic and their sponsorship packages directly correlate to the charitable contribution of an event. With the PGA TOUR being a non-profit entity, the major benefactors are the numerous charities around the country.

On a local scale, golf facilities like TPC Las Vegas and the TPC at Summerlin are owned and operated by the PGA TOUR. The "no cost" use of these facilities during the Fry's.com Open at Las Vegas allows for greater charitable contributions because the TOUR is not paying a facility to hold their event.

TPC Las Vegas also partners with the First Tee of Southern Nevada to provide a low cost fund-raising venue for the youth of our area. TPC Summerlin, TPC Las Vegas and PGA TOUR Charities put on an annual area-wide Junior Clinic in November. Hundreds of elementary school children are provided a great show and an introduction to the game of golf.

So, please keep in mind the next time you are attending a PGA TOUR event, playing golf at a TPC property or patronizing any one of the PGA TOUR's business sponsors, you are really supporting charity in a huge way.

LAS VEGAS, NV -- As part of the national initiative between the PGA TOUR, TPC Network and the America Supports You program, the TPC at The Las Vegas and the TPC at Summerlin will host a multi-course fundraising event on August 16th, 2005. The event is designed to provide participants an exciting preview to this year’s Michelin Championship at Las Vegas by “Playing Where The Pros Play.” Funds raised by this event, PGA TOUR players, TPC members, guests and employees will be dispersed equally to three beneficiaries:

• Homes For Our Troops -- a non-profit organization, supported by TOUR player Phil Mickelson, that adapts or builds new homes with accessibility for military men and women returning to America with serious injuries and disabilities (www.homesforourtroops.org).
• Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund -- a non-profit organization, supported by TOUR player Rory Sabbatini, that supports the families of military personnel lost in performance of their duty (www.fallenheroesfund.org).
• Wounded Warrior Project -- a non-profit organization, supported by TOUR player Frank Lickliter II, that provides programs and services to meet the needs of wounded service members and their families (www.woundedwarriorproject.org).
• About America Support You Since the Department of Defense launched the “America Supports You” program last November, hundreds of thousands of Americans, including individual citizens, businesses and organizations, have logged onto the AmericaSupportsYou.mil website to register the activities and projects in their communities that demonstrate their support for America’s Armed Forces.

Each visitor to the website receives a specially designed, military-style “America Supports You” dog tag to wear as a visible show of support. An average of 700 people each day are signing up to receive the “America Supports You” dog tag.

About the “America Supports You” Golf Event

Event Date: August 16, 2005

Time: 7:30am and 2:00pm Shotgun starts. Enrollment will be capped at 144 players.

Courses: 7:30am at TPC Las Vegas, 9851 Canyon Run Drive, Las Vegas, NV 89144 2:00pm at TPC Summerlin, 1700 Village Center Circle, Las Vegas, NV 89134

F+B: Continental Breakfast will be served at The Las Vegas and a BBQ lunch at Summerlin

Prizes: No competitive event format, multiple prizes for closest to pin, long drive, hole in one

Entry: Sign up contact Matt Oakley. Please fill out and fax back the entry form, call 702-256-2500 x226 or e-mail mattoakley@pgatourtpc.com.

Sponsorship: There are a wide variety of sponsorship opportunities for this worthwhile and nationally acclaimed endeavor. Please contact Joe Massanova at 702-256-2500 x222 for details on how to show your support of our troops!

About the PGA TOUR

The PGA TOUR is a tax-exempt membership organization of professional golfers. Its primary purpose is to provide competitive earnings opportunities for past, current and future members of the PGA TOUR, Champions Tour and Nationwide Tour; to protect the integrity of the game; and to help the reach of the game in the U.S. and around the world.

Nearly 110 events will be contested during the three Tours in 2005, for approximately $320 million in prize money. In addition to providing competitive opportunities for its membership, TOUR events also generate significant sums of money for charity. TOUR events have raised more than $960 million for charity since 1938, the first year such records were kept. The PGA TOUR website is www.pgatour.com.

About the TPC The Las Vegas

Owned and managed by PGA TOUR subsidiary PGA TOUR Golf Course Properties, Inc., the TPC Las Vegas is the co-host to the Michelin Championship at Las Vegas and represents a commitment to quality and service excellence unsurpassed in the golf industry. Opening in 1996, TPC Las Vegas has hosted three Champions Tour events as well as three PGA Tour events. TPC Las Vegas is available to the public and has earned the distinction of “Operation of the Year 2004” within the TPC Network. Further information on TPC Las Vegas may be found at www.tpclasvegas.com or by calling 702-256-2500.

About the TPC Summerlin

Managed by PGA TOUR subsidiary PGA TOUR Golf Course Properties, Inc., the TPC Summerlin hosts of the Michelin Championship at Las Vegas and represents a commitment to quality and service excellence unsurpassed in the golf industry. Opening in 1991, the TPC Summerlin has hosted 19 PGA Tour events and was the site of Tiger Wood’s first PGA Tour victory. The TPC Summerlin is a private golf facility and has a variety of membership plans available. Further information on the TPC Summerlin may be found at www.tpcsummerlin.com or by calling 702-256-0111.

LAS VEGAS, NV--The Tournament Players Club at The Las Vegas has achieved designation as a "Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary" by the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary System (ACSS), the educational division of Audubon International, endorsed by the United States Golf Association. TPC Las Vegas is the 2nd golf course property in Nevada and the 138th course in the world to receive the honor.

In 1996, TPC Las Vegas joined the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary System, which provides information and guidance to golf courses to help them preserve and enhance wildlife habitat and protect natural resources.

"TPC Las Vegas has shown a strong commitment to its environmental program. They are to be commended for their efforts to provide a sanctuary for wildlife on the golf course property," said Cindy Bradley, environmental educator for the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary System.

"To reach certification, a course must demonstrate that they are maintaining a high degree of environmental quality in a number of areas," explained Bradley. These categories include: Environmental Planning, Wildlife & Habitat Management, Outreach and Education, Integrated Pest Management, Water Conservation, and Water Quality Management. Golf courses from the United States, Canada, and Europe have also achieved certification in the program.

General Manager Dan Hammell stated, "Everyone at the Tournament Players Club Las Vegas is extremely pleased about completing our certification process and becoming one of the 138 courses in the world to be recognized with this honor. Our superintendent, his staff, our marketing director, our local Boy Scout Troop 214, residents and business affiliates of the Tournament Players Club Las Vegas, and the staff from the Tournament Players Club at Summerlin should all be commended for their hard work and contributions in achieving this distinction. We are all very proud to be part of protecting and enhancing our environment for nature, our residents around the course, and all the visitors that come to our club to experience the beauty of desert golf. We are all looking forward to continuing to enhance the environment around the club and golf course, as well as educating our residents and guests about our 'Living Environment'."

Contact: Mary Colleen Liburdi Audubon International (518)767-9051

The Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary System
Audubon International
16 Ra Road, S
New York 12158

The Tournament Players Club at The Las Vegas is at once combination of its contrary Nevada surroundings and also the recreational equivalent of its earth-shattering birth.

Before architect Bobby Weed and player consultant Raymond Floyd could put their combined skills to work, contractors were busy preparing the site … with dynamite.

Yes, the TPC Las Vegas, north of the glittering gaming city of Las Vegas, is a blast.

It is also a vivid visual wonder. Off in the distance, to the south, shimmers glamorous Las Vegas with all its polished attractions. Look away and the stark mountains and canyons offer a drama all their own.

The TPC Las Vegas managed to meld these two juxtaposed forces. Lush green parcels of manicured turf are woven throughout a rugged tapestry of arroyos, barrancas and other natural features in southern Nevada desert.

"Desert elegance," it has been called. There could be a no more apt description of the par-71, 7,063-yard golf course that offers a stern test of golfing skills along with stunning vistas.

"As far as aesthetics and playability," says Floyd, who considers the TPC Las Vegas among his best works, "I would put The Las Vegas up against any golf course you care to mention. It's as unique as they come and I'm very proud of the way it has turned out, especially given the challenges of designing a golf course on such a challenging piece of property.

"But," Floyd added, "I think a golf course is kind of like a fine wine. The best come from the toughest pieces of ground."

Opened in 1996, the TPC Las Vegas, which has hosted the SENIOR PGA TOUR's Las Vegas Classic in past years, is an integral part of the nation's largest master-planned community, Summerlin. The community also is home to the Tournament Players Club at Summerlin, a private membership club that has hosted the seniors the past two years.

The natural elements at The TPC Las Vegas are impossible to overlook. Dramatic scenery abounds, including a view of Red Rock Canyon. Much of the indigenous vegetation was preserved. Some was transplanted. Weed and Floyd took great care in considering the natural drainage when the routing was conceived.

"The theme of this course is more the natural , rugged look to create contrast," said Chris Gray, Director of Design for PGA TOUR Design Services. "That is why we incorporated the natural wash areas and transplanted the natural desert plants, so it would not look created."

But it is the raw landscape within the course boundaries that are most fascinating - and frustrating - for golfers. While the course meanders over several hundred acres, it has only 110 acres of irrigated land - another plus in the realm of environmental conservation and wildlife preservation.

There is little wonder why the TPC Las Vegas was the 138th course in the world - and just the second in Nevada at the time it opened - to earn distinction as a "Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary" by the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary System.

Preserving golf balls is up to the player. The TPC Las Vegas is a stern test of shot-making, as well as strategy and game management. There is more room than a player might think, particularly off the tees, but throw in prevailing winds and a number of elevation changes and you have a golf course that doesn't have much let-up.

"We were generous with the landing areas and I think the routing is very good," Floyd said. "I don't see one hole out there where I might say, 'I wish we would have done this.' Given the property, there were going to be a number of forced carries but on a strategy level, we leave that up to the player to figure out how much of a risk he's willing to take. A good course ought to offer risk and reward situations."

It doesn't take long for golfers to encounter the true flavor of the layout. The par-3 second hole, called "Canyon," which measures 196 yards from the championship tee, plays downwind to a large desert island green. It is one of Floyd's favorites, but he adds there is no one "signature hole" in his mind.

"There are probably six very strong holes and 18 good holes that fit together pretty well," he said.

The back nine is particularly taxing. The 12th hole, another par-3 measuring 145 yards, plays over a canyon to an elevated green. It is followed by the 423-yard, par-4 13th hole, called "Death Valley." It features a blind tee shot over an arroyo to a fairway angling to the right. The arroyo runs the entire length down the right side. It is a classic risk-reward hole with the player deciding how much of the gorge to bite off. Another blind tee shot awaits at the shorter, par-4 14th, which features another appropriate name, "Gorge-ous."

By now you get the idea. Bring all the game you've got and be prepared to gamble. You'll enjoy an exhilarating day, just like you'd expect in Vegas.

Few golf course architects have been better prepared for the science and art of design than Robert C. Weed Jr., who as a precocious young teenager turned his father's soybean field into a driving range, and who later churned out fields of green for the PGA TOUR as its chief designer of Tournament Players Clubs.

Weed began playing golf when he was 10 years old. He studied agronomy in college, became an assistant superintendent at Amelia Island Plantation and apprenticed under Pete and Alice Dye beginning in 1980 at Long Cove Club in Hilton Head, SC. Two years later he became head superintendent at Dye's famous creation, the Tournament Players Club at Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL. Three years after that, once he had undertaken to rework a bit of Dye's magic at the Stadium Course at Sawgrass, Weed was promoted to construction superintendent for the TPC network.

All of that led up to the job that brought Weed to prominence. In 1987, he became chief designer for PGA TOUR Design Services. In that capacity he created a variety of high-level layouts and collaborated with a number of players, including Raymond Floyd, Jack Nicklaus, Mark McCumber, Arnold Palmer, Chi Chi Rodriguez, Roger Maltbie and Fuzzy Zoeller.

With the help of Floyd, Weed cut a green swath through Las Vegas and arroyos north of Las Vegas to create the TPC Las Vegas, which is co-host to the PGA TOUR's Invensys Classic at Las Vegas.

Among Weed's other credits in the TPC network include the TPC at Summerlin, also in Las Vegas, the TPC of Tampa Bay, the TPC at River Highlands in Cromwell, CT, and the Valley Course at the TPC at Sawgrass.

Weed started his own design and construction business in 1995. In addition to original designs, he has undertaken a number of restoration projects. Regardless of the task, Weed insists on courses of classical strategic value, which he learned from Dye, while stressing sound construction and maintenance standards. His company's motto is: "design complements maintenance and maintenance complements design."

He applies a minimalist approach to his golf courses, creating holes that fit the ground, the landscape and the surrounding environment. Wherever possible and feasible, he insists on building tees close to greens to promote walking.