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Rees Jones and The Tournament Course at Redstone

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Only a week before Augusta the PGA is playing the Tournament Course at Redstone Golf Club for this week’s Shell Huston Open. Opened in 2005, the Rees Jones designed course was built with intentions of hosting the world’s best. And this year it may well provide insight into the season’s first two majors as Jones is also responsible for the recently revamped South Course at Torrey Pines, which will host this year’s US Open in June.  

Jones practices a design methodology rooted in traditional strategy with the simple philosophy that ‘it has to be playable’. Son of Robert Trent Jones, Rees is now one of the masterful golf course architects of his time. He is a self-described ‘purist who adheres to the fundamentals of good design’. It is that value that transcends all of his designs. Good design boils down to the idea that a course should be able to be played and enjoyed by everyone. With that in mind, Redstone is one of less than a dozen PGA Tour courses open to the public for play. 

While staying true to his design roots, make no mistake that Jones’ courses are challenging for modern day tour players, as was evident when the US Open was held Bethpage Black in 2002. For Redstone, David Toms was brought on as an active consultant throughout the project. 

As the Shell Houston Open is looking to build its reputation as a perennial warm up to The Masters, the grounds crew at Redstone has been working hard to build on the precedent for course conditions they set last year and create a more ‘Augusta-like feel’ this year.  In an interview with John Bush, Adam Scott said "It’s a pleasure to play, and this may have been the best conditioned golf course of the year last year." This year faster greens with large short grass areas in close proximity should increase demands on players’ short games depending on the weather. 

The holes to watch this week are No. 5, 12 and 18. as noted by Roger Goettsch, Redstone GC Superintendent, in an article for the golf channel. A classic example of a risk/reward design No. 12 could provide players the spark they need in the back nine to make up strokes on Sunday. A lake running along the right side of the fairway up to the green creates a strategic hazard where the safer you play the ball the more difficult the approach shot becomes. 

No. 17 and 18 are a demanding closing two-hole combination that will test players’ abilities in the final stretch. Both par fours reach over 480 yards, requiring well hit drives off the tee and calling for accuracy on the long approach shots. No. 18 which usually plays as one of the hardest holes on the course, will be fun to watch players’ close out their rounds. Last year 18 helped decide the tournament in dramatic fashion when Adam Scott, with a one shot advantage over Stuart Appleby, put his tee shot into the water left. After driving into the bunker right, Appleby seemingly with the advantage wrenched his second shot in drink. Scott went on to hit a 48′ putt, saving par, for the win. "It was a very strange finish for a golf tournament. It’s not often you lead by 1 and hit in the water and lead by 3. You know, I think I was pretty lucky." Adam Scott said recounting last year’s events.  

Overall, the course uses expanses of forest as backdrops, fescue roughs, strategic water hazards on nine holes and beautifully carved bunkers to create a visually stunning course that aligns with Rees Jones’ philosophy of fair play. And for those who perform well at Redstone? We can expect the results to be a preview of what is to come next week in Georgia or in June when the US Open captures the world’s golf attention at Torrey Pines.

4 Comments

4 Comments

  1. Jenn van Kleef

    Apr 9, 2008 at 10:08 am

    Great article. Very interesting and informative to get the understanding of the course in this review for a very basic golfer like myself. Will keep a watch out for more articles by Brett Hitchins.

  2. Floyd Fleming

    Apr 5, 2008 at 8:33 pm

    You are right about #12, everybody on the leader board have been shooting under par on it. From what your saying Redstone looks like it can compete with the big boys and actually take on the Masters. The greens are where it’s at and from watching play it is not just a runner up but a true yardstick for the boys from Augusta to note.
    Quality insight.

  3. Dianne Baker

    Apr 5, 2008 at 5:28 pm

    Loved this article by Brett Hitchins, we are following the tournament and it is very interesting to read about the course that the PGA are playing. Mr. Hitchins has written a very informative piece about the course and Rees Jones. Hope to read some more articles by him in the future.

  4. Pingback: Golf » Only a week before Augusta the PGA is playing the Tournament …

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WITB Time Machine: Phil Mickelson’s winning WITB, 2021 PGA Championship

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Phil Mickelson made history at the 2021 PGA Championship on Kiawah Island’s Ocean Course. At 50, he became the oldest player to win a major, breaking Julius Boros’s record. Starting the final round with a slim lead, Lefty faced tough competition from Brooks Koepka and Louis Oosthuizen. He pulled ahead with key birdies and a standout 366-yard drive on the 16th hole. Finishing 6 under par and two shots ahead, Mickelson claimed his sixth major and second PGA Championship. Many saw his win as an inspiring comeback, showing that experience and determination can still lead to victory in professional golf — and, sometimes, age is just a number.

Driver: Callaway Epic Speed Triple Diamond (6 degrees @5.5 , green dot cog)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X (47.9 inches)

2-wood: TaylorMade “Original One” Mini Driver (11.5 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 7 X

4-wood (Sunday only): Callaway Mavrik Sub Zero (16.5 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 8 X

Irons: Callaway X Forged UT (16) (Thursday-Saturday), Callaway X21 UT Proto (19 degrees @20.5, 25), Callaway Apex MB ‘21 (small groove) (6-PW)
Shafts: (16) MCA MMT 105 TX, KBS Tour V 125 S+

Wedges: Callaway PM Grind ’19 “Raw” (52-12@50, 55-12, 60-10)
Shafts: KBS Tour V 125 S+

Putter: Odyssey Milled Blade “Phil Mickelson”
Grip: SuperStroke Pistol GT Tour

Ball: Callaway Chrome Soft X (Triple Track)

Grips: Golf Pride MCC

More photos of Phil Mickelson’s WITB here. 

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2026 PGA Championship betting odds

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Scottie Scheffler leads the betting ahead of the second major championship of the year, with the World Number One a +345 favorite to get his hands on a second PGA Championship.

Rory McIlroy who won the Masters back in April is a +800 shot to complete half of the calendar slam at Aronimink Golf Club this week, while Jordan Spieth can be backed at +5900 to become a career grand slam winner.

Here is the full betting board for the 2026 PGA Championship courtesy of DraftKings.

Scottie Scheffler +345 – (Check 0ut his WITB here)

Rory McIlroy +800 – (Check out his WITB here)

  • Jon Rahm +1300 
  • Cameron Young +1500
  • Bryson DeChambeau +1700
  • Xander Schauffele +1850
  • Matt Fitzpatrick +1950
  • Ludvig Aberg +2000
  • Tommy Fleetwood +2600
  • Collin Morikawa +3500
  • Brooks Koepka +3900
  • Justin Rose +4300
  • Russell Henley +4600
  • Si Woo Kim +4700
  • Justin Thomas +4800
  • Robert MacIntyre +5300
  • Patrick Cantlay +5300
  • Viktor Hovland +5400
  • Tyrrell Hatton +5500
  • Jordan Spieth +5900
  • Sam Burns +6000
  • Hideki Matsuyama +6200
  • Adam Scott +6400
  • Rickie Fowler +7000
  • Chris Gotterup +7400
  • Patrick Reed +7400
  • Min Woo Lee +7800
  • Ben Griffin +8000
  • Sepp Straka +8400
  • Shane Lowry +9000
  • Akshay Bhatia +9200
  • Maverick McNealy +9200
  • Joaquin Niemann +9200
  • Jake Knapp +9200
  • Jason Day +9600
  • Kurt Kitayama +10000
  • J.J. Spaun +10000
  • Harris English +10500
  • Nicolai Hojgaard +11000
  • Gary Woodland +11000
  • David Puig +11000
  • Michael Thorbjornsen +12000
  • Jacob Bridgeman +12000
  • Keegan Bradley +12500
  • Corey Conners +14000
  • Alex Fitzpatrick +15000
  • Sungjae Im +15500
  • Sahith Theegala +15500
  • Harry Hall +15500
  • Alex Noren +16000
  • Thomas Detry +16500
  • Marco Penge +16500
  • Kristoffer Reitan +17000
  • Alex Smalley +17000
  • Wyndham Clark +17500
  • Sam Stevens +17500
  • Keith Mitchell +17500
  • Daniel Berger +18500
  • Ryan Gerard +20000
  • Nick Taylor +20000
  • Rasmus Hojgaard +21000
  • Dustin Johnson +21000
  • Pierceson Coody +23000
  • Aaron Rai +24000
  • Jordan Smith +24000
  • Angel Ayora +24000
  • Bud Cauley +25000
  • Matt McCarty +26000
  • Jayden Schaper +26000
  • Brian Harman +27000
  • Taylor Pendrith +27000
  • Ryan Fox +27000
  • J.T. Poston +27000
  • Cameron Smith +29000
  • Ryo Hisatsune +29000
  • Michael Kim +29000
  • Max Homa +29000
  • Denny McCarthy +29000
  • Tom McKibbin +30000
  • Rico Hoey +32000
  • Matt Wallace +32500
  • Ricky Castillo +33000
  • Haotong Li +33000
  • Michael Brennan +34000
  • Max Greyserman +36000
  • Stephan Jaeger +37500
  • Christiaan Bezuidenhout +37500
  • Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen +39000
  • Aldrich Potgieter +40000
  • Andrew Novak +42000
  • Patrick Rodgers +42500
  • Daniel Hillier +42500
  • Max McGreevy +46000
  • Billy Horschel +48000
  • Chris Kirk +48000
  • Ian Holt +49000
  • Casey Jarvis +49000
  • William Mouw +50000
  • Steven Fisk +50000
  • John Parry +50000
  • Nico Echavarria +52500
  • Garrick Higgo +52500
  • John Keefer+55000
  • Matthias Schmid +57500
  • Austin Smotherman +57500
  • Sami Valimaki +60000
  • Andrew Putnam +60000
  • Lucas Glover +62500
  • Daniel Brown +62500
  • Jhonattan Vegas +75000
  • Emiliano Grillo +80000
  • Mikael Lindberg +85000
  • Adrien Saddier +100000
  • Bernd Wiesberger +100000
  • Elvis Smylie +110000
  • Stewart Cink +130000
  • Kota Kaneko +130000
  • David Lipsky +150000
  • Chandler Blanchet +150000
  • Andy Sullivan +150000
  • Joe Highsmith +180000
  • Adam Schenk +200000
  • Travis Smyth +200000
  • Davis Riley +225000
  • Martin Kaymer +400000
  • Brian Campbell +400000
  • Padraig Harrington +450000
  • Kazuki Higa +450000
  • Jordan Gumberg +450000
  • Ryan Vermeer +500000
  • Austin Hurt +500000
  • Tyler Collet +500000
  • Timothy Wiseman +500000
  • Shaun Micheel +500000
  • Y.E. Yang +500000
  • Michael Block+500000
  • Mark Geddes+500000
  • Luke Donald+500000
  • Bryce Fisher+500000
  • Jimmy Walker +500000
  • Jason Dufner +500000
  • Jesse Droemer +500000
  • Jared Jones +500000
  • Garrett Sapp +500000
  • Francisco Bide +500000
  • Zach Haynes +500000
  • Paul McClure+500000
  • Derek Berg +500000
  • Chris Gabriele +500000
  • Braden Shattuck +500000
  • Ben Polland +500000
  • Ben Kern +50000

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Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2026 PGA Championship

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GolfWRX is on site for the second major of 2026: The PGA Championship from Aronimink in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania.

The tournament’s location, just outside Philadelphia, and its status as a major championship mean GolfWRXers are in for a treat: WITBs from a strong field, custom gear celebrating the PGA Championship, and the rich culture of the City of Brotherly Love — we have noted a relative absence of cheesesteak-themed items thus far this week, but most of the rest of the usual suspects are well represented.

Check out links to all our photos below.

General Albums

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

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