Good reviews for new TPC of Boston course

Billy Andrade, who went to Wake Forest University on an Arnold Palmer Golf Scholarship, was on the phone Sunday with his old mentor and friend.

``What the heck are you doing?'' asked Palmer, whose company designed TPC of Boston in Norton, site of this weekend's inaugural Deutsche Bank Championship.

Andrade, of Bristol, R.I., said Palmer asked: ``When are you going to play again?''

``Well, actually, I'm playing this week,'' Andrade told Palmer. ``A friend of mine built a golf course and I heard it's pretty good.''

Andrade said Palmer's response was: ``Ohhh, yeah, it is real good.''

Players began arriving in full force Tuesday to prepare for Friday's first round. Some simply hit balls on a state-of-the-art practice facility, others played nine or 18 on the perfectly groomed, 7,415-yard par-71, year-old course. The early reviews were sensational.

One of the brightest smiles was worn by Chad Gifford, CEO of FleetBoston Financial, a partner in the project and on whose land the facility has been built.

``To me it's just so remarkable that two years ago this was vacant land and we didn't know what to do with it,'' Gifford said. ``Through the foresight of Peter Manning and the support of Bill Connell we have this jewel. I just walked the course with Brad (Faxon) and Brett (Quigley). They and their caddies are saying this could be one of the players' favorite courses of the year, and here we have it south of Boston. I think this is such good news for anybody in our area that loves the sport.''

Faxon and Quigley, Tour players who grew up in Barrington, R.I., were among the first players to complete 18 holes Tuesday. Faxon, who represents TPC of Boston and who had input into changes on four tees in a lengthening project -- hole Nos. 4, 5, 9 and 13 -- was delighted with what he saw.

``It feels great. They've done everything the right way,'' Faxon said. ``You drive in the gates and you know you're at a special place. The players that I've seen have said wow, this is really nice. The players are proud of their network, they're proud of the TPC. They like being able to call this a home course and being a member here.

``The conditions are what we expected. I hadn't seen this course with stands, TV booths or corporate villages. They've worked very hard the last couple of weeks to get it all done. It's going to be great.''

Faxon stood just to the left of the 18th green and pointed to the run-off chipping area so meticulously groomed.

``How would you not want to hit shots off this?'' Faxon said. ``I was pleasantly surprised at how good the new tees looked. It looks like they've been there (for years). I think the greens are firm enough, they don't need to be much firmer. They're fast enough and very smooth. Nothing needs to be changed.

``I hope people don't expect this to be like even-par wins. This isn't going to be like the PGA was. There'll be some very low scores here. If it gets windy and fast then there won't be such low scores.''

Andrade hopes his tie for 10th in the PGA Championship can jump-start an otherwise forgettable season. A win would be huge.

``To win anywhere would be great,'' Andrade said. ``To win here, for Brad or myself or any of the local guys, would be a dream come true because you grew up here and have a lot of friends and family that are going to be out.''

The field lost a player of note when Chad Campbell, ninth on the money list, withdrew, as did Bob Burns and Dudley Hart, making room for David Frost, Jay Don Blake and Jim McGovern.

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