FORT WORTH, Texas — A year ago, those who took part in the PGA Tour’s Charles Schwab Challenge had a new version of Colonial Country Club to contend with after a $25 million renovation from noted golf architect Gil Hanse put a new shine on a beloved, but dated piece of property.
Hanse and his team started pulling the course apart the day after Emiliano Grillo edged Adam Schenk in a playoff to win the Scottish tartan plaid jacket in 2023, and by the time last year’s event was ready to go, the course had just barely grown in by the time Davis Riley won the title.
But after having a full year to settle, the reaction to Colonial — which was originally designed by the duo of Texas’ John Bredemus and Oklahoma’s Perry Maxwell in 1936 — is that it could again become one of the Tour’s most interesting weeks.
It’s still not a long track, and the redesign was more about drainage, irrigation and giving life to worn-out greens, but the new version still offers plenty to keep players honest.
“It’s tricky. The fairways are so firm, so it’s really tough to hit the fairways,” said Matti Schmid, who posted a 4-under 66 in Thursday’s opening round of play to get near the top of the leaderboard. “If you are coming out of the rough, you really have to play the angles and the bounces. Almost a bit of links golf, I would say.”
Helping ticket sales and interest is the presence of local product Scottie Scheffler, fresh off his 2025 PGA Championship victory. Scheffler, who lives in nearby Dallas, is very familiar with the course and he admitted prior to Thursday’s opening round that he had to re-learn his way around the hallowed property. It didn’t impact his results, however — Scheffler posted his third straight top-3 finish in 2024.
He started strong on Thursday, as well, posting an eagle and a birdie in his first two holes of the tournament.
“Last year, showing up there were some pretty drastic changes. A lot of the greens that were elevated were kind of flattened out, and some of the run-off areas were taken away and replaced by rough,” Scheffler said. “The biggest difference from this year to last year is I think the rough has matured a little bit, and the greens have also matured. The greens are still quite firm, so I think it should be a pretty good test.
“It looks like we’re not going to get much rain this week, so the golf course should only continue to firm up. It should be a pretty good test.”
Riley, who posted his first PGA Tour victory at Colonial last year, thinks the test could be even more difficult this time around as the rough will be more punitive.
“It was really firm because it was brand new,” Riley said. “The fairways, I feel like, were a little firmer, had a little bit of run on. It had some really dry spots where you could get some crazy bounces, and it was just really firm. It softened up. I think the fairways are a little bit softer, more grown in, but the greens are already firm. So they’re going to be firm and fast just like they were last year.”
And it’s not just veteran Tour players who seem to enjoy the rebuild track. Neal Shipley, who broke onto the scene by posting the low amateur rounds at the 2024 Masters and U.S. Open, said Colonial’s charm is that it keeps different types of players in contention.
“It definitely has a lot of that old-school characteristics with a lot of slopes in the greens even though they’re small. I think it plays modern, though, where those slopes aren’t so severe that you can’t pin locations on the green. Hats off to (Hanse),” Shipley said. “Tee to green, it’s phenomenal. Gives you a lot of options off the tee. You don’t have to hit driver everywhere, but you certainly have the option to, which I think is great. If you hit great drives down the middle, it’s going to reward you, but you can hit irons out there.
“I think that’s reflected by the list of champions we have out here. It’s not always the longest players or the bombers. There’s a lot of guys who dinked it around and were able to win here. So there’s a big premium on iron play I think the golf course is — you know, anyone could win. It’s not suited to any one type of game, which is pretty rare to see even out here on the PGA Tour.”
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