McCumber eager to test father’s course design
Even though he’d never viewed the Petroleum Club before, it’s no surprise it looked kind of familiar to Tyler McCumber when he played it for the first time.
He’s quite familiar with the Mark McCumber design style, so one of his dad’s creations was instantly recognizable.
“The courses that I have played in the past that my dad and his team have worked on, I seem to favour and really like from a playing standpoint,” said Tyler, who is teeing it up at the Mackenzie Tour’s Syncrude Oil Country Championship this week. “Maybe it’s just because of the way I was raised and what to look for in golf courses. When I look at courses I look at them through that filter, whether he designed them or not. This one is checking off all of the boxes of the things I look for. From that standpoint I really do love the course.”
This isn’t the first time Tyler played a course his dad designed, but it will be the first time he has done so as a professional. He won last week’s Mackenzie Tour stop in Ontario to move into fourth on the money list, so this is a big week for the 27-year-old on a lot of fronts.
“It’s really exciting,” he said. “It’s the first time I’ve ever played a professional event on one of the McCumber golf courses. Obviously that’s a neat deal in itself.”
He says the Petroleum Club, completed when he was two years old, was well worth the wait.
“I think it sets up good for my ball flight, I like it a lot,” he said. “It’s a little more demanding off the tee than some of the previous courses we’ve been playing. There is a lot of diversity in the holes in terms of what it challenges you on. And the second shot makes you think and strategize more than some of the other courses we’ve been playing where you just get up and bust it. I like that aspect.”
Mark McCumber is glad his layout passed the test. He’s also thrilled about the coming together of son and course in Edmonton.
“I’ve designed courses that have hosted PGA Tour events, Web Tour events, Champions Tour events, but never has my own son played on a course that I designed as a professional,” he said on a conference call. “I’m excited to follow his progress.”
Golf has long been a way of life in the McCumber family, dating back to the days when Mark was a kid working part time at the course he lived on.
“I grew up on a golf course with my three brothers,” he said. “We mowed greens, picked crab grass, set sprinklers, drove a tractor. It was a great way to grow up.
“So my kids have also grown up that way. Tyler and his older sisters grew up on golf courses when they were young.”
As for the Petroleum Club, Mark likes to think the design holds up very well 25 years later.
“At that time, just under 7,000 yards was considered a big golf course,” he said. “But for these new young players who hit so far it won’t be. But I always prided myself on the variety of holes. I think Tyler and the other young players will find this course enjoyable. I don’t think it’s going to beat them up at all. I don’t think golf has to beat you up, it’s hard enough as it is. I hope they all enjoy it.”