Need proof that the PGA Tour is committed to making TPC San Antonio a showcase facility? Here it is: They've hired away the Medina superintendent to oversee agronomy at the two courses being built in the Alamo City. I actually reported this a couple weeks ago (after it was first reported in the San Antonio newspaper) on my Texas Golf blog. But I got the PGA Tour press release tonight, so I'll post that here:

SAN ANTONIO, June 17, 2008 — TPC San Antonio has announced the hiring of Golf Course Superintendent Tom Lively to oversee all agronomy for the highly anticipated 36-hole facility. Lively comes to TPC San Antonio from Medinah Country Club in Chicago, where he served as Director of Golf Course Operations for the past seven years. His tenure at Medinah included the 2006 PGA Championship, won by Tiger Woods.

"We're very pleased to have someone of Tom's stature come on board at TPC San Antonio," said Cal Roth, Senior Vice President of Agronomy for the PGA TOUR. "Considering the agronomic and major championship experience he developed at Medinah Country Club, Tom is a valuable addition to this exciting project and the TPC Network, and we are confident he will do a wonderful job in his new roll."

TPC San Antonio will open in Spring 2010 with golf courses designed by two of golf’s most innovative designers, newly announced World Golf of Fame inductee Pete Dye and Greg Norman, a World Golf Hall of Fame player who has established himself as a world-class course designer. Dye is designing the AT&T Canyons Course with player consultant Bruce Lietzke and Norman is designing the AT&T Oaks Course with player consultant Sergio Garcia.

"After working at Medinah C.C. for the past seven years and going through a very successful PGA Championship in 2006, I decided to look toward the future," Lively said. "I have always wanted to be involved with the construction of a new golf course and when this opportunity came along, I couldn’t turn it down. The project is bigger than I could have ever imagined and presents a very unique and exciting opportunity. I look forward to working with everyone involved and preparing for the opening of two spectacular golf courses."

Medinah is considered one of the outstanding golf clubs in the country. Its No. 3 course, ranked 11th in Golf Digest’s "America’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses," has played host to three U.S. Opens, two PGA Championships, one U.S. Senior Open and will be the site of the 2012 Ryder Cup.

Also announced are the variety of grasses that will be used on the AT&T Oaks Course, a Greg Norman Signature Design. Seeding has just begun and is projected to be completed by the end of this Summer.

Grass selections for the AT&T Oaks Course are as follows:

Greens - Champions
Tees - Emerald Bermuda
Collars & Approaches - Emerald Bermuda
Fairways - Tifsport Bermuda
Rough - Bandera Bermuda

Both Dye and Norman are known for their environmental stewardship and both courses at TPC San Antonio will feature a closed-loop irrigation system designed to insure protection of the Edwards Aquifer, San Antonio’s main water source. Situated on 2,800 rolling acres, both Dye’s AT&T Canyons Course and Norman’s AT&T Oaks Course are being built with the necessary infrastructure to be host venues for PGA TOUR tournaments, as is the case with every TPC project. Once open, the courses and the club will position San Antonio as a premier golf destination.