PGA Tour needs more play-it-love-it courses like PGA National's Champion to draw non-Tiger interest

I’ll be tuning to catch some Honda Classic coverage over the next four days. Even with no Tiger Woods, no Phil Mickelson and nothing news worthy likely to take place.

My viewership has nothing to do with a sudden love for all the Golf Channel’s fancy graphics. Or a need to pretend that Henrik Stenson is interesting.

Instead it has everything to do with having played the Jack Nicklaus renovated Champion Course at PGA National Resort that this lackluster field will be going against. I want to see how the pros blast shots down the wide fairways I strolled down with my own caddie.

And you know what, most golfers are similarly narcissistic.

If the PGA Tour players are on a course you played, you’re going to tune in to watch a little of the action. No matter which star golfers are off sunning themselves on their yacht that week.

Which is why the PGA Tour needs more tournaments on courses that are fun for hackers like PGA National’s Champion. This high end South Florida course is a blast even if you manage to miss that big fairway and plop one in the lake on No. 1.

While you’re out there, you want to step back and take in some of the looks from the tournament tees - which aren’t even marked for public play. No. 18 and it’s 200-yard plus forced water clear just to reach fairway is particularly knee knocking.

Of course, none of the Tour guys figure to have much trouble with it at all.

If you’ve seen it and played it, the wows tend to resonate more on how easy the pros can make it look too.

Nothing beats having been there for your own round. The Tour should work that more into its “brilliant” marketing campaigns. It sure beats a FedEx truck.