WGC, Firestone South, and Tire Companies

What's up with tire companies and golf? I realized today that this week's World Golf Championship event in Akron, OH is sponsored by Bridgestone and played at Firestone. Mix in the Goodyear Blimp, and it's all tires, all the time. Does anyone else find that to be a little weird?

Anyway, I played Firestone's South Course about three years ago, and it was decent. It gets a lot of attention because it has held so many big tournaments over the years. But for anyone who has seen/played a lot of good golf courses, it is lacking in several ways. First, it's not exciting. There's hardly any elevation change, and most of the holes are dead straight. All of the holes are tree-lined, and it becomes difficult to distinguish between holes after a while. There are some excellent green complexes, and the conditioning is immaculate, but that's about it. It's currently ranked 57th on my list of favorite golf courses I have played.

Incidentally, I played Firestone's North Course four years ago, and I found it to be more interesting and fun to play than the South. The property is much more varied, doglegs are sprinkled in (it's not just long and straight), the par 3s are superior, and they have some cool holes around and over water. Though I'd like to give the South Course another try, the North is superior in my mind. It's ranked 42nd on my list, and it very well could move up if I were to play it again.