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Georgia Golf Trail
Thanks to the arrival of the inaugural
State Park Golf Cup, competitive golf is alive and well at the grassroots level in Georgia. Earlier this year, the state of Georgia’s Department of Natural Resources conducted the first-ever State Park Golf Cup. By utilizing the golf courses at eight state parks as qualifying sites, a series of one-round, four-person scramble tournaments were conducted. The winner of each qualifying tournament then advanced to the state finals which were held on Saturday, May 7 at the Arrowhead Point Golf Course, which is located within the Richard B. Russell State Park in Elberton, Georgia. The eight state park golf courses – all of which are members of the Georgia Golf Trail – which were used as qualifying sites for the inaugural State Park Golf Cup were the Wallace Adams Golf Course in Helena (Little Ocmulgee State Park), Lake Blackshear Golf Course in Cordele (Georgia Veterans State Park), Brazells Creek Golf Course in Reidsville (Jack Hill State Park), The Lakes Golf Course in Waycross (Laura S. Walker State Park), The Creek Golf Course in Social Circle (Hard Labor Creek State Park), Meadow Links Golf Course in Fort Gaines (George T. Bagby State Park), Highland Walk Golf Course in Royston (Victoria Bryant State Park), and Arrowhead Point Golf Course in Elberton (Richard B. Russell State Park). The first qualifier was held on Saturday, February 20 at the Wallace Adams GC and the final qualifier was conducted on Saturday, April 3 at Arrowhead Point GC. Again, the winner of each qualifier advanced to the finals at Arrowhead Point GC in early May. If a qualifier had more than 12 teams, then the top two teams advanced to the state finals. If any team did not advance at one tournament, then any team could travel to another qualifier in order to secure a spot in the state finals on May 7. Each team was allowed to include one professional golfer on its squad. When all was said and done, the winning team of the 2021 State Park Golf Cup was the foursome of Shayne Bryant, Billy Bennett, Kevin Dye, and Todd Yeargin. The winning team recorded a scramble score of 55, which was three shots clear of two other groups. It’s worth noting that the state finals winning team actually failed to advance to the state finals when it finished in a 10th-place tie at the Highland Walk qualifying tournament on Saturday,
Georgia State Park Golf Cup Winners: Bennett, Bryant, Dye, Yeargin
Arrowhead Pointe GC Greenside Lakeside View
March 27. So, the Bryant-BennettDye-Yeargin team traveled to the final qualifier at Arrowhead Point GC on April 3 where it recorded a one-shot victory with a round of 57. Then, just over a month later, Bryant, Bennett, Dye, and Yeargin returned to Arrowhead Point for the state finals which they won with a better score of 55. The state finale at Arrowhead Point was a two-day event featuring a practice round and a dinner on Friday, May 6. The following day, the festivities started with an 8:00 am breakfast, a practice/warmup session at 9:00 am, and a shotgun start at 10:00 am. Boxed lunches were provided to all participants after nine holes and the awards ceremony was held immediately after the tournament concluded. Besides a championship trophy, the winning squad was given a complimentary weekend of housing, golf, and food at the Brasstown Valley Resort in Young Harris, Georgia, which is also a member of the Georgia Golf Trail. “It was great that the state of Georgia utilized our state park golf courses to host an incredible statewide competitive golf tournament,” said Georgia Golf Trail Founder Doug Hollandsworth. “The State Park Golf Cup is a true showcase for the quality of public-access golf courses that we have in the state of Georgia. Barry Johnston from the State Parks did a wonderful job managing all the things that go into a big event like this. He is excited about next year’s event and knows this can grow into a large event helping to promote the (Georgia) State Parks.” Participating players do not have to reside in Georgia. For a complete summary of all qualifying tournaments and the finals of the State Park Golf Cup, access gastateparks.org. For complete details on travel packages to all the destinations on the Georgia Golf Trail, please call 1-833-877-6988 or go online to GeorgiaGolfandTravel.com.
