2013 Golf Oklahoma August | September issue by Golf Oklahoma Magazine

Official publication of the Oklahoma Golf Association www.golfoklahoma.org

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Contents

AUGUST | SEPTEMBER 2013

Volume 3 Issue 4

w w w . go l f o k l a h oma . org

Features

NATHAN HUGHES OGA State Amateur Champion page 12

30 32 34

Alan Bratton replaces Mike McGraw at OSU. Boiling Springs Golf Course has new life.

Gallardia Golf & Country Club looks for long-term stability.

In Love with Links? Try Bandon Dunes, Dismal River or Royal Portrush.

Western escape! Old Baldy Club seeks new members.

Departments 8 Letter from the editor 10 OGA 11 Rules, Gene Mortensen 14 WOGA 16 Chip Shots, Oklahoma news 24 The Goods 28 Equipment 32 Where we play: Boiling Springs 46 Pro Profile: Hunter Sparks 47 Amateur Profile: Keith Bailey 50 Celebrity Profile: Brandon Weeden 52 Junior spotlight 54 Fitness 55 Instruction 58 Superintendent’s Perspective 60 Schedules, Results

Support junior golf by contributing to the OGA Foundation Call 405-848-0042 for more information 6 •••••• www.golfoklahoma.org

NUMBER 18

When it comes to championship public golf, there’s no better destination than Alabama, where we’re proud to claim three of America’s 50 Toughest Courses as selected by Golf Digest. For starters, there are the 468 holes along the world-renowned Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail. Stretching from the mountains in the north to the Gulf Coast in the south, these 26 courses will test your golﬁng skills as well as your intestinal fortitude. Then there are the many other impressive courses scattered across the state, designed by the likes of Arnold Palmer and Jerry Pate. Each with its own set of challenges, each with its own set of rewards. And each along an epic road trip to the state of Alabama. Note: Please park responsibly. And not on our golf courses.

To start your Alabama Road Trip, scan this code with your smartphone.

www.golfoklahoma.org •••••• 7

August/September 2013 letter from the publisher Volume 3, Number 4 Golf Oklahoma Offices Southern Hills Plaza 6218 S. Lewis Ave., Ste. 200 Tulsa, OK 74136 918-280-0787 Oklahoma City Office 405-640-9996 Publisher Ken MacLeod ken@golfoklahoma.org COO/Marketing Director A.G. Meyers agm@golfoklahoma.org

The Sugar Creek Canyon golf course.

Anybody want to buy a golf course? That answer in Oklahoma, with at least one notable exception (the purchase of Oak Tree Country Club by Club Corp.), is no. Since a successful auction last year of what is now called The Club at Indian Springs, three other golf courses in Oklahoma have gone up for bid. The first was Sugar Creek Canyon in Hinton. The Hinton Economic Development Association grew tired of subsidizing the course each year. The winning bidder at auction was Turner Funeral Home, a local business which plans to move its crematory and embalming room into what used to be the maintenance building and use the clubhouse as part of its funeral home services. A group of local citizens, led by former state senator Bruce Price, formed a trust and stepped up to lease the golf course from the Turners and try to make a go of it. They were scheduled to reopen in early August, putting the pro shop in a corner of the cart barn. The course needs to attract visitors from Oklahoma City and elsewhere as Hinton’s population is tiny. We wish them the best. The next attempt to sell a course at auction was the former nine-hole Cherokee Grove course which had been faithfully nurtured by Vince Bizik and his wife Jill from 1978 until Jill died in October of 2008. Bizik kept the course going for a time but finally had to just walk away and the course is now under the auspices of Arvest Bank in northwest Arkansas. An auction in April for the course failed to attract any bidders, most likely because the original owner who leased the land to Gill decreed that the property has to remain a golf course. There may be other better and 8 •••••• www.golfoklahoma.org

far less expensive uses at this point. Officials with Arvest Bank declined to comment on what may lie ahead for the course. The city council of Grove declined in 2012 to purchase it and make it a municipal course. In late July, an auction was held to sell off 16 parcels of land that pieced together form Cotton Creek Golf Course and some surrounding acreage in Glenpool. The bids were unsatisfactory to owners Jeff and Steve Lamoreaux and no one stepped up to bid on the entire course and keep it running. The Lamoreauxs will continue to operate it as a golf course at least in the short term. Banks are in possession of courses such as Scissortail GC in Catoosa, Four Lakes in Blanchard, Gaillardia Country Club in Oklahoma City and Winter Creek in Blanchard. All have different stories of how that came to pass, but one thing is certain. Banks don’t want to be operating golf courses. If they could find qualified buyers to take them off their hands and operate them successfully, they would. The golf course market in Oklahoma is experiencing in a microcosm the pinch the industry is feeling nationwide, as new course construction is essentially stalled and the market is contracting. Some of this is a necessary correction to an overbuilt market. Hopefully as the economy improves and leading industry organizations and leaders continue their recent course of emphasizing pace of play and fun over difficulty and price, operating a golf course will again become a profitable venture and attract quality owners for the courses for sale. – Ken MacLeod

Art & Technology Director Chris Swafford chris@golfoklahoma.org Subscriptions to Golf Oklahoma are $15 for one year (five issues) or $25 for two years (10 issues). Call 918-280-0787 or go to www.golfoklahoma.org. Contributing photographers Rip Stell, Mike Klemme Golf Oklahoma PGA Instructional Staff Jim Woodward Teaching Professional, Oak Tree National jwoodwardgolf@sbcglobal.net, 405-348-2004 E.J. Pfister Teaching Professional, Oak Tree National ejgolf@me.com Pat McTigue Owner, GolfTec Tulsa and Oklahoma City pmctigue@golftec.com Steve Ball Owner, Ball Golf Center, Oklahoma City www.ballgolf.com, 405-842-2626 Pat Bates Director of Instruction, Gaillardia Country Club pbates@gaillardia.com, 405-509-3611 Tracy Phillips Director of Instruction, Buddy Phillips Learning Center at Cedar Ridge vt4u@yahoo.com, 918-352-1089 Jerry Cozby PGA Professional jerrycozby@aol.com, 918-914-1784 Michael Boyd, PGA Professional Indian Springs Country Club 918-455-9515 Oklahoma Golf Association 2800 Coltrane Place, Suite 2 Edmond, OK 73034 405-848-0042 Executive Director Mark Felder mfelder@okgolf.org Director of Handicapping and Course Rating Jay Doudican jdoudican@okgolf.org Director of Junior Golf Morri Rose morose@okgolf.org Copyright 2013 by Golf Oklahoma Magazine. All rights reserved. Contents may not be reprinted or otherwise reproduced without written permission from Golf Oklahoma. Golf Oklahoma is published by South Central Golf, Inc.

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www.golfoklahoma.org •••••• 9

From the Executive Director

Mark Felder, left, ropes with Jim Orth, right, whom he describes as “the Tiger Woods of team roping.”

OGA's executive director Mark Felder saddles up by ken macleod

In addition to being executive director of the state’s amateur golf association, Mark Felder is a PGA golf professional. When he has free time from his Oklahoma Golf Association duties, you might think he would try to squeeze in a round or two. Instead, he’s putting many of the same skills to use in a different venue. Felder can more often be found on the back of his horse Slick, practicing or competing in team roping, a sport he took up in his early 40s. In 2012, at age 54, Felder nearly won World Rookie of the Year in the American Quarter Horse Association show events. This is more than a hobby. Felder’s roping career began while he was the head professional at Twin Hills Country Club in Oklahoma City. He purchased riding lessons for his wife Christina as a Valentine’s Day present and decided to give it a whirl himself. After discovering to his surprise that he had a natural affinity for roping, he began to compete in events on the United States Team Roping Championships circuit (USTRC), first as a header (roping the horns or head). “I had only ridden a horse a little bit, so I really learned how to rope and to ride at the same time,” Felder said. “It’s similar to 10 •••••• www.golfoklahoma.org

golf, or playing drums, in that you have to quickly. And like golf, once you get to a good use different parts of your body in different ride position, roping is very much a mental ways at the same time. In roping, your right game. It’s mind over matter. It’s a matter of leg, left leg, right arm and left arm are all do- mental toughness, good position and a lot of ing something different at the same time. I practice. The same things as golf. It’s funny, but a lot of guys who rope very well are also found that came easily for me.” good golfers. Some of the same Felder had a successful attributes apply.” year on the USTRC in 2002, Felder went to five AQHA but after his partner strugshows in 2012 and accumulated gled at the more difficult enough points to lead the Rookie heeler spot in 2003, Felder of the Year standings for most of switched to heeler. Roping the year. Orth had shoulder surthe back feet of the running gery this year and the two did steer requires greater timing not compete in AQHA but plan and skill, but again, Felder to pick it up in 2014. felt at ease. “It became a goal to win it,” His roping partner in the Felder said of the Rookie of the timed events on the USYear award. “I was actually mad TRC circuit is Gary Atchley Mark Felder when I didn’t.” of Oklahoma City. In the Felder lives on a small ranch and practices AQHA events, which are judged, he works with Steve Orth, whom Felder describes as on a mechanical steer that his wife pulls “the Tiger Woods of team roping.” Orth is with a four-wheeler. He used to practice a three-time American Quarter Horse As- four days a week or so with Orth until the sociation World Champion and a 17-time champion roper and horse trainer moved AQHA Reserve World Champion (events from Guthrie to Purcell. Slick, whose registered name is MJ Dancover age 50). “It’s helped me so much to get to rope ing Cowboy, is 13 and has plenty of good years ahead of him, as does Felder. Ropers with someone like him,” Felder said. “Roping is a full-time job if you want to be can easily stay competitive well into their good, but Mark has done extremely well,” 60s and Felder stays fit. “I plan on doing this for a while,” Felder Orth said. “Being a golf teacher himself, he knows how to take instruction and he learns said. “I really enjoy it.”

Oklahoma Golf Association News

Rules of the game refresher The “teeing ground” is a rectangular area In this article I thought I would include as many snippets on the Rules of Golf as two club-lengths in depth with the front and I could fit in my allotted space. I hope you sides of which determined by two tee markfind it both informative and a helpful means ers Distance measuring devices may only be to refresh your knowledge of the Rules you used in an event if there is a Local Rule in might use in your next round. The Game of Golf consists of playing a effect which permits it. Always obtain and read the Local Rules. ball with a club from the teeing At any time, a player may smooth ground into the hole by a stroke or sand in a bunker provided that it successive strokes, in accordance is for the purpose of caring for the to the Rules. course and does not improve the poFourteen clubs is the limit. sition of his ball of his line of play. In match-play events, you may Players with a Handicap higher concede your opponent’s next stroke (for example, a tap-in putt). Gene Mortensen than 10 are prohibited from playing OGA Rules from the back tees. In stroke-play events, all players Director The order of play on the tee is are required to complete each hole determined by the scores on the previous so they will each have a score that counts. The responsibility for playing the proper hole. The order of play after the tee shots ball rests with the player. Each player should is always the ball farthest from the hole. Be put an identification mark on his ball. If ready to play. A player may touch his line of putt to reyou play a “wrong ball” it is a loss of hole in match play; and in stroke play, add two pair only old hole plugs and ball marks. If a player’s ball after a stroke is accidenpenalty strokes and correct the mistake in a timely fashion (before the next tee shot) un- tally deflected or stopped by himself or his equipment, the player incurs a penalty of der penalty of disqualification.

one stroke and must play the ball as it lies. If a player accidentally moves his ball in play he incurs a penalty of one stroke and he must replace it. If the ball is not replaced, a penalty of two strokes is assessed. To properly “drop” a ball the player should stand erect with his arm outstretched to shoulder level. The player may face any direction while making the drop. A “loose impediment” is any object which was created by the Almighty (for example, a twig, a leaf). An “obstruction” is any object which was created by man (for example, a rake, a cart path). A wise player will study the Rules to become aware as to when and how relief is permitted with respect to either. If a ball is lost or out of bounds, the player incurs a penalty of one stroke and is required to play a ball from the spot at which the original ball was last played. That reference to players with higher handicaps being prohibited from playing from the back tees is not a Rule . . . yet. It is my way of suggesting that players use the tees which are compatible with their ability levels. Golf is a game which should be played for enjoyment so don’t make it harder than it need be.

www.golfoklahoma.org •••••• 11

Oklahoma Golf Association News

Hughes wins OGA State Amateur Championship Edges Talor Gooch in final by ken macleod

rare north wind on the venerable Perry Maxwell-designed layout which long-time superintendent Craig Elms had in immaculate condition. Gooch evened the match when Hughes made bogey on the par-5 fifth hole but gave Hughes the lead right back when he made his only bogey of the match, failing to get up and down from a bunker on the par-4 sevNathan Hughes is proud to have his name added. enth. Hughes took command morning semifinals, which were delayed an with a 25-foot downhill hour to allow rain and high water to clear birdie on the par-4 12th the course. “I’m really happy to have my hole. He started follow- name on that trophy with all the other great ing the putt as it rolled players who have won this event.” Gooch made plenty of pars, but struggled slowly downhill and was nearly even with it when it to hit it close enough for realistic birdie opportunities in both his semifinal match, a 1 dropped in the cup. “I thought I had hit it too up victory over Taylor Moore of Edmond hard and it was going to and the University of Arkansas, and against go five or six feet past the Hughes. He made a clutch birdie on the 18th hole,” Hughes said. “It hit hole to edge Moore, his third birdie of that some lusher grass at the match against three bogeys. But it didn’t end and dove to the right resemble the fireworks he displayed in his and went in. That was a last four rounds of OGA stroke play events, which were rounds of 63-68-62 to win the big putt.” He increased the lead 2012 OGA Stroke Play Championship at to 3 holes by by rifling an Jimmie Austin OU Golf Course and a 62 in 8-iron on the 148-yard qualifying for this championship. “I just really couldn’t get anything going 15th hole to 11 feet above the hole and converting and Nathan played really well,” Gooch said. that for birdie. The match “He shot 3-under and that’s always good ended when both players on this course. I’m not used to playing two birdied the par-5 16th hole. matches a day three days in a row. While Gooch and Moore were off to play “I didn’t make a lot of birdies today but I played in the Western Amateur and other events steady,” said Hughes, who before resuming their college careers, defeated Chandler Rusk of Hughes said winning the State Amateur Edmond and Wichita State would put a fitting end to his summer tourUniversity 2 and 1 in the nament schedule. Hughes, above, and Gooch. Photos by Rip Stell. OKLAHOMA CITY - Steady won the day as Nathan Hughes captured the Oklahoma Golf Association State Amateur Championship, making four birdies and one bogey to upset Talor Gooch 3 and 2 in the championship match at Oklahoma City Golf & Country Club. Hughes, who lives in Bartlesville and will be a fifth-year senior at the University of Missouri-Kansas City this fall, slowly pulled away from Gooch, the Midwest City native and Oklahoma State rising senior. Hughes rolled in a 5-foot birdie putt on the first hole of the afternoon match, played in a

12 •••••• www.golfoklahoma.org

ONLINE: Get local, national, equipment, and travel stories online at golfoklahoma.org

Clark is Mid-Am champ, Reid captures OGA senior From Staff Reports

massive oaks and other hardwoods. The only trouble spot came on the par-5 Don Clark of 10th hole, when his second shot hit high in Shawnee made the bunker guarding the front of the green a cross country and he failed to get out with his third. He lag putt of about finished with a bogey there, but promptly 80 feet to within hit his approach on the par-4 11th to about three feet of the 15 feet and rolled in the birdie to get back 18th hole, then on track. converted that for a par that Wright holds off Hughett preserved a oneBROKEN ARROW -- Kirk Wright of Oklashot victory over homa City stared down the most decorated Phillip Bryan of player in OGA history to win the Senior Don Clark Mustang in the State Amateur Championship at the Golf Oklahoma Golf Association Mid-Amateur Club of Oklahoma, edging two-time defendChampionship at Stillwater Country Club. ing champion Clark, who won the event in 2012 at ForMichael Hughett est Ridge Golf Course in Broken Arrow, beof Owasso. came the first repeat champion since Mike “I noticed I Hughett in 2007 and 2008. could start playThe long two-putt on the final hole came ing in an OGA after Clark drove his tee shot into trees on event since I the left side and had to punch his second to was over 50 and the front of the green. The pin was cut near I played in one the back of the tiered green and his first putt last year and rewas perfectly paced as it raced up and down ally enjoyed it,” the mounds in between. Wright said. “So I “That first putt may have been one of the decided I was goKirk Wright best shots I hit all day and it saved the day,” ing to start playClark said. ing in all of them and this is the first senior Clark shot 2-over 72 in the final round event this year that I entered.” after an opening 1-under 69 to finish at The match went to a 19th hole, with 1-over 141. Bryan, playing a few groups in Wright shooting par and Hughett bogeying front, opened with a bogey, then made four the par-5 first green. birdies before suffering a bogey on 18 that “I set some goals this year and this was kept him one shot back at 2-over 142. His one of them,” Wright said. “I really didn’t second-round 68 was the low round of the expect to do quite so well early. I figured it tournament. was a learning process, but got really lucky Austin Hannah of Jenks, playing in the fi- out there and made some long putts to get nal group with Bryan, overcame a drive out things rolling for me.” of bounds on the 10th hole with birdies at Hughett, the top seed, appeared to be go16 and 17 and was just a shot behind Clark ing into cruise control for a third straight as they played 18. His approach shot went championship when he won two of the over the green into a tough lie above a bun- first three holes and was 2-up for most of ker and he was unable to get up-and-down, the front-nine. But Wright gradually made a finishing with a 72 to take third place, two comeback with some crucial putts. shots back at 3-over 143. Starting with the 13th, no holes were Kacey Threet of Grove (72-73) and Jon halved. Wright won three consecutive holes Valuck of Edmond (72-73) tied for fourth at to earn his first lead of the day. 145. He pointed to a key shot on 14 as a turnThe smooth-swinging Clark, a member of ing point. Shawnee Country Club, made two birdies, “The last few days, it’s been a hole that 15 pars and one bogey in his opening round has caused me problems,” Wright said. “Toon the saturated Stillwater CC, then 14 pars, day, I hit a good drive. I got a 9-iron into the one birdie and three bogeys in a display of hole and made a 25-footer. I was just trying consistency on the tight course lined by to lag up close and it fell in.”

It was all square through 16 holes. Wright birdied to win the par-3 17th to go 1-up. Hughett tied it with a par on the par-5 18th. In the playoff, Hughett hit his third shot long and failed to get up and down, missing his par putt from about six feet.

Reid wins ninth OGA title

James Reid of Edmond won his second OGA event of the summer and ninth overall with a two-shot victory over Jon Valuck of Edmond in the OGA Senior Stroke Play Championship at Dornick Hills Golf & Country Club in Ardmore. Reid shot a final-round 73 after opening with a 1-under 69 to clip Valuck, who finished at 144 after rounds of 70-74. Albert Johnson Jr. of Lawton finished third at 146, followed by Don Clark of Shawnee and Mike Hughett of Owasso at 147. James Reid Clark is the current OGA Mid-Amateur champion while Hughett was the three-time defending champion. Valuck, who combined with Reid to win the rain-shortened OGA Senior Spring FourBall at Cedar Ridge, had taken a one-shot lead in this championship over his friend at the conclusion of the first nine, while the other contenders had dropped back, creating a match play situation in the final pairing. Reid regained the lead with a birdie on the 12th hole while Valuck made bogey. Valuck then three-putted the 13th hole to give Reid a two-shot cushion, which he gave away with a double bogey at 15. The shot of the tournament was Reid’s tee shot on the par-3 17th, a 7-iron from 156 yards to a pin cut left by a pond that stopped three feet away for a birdie, allowing him to carry a one-shot lead into the final hole. Reid has now won two OGA Mid-Amateur Championships along with six regular or senior four-ball events to go with his Senior Stroke Play title. Gary Bonner of Norman shot rounds of 71-71 for a 2-over total of 142 to win the Super Senior Division by four strokes over Bob Fouke of Broken Arrow. www.golfoklahoma.org •••••• 13

WOGA NEWS AND NOTES

State Amateur Championship caps challenging year for Staggs by murray evans

OKLAHOMA CITY - It’s been a challenging past few months for Jade Staggs of Moore, but the Women’s Oklahoma Golf Association State Amateur Championship brought her a welcome respite. Staggs, who plays out of Earlywine Golf Club in southwest Oklahoma City, pulled away on the back nine to beat Taylor Neidy of Clinton 3 and 2 at The Greens Country Club to win the 95th annual State Amateur title. The state amateur title was Staggs’ first and, likely, her last, since she plans to turn pro later this year - a bit earlier than planned (more on that later). It was her second WOGA state title, along with the state junior championship she won in 2010. “It’s my first summer not being in college and just being able to play and go wherever,” Staggs said. “It’s been fun to just play more relaxed and not have more things on my plate and on my mind. That’s been really helpful.” The 21-year-old Staggs began her college career during the 2010-11 academic year at Oklahoma State, but left Stillwater after one year and transferred to Oklahoma. She struggled a bit as a sophomore in 2011-12, posting a 78.67 stroke average, but improved that average to 74.67 during the

2012-13 academic year. But a disagreement between Staggs and Oklahoma coach Veronique Drouin-Luttrell led to a parting of the ways by the end the spring season. Staggs said Thursday she plans to finish her degree at OU but won’t play golf for the Sooners in 2013-14. That situation wasn’t all Staggs had to deal with this spring. Her family’s home escaped damage in the May 20 tornado that slammed through Moore, but another round of severe storms on May 31 caused significant roof damage. Staggs has been living in a hotel while the home is repaired. Weather brought more challenges this week, as matches in the tournament had to be postponed Tuesday because of heavy rain in the Oklahoma City area. But after a marathon Wednesday, the field was whittled down to Staggs and Neidy, a 21-yearold standout at the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond. Neidy, who finished 34th individually at the NCAA Division II Championship this spring and led the Bronchos to a 10th-place team finish, took a quick lead. She found a greenside sand trap on the par-3 No. 2 but got up and down, while Staggs missed a par putt. That turned out to be the highlight of Neidy’s round, as she didn’t win another hole. “She hits it a long ways,” Neidy said of Staggs. “She’s a solid player. She’s not go-

Jade Staggs is a happy champion

ing to make a lot of mistakes. She keeps it in play and I was really impressed with her putting.” “All week, really, the back nine was the turning point for me, in every match,” Staggs said. “I struggled on the front nine in all of my matches and was down most of the time after nine holes. Then I would hit 10, 11 and 12 and that’s when I would kind of earn my way back.”

First Junior Fundraiser a success by katy treadwell

The Women’s Oklahoma Golf Association placed an increased emphasis on junior golf in 2013. Those efforts are paying off. WOGA held its first Junior Fundraising tournament at Meadowbrook Country Club in Tulsa, in early July and it was a huge success. This event was added to the WOGA calendar at the beginning of the season and was designed to help raise money for the WOGA Scholarship Fund and the Junior Grants Program. WOGA also conducted an online auction for rounds at various Oklahoma courses that raised more than $5,400. “The Scholarship fund helps provide financial assistance to our junior golfers based on financial need, academic success and their interest in golf,” said WOGA President Cherie Rich. “Our Junior Grants 14 •••••• www.golfoklahoma.org

Program was also initiated this year and provides financial assistance to Oklahoma high school golf teams and junior programs around the state.” “The fundraiser tournament was not only a lot of fun, but it is a great success story,” said Vice President and Junior Golf Chair, Sheila Dills. “We would like to thank all of those who participated and give a special thanks to our presenting sponsor, Anchor Drilling Fluids.” Allyson Wilcox, of Duncan, was the recipient of this years $1,000 Jarita Askins Scholarship, and Katelyn Bennett of Enid was awarded the $1,000 Carol Collins Scholarship. Both will be attending the University of Central Oklahoma this fall. WOGA is still accepting grant applications from high school golf teams. Any high school coach interested in applying for a grant can download the application from

Katelyn Bennett and Allyson Wilcox.

www.woga.us, The deadline for applications is Sept 1. You can follow along with the ladies of WOGA, make donations, or get your membership by visiting their website at www. woga.us.

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Chip shots

News from around the state Sponsored by

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The circular bar, Heritage room, main dining and pro shop are all vast improvements. Photos by Rip Stell.

Worth the wait

Clubhouse increases Stillwater CC membership Membership at Stillwater Country Club has risen by 38 since the reopening of its clubhouse in December of 2012. A glance inside and one can see why. Few places were more in need of a renovation than Stillwater CC, where the pro shop and clubhouse were previously separated by a road. Now head professional Chuck Coatney and wife Patty Coatney operate out of a classy 16 •••••• www.golfoklahoma.org

shop that opens into the completely rebuilt clubhouse, which has added 12,000 square feet to the previous edition. Highlights include the Heritage Room, with information about the club’s history in a wine-bar atmosphere, the high ceilings and chandeliers in the main club room and bar, a new area just for kids with board games, Wei and foosball and the renovated patio area, which has

quickly become a popular spot for weddings and other parties. Members Ron Walker, Ken Alexander and Steve Carpenter all brought their expertise to the project, using a design by Tom Hoch of Oklahoma City as a base. “The membership loves it and it’s really increased our visibility in the city,” Coatney said.

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Architects to hold meeting in Tulsa The American Society of Golf Course Architects will be holding its 2014 annual meeting on May 3-6 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in downtown Tulsa. Tripp Davis of Norman, the only Oklahoma-based golf architect who is a member of the society, was instrumental in bringing the event to Oklahoma. While in town, the architects will play SouthTripp Davis ern Hills Country Club, Tulsa Country Club and The Patriot Golf Club. Marc Whitney, the communications director for the society, said the event usually draws close to 80 of the group’s 165 members, which includes such prominent architects as Tom Fazio, Pete Dye, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Robert Trent Jones II, Rees

Jones, Bill Coore, Bob Cupp, Gil Hanse and Tom Watson. The ASGCA was founded in 1946. Members on average have been an architect for 28 years and have worked on 42 courses, Whitney said. Most have designed courses in numerous countries and most of the work in new course design these days is overseas thanks to a contracting U.S. golf market. The work that is available is in course renovation and master planning to make better use of resources, including water conservation, and to retrofit many of today’s courses to make them more fun, more playable and faster for today’s golfer, who has made it clear that the traditional 18-hole round is too time consuming for many. “The environmental impact that our members have on the game is one of the great unknown and unseen benefits of what we do,” Whitney said. “Playability and sustainability are imperatives. We’re doing more to make sure the game is fun, whether that’s a six-hole loop, a short

course or upgrading a practice facility.” While in Tulsa, the architects will get to sample the work of the two sons of legendary architect Robert Trent Jones, whose work has come under fire of late for making golf too hard, too slow and too expensive. Both sons have taken those criticisms into account in their own work and seem to be putting an emphasis more on golden age architectural themes. Rees Jones did the renovation of Tulsa Country Club with a goal of bringing out and emphasizing the style of original designer A.W. Tillinghast. His older brother, Robert Trent Jones III, did a masterful job at The Patriot of using the landforms to make an aesthetically pleasing yet player friendly course that offers shot options instead of dictating strategy to the player. Whitney said many of the architects will come in early or stay late to play other members’ courses in the area or any wellregarded course. Fazio’s work at The Golf Club and Karsten Creek are two likely destinations, along with Cedar Ridge, The Oaks and other courses.

Oklahoma City (405) 634-0571 Tulsa (918) 663-0571 Toll Free (800) 276-0571

justicegolf.com www.golfoklahoma.org •••••• 17

Chip shots Speaker returns to Hillcrest, Hadden to Meadowbrook Aaron Speaker has returned to Hillcrest Country Club in Bartlesville as head professional, replacing Bryan Heim. Heim and Speaker both applied for the job when Jerry Cozby retired in 2010. Heim, who had been an assistant at Cherry Hills Country Club in Denver, returned to Colorado recently to become the head pro at Columbine Country Club. Speaker, who had served as an assistant to Cozby for nine years, worked at Lakeside Country Club in Houston in 2011, then became head professional at Colony Creek Country Club in Victoria, Texas. During his brief term there, membership rose from below 90 to above 270. Speaker takes over a Hillcrest course that is significantly different than the one he left. All the greens have been redesigned and some holes have changed significantly in angles of attack. All the alterations were overseen by architect Tripp Davis. “The changes to the golf course are just great,” said Speaker. “I think it’s more playable and the greens are just awesome.” Speaker said he hopes his return to Hillcrest CC is for the long term. He wants to put down roots in the community and work to increase membership through improved programs and creating a fun, family environment. Bobby Hadden is back at MeadowBrook Country Club in Tulsa after 18 months as head professional at The Golf Club of Oklahoma in Broken Arrow. Hadden will serve as general manager at MeadowBrook, replacing longtime GM Libby Meyer, who resigned to take over her father’s financial company in Fort Smith, Ark. Hadden was the head professional at MeadowBrook from 2005-2012, a position now occupied by Todd Kinnikin. His employer is Fore Golf Partners, a management and ownership firm based in Manassas, Va. Hadden said he was pleased to find MeadowBrook in tremendous condition both inside and out. “Libby had just done a phenomenal job here for more than 20 years,” Hadden said. “As long as I can keep the membership levels up to the par that she did, I’ll be good to go.” Hadden said Meadowbrook is installing a new fence along its border with 81st Street, cart path repair and updating the clubhouse. In other moves, Chris Kempen has been named the general manager at SilverHorn 18 •••••• www.golfoklahoma.org

Golf Club in Oklahoma City. A former assistant GM there, he replaces Chris Kunkel, who moved to a similar position at Willowbend Country Club in Oklahoma City. Tucker Roderick is the new head professional at Cimarron Trails in Perkins, replacing Lynn Rowland. Roderick worked at Cimarron Trails from 2005-09 before becoming an assistant pro at Oak Tree Country Club in Edmond.

Cotton Creek auction

after the auction, the course will remain open for business.

Golf Week on the Golf Trail

Beautiful and challenging golf courses, money-saving deals, free clinics, fun contests and four different tournaments highlight the “Second Annual Golf Week” October 6-13, 2013 at Central Missouri’s Lake of the Ozarks. Nestled amid the rolling hills of Central Missouri, the Lake of the Ozarks has long been known as one of the premier golf and vacation destination in America’s Heartland. Golf Week on the Golf Trail is the perfect way to experience it all – challenging courses, excellent values, scenic landscapes, myriad lodging choices and a fun setting with plenty of entertainment and activities after the rounds are over. “If you’ve never been to the Lake, Golf Week on the Lake of the Ozarks Golf Trail is a fantastic reason for you to make the trip and discover our 13 different courses along the Golf Trail,” said Lake of the Ozarks Golf Council President Paul Leahy. “However, if you’ve been here before, then you already know how great an opportunity this is.” The main event is the Golf Week TwoPerson, Two-Course Scramble – a two-day tournament on two of the Trail’s premiere courses, the River/Mountain course at Osage National Golf Resort and The Oaks Course at Tan-Tar-A Resort in Osage Beach, Mo. The Golf Week Scramble kicks off Friday, Oct. 11 with a 12:30 p.m. shotgun start at Osage National Golf Resort and continues Saturday, Oct. 12 with a 12:30 p.m. shotgun

Cotton Creek Golf Course in Glenpool is likely to remain open after an auction which broke the course into 16 parcels failed to yield the results desired by owners Jeff and Steve Lamoreaux. The auction was conducted July 27 at Cotton Creek. There were more than 45 bidders and 10 different bidders had the top bids on the 16 parcels. Every parcel had a bid, but Jeff Lamoreaux said the bids were not what the owners were expecting. “It was mostly bargain hunters looking for property at cents on the dollar,” he said. “We will make some counters and we’ll see where we go. For now, we’re open for business, the course is in great shape and golfers are out playing.” The owners have seven days to accept the contracts as is and then closing would typically be 30 to 45 days after that, said John Pellow with Ameribid, which conducted the auction. Jeff Lamoreaux, however, said he expected none of the contracts would be accepted as is. “It just didn’t go well,” he said. “People were not wanting to pay any kind of reasonable price. While the owners decide their next step See GOLF WEEK page 23

Old Kinderhook is one of many reasons to visit Lake of the Ozarks for Golf Week.

Volunteer Now!

Registration is now open for the 2014 U.S. Senior Open Volunteer Program. Sign up today to ensure your spot as championship golf returns to Oak Tree National. Go to www.2014ussenioropen.com to register and for more information. Purchase of volunteer package required.

2014 U.S. Senior Open • July 7-13 • Oak Tree National • www.2014ussenioropen.com

www.golfoklahoma.org •••••• 19

Chip shots Tulsa CC to host 2015 U.S. Girls Junior The United States Golf Association (USGA) has named Tulsa Country Club as the host of the 2015 U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship. The championship will be conducted July 20-25. This will be the third USGA championship conducted at Tulsa Country Club, and the 22nd championship held in the state of Oklahoma. The club previously hosted the 1960 U.S. Women’s Amateur, won by JoAnne Gunderson Carner, and the 2008 USGA Senior Women’s Amateur, won by Diane Lang. There is hope that a successful girls junior championship will lead to a fourth USGA event at the club, which would be either the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship or, even better, the U.S. Women’s Open Championship. “No doubt that in the future we would love to host either of those events,” said Jason Fiscus, general manager and COO at TCC. “Right now we’re looking forward to having the best U.S. Girls Junior Championship.” The announcement signals the start of a busy two-year stretch for the club, which will also host the 2014 NCAA Championship. TCC has a long history of hosting championship golf, starting with the inaugural

Oklahoma State Amateur and Oklahoma Open Championships in 1910. Two weeks prior to capturing the 1984 U.S. Senior Open, Miller Barber won the Roy Clark/ Skoal Bandit Senior Challenge, a Champions (then Senior) Tour event conducted at Tulsa. In 1999, the club hosted the NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Champion- TCC will be busy for next two years. ship, won by a Duke University team that rish leading a course refurbishment projincluded 1998 U.S. Women’s Open runner- ect in 1988. Recently, Rees Jones helmed a up Jenny Chuasiriporn and 1997 U.S. Girls’ multi-year redesign that was completed in Junior champion Beth Bauer. And from 2001- 2011. The endeavor included the construc03, the LPGA Tour visited Tulsa Country tion of 18 new greens, the addition of 41 Club, with Gloria Park, Annika Sorenstam bunkers on the par-4 and par-5 holes and the renovation of all teeing grounds, green and Karrie Webb taking victories. This will be the second U.S. Girls’ Junior complexes and bunker surrounds. The U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship was to be held in Oklahoma. The Oaks Country Club, also in Tulsa, hosted the 1960 cham- first played in 1949 and is open to female pionship, which was won by Carol Soren- amateur golfers who have not reached the son. Along with the 2015 U.S. Girls’ Junior, age of 18 prior to the close of the champithe state will also host the 2014 U.S. Senior onship and who hold a USGA Handicap Index no higher than 18.4. Notable past Open at Oak Tree National in Edmond.    Tulsa Country Club has been at its cur- champions include Mickey Wright, JoAnne rent location since 1908. The club’s original Gunderson Carner, Hollis Stacy, Nancy Locourse was designed by A.W. Tillinghast pez, Amy Alcott, Heather Farr, Pat Hurst, and opened for play in 1920, with Jay Mor- Inbee Park, I.K. Kim and Lexi Thompson.

Fierce storm downs trees in Tulsa area Five inches of rain overnight at Winter Creek in Blanchard. Devastating winds two nights in succession at Cedar Ridge CC in Broken Arrow. Fewer 100 degree days thus far this summer than in about any week for the past two summers. Except for the cleanup that ensued after a derecho slammed through the eastern half of the staqte in the early hours of July 24, you won’t find superintendents complaining too much about the summer of 2013. A cool spring and summer with plenty of rain has led to ideal weather for Bermuda and zoysia fairways. High humidity has some greens struggling a bit but most seem to have coped well. As for the hurricane-force winds, perhaps no place suffered more damage than Cedar Ridge Country Club, where a microburst leveled 20 trees on July 22, followed 20 •••••• www.golfoklahoma.org

Tulsa Country Club took a few days to clean up from the July 24 storm.

by the loss of 46 more early on the 24th. to the derecho, forcing the course to close for three days. Most courses in Tulsa were closed temporarily to clear debris and get power restored. “We lost 100-foot tall native trees that had been here since before the golf course,” said Cedar Ridge superintendent Mike Wooten.

To put the loss of 68 trees in perspective, Cedar Ridge lost 368 trees during the 2007 ice storm. There are approximately 1,800 trees on the property. “Still, you keep having events like this, it takes its toll” Wooten said. Brady Finton, superintendent at Tulsa Country Club, said at least 24 trees were toppled by the storm and others were so disfigured they would have to come down.

www.golfoklahoma.org •••••• 21

Sugar Creek Canyon back from the dead The Sugar Creek Canyon Golf Course Trust has leased the golf course from the Turner Funeral Home which purchased it at auction last April and at press time planned to reopen in mid August. The trust, composed of former state senator Bruce Price and four local businessmen including former general manager and course superintendent Sloan Smith, will have to operate based on revenue and it will not be subsidized by the City of Hinton. “The first year is going to be tough but we think we can make it work,” Price said. “We’re going to have a very aggressive marketing campaign to sell memberships to a lot of local businesses, memberships that can be used as passes to the course and not tied to an individual.” Price, who is also on the Hinton City Council, said the group will also have to market outside of Hinton, a town of approximately 1,250. The course has been averaging close to 10,000 rounds annually and probably needs to bump that to 15,000 to be successful. That will require a considerable amount of play from outside Hinton. Sugar Creek Canyon was designed by

The former clubhouse at Sugar Creek Canyon Golf Course in Hinton.

Mark Hayes and opened in 2009. It has nine holes that are in the canyon and nine holes that are relatively flat. Smith, who was under contract until 2014 with former owner Hinton Economic Development Authority, kept the greens alive after the course was sold. The Turners said

they will be converting the former maintenance building into a crematorium and embalming room and the former clubhouse into part of their funeral home services. The new pro shop will be in a corner of the cart barn. There will have to be a structure for the maintenance equipment.

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from GOLF WEEK page 18 start at The Oaks at Tan-Tar-A Resort. The field for the scramble is limited to 288 people, and these slots will go fast. Entry for the tournament costs $150 per team if participants book a two-night stay with any participating lodging property, or $200 per team without lodging. For a list of qualifying lodging properties, please visit GolfingMissouri.com/Accommodations. Other scheduled Golf Week activities around the Lake area include three additional tournaments: the “Dogwood Hills Pro-Am” kicks off the celebration on Sunday, Oct. 6; the “Bogeys and Beer Charity Tournament” at The Oaks at Tan-Tar-A Resort on Tuesday, Oct. 8; and a four-person “YMCA Charity Scramble” wraps up the week on Sunday, Oct. 13 at Old Kinderhook Golf Resort. Four courses in Osage Beach will be hosting daily closest-to-the-pin contests: Bear Creek Valley Golf Club, Sycamore Creek Golf Club, Hidden Lakes and The Oaks at Tan-Tar-A Resort. For an updated Golf Week calendar, a registration form for the Golf Week Scramble and Golf Week email alerts, please visit GolfWeekOnTheTrail.com.

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For membership information Call Jeff Tyrrell at 580.475.0075 or visit WWW.TERRITORYGOLF.COM PO Box 1228 Duncan, Oklahoma 73534 www.golfoklahoma.org •••••• 23

Goods the

Some things we like to do before and after the round

The Bookshelf Life in the Book Lane by tom bedell

y original plan was to play a round with the usual foursome, better known as the MOTO Research Team. (Long story.) I would time the round carefully, knowing it would take more than four hours. Then I was going to give each of the MOTO boys a copy of Sam Dunn’s “The Art of Fast Play” (Vineyard Stories, $14.95) to read and study, if not memorize. Then I would time another round to see how much, or if, we had improved. I haven’t given up on the idea; I just ran out of time to try it. Who doesn’t sometimes despair of the time squandered on the golf course? Not in the play, of course. But in the non-play, the non-essential leakages of time that keep us away from other important things in life, like Twitter. And in the spirit of the book my only argument with it is the subtitle, “Solving Golf’s Maddening Problem of Slow Play.” This is redundant, and takes too long to read. Otherwise, applause for Mr. Dunn, striding forth like Don Quixote with stopwatch in hand, trying to prod all the slowpokes out there, and showing fairly convincingly that we’re all guilty from time to time. This is particularly true when it comes to playing in carts, rife with timesquandering opportunity. This suitably brisk volume is loaded with easy-reading analyses of what contributes to slow play and the strategies to turn it into the opposite, suggestions more concrete than shouting, “While we’re young!” at dawdlers. (Not that that’s necessarily discouraged, mind you.) It’s not about hurrying or feeling rushed out on the course. It’s about not wasting time, and it’s recommended for courses 24 •••••• www.golfoklahoma.org

as well as individual players. I’d say slip it into your bag for reference, but there will be no reading out on the course!

Green Glory

“Green Glory: A Visual Tribute to the Courses of the Majors – Golf’s Renowned Venues” (Stonehouse Publishing, $55) is a volume to slip onto the coffee table. And then probably leave there for some time to come, since it’s stuffed with goodies. Begin with the paintings of renowned golf course artist Linda Hartough, and parley that with the photos of Patrick Drickey and text by M.E. Mortensen, and the sum becomes greater than the parts, which are pretty good to begin with. Using a 1950 cutoff date (Prestwick gets a bye), at least one hole from every course that has hosted a major on the men’s tour is depicted in the oversized pages. Augusta National, as the only major always played at the same course, is afforded a portfolio of Hartough’s vibrant paintings. The PGA Championship, which changes venues more than any of the other majors, is represented by 45 different courses, the U.S. Open by 26. Recent chatter about Royal Portrush hosting an Open Championship is tweaked by the reminder here that the Dunluce Links did just that in 1951, when Max Faulkner posted a winning 3-under score to waltz off with the whopping £300 winner’s purse. We learn that from Mortensen’s text, the cherry on top of the artwork. He captures the verbal portrait of each course and adds the context of the tournament (or tournaments) played there. After all, as Jack Nick-

laus notes in an appreciative introduction to the book, “You can’t separate the battle from the battleground.” And for a book so concerned with the history and traditions of the game, it’s nice to note that a portion of the sales proceeds will go to support The First Tee program.

Walking with Jack

I might have thought I’d read all I wanted to about Yanks learning to loop in the Auld Sold in Oliver Horovitz’s “An American Caddie in St. Andrews,” reviewed in the April-May issue. But damned if Don J. Snyder’s “Walking With Jack: A Father’s Journey to Become His Son’s Caddie” (Doubleday, $25.95) isn’t entertaining, too. And Snyder, an accomplished novelist and memoirist, also plumbs other depths. His entire rationale for going to Scotland to earn his caddy chops stems from a long-extant promise that if his son, Jack, ever made it to a pro tour, the elder Snyder would carry his bag for him. He also did it because, between high school and college, Jack seemed to be losing confidence in his abilities, and Don wanted to show he meant business. It seems an extraordinary gesture for a man approaching sixty, but Snyder’s love for his son and his three other children is clearly an abiding one, and throughout the book he blatantly wears his heart on his sleeve. Yet Snyder has had a complicated and difficult relationship with his own father, and the father-son dynamic is examined here in all its thorny glory, not only from the Snyder family vantage point, but from many of the players Snyder caddies for. The stories are varied and rich, poignant

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and sorrowful, sweet and humorous. I defy any golfer who has played with his father, or son, to remain unmoved. Snyder father and son do make it to a pro tour, and tensions and revelations amp up from there. I won’t spoil the narrative here. But I think it’s fair to say that if the book falls short of a fairytale ending, it’s still a happy one.

The Kingdom of Golf in America

It’s a little difficult to know how to take “The Kingdom of Golf in America” (University of Nebraska Press, $34.95). Author Richard J. Moss is a Colby College professor emeritus of history, and certainly this

is a rich survey of the history of golf in this country. But it’s not really an academic work. There are three appendices and a bibliographic essay citing sources. But there is no index, nary a footnote, and the author is himself enough of a golf addict to add personal asides and zingers that make the book too readable to be merely scholarly! Tracing the emergence of golf in the U.S. from about 1880 on, Moss details the varied tracks golf moved briskly along in establishing itself in this country, as a game that developed for the elite, yet also in egalitarian ways. It doesn’t blink at the exclusions and restrictions golf clung to along gender, racial and religious grounds. And yet it clearly shows how the game can capture a

player’s soul in countless positive ways. My take is that Moss doesn’t really break a lot of new ground here, relying greatly as he does on journalistic accounts of the game through the years,. But he does provide a useful lens through which to view the game—successful as a community (a kingdom, if you will), but lately troubled as an industry. Indeed, his concluding chapter is a bit doom-saying: “Golf, today, is in a world of hurt…all the talk seems to be of loss, course closings, demographics, shrinking demand, and the economics of the game.” He hardly offers any realistic quick fixes. And yet he expects it to endure: “[Golf], for its adherents…is an essential, a giver of health, meaning, and peace. Golf in the United States has always been an antidote, a form of medicine, for the ills of modernity. There is no reason to believe that this century will be any different.” We’ll book a tee time to that. Tom Bedell likes to play fast, read slow.

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The goods Hovercraft the choice for adventurous golfers ernment agencies and companies such as Disney World, according to its website. Neoteric built a golf hovercraft for Oakley, which sponsors Watson and wanted it for corporate events. He said the cost would be $230 for golf in the hovercraft. He declined to say how Neoteric’s golf hovercraft now available at Windy Knoll GC. much it cost the club except that it was “10 issues, and that golfers using the craft will have to go through a half-hour presentation times the cost of a standard cart.” Unlike the video, golfers in the hovercraft on how to drive it. And how will this help can not go anywhere. Duffey said there pace of play at the club, one of the top issues would be a designated area on the front and in golf? “It’s going to turn heads,” Duffey said. “I back nine where the golfers can take it onto the lake. And the club has decided to make think other golfers on the course might find the putting green and bunkers off limits, themselves so interested in looking at it that even though Neoteric says it has a footprint if it did slow play down, I don’t think it will pressure 33 times less than the human foot. be noticeable.” For those who don’t want a cart or a hovHe said the club is working with an attorney and its insurance company on liability ercraft, walking remains an option.

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For the curious and the adventurous, a round of golf at an Ohio course is the place to be. Windy Knoll Golf Club tries to keep the price under $40 on the weekend, which includes a cart. That price has risen to $230 -- when the round of golf includes a hovercraft. Pete Duffey, the managing director of the public course in Springfield, Ohio, was so intrigued by the YouTube video of Bubba Watson skimming over water and through bunkers in a hovercraft built for golf that he called the manufacturer to make sure it was real. And then he ordered two of them. “We’re always looking for a way to set ourselves apart from the competition,” Duffey said Tuesday. “We’ll be able to offer something that no one in the area, in the state and at this point in the country can offer.” The golf hovercrafts are made by Neoteric Hovercraft in Terre Haute, Ind., which specializes in light hovercrafts for personal and commercial use. Its clients include gov-

A hall of fame collection by greg horton

Running through the list of cult wines produced by Heidi Barrett is like a tour of the California winemaking hall of fame: Screaming Eagle, Paradigm, Vineyard 29 and Grace Family. While at Dalla Valle, she produced Maya, a proprietary red blend that earned two 100-point scores from well-known critic Robert Parker. “Time” magazine referred to her as the Wine Diva of Napa. Many of her remarkable wines are widely available in Oklahoma. Barrett became a winemaker at 25 in 1983 when she took the position as head winemaker for Buehler Vineyard. She rose to fame after the amazing success of Screaming Eagle. Now, in addition to consulting for several premiere wineries, she also has her own La Sirena and Amuse Bouche labels. The La Sirena wines are the easiest to find, and feature prices from about $28 for the Muscat Azul all the way up to $150 for the La Sirena Cabernet Sauvignon. The line includes three Syrahs and a proprietary red blend of seven different varietals called Pirate Treasured. The Muscat Azul, made from the the Muscat Canelli grape, is simply one of the best Muscats available in the state. This is not the standard still Moscato. The Azul is structured, complex, and bracing. It’s not for dessert. For fans of big California Syrah, the Barrett Vineyards Syrah from Mount St. Helena in Napa is the signature Syrah from La Sirena. A beautifully balanced wine, this one is dense and layered. Give it plenty of time to open in a decanter. It gets better every hour. Amuse Bouche is a Merlot-driven Pomerol-style wine designed to rival Old World Bordeaux. Plummy, lush, rich, structured, chiseled, focused--it’s impossible to say enough good about this beautiful Bordeaux-style blend.

On par for the course Punch Deluxe Chateau L Maduro by laramie navrath

Every cigar smoker that enjoys the game of golf more than likely has enjoyed Punch. The brand dates back to 1840 and was developed by a Cuban cigar manufacturer named Manuel Lopez. The idea behind the brand was to attract the British market. During that time, there was a very popular puppeteer show in England called the Punch and Judy show. Manuel thought he would tap into the popularity of the show and name his brand Punch Cigar after Mr. Punch. A decision deemed to be excellent as Punch cigars became extremely popular. The Punch Deluxe Chateau L is a favorite among golfers due to the size and ease of smoke. The Deluxe line was first introduced in 1990 to keep pace with the growing sophistication of premium cigar smokers. Although the staple Punch is produced in Cuba, these hand rolled cigars are made in Honduras for the cigar market in America. The Chateau L Maduro is a complex,

medium to full-bodied cigar made with a rich dark Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper giving the cigar robust flavor. The draw is very easy and after light up the burn is even. Slight sweetness begins the smoking experience with subtle notes of coffee and cocoa. Gradually the smoke becomes peppery with hints of cedar and toast. The finish can be described as spicy and bold, all characteristics that one comes to expect from Honduran tobacco. Whether you’re on the first tee box or sitting back at the clubhouse with a Punch Deluxe cigar, it complements the choice you have made with an unsurpassed combination of flavor and finesse.

Proudly serving Oklahoma with a fine selection of cigars and related products. Stop on by our current location and share a smoke with us!

www.ztcigars.com 2726 W Britton Rd (800) 340-3007 Oklahoma City, OK 73120 www.golfoklahoma.org •••••• 27

EQUIPMENT

Getting fit, the TaylorMade way TaylorMade Performance Lab at Gleneagles Country Club offers game improvement through technology by steve habel

atching golf equipment to an individual’s specific game, physical makeup and swing has been all the rage in the industry for the past decade, but the TaylorMade Performance Labs have taken the science to a new level and they produce impressive results because of it. One of the newest TaylorMade Performance Labs (TMPL) is located at the Gleneagles Country Club in the Dallas suburb of Plano. It is one of only four “flagship” locations in the country. The Plano TMPL’s professionals have fitted more than 1,100 golfers since the facility opened in the fall of 2011. Custom-fit clubs – whether the fittings are done at a local retailer or in a facility especially designed for the discipline – have been a key selling point for club manufacturers since the turn of the 21st century. Still, according to Charlie Crisan, a sports marketing specialist at TaylorMade Golf, the great majority of golfers (even the low-handicappers looking to shave those few crucial strokes off their score) have never been fit, or at the least fit properly, for custom clubs. “Most golfers are still playing ‘standardstandard-standard’ clubs which refers to loft, lie angle and length,” Crisan said. “For those that have been previously fit, many have not been fit correctly. The most common errors we find are incorrect shaft (type and flex), incorrect lie angle, and incorrect length, probably in that order.” The TMPLs offer several technological advantages over a standard club fitting. TaylorMade’s proprietary MAT-T System (which stands for Motion Analysis Technology by TaylorMade) uses 3D motion capture to measure a golfer’s swing down to a tenth of a degree. It creates a 3D avatar of the golfer and his/her golf swing that can be viewed from any angle. “This alone would put TMPL above any other fitting solution on the market, but each TMPL also offers a full lineup of Tay28 •••••• www.golfoklahoma.org

lorMade products to demo, so when the golfer leaves, they know they’ve been fit for the perfect set,” said Ryan Sawyer, TaylorMade’s master clubfitting professional at Gleneagles CC. The comprehensive 2 1/2-hour fitting experience covers all 14 clubs in the bag, from driver to putter, ensuring a perfectly fit set of custom clubs and offering the individual a deeper understanding of the golf swing. “Each fitter is highly and specially trained to combine data from the MAT-T System with a golfer’s swing characteristics and technology of the golf clubs for the perfect fit each time,” Sawyer said. The MAT-T System was previously reserved only for Tour Players and could only be accessed at one of TaylorMade’s Kingdom locations in Carlsbad, CA or Reynolds Plantation, GA. The feedback from Tour Players about the benefits of MAT-T was so profound that the company decided to commercialize the technology and the experience, which is how TMPL was born. “A major staple of TaylorMade is that our products have to be validated by the best players in the world, and we are the No. 1 driver on Tour and similarly are the No. 1 driver in the marketplace,” Crisan said. “The Tour Player validation of the MAT-T system is what drives home the message that getting clubs precisely tailored to your swing is the key to playing your best golf possible.”

Ryan Sawyer at TaylorMade Performance Lab at Gleneagles Country Club.

Proper club fitting is also based on the notion that players are able to repeat swings, which is an aspect of their games that most amateur golfers struggle with. So how does clubfitting help those players? “The school of thought on clubfitting has always been trying to achieve the ‘best’ single shot someone can hit,” Sawyer said. “We take the opposite approach – rather than fit for the best, we fit golfers for their misses and can usually find a combination of components and specifications that minimizes the number of bad shots and increases the quality of each miss. Our goal is to fit the golfer for a set of clubs that will allow him or her to play their best with the swing and swing tendencies that they already have.” The cost for a fitting session at the TMPLs is established independently at each location. There is no obligation to purchase any equipment from the labs after the session, but the TMPLs prices for custom-made clubs are the lowest available from any authorized TaylorMade retailer, including discount stores and the Internet.

"While we're young" — Al Czervik Meets the USGA by ed travis

Rodney Dangerfield’s Al Czervik said it to Judge Smails (Ted Knight) on the first tee and “While we’re young” instantly became one of those snippets of dialog to enter our cultural consciousness. Right up there with- “Go ahead, make my day,” “…you talking to me?” and “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.”. The United States Golf Association has adopted Dangerfield’s pithy urging from the 1980 movie “Caddyshack” for its Hurry it up, Clint! latest campaign against slow play and enlisted several of golf’s biggest names to get the message to golfers. So far several whimsical television spots have been produced featuring Arnold Palmer, Clint Eastwood, Tiger Woods, Butch Harmon, Annika Sorenstam and Paula Creamer. USGA president Glen Nager called the effort a pace-of-play, public-education campaign designed to correct a significant factor contributing to both the decline in the number of golfers and to new people taking up the game. Reaction from recreational golfers and PGA professionals has been positive. Golf Oklahoma asked one of the men on golf’s front line combatting slow play, Pat McCrate, PGA Professional and director of golf at LaFortune Park Golf Course in Tulsa and South Lakes Golf Course in Jenks about “While We’re Young.” His comments were enthusiastic. “I love the campaign,” said McCrate, “and we’ve started using the phrase around the shop. I applaud the USGA, it’s a great program and I’m glad the USGA is finally doing something.” Asked how the campaign might be put into practice McCrate described, “We pay a lot of attention to slow play at LaFortune. We renovated a few years ago and put in multiple sets of tees to speed up play and we combine this with “Tee It Forward” to move things along.” “Tee It Forward” is a three-year-old campaign to encourage golfers to play from the set of tees commensurate with their ability to both speed the pace of play and make the game more enjoyable.

McCrate continued, “We have weekly tips for fast play and post them around the course and in the clubhouse so everyone knows we are paying attention to it.” Nager explained the new program further, “ `While We’re Young’ is a shorthand. It’s the language of golf and the language of golfers. It’s a device designed to cut through golf’s cultural conformity. Iconic personalities and U.S. Open champions have donated their time and voices to this campaign, because, as we do, they recognize the significance of the pace of play problem and the availability of solutions to it – if the public cares enough. Is this different for the USGA? Yes. Is it fun? Absolutely. Will it be effective in mobilizing the golf community to be part of the solution? We believe so – particularly if you, the media, will embrace it, support it, and promote it. We all have to stop simply complaining and instead join together behind a powerful idea to mobilize and solve the pace-of-play problem. “While We’re Young” can be that idea.” The USGA has added the online Pace of Play Resource Center to its web site, including a golfer’s Pace of Play Pledge, tips for im-

proving the pace of play and other information for both players and course operators. For all of the game’s stakeholders, the time it takes to play a round of golf is a major issue directly impacting course revenue and player participation. Operators know a course with a reputation for allowing slow play will suffer. Customers will “vote with their feet,” opting to pay their greens fees to play at other courses. Many, if not most golfers, feel they don’t have the time to spend five hours (or more) playing 18 holes. This is supported by results from the National Golf Foundation, an industry group, which regularly conducts surveys covering all aspects of the game. Recent results showed 91 percent of serious golfers are bothered by slow play and that it is a factor detracting from their enjoyment. More than 70 percent said golf was getting slower, the pace of play is getting worse and nearly half of serious golfers have been frustrated enough with the pace of play to quit a round. Golf participation is shrinking and that has serious ramifications for everyone who plays or earns a living in golf. We all need to work togethre to make a four-hour round seem slow. “While we’re young,” folks.

Tips for improving pace of play 6. Aim to play in 20 seconds. From club selection to pre-shot routine to execution, strive to hit your shot in 20 seconds. 7. Develop an eye for distance. Find a yardage marker before you reach your ball or consider an electronic range finder. 8. When sharing a cart, use a buddy system. Don’t wait in the cart while your cartmate hits and then drive to your ball. Get out and walk to your ball with a few clubs. 1. Start Smart. Confirm your tee time and Take turns picking each other up. arrive early. 9. Be helpful to others in your group. 2. Try alternate forms of play to speed Help look for a ball, fill in a divot, attend a up your round. Match play, Stableford, flagstick, etc. best-ball and other alternatives. 10. Keep up with the group in front of 3. Minimize your time on the tee. You you. Arrive at your next shot just before the can save time by playing a provisional ball group in front leaves the area in front of you. if you think your original ball is lost or out of For more extensive tips on improving the bounds. 4. Plan your shot before you get to pace of play please visit your ball. Make your club selection before it www.usga.org/PaceOfPlay/ is your turn to play. 5. Keep your pre-shot routine short. Try to take no more than one practice swing. Playing at a better pace is not about hurrying up or rushing around the course. It is simply about being more efficient with your valuable time, as well as everyone else’s. Adopting this mindset – and not being afraid to share it with your fellow players – will ultimately add enjoyment to your golf experience. Here are some recognized tips for improving pace of play:

www.golfoklahoma.org •••••• 29

Bratton takes over Wants to restore OSU aura by ken macleod

s a kid growing up in Texas, Alan Bratton bought into the legend of Oklahoma State golf. As a player there from 1991-1995, he helped enhance it. Now he wants to restore it. Bratton, now 41 with three young boys of his own, moved over from coaching the OSU women when Mike Holder fired Mike McGraw this summer. McGraw, who won a national championship in 2006 and was five-time coach of the year in the Big 12, was also the coach who let OSU’s record streak of 65 consecutive appearances in the NCAA Championship come to an end in 2011, which Holder described as “unimaginable.” Bratton sounds like he is going to be fairly impatient in seeing OSU not just compete at the highest levels, but begin to restore the aura of toughness and dedication that marked the Cowboys’ teams of the past. If he does land some of the nation’s top players, he would like to see them stay four years. Leaving early is a trend that began toward the end of Holder’s career with players such as Charles Howell III, Casey Wittenberg and Hunter Mahan, and continued with Rickie Fowler, Peter Uihlein and Morgan Hoffmann. It was certainly a factor in

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the program’s dip under McGraw. “I think it all depends on what a kid has achieved,” Bratton said. “It’s very difficult to over prepare for the PGA Tour. I think we want to get back to having kids come in and work to achieve our team goals. We want to give them the opportunity to do it the same way Scott Verplank and Willie Wood and so many others did it. We want players that want to play professionally and put them in an environment that means enough to them to want to be a part of it for four years.” Bratton has his own ideas on how to get players to execute, but he absorbed quite a bit from Holder as well. Alan Bratton “He was just a great example of excellence every day,” Bratton said. “He was always a and the Wisconsin State Amateur. Incomforward thinker and never put any limita- ing freshman Zach Olsen won the Southern tions on anybody. He really believed you Amateur. Senior Talor Gooch made it to the could do anything. You saw that with guys finals of the Oklahoma State Amateur. Ian stepping up and winning on the PGA Tour Davis has played well in various tournalevel. He would encourage us to not mea- ments. In addition to the returning players, OSU sure ourselves against our peers, but against has three incoming freshmen in Brendon Jelwhere you want to go and your goals. “Coach Holder made the game fun but he ley of Jenks, Stratton Nolen of Austin, Texas, also held you to a high standard. That will be and Olsen of Cordova, Tenn. “I like the momentum we’ve created this on me to do the same thing.” Bratton exemplified Holder’s belief in him summer,” Bratton said. Courtney Jones, who just completed her when he birdied the last three holes to help OSU come from seven strokes back to tie Ti- second year as an assistant, was promoted to ger Woods and Stanford in the 1995 NCAA replace Bratton as the Cowgirls’ coach. She Championship. Bratton then curled in a 35- is a 2006 graduate of Tulsa, where she was named an All-American Scholfoot chills-inducing birdie putt ar Athlete by the National Golf in the playoff as the Cowboys Coaches Association in 2003 extended two streaks, winning and 2004. She served as a gradthe third NCAA Championuate assistant at TU in 2006. ship held at the Scarlet Course “I am honored and humbled at Ohio State University, and by the opportunity to lead making sure no one who the Cowgirl program. I have played four years for Holder learned a tremendous amount left without an NCAA Chamover the past two years,” Jones pionship. Bratton and running said. “There is a commitment mate Chris Tidland earned and passion for excellence at theirs in that playoff. Courtney Jones Oklahoma State that is unpar“I think the way coach prepared us had a lot to do with that finish,” alleled and inspires me daily.” “I have been blessed to be surrounded by Bratton said. “He knew we could handle it. Nothing overwhelmed you on the course. A many great leaders and coaches throughout lot of times in life I’ve leaned back on those my career and hope to impact others as they lessons I learned on the golf course. He did have impacted my life.” She came to Stillwater in 2011 after worka great job preparing us for whatever might ing as the American Junior Golf Association’s come.” Now that his dream job has come, Bratton senior tournament director, a position she is optimistic about the team he will inherit had held since 2007. While working at the this fall and the momentum it has gained AJGA, she helped plan and run 39 national this summer. Jordan Niebrugge has won the junior golf championships and served as U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship tournament director for 21 of those events. Bratton confers with an OSU golfer.

Cowboys Niebrugge on incredible roll Oklahoma State sophomore Jordan Niebrugge of Mequon, Wis., completed an amazing three-week run when he beat Sean Dale of Jacksonville, Fla., 3 and 2, to win the 111th Western Amateur Championship at The Alotian Club in Roland, Ark. The Western Amateur is one of the nation’s most grueling and prestigious amateur events, featuring a strong field including most of the world’s top 50 amateurs. Niebrugge, who turned 20 on Aug. 4, had previously won the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship and the 112th Wisconsin State Amateur Championship in backto-back weeks. Niebrugge now is a virtual lock to become only the second Wisconsin golfer to play on a U.S. Walker Cup team. The 44th Walker Cup Match is scheduled for Sept. 7-8 at the National Golf Links of America in Southampton, N.Y. Other Oklahomans to play well in the Western Amateur were OSU teammate Talor Gooch, who lost to Niebrugge in match play, and Arkansas sophomore Taylor Moore, who reached the second round of match play. OSU junior Ian Davis missed

L FINA S OT 20 L BLE ILA AVA UNE IN J

the 16-player field for match play by one shot. At the Public Links, Niebrugge held off a late charge by Michael Kim, winning the 36-hole final 1 up, at the 7,022-yard, par70 Laurel Hill Golf Club. N i e b r u g g e ’s Jordan Niebrugge impressive march to the championship title was keyed by getting ahead of his opponents early. He trailed for just two holes of the 114 he played in his six matches. Niebrugge broke a deadlock with a 20foot birdie putt at the 492-yard, par-4 17th to take a 1-up lead into the lunch break. Coming out of the break, Niebrugge made a 12-foot putt for birdie on the 374-yard, par-4 second hole – the 20th of the match – to pull ahead by two. The second hole was

one of Niebrugge’s favorites all week – he birdied (and won) the hole on six of the seven occasions he played it in match play. Niebrugge extended his lead to 3 up with a 20-foot birdie putt at the par-3 22nd, then pushed it to 4 up when Kim three-putted from 40 feet at the 24th. Diaz-Yi wins WAPL at Jimmie Austin NORMAN, Okla. – Lauren Diaz-Yi, of Thousand Oaks, Calif., defeated stroke-play qualifying co-medalist Doris Chen, of Bradenton, Fla., 10 and 9, in the 36-hole final of the 2013 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship at the 6,351-yard, par72 Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club. The margin of victory was the largest in the 37-year history of the championship, surpassing the 7-and-6 victory by Jennifer Song over Kimberly Kim in 2009. The WAPL went to the 36-hole championship-match format in 2002. The largest margin of victory in any USGA championship is 14 and 13, set by Anne Quast Sander when she defeated Phyllis Preuss at the 1961 U.S. Women’s Amateur at Tacoma (Wash.) Country & Golf Club.

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Where we play

Boiling Springs is back! by ken macleod

Labor of love restores classic

ne of the unique golf courses in Oklahoma has been saved by a coalition of concerned industry professionals and city officials. Boiling Springs Golf Club, built on sandy dunes near the Canadian River in Woodward, has reopened after a major renovation to the course which closed in 2012. John Dunn, a Woodward native who owns a golf course management firm that operates courses in Texas cities such as Amarillo, San Angelo and Rockwall, heard about the distress at Boiling Springs. The course had closed after a long struggle with declining rounds compounded by poor turf conditions particularly on the greens. Dunn convinced city officials that Boiling Springs was worth resurrecting. And with the oil and gas business booming again in the area, there was a compelling need for a quality course. Dunn brought in designer Jeff Blume, with whom he had worked on several projects in the past, and Ron Matthews, the owner of Eagle View construction, to give the course a 32 •••••• www.golfoklahoma.org

thorough makeover. All greens were rebuilt and seeded with Dominant Plus, noted for its heat and cold tolerance. As many as 700 cedar trees were removed from the site to open up lines of play and promote better air movement. All bunkers were redone in most cases using the native sand on which the course is built. “That course is like an oasis,” Dunn said. “You’re out in western Oklahoma, yet you’ve got all these trees and water, sand dunes off the river, lots of elevation changes.”

The 1oth green complex.

New bunkers, new greens and fewer trees highlight the changes at Boiling Springs GC.

The course was to reopen in August. Dunn said there is already a tremendous demand for tournaments. A lack of tournament play was one reason the course failed in the past. “Woodward is an oil and gas service town,” Dunn said. “This is a good economic time to do this. The economy looks as solid there as I can remember it.” Blume said the course was originally designed by Don Secrest and just needed some touching up. “The main focus initially was to get the bunkers back to their natural rustic feel instead of a south Florida look,” he said. “We went from 34 bunkers to 60 without in-

Note the pot bunkers and sloping fairways, using the dunes near the Canadian River.

creasing the amount of sand, but just broke them into smaller pieces. We just built them out of the dunes in most cases. “The greens had to be toned down a bit to match with faster green speeds. A lot of the bunkers may be offset 30 or 40 yards short of the green. On many fairways you have these wonderful ridges of the dunes that come down across the fairways. It’s really unique and has a bit of a links flavor. It’s just a hidden jewel.”

Dunn’s management firm will take over operations. Woodward assistant city manager Douglas Haines said the city was thrilled with the work of Dunn, Blue and Matthews, all of whom worked below their normal rates. Dunn estimated the project was completed for approximately $750,000. “We’re very pleased,” Haines said. “With all the reshaping, clearing and the new greens, tee boxes and bunkers, it’s taken on a look it hasn’t had in the past. It looks like

a new course.” Haines said a healthy economy from oil, gas and wind energy has allowed the city to pump $25 million into renovating its park system, including a new aquatic center, baseball park and renovation of the park system. The money spent for golf will be well appreciated by golfers in the area, who had to drive to Enid, Elk City or Dodge City, Kan., for a round while the course was closed.

www.golfoklahoma.org •••••• 33

OKLAHOMA COURSE SPOTLIGHT

Better days ahead?

Gaillardia G&CC looks for new leadership by john rohde

lory came quickly for Gaillardia Golf & Country Club, a gated community in northwest Oklahoma City that less than 20 years ago was a 590-acre cow pasture. In the fall of 2000, Phil Mickelson shot a course-record 66 while beating Fred Couples by five strokes in a Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf exhibition, a made-for-TV event held just two years after the course opened. In 2001 and 2002, Bob Gilder and Tom Watson won the Senior Tour Championship at Gaillardia. In 2004, a design group headed by Tom Kite was hired for a $3.5-million touchup to the original Arthur Hills design. Alas, those glory days have been replaced with financial setbacks on a property proudly overflowing with multi-millionaires. Now the most important man in the acreage is Ford Price, managing partner of the Oklahoma City real estate firm Price Edwards & Co., who on June 27 was appointed to oversee the golf course and country club that have been placed into receivership. Price said he has headed roughly 30 receiverships, but this is his first country club. “I’ve walked into a lot of receiverships where the physical plant has fallen down and there’s no money to fix anything and you can’t address what needs to be addressed,” Price said. “In this case, it’s exactly the opposite. The issues as far as the physical plant are not overly concerning in terms of whether they can be fixed. All the issues can easily be addressed. The club generates enough top-line revenue to meet all the expenses operationally. The issue was not operational expenses. The issue was being able to afford debt service.

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“All our workers are getting paid. We’re not having to slow-play people. We’re not having to cut back on the level of service. We’re not having to do any of that. The club continues to operate at a very high level during receivership and that is a luxury for me as a receiver.” Price, who has received hundreds of emails and phone calls offering encouragement and support, certainly has a fan in Gaillardia executive director Peter Vitali, who has been with the club 10 years. “He’s been tremendous,” Vitali said of Price. “Ford is held in high regard and is very well-respected. He made an immediate impact with the staff. We had a challenging year for sure and he really just calmed everybody down. He’s got a warm personality and this isn’t his first rodeo, so that helps.” Gaillardia’s decline came under the Little Rock-based private equity firm Herrington, Inc., led by CEO Phil Herrington, who purchased the property in 2002. Oklahoma City oilman Art Swanson, one of Gaillardia’s founding members, filed papers with Oklahoma County District Court to intervene in the ongoing foreclosure proceedings against the club’s owner on behalf of other members. Swanson was one of about 50 founding members of Gaillardia who wanted to make sure interests of other club members are represented in the foreclosure action. “We have been very frustrated with what the current owner has not done,” Swanson said of Herrington. “We think what occurred is that the owner was just not able to fulfill his obligations – the club has really sailed the past few months on the efforts and work ethics of the staff alone.” Bank of the Ozarks claimed Herrington owed $6.8 million plus interest on a defaulted mortgage on the club and golf course,

while Oklahoma City-based First Liberty Bank claimed the country club owed more than $1.5 million on a second mortgage. A hail storm in 2010 caused the roof of Gaillardia’s $20-million, 55,000-square-foot French Normandy-style clubhouse to leak and creditors threatened to repossess the club’s golf carts. Despite all the hardship, the clubhouse and golf course have remained open for business and even hosted a PGA Junior Tour event in late June. “The golf course is in perfect shape,” Vitali said. “It’s probably in the best shape it’s been with all the rain and great spring we had.” Vitali recently hired Mark Fuller, formerly director of golf at Oak Tree Country Club, to lead his new staff, as most of his previous staff left during the uncertain transition. “Mark is going to help us have an excellent professional staff,” Vitali said. First Liberty Bank and Bank of the Ozarks selected Price as receiver, and First Liberty Bank also granted Gaillardia a short-term loan to help with operating costs. Vitali said Gaillardia has 485 total members. “The last few months, we’ve started to head in the right direction,” Vitali said. “The future is very bright. We’ve been in our darkest hour. We’ve kind of been in the basement and we’re starting to climb out. Anyone who buys this club is going to make a splash by doing some upgrades. While we were in the pit – and by ‘the pit’ I mean everyone’s perception in our ability to pay our creditors – that was the biggest challenge. Now with receivership, we have good credit. The staff is being taken care of. There’s no issue with staff being paid. “The members know this is a step in the right direction. They’re more enthusiastic. There’s more energy around here, a positive

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The massive Normandy castle clubhouse at Gaillardia Golf & Country Club.

shot in the arm.” The goal is for Gaillardia to be under new ownership by the end of the year, although Price said it’s difficult to predict such things. “I’m ending my third year on another receivership I’m currently doing. I’ve also been a receiver for as short as 90 days,” Price said. “Typically, they are somewhere around six months. The end of the year is where everyone is pointing. Page Ad.pdf 1 got 1/14/13 “It’s aBelmar greatFull country club. It’s a lot 12:57 of

great members who want to see it succeed long-term. It’s got a great on-site staff, from Peter Vitali on down. Members have ideas and opinions on what should and shouldn’t be done. Regardless of who’s running a country club, even if everything is going well. There are lots of voices, lots of opinions, so I’ve got to be sensitive to all those voices and all those opinions. It’s a great property with great home owners, so I’m pretty confident that at the end of the day PM Gaillardia is going to be well-positioned.”

Vitali has some advice for new ownership. “Anyone owning and operating this club, they need to be hands-on because this is such a personal membership,” Vitali said. “It’s a small membership. It requires a personal touch. That’s just what the membership commands. That’s what the club requires. Gaillardia was built to kind of be a showcase for the city, so it’s going to need an owner that’s more hands-on than what has occurred.”

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www.golfoklahoma.org •••••• 35

WE LOVE THE LINKS

A little left of heaven by ken macleod

The 11th hole on the wild Pacific Dunes course, designed by Tom Doak.

ANDON, Ore. – Here’s a few words of advice for anyone fortunate enough to be heading to Bandon Dunes. First, read, “Dream Golf: The Making of Bandon Dunes,” by Stephen Goodwin, before your trip. It will greatly increase your understanding and enjoyment of what you’re about to experience. Second, if you’ve got the time and the wherewithal, leave yourself a cushion to play each course twice. There’s too much to absorb in one stroll through. - Brad Klein Our group did it all wrong, not reading Author and Golfweek editor the book until the plane ride home and leaving only enough time to play each of the five courses once. Still we unanimously agreed it The Bandon experiment, with owner was the trip of a lifetime, a bucket list item Mike Keiser bringing world class links golf removed. Now we are trying to figure out to the West Coast of the United States, has how and when to get back. been ongoing now since 1999 and the mys-

36 •••••• www.golfoklahoma.org

‘It’s an area with more high quality golf than anywhere in the world’

tique has built with each successive course. The economy derailed the financial success of the resort for a time in 2007-09 but it’s back on track now. Golfweek Magazine, for whom this writer is a course rater, currently has the four 18hole Bandon Dunes courses listed as follows in its rankings of the top 100 Modern Courses (built since 1960): No. 2, Pacific Dunes, Tom Doak, 2001; No. 5. Old Macdonald, Tom Doak and Jim Urbina; 2010; No. 8, Bandon Dunes, David McLay Kidd, 1999; and No. 25, Bandon Trails, Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore, 2005. Brad Klein, the head of the Golfweek rating team, one of the most knowledgeable critics on golf course architecture in the world and a consultant on Old Macdonald, says Bandon Dunes is the world’s greatest

Five pure golf classics at Bandon Dunes

collection of courses open to the public. “It’s an area with more high quality golf than anywhere in the world,” Klein said. “In St. Andrews, you’ve got the Old Course and the New Course which are really profound experiences and the others are okay. In Pinehurst, you’ve got No. 2 and then you don’t quite have the quality of course that you do here, although I like No. 1 and No. 3 as well. But for a concentrated facility, there’s nothing like it probably in the world. It’s a really impressive achievement to have come up with these courses which are all so different.” All of them are different, yet like choosing between classic works of literature or art. If you have a predilection for links golf, for playing the ball low, for choosing your own strategy, for few forced carries, for spectacular scenery, you’re in heaven. Keiser has made the entire Bandon Dunes

experience brilliant. There are no cart paths, everyone walks, no cart girls, nothing to hear but the ocean breeze, the birds and the voice of your caddy advising you to stay out of the gorse. Yes, this course has real gorse, the impenetrable shrub brought over from Ireland in 1937 by George Bennett, who helped found the nearby small town of Bandon. Clearing it was one of the major undertakings leading to the creation of the resort. Bandon Dunes is the original course laid out by then-unknown Scottish architect David Kidd. Pacific Dunes, launched the career of Tom Doak into the stratosphere, establishing him as the leader of the minimalist movement but also a dedicated historian of classic links design and a real master at being able to visualize the best holes a site has to offer. They both offer sublime shoreline holes. Bandon Dunes has more open lines to its greens, which are wider and not as dra-

matic. Most of our round at Pacific Dunes was conducted in what the locals call a marine layer, commonly known around here as fog. Another reason to go back. After walking 36 holes the first day, we were barely able to lift our beer glasses at the comfortable McKee’s Pub, named after Keiser’s former advisor on the development and design, Howard McKee, who passed away in 2011 after seeing his great work come to fruition. Bandon Trails was a delightful journey through forest, meadow and dunes. It reminded me of meeting Crenshaw and Coore when they were in Tulsa in 1991 to do the nine-hole addition to Southern Hills, long before they went on to build Sand Hills in Mullen, Neb., recognized as one of the world’s best golf courses. They explained then how they preferred searching out the holes, making marks in the dirt and eschew-

www.golfoklahoma.org •••••• 37

WE LOVE THE LINKS ing drawings and plans. They did a lot of hunting for the right holes at Bandon Trails and took full advantage of the ever-changing environs. It was stunning. That afternoon we played the 13-hole par-3 course the duo had designed among huge sand dunes near Bandon Trails. Great fun. While playing both Bandon Dunes and Pacific Dunes, we could see some of the holes on Old Macdonald, named in honor of C.B. Macdonald, regarded as the father of American golf for bringing over classic links design concepts from Scotland when building National Golf Links. Macdonald was the inspiration for Seth Raynor and others, who are still inspiring young architects today. You could say the new bunkers at Battle Creek done by Tripp Davis can trace their roots back to Scotland through Raynor and C.B. Macdonald. We were warned several times by our caddy that our final destination was proving to be the most controversial design on the property. Some golfers love it, he said, while others find it too hard and are put off. By the second hole, both myself and Pat McTigue of Golftec had been forced to hit shots backwards or sideways out of pot bunkers. Needless to say, we were head over heels

for Old Mac. This course, a collaboration between Doak, his No. 1 associate Jim Urbina and a panelist of National Golf Links superintendent Karl Olsen, George Bahto, who had written a book on Macdonald, and Klein. They wanted to make a course that showcased the vision and grandeur of Macdonald’s designs and, while not mimicking specific holes, incorporate some of the most popular designs. The course has a Biarritz, a Redan, a Punchbowl, an Alps, a Sahara. A version of Hell’s Bunker and many other features with precedent across the pond were worked into the design. I’m not a links expert, but I know what I like and this course immediately felt like the most authentic of the four, for whatever reason. My golf improved, we created shots that led to some great birdies and our group took vastly different routes to the same result on many occasions. On the 18th hole, the ideal second shot to a flag on the far right of the canted green was to a spot 70 yards to the left. Ended up five feet below the hole. Playing Old Macdonald was maybe the most fun I’ve had just enjoying a particular course. The trip overall is just the best thing you can do as a golfer. Of course, we caught a rare string of days in the 70s with only

The perched green on the sevneth hole at Old McDonald.

38 •••••• www.golfoklahoma.org

mild breezes. Don’t blame us if you’re not so lucky. The wind, the ocean, the land and the golf. About as pure as you can get.

Read Stephen Goodwin’s book on Bandon Dunes for an excellent primer to your trip.

Dismal River Doak works wonders in Nebraska by bill harper

Dismal River, that hard-to-find western Nebraska complex already boasting a highly-rated 2006 offering by Jack Nicklaus, is about to open a companion course designed by the man some label the “Anti-Nicklaus.” Tom Doak, whose creations Pacific Dunes and Old Macdonald at Bandon Dunes helped launch him into the stratosphere of golf design, is the architect of the new Red Course at Dismal River, next door to Nicklaus’ White Course. Co-owner Chris Johnston’s exuberance borders on being giddy. Doak, who first gained notoriety criticizing the designs of Nicklaus, Robert Trent Jones and other prominent designers in The Confidential Guide to Golf Courses, is now the rage and has long since made up with Nicklaus, even co-designing a course (Sebonack, site of the recent U.S. Women’s Open). He initially worked for Pete Dye and was also heavily influenced by Alister MacKenzie, about

whom he wrote a book. Johnston calls Doak a master. “Mr. Doak doesn’t just take any course,” said Johnston. “You call him, talk to him about your ideas and invite him to the property. “You don’t pick him. He picks you.’’ Doak always wanted to do a course in the region of Nebraska where Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw built the Sand Hills Golf Club, universally acclaimed by all major golf publications as the best course built in the last 50 years in the United States. Links courses have always been on his radar, dating back to his days caddying at St. Andrews. Doak apparently liked what he saw in the Dismal complex, which covers nearly 3,000 acres. Johnston said his job was simply “staying out of the way.” “You don’t tell Michelangelo how to paint,” Johnston said. “We gave him the canvas. He did the rest.”

The complex sprawls all over the place – the first tee at either Nicklaus’ or Doak’s courses are at least a mile away. And the cart paths aren’t concrete – cough, cough, but they make up for it in dust. Anyone get lost? “Naw,” Johnston said, smiling. “We eventually find them.” However, as Johnston guides you around and describes the expanse, it suddenly begins unfolding before your eyes what really is a unique spread. “One of the things Mr. Doak does is let the course flow,” Johnston said. Like Sand Hills, not much earth was moved on Doak’s course. Johnston proudly points out that almost all the greens were designed, formed and framed in less than an hour each. “We had four that required some work,” Johnston said. “That was mainly because Mr. Doak wanted a special look or contour, something that fit the course and what he was trying to do.” Of course, when you are on a sand base above the Ogallala Aquifer, the world’s largest underground water supply, it makes things much easier and less expensive. Johnston said the cost of Doak’s course was under $2 million, much less than what the original owners paid for the Nicklaus spread.

A view of holes 17 and 18 at the new Dismal River course designed by Tom Doak.

www.golfoklahoma.org •••••• 39

WE LOVE THE LINKS

The 18th hole at the Jack Nicklaus course at Dismal River.

An interesting tidbit, according to Johnston, is that the main road splits the course and creates an eight-hole front and 10-hole back with the final three holes meandering along the Dismal River with a backdrop of the Big and Little Horseshoe hills and a former buffalo trail. Dismal River was named during the old

40 •••••• www.golfoklahoma.org UNI_13-RP-73_GroupSalesMag_7x4.75.indd 1

cattle drives. If the river was up it created a dismal experience. The new course doesn’t have an exact length and par, yet. At this time it more than likely will be par 71 and cover around 7,000 yards from the back tees. “Most people aren’t going to play that far back,” said Johnston.

On many holes, Doak created a massive teeing area and the golfer can decide what length and difficulty of hole to play. “Mr. Doak actually believes in half pars,” said Johnston. One example: No. 5 is a 250yard par 3 and No. 6 a 290-yard par 4 – to Doak that’s a par 7. Depending on the wind and other factors, the par 4 might become a

6/4/13 9:50 AM

par 3 and vice versa. The Nicklaus course provides a nice contrast to Doak’s work. More earth was moved and the site has more elevation change and breathtaking views. Doak’s track is more about the routing. “He let the land do the talking,” said Johnston, a former CEO of Royal Precision golf shaft and grips company (sold in 2006 to True Temper). “He wanted every hole to be memorable in itself. He really did a remarkable job.” Building courses in the sand hills area isn’t new to Doak. He was the man behind the Ballyneal course in nearby Holyoke, Colo., about three hours west. He turned down chances to design couses at The Prairie Club near Valentine, where the assignments went to Tom Lehman (Dunes Course) and Graham Marsh (Pines Course). Getting to Dismal River requires dedication. Mullen is a tiny town with a single gas station and a cafe. From there, it’s 20 dusty miles on a road no wider than a cart path. The clubhouse is a rustic structure, with a feel of an old farmhouse. Once you step inside, though, you’re blown away. Johnston describes it as a dude ranch for golf. Dismal River is a private club but accepts

The Prairie Club offers yet another unique links experience.

outside play by reservation. Only 30 percent of the players come from Nebraska. The others usually fly in, some to Omaha or Denver (about a six-hour drive either way) and some take puddle jumpers into North Platte. Another place that’s hard to get to but worth it is The Prairie Club. No matter where you tee it up, there is plenty of room and plenty of those trademark blowout sand bunkers, some so massive lifeline ropes should be issued at check in. When the wind blows you have to think you’ve landed on the other side of the pond. If you haven’t learned to hit a low shot you should tinker with finding one on the mas-

sive practice range. “Golfers are starting to realize how great a region the Sandhills is,” said Kyle Schock, marketing manager for the courses. “And, they don’t have to pay five grand to go to Scotland.’’ Schock’s father, Paul, the founder, proudly notes The Prairie Club, which opened in 2010, is open to the public. It’s a pure golf experience not to be missed. Paul Schock says all the designers shared his “core values regarding golf course architecture: Golf should be fun!” “The real battle was to overlook that which was extremely good from that which was truly great,” said Lehman.

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WE LOVE THE LINKS

A Royal Rush Author gets closeup of unique links by art stricklin

ORTRUSH, Northern Ireland -- Royal Portrush, the splendid topranked links in the upper half of the divided island kingdom of Ireland, is known as the home of the only British Open, (held in 1951) known as the Open Championship in these parts, ever held in Ireland. It’s also the home of famed European players and major championship winners Darren Clarke and Graeme McDowell, plus the historic Bushmills distillery nearby for your off-course pleasure. The course’s main purpose is giving a fine education on the challenges, the joys and the true uniqueness of links golf in the UK. It serves as and educational and innovational lesson for any true golfer who wants to come over to play the game as it was invented, wholely different from most anything in the United States. It not only serves as a training grounds of sort for American golfing tourists and lucky local members, but even an inspiration for a new public links course, Bushmills Dunes, the first in Northern Ireland in years. Portrush first began its golfing life as a nine-hole layout in 1888 on the cliffs of the North Atlantic, hugging the coast line. It was first known as the Royal Country Club with the Duke of York as its patron in 1892 and finally changed to Royal Portrush in 1895 with the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VIII, as its patron. The current par-72 championship course known as the Dunluce Links first came to life when famed architect Henry Colt arrived in 1929 to craft what he considered his golf architecture masterpiece. 42 •••••• www.golfoklahoma.org

Aerial Shot of the Royal Portrush Golf Club.

A year later the first Irish Open was played there and in 2012 the latest Irish Open was held here with huge crowds and still challenging conditions. Sam Snead once said playing a true links course was like trying to play golf on the surface of the moon, so unfamiliar was the surface for golfers used to the lush green contours of the United States. That is certainly true at Royal Portrush as on the first hole, you drive off an elevated tee box into a deep valley and for much of the next 18 holes you can only see the twisted, bunker strewn challenge in front of you. Much of the front nine runs along the farmlands and the ocean cliffs before turning inward for the back half, starting at hole No. 8. Like many traditional links, it does not return to the clubhouse after the front nine, meaning you are out there for an 18- hole battle with little chance of relief. Each hole is named at Royal Portrush and for the most part those names reflect many of the challenges on this well-trod piece of Irish soil. Giants Grave, White Rocks, Purgatory and Himalayas are just a few of the links challenges you will face in your golfing pilgrimage here. Probably the most famous single hole is the par-3 14th known as Calamity Corner, measuring 210 yards from the back tees, stretching over a huge grassy gorge with only the smallest of putting surfaces for safety. During the recently held World Media Match Play, the caddy instructed me to hit a full 3-wood shot as hard as I could directly at the flag for maximum success. After

swinging hard enough to break something, the ball flew some 30 yards left of the flag. “Aye, the wind shifted,” was caddy, Jimmy’s, report. At Royal Portrush on the Northern Causeway Coast, it will do that a lot, making the challenge of keeping your cigarette lit a real challenge in itself as Jimmy found out. If you want to make a true Portrush day, you can play the par-70 Valley Course, also done by Colt in 1933 on shorter and less dramatic landscape. Then cap the day with lunch or dinner in the historic clubhouse with hundreds of photos and trophies along the wall. It’s a true sensory overload for golf history and links lovers that you will rarely find on this side of the Atlantic. Other top courses in the area are the 36hole Portstewart and the new Bushmills Dunes, finally under construction after a nearly 20-year delay. Portstewart is only a few miles from Portrush, but seems much further on the twolane twisting roads which connect the upper regions of Northern Ireland, which include the stone boulder strewn Giants Causeway, a world heritage site, and the Carrick Rope Bridge. The par-72 Portstewart Strand layout was opened in 1894 and contains some of the most dramatic opening holes in links golf, including the par-4 first, which plays into a deep valley with water, brush crossing the fairway and thick gorse lining the fairway. If there was enough land like there was for the first seven holes this would be one of the best links courses in the world, but eventually the dramatic links land runs out

and the challenging course plays out mainly around the nearby river. It’s certainly a worthy links challenge with both an old and new clubhouse along with some outstanding views plus an additional 36 holes short enough for beginners. While the huge Bushmills Distillery and nearby Bushmills Inn might be the favored and most tasty non-golf destination in the area, the new Bushmills Dunes, designed by Scot David Kidd who designed Brandon Dunes, has the golfing locals (which is pretty much everybody) very excited,

The course on land between Portrush and Portstewart near the small town of Bushmills, has been in the planning and discussion stage for nearly two decades, but late last year the Scottish High Court ruled in favor of the landowners and ruled construction can begin. The rolling territory, bisected by a small creek and cow crossing along with a railroad track could be the next outstanding Irish links experience in a couple of years. But until then, there is still plenty of chances to experience real links golf com-

plete with plenty of wind, rain, impossible to decipher holes and all manners of challenge truly hooked hackers crave, especially after traveling 3,000 miles to see it in person. Today, the sectarian violence, known locally as the troubles, which tore this countryside apart for decades and sadly kept golfers away as well, is long in the past. Good golf, good fun, great links experience is thankfully here to be had in abundance. For more information go to www.discovernorthernireland.com/golfing or www. tourismireland.com

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www.golfoklahoma.org •••••• 43

DESTINATIONS

Old Baldy

Summer paradise in Saratoga by ken macleod

SARATOGA, Wyo. – Wide open spaces with mountains looming behind. More fourlegged neighbors of all kinds – deer, antelope, elk – than the two-footed variety. The North Platte River flowing by, teeming with trout. Cool nights and sunny days. That ideal summer setting led George Storer, owner of numerous television and radio stations in the Northeast, to purchase significant acreage just outside Saratoga in the early 1960s, acquire enough water rights to build a lake and keep it full, then surround it with a fully irrigated, lush championship course more akin to one you would find 1,000 miles to the east, with lush bluegrass and rye grass fairways and roughs. The Old Baldy Club, named for a nearby mountain, soon became an oasis for Storer’s friends and peers, first fellow members from the exclusive Indian Creek Country Club in south Florida and later branching out to include successful businessmen from around the country. The course is ringed by beautiful, if understated homes belonging to members. One house may belong to a co-founder of Southwest Airlines, another by a co-founder of Burger King. Everyone you meet has been successful in his field, yet it’s one of the friendliest atmospheres you’ll find. A parallel would be the Champions Tour in

44 •••••• www.golfoklahoma.org

View of 18th hole and clubhouse at Old Baldy.

golf, these guys have made it and the need zlow said. “He’s a great ear, a great listener to be constantly on a competitive edge has and helps me immensely with both my jobs. Bailey grew up in Wyoming and has alpassed. While Storer lived, Old Baldy Club con- ways retained a love for the Mountain West during all his years in Oklaformed to his formal wishhoma. He was first told of the es, which meant coat and club back in the 1970s by Bill tie in the clubhouse, no Liedtke Jr., a native Tulsan women members, children and co-founder of Pennzoil nowhere to be seen. Times Oil Co. Later, Bailey visited have changed. the club at a board meeting “That was a just a differfor Peabody Coal Company, ent time,” said Keith Bailey, which was owned in part by former CEO, President and Williams. Chairman of the Board of Now he and wife, Pat, Williams Companies in spend June through SeptemTulsa. “When George was ber at Old Baldy each year here, the pro shop literand have helped cultivate a ally sold tuxedos and ball family atmosphere. His four gowns. Now we have a children and 11 grandchildren pool, fitness center, tennis have visited, sometimes all at courts, basketball. Kids can Tulsan Keith Bailey has set once. Some will stay in the float, fish, learn to play golf, a more relaxed tone at Old Bailey’s home, others in the swim, go horseback riding Baldy Club. exquisite guest cottages on and get a real family experisite. ence.” Other prominent Oklahoma members inNo one has done more to help Old Baldy relax than Bailey, who pretty much funded clude Bob West, the CEO of Anchor Drilling the fitness center and is the man club head Fluids and a member of the University of professional and general manager Roger Tulsa Board of Trustees. Professional golfer Scott Verplank’s parents are members and Prenzlow calls “a prince.” “He’s my go-to guy for everything,” Pren- frequently bring their grandchildren to the

club. “It’s a special place,” said West, who has taken as many as 30 of his employees out for a relaxing week. “The golf course is very good. The Thursday night get-togethers they have down on the river, serving trout burgers with bacon, are something else.” Like many clubs that are the second or third option for members, Old Baldy had to do some reevaluating after the recession hit in 2008. Club president Victor Gallagher said it was partly the economy and many left when told there would be an assessment to cover a new irrigation system. Members, including Bailey, helped rescue the club from having to be sold and it is now back on firm financial footing. It is, however, about 85 members short of capacity, so the opportunity is there for folks in position to spend their summers in this idyllic manner to do it for far less than one would imagine. “I’ve had the opportunity to go to a lot of nice places to play golf over the years,” Bailey said. “We have something pretty unique here. It’s beautiful scenery, great fishing, great golf and wonderful food. We have members who pay six figures at their winter clubs for what you get here for low

four figures. “ Prenzlow, who coached the Wyoming golf team for 19 years and is good friends with Tulsa coach Bill Brogden, goes to the deserts of Arizona and California each year to recruit his servers, cooks and other staff from those who are also seasonal at top desert resorts in the winter. The food is amazing and the staff is friendly and helpful. The Old Baldy course is very challenging, with thick rough and fast, firm greens that started as bent but have been largely overtaken by poa annua. The par-4s are particularly strong and it’s a course that

provides the members a constant challenge. On our visit a group of Bailey’s friends and members at Shangri-La in Afton came by and were stumped by the golf course, designed by Henry Hughes, who made his mark in Colorado at Columbine Country Club. Bailey said the course initially cracked some of the top 100 lists but fell out after thousands of other courses were built. Anyone interested in more information on the course or membership should contact Prenzlow at 307-326-5222 or proshop@ oldbaldyclub.com.

A great collection of interesting par-4s are the strength of the Old Baldy course.

www.golfoklahoma.org •••••• 45

MAHOGANY’S PRO PROFILE

Hunter Sparks by michael kinney

Oklahoma City native Hunter Sparks has been playing golf since he was nine. In his first tournament that year, he shot a 50 over nine holes and took third. He came back to the same tournament the next year and won with a 39. Since then, Sparks’ golf game has been steadily improving every year. He won the Oklahoma and Kansas Stroke Play Championships two years ago and after a successful career at Wichita State, putt really confident the rest of decided to turn professional this the way and make quite a few. That’s what leaves me playing summer. good. The Adams Pro Golf Tour At the Adams Pro Golf Tour OK Kids Korral Championship (at Norman’s Belmar Golf OK Kids Korral Championship Club on June 19-22) was only you had a slow start the first the second tournament of your two day and came in right at pro career. You shot a 279 the cut line. But you responded over the four days and netted with a 67 on moving day. How $1,308. How do you feel you do you put bad rounds behind you and bounce back for the played overall? I played really well overall. rest of the tournament? You just have to forget and reThe wind blew and I stayed in there and made a lot of key puts. member all the practice you’ve I made the cut on the numbers, put in. Just go out the next day so I was pretty excited. I wanted and know it’s a different day to take advantage of making the and try to make it better. cut and trying to move up the The first tournament of your leaderboard. I was pleased. pro career took place (a week When you go into any tour- earlier) in Miami (Okla.) at the nament, what are your expec- Buffalo Run – Prairie Moon tations? What is the frame of Casinos Classic. How would mind of what you are trying to you describe the experience? It was really cool. It was reaccomplish? Just really try and play the ally exciting. I was nervous best that I can play. And stay the first day. But then I settled within myself and not try to down, played good. I made the make too many big mistakes. If cut there. I received the check I play like I know I can play, I from that. It was pretty exciting should be right there at the end. finally getting paid to play golf. I put it in the bank and paid for Is there a moment or feeling the OK Kids Korral Championyou get when you know you’re ship. I made the cut in my first playing at the top of your two tournaments. It’s been a good start. game? When I start seeing a couple When did you realize golf of putts go in the first couple of holes. If I get 2-under through was going to be part of your three or four, and I’ve made a career path? couple of good puts, that’s usually when I play the best. I will See SPARKS page 48 46 •••••• www.golfoklahoma.org

CHARLESTON’S AMATEUR PROFILE

Keith Bailey Keith Bailey, former CEO, President and Chairman of the Board of Williams Companies in Tulsa, has always had a passion for sports and the outdoors to go with his deep business acumen. He retired in 2002, but his number was long since retired in both football and basketball at the Missouri School of Mines (now Missouri University of Science and Technology) and John Wooden was a close friend for decades. Bailey’s been involved with golf on many levels. He led Williams to be the first title sponsor of the Tiger Woods World Challenge and helped establish an LPGA event in Tulsa (The Williams Championship in 2001 and 2002). A long-time member of Shangri-La where he had a lake home and a member of Southern Hills Country Club during his business career, he now plays most of his golf at Old Baldy Club in Saratoga, Wyo.

Cuba, who ran our gas pipeline group, was a good athlete, had played for the Redskins and the Bears and was one of the higher ranking African American executives in the country. Cuba (who passed away of multiple mylenoma in 2001) did a great job with it. When he died Michael Johnson stepped in and was on the board until our involvement ended last year. We Williams was title sponsor of always had a good window into Tiger Woods’ World Challenge what the foundation was doing. event its first three years from Tiger has proven to be a bit 1999-2001 and presenting sponsor in 2002-03. How did of a polarizing figure. At that time, he was young and on top that come about? The original sponsorship of the golf world. He was very talented and recame in through the back door. We had not set out to do a golf ally still a kid but we always tournament. But our P.R. people thought very highly of him. found out that Tiger and Earl Even after we retired and went (Woods) were doing a tourna- back to one of the tournaments, ment designed to help fund the Tiger sees Pat from across the Tiger Woods Foundation, that it room, stops what he’s doing was going to be a small tourna- and comes across the room to ment but a serious tournament give her a big hug. When he was for serious money and that they playing in Tulsa, Earl and Tida would stay in our house. I rehad lost their original sponsor. Cuba Wadlington and I flew ally enjoyed Earl. He was an old to Scottsdale and talked with baseball player and we talked Earl and Tiger. We explained about that as well as kids and that we’re a business to business their aspirations and what you provider in oil and gas and didn’t did with gifted, talented chilhave a general consumer prod- dren like Tiger. uct, but we liked the idea of the The first year the tournament focus on the Tiger Woods Foundation and the job they were do- was at Grayhawk CC in Scotting with underprivileged kids at sdale before moving to its perthe learning center in Anaheim. manent home at Sherwood CC One thing we wanted was for in Thousand Oaks, Calif. Any a representative from Williams to be on the foundation board. See BAILEY page 49 www.golfoklahoma.org •••••• 47

Sparks, continued from 46 My junior year at Wichita State. That’s when I had a breakout year. I won three times. I averaged 68.8. I was the second ranked player in the fall semester. I realized I could play with these guys if I put in a lot of work over the next couple of years. I always had the dream of playing, but I didn’t know if I could until then. You have not pulled in any major sponsors yet. What do you think it will take for you to start picking them up? I got a few individual sponsors. Not corporate sponsors. I got a club sponsor in Taylor Made, which gives me clubs if I need it. I am probably going to have to win one of these events or something. Get my name out there a little bit. Start qualifying for the Web.com Tour and make some cuts on that tour. That should lead to a sponsor or two.

I won player of the year. I won three times. I felt it was a good career for me. It was a good choice to go there out of high school because I got a lot better. You have had some tough times away from the golf course. That includes a accident when you were a freshman at Putnam City that almost took your life. What happened there? That summer I got in a jet-ski accident. It was pretty bad. I had a traumatic brain injury. I don’t remember like a month and a half from that summer. It was in Altus. I don’t remember that whole month. But golf was always a part of what I do in the summer. I just kind started practicing again and worked really hard the next year to get it back. I played No. 1 my sophomore year on the high school team. I made state.

When you have been through a traumatic experience such as your accident, how You spent four years at Wichita State. does that help you during tough times on What type of career do you feel you had the golf course? Sparks: You just realize that it puts golf in with the Shockers? Overall, I really enjoyed it. I got so much perspective. It’s just a game. We are not here better from my freshman year. I made all- forever. I almost lost my life when I was conference all four years and my senior year 15 years old. You realize these things a lot

Hunter Sparks after OGA Stroke Play.

quicker. And you just realize it’s just a game and you take it for what it is. A bad round is a bad round. You will wake up the next day and you will be fine.

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For more information, call 918446-1529 for Page Belcher or 918425-6871 for Mohawk Park. And remember you can get information on both courses at www.tulsagolf.org. The Page Belcher and Mohawk Park’s All New Advantage Card makes playing more golf more affordable than ever! Visit TulsaGolf.org for details.

Bailey, continued from 47

hole with a chance to shoot par. One year we invited Scott McNealy, who founded Sun Microsystems. His biggest thrill was he memories from that event? The last day we had a freak sleet storm dunked in the water on 11, the same place and there was an icy glaze covering the Ray Floyd did in a playoff with Nick Faldo course. Tiger and Sergio Garcia were throw- in 1990. We played with Amy Alcott and ing snow balls at each other like a couple Melissa McNamara and Amy had a holeof kids. That was the only one that Phil in-one on 16. She introduced me to Clint Mickelson played in and with the snow he Eastwood. couldn’t wait to get off the course. On the You were a long-time friend of John last hole you couldn’t hardly roll the ball, so he chipped in from about six feet away on Wooden. He has a golf story that seems as the green. That made all the ESPN clips for remarkable as his 10 national basketball championships in 12 years as head coach about a year. of UCLA. I was playing in an event at a Final Four with Tubby Smith and Bobby Cremins and I asked Coach to ride with us. He didn’t play, but he had a twinkle in his eye. Back at the hotel later I asked him about his history with golf because I knew there was something there. He said ‘do you know what they call a 2 on a par-5? I said `yes, an albatross.’ He said, ‘do you know what’s more rare than making an albatross? I said, `no Coach.’ He said, ‘making an albatross and a hole-in-one in the same round.’ (Wooden apparently did this in 1939. Golf Digest has only documented four people equaling that feat.)

Golf Course Construction

Recent Projects Recent Projects

Southern Hills Country Club

Cedar Ridge Country Club • Broken Arrow, OK • Cart Path Improvements

Tulsa • Cart Path Improvements

The Patriot Golf Club • Owasso, OK • Cart Path Improvements

Battle Creek Golf Club

Silverhorn Golf Club • Edmond, OK • Creek Crossing Repairs and Gabion Wall

Broken Arrow • Bunker Renovation

Cedar Creek Golf Course • Broken Bow, OK • 18 Hole Irrigation Installation

Hardscrabble Country Club

Forest Ridge Golf Club • Broken Arrow, OK • 18 Hole Bunker and Green Renovation

Fort Smith, AR • Tee Improvements

Bailey Ranch Golf Club • Owasso, OK • Resurfacing of 3 Greens

Karsten Creek Golf Club

The Golf Club at Frisco Lakes • Frisco, TX • Cart Path Improvements Eastern Hills Country Club • Garland, TX • Cart Path Improvements

Stillwater • Practice Green Construction

Golf Club of Oklahoma

Broken Arrow • Emergency 10” Main Line Repairs Contact Us

Sapulpa Golf Course JONESPLAN

2328 E. 13th Street Sapulpa • Green Repairs Tulsa, OK 74104 t 918.832.5544

Builder Member info@jonesplan.com South Lakes Golf Course

Jenks • Practice Green Construction

Cedar Ridge Country Club

Broken Arrow • Cart Path Improvements

The Patriot Golf Club

Owasso • Cart Path Improvements

Woods and Bailey remain friends.

You were a frequent guest at Augusta National of Williams executives Joe and John Williams. You’ve told the story about how your first three tee shots landed on the roof of a maintenance building that is no longer there. We’re hoping it got better after that. That was my start and it was one of several shaky moments in my golf career, but fortunately they tore that building down. The thing about Augusta, whether it’s your first time there or your last time, it never loses its magic. The physical facilities have changed, they’ve built the village and the teaching area, there have been a lot of changes to the course, but the traditions and the beauty never change. You pull off a road that has a fairly seedy shopping center and turn into Magnolia Drive and it’s like you’ve gone to a different planet. The best thing about my opportunities to play there over the years was I was able to bring some guests from time to time. My brother Bill came and went into the last www.golfoklahoma.org •••••• 49

QUAIL CREEK BANK’S CELEBRITY PROFILE Major League Baseball Draft and was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers organization after the 2003 season. As a selection in MLB’s Rule 5 draft during the 2005 winter meetings, Weeden finished his baseball career playing Class A ball for the Kansas City Royals’ affiliate in 2006. He enrolled at OSU to play football in 2007, redshirted his freshman season, played one game in 2008, three games in 2009 and became the starter his junior and senior seasons in 2010-11. The 6-foot-3, 220-pound Weeden chatted before competing in the annual Scott Verplank Foundation Golf Invitational at Oak Tree National in Edmond in June.

those guys? “I’ve talked to Rickie. I played in The Patriot event (on Memorial Day), so I got a chance to hang out a little bit with him there. It’s fun watching those guys. I have the PGA app on my phone and kind of keep up and follow them each weekend. Oklahoma State’s never been shy to pump out some golfers. They’ve got a bunch of guys on tour. It’s fun to watch all of them.” Can you hang with them on the course? “No, absolutely not. I’m going to have to get at least for or five strokes a side to have a chance. Sometimes I can fool them and put one by them, but that doesn’t happen very often. When I do, I let them know about it.”

You’re actually a three-sport star. You were a walk-on member of the OSU men’s golf team after your junior season. So, how’s your golf game? “I don’t know. We’ll find out today. I’ve played once or twice a week here and there. I’m actually hitting it pretty good right now. It’s kind of scary because I’m the pro (for his team in the Verplank event). You’ve got guys like Ryan Palmer, Davis Love III and Scott here, and I’m the pro.”

Do you miss baseball? “I don’t. You know, I really don’t. Pretty blunt. You know, I don’t even watch it anymore, to be honest with you, unless I have a buddy pitching or something. I got burned out my last couple years in baseball. It really just got to the point where it wasn’t as fun as it used to be when I was kid or growing up through high school. Let me say this. I don’t miss the season, the gruelingness of it, but I do miss getting on the mound and You’re friends with former OSU players throwing 28 times a year.” like Rickie Fowler and Morgan Hoffmann, Have people finally stopped asking how who is beginning to heat up on the PGA Tour. How frequently do you chat with old you are?

Brandon Weeden by john rohde

As the oldest player ever drafted in the first round of the NFL Draft, much was made of Brandon Weeden being a 28-yearold rookie quarterback for the Cleveland Browns last season. The former Oklahoma State standout will have to prove himself all over again this upcoming season as the Browns welcome a new coach (Rob Chudzinski), general manager (Michael Lombardi) and offensive coordinator (Norv Turner). Brandon Weeden has felt a “draft” his entire life. Weeden was selected 22nd overall in the 2012 NFL Draft. A football and baseball standout at Edmond Santa Fe High School, he also was second-round pick by the New York Yankees in the 2002 50 •••••• www.golfoklahoma.org

Brandon Weeden tees of at the 2013 Patriot Cup as David Feherty makes the call.

“Yes, thank God. Going through the whole draft process, I had to answer that question a million and a half times. I was still an old rookie. … It is what it is.” Your thoughts on OSU firing men’s golf coach Mike McGraw? “I was real shocked. It kind of caught me off-guard. He’s one of the greatest men I’ve ever met in my life. Great coach. Good guy. He is a great human being, a joy to be around. He’s been a good mentor for all those kids. He’s a guy you want around you. He’s a positive influence and he was nothing short of great to me while I was at Oklahoma State.” Overall, how did you feel about your rookie season with the Browns? “I made a lot of rookie mistakes and put our team in some bad positions. Hopefully, we can build on it. We had a great mini-camp this summer. I’m excited about where we’re at and hopefully things slow down a little bit for my life and really focus on football and win a lot of football games.” Do you feel things are “slowing down”

on the field for you a little bit? “I don’t think it’ll ever slow down. Guys are so much faster. It’s just a tough league. We won three in a row there (during a 5-11 season). Toward the end of the year, we were doing some really good things offensive, so I think we can build some confidence. We’re all so young. We have four young receivers. Trent’s young. We have a rookie right tackle. Hopefully we’ll make sure we can take the next steps and do some things offensively.” What about all the changes made within the organization? “You want to prove to those guys that you’re the guy. Being a quarterback in the NFL, there’s only 32 of us. Essentially, everything we do in the franchise is under a microscope . . .You’ve got to prove right off the bat that you’re the guy. We’ve got a whole new coaching staff. It’s been a great process working with those guys. Norv Turner coming in is a great thing, not only for me but for this offense. To be honest, I want to prove that I’ve gotten better from last year. I’ve done things during the offseason to get myself better. There were times

last year we weren’t very good, and it all falls back on me.” Do you feel you’ve done some of those things? “Absolutely. I’m one of the first guys in the building and am I’ll football all the time. I spend hours at night studying with my wife. I do everything I possibly can to learn this system. … I’m excited with where I’m at. I think I’ve gotten better. I think I’ve taken steps in fundamentals and the little things to put myself in better position.” You’re no stranger to having to prove yourself. “I’ve been in this situation before. There’s a lot of similarities. My first year at Oklahoma State, we weren’t winning a ton of games. We turned that thing around and won a ton of games by the time we left, and we’re kind of in the same situation in Cleveland . . . The town needs it. It’s a great football town, great fans and they love the Browns.” After 26 years with The Oklahoman, John Rohde is now a member of the morning show (5:30 to 9 a.m.) on 107.7 FM in Oklahoma City.

www.golfoklahoma.org •••••• 51

HUDIBURG AUTO GROUP JUNIOR SPOTLIGHT

Sadeghy wins WOGA Girls' Junior State Championship by barry lewis

TULSA -- Just when it seemed as if Alexis Sadeghy was going to pull away from the field in the 63rd Women’s Oklahoma Golf Association Girls’ Junior State Championship’s final round , she hooked her tee shot out-of-bounds on the par-4, 14th hole at MeadowBrook Country Club. “I just wanted to keep under control after that,” Sadeghy said. Sadeghy certainly did that as she salvaged a double-bogey at 14, and then played the final four holes in even-par to hold on for a one-shot victory over Yujeong Son. “It’s pretty awesome,” Sadeghy said. “I’ve always wanted to win this.” Sadeghy, who will be a senior at Oklahoma City Bishop McGuinness, had a 36-hole total of 1-over-par 145 after a final-round 72. Son, who is from Norman and won the 2012 U.S. Kids World Championship, had the day’s best round with a 2-under 70 to finish at 146 and won the 12-13 age group. Taylor Boylan, who will be a sophomore at Tulsa Booker T. Washington, shot a 75

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to finish third at 147 and won the 14-15 division. Durant’s Sydney Youngblood, who had a one-shot lead over Boylan after a first-round 71 and was two ahead of Sadeghy entering Wednesday, fired a 78 to finish at 149 and was second in the 14-15 group. In this year’s Class 5A state high school tournament, Youngblood shot a final-round 71 to win the title as she pulled away from Youngblood, who finished third, nine shots behind the winner, after a 79. This time the roles were reversed as they were paired in the final group with Boylan. “Sydney is one of my good friends,” said Sa- Alexis Sadeghy

deghy, who has finished in the top three in the 5A state tournament the past three years but has never won that event. “It’s always hard to play against your friends.” Sadeghy came into the final round with a target score of shooting underpar, which she narrowly missed due to a bogey on No. 18. She shot 36 on each side. Sadeghy said a key final-round moment for her was her second shot on the par-4, No. 12, leading to a 10-foot birdie putt. Another big moment was her 12-foot birdie putt on the par-4, No. 17. That gave her insurance to survive on the par-4 finishing hole as she left a chip

from just off the green 10 feet short of the hole and missed her par putt, but tapped in to remain ahead of Son, who finished two groups earlier. Boylan’s favorite moment Wednesday was a brilliant second shot from behind a tree in the right rough on 18. However, she missed a 15-foot birdie putt that would have tied her with Son for overall second place. She finished two shots ahead of Youngblood for the 14-15 title. Boylan had the shot of the tournament with an ace, using a 7-iron on the 140-yard No. 8 in the opening round. That was her second career hole-in-one. She had her first ace last year at Shangri-La. “I was pleased with how I played yesterday (first round),” Boylan said. “Today I let a couple of putts slip and I didn’t hit close to the pin enough to make putts.” Youngblood tied for fourth overall with Emma Allen and Lexi Armon at 149 (with rounds of 75-74), followed by Kylie Staggs at 150 after a pair of 75s. Sarah Sherrard won the 9-11 age group with nine-hole rounds of 47 and 51 for 98. Sadeghy receives an automatic spot on WOGA’s Fore State team.

Wood repeats in State Junior EDMOND - Hayden Wood became the first repeat champion in the Oklahoma Golf Association State Junior Championship since Jeff McMillian in 1975-76 with a 3 and 2 victory over Quade Cummins of Weatherford at Kickingbird Golf Course. Wood, a two-time state champion at Edmond North who has verbally committed to Oklahoma State, pulled away late in the match. Former OSU coach Mike McGraw was among the crowd. Wood reportedly was reconsidering his choice of colleges after McGraw was released by athletic director Mike Holder, but has since decided to stick with his commitment to the Cowboys. His father Willie Wood was an All-American at OSU. “It feels great to win and to repeat,” said Wood. Willie Wood was in a Champions Tour event and unable to watch his son do what only two golfers in OGA history have accomplished. Cummins, a powerful junior-to-be at Weatherford, had won the stroke play portion of this event in 2011 and 2012 and fin-

ished second by two shots this year to Casey Paul of Owasso. He was conceded a short birdie putt on the par-5 12th hole to pull even with Wood and made a nice recovery on the par-4 13th to keep the match all square. But bogeys on holes 13, 14 and 15 turned the match quickly Hayden Wood back in Wood’s favor. “I thought it was going to be a good match after 12, but I just started hitting it all over the place,” Cummins said. Wood had lost an early two-hole lead despite excellent ballstriking, three-putting the seventh hole for bogey and missing short birdie putts on holes 9, 11 and 13 while also making a mess of the 12th. He made a key par-save on 14 that restored his confidence and played solid coming in.

www.golfoklahoma.org •••••• 53

GOLF FITNESS

Get stable in the sand One of the toughest shots for amateur golfers is the greenside bunker shot. After watching the pros hit it close time and time again, you would think it would be an easy shot. But as most of us know, it can be an incredibly frustrating endeavor to get the ball out of the sand and onto the green. So what do all good sand players have in common? They have great lower body strength and are able to maintain a stable base while rotating their upper body. If you have ever watched a slow motion video of a professional golfer on TV, you will notice

1A 54 •••••• www.golfoklahoma.org

how the player keeps a quiet lower body while keeping their body down throughout the swing. Amateur players will often do the exact opposite, using too much lower body motion while standing up during the swing. This often leads to hitting the shot thin across the green or chunking the shot into the sand to try it all over again. Either way, the result is less than optimal. To improve your bunker game with a more consistent and reliable strike, we recommend two drills that will quickly help with your strength and balance while in the sand: 1. Sumo Squat with Rotation This is a great drill to develop stability in your lower body, while developing more flexibility between your upper body and lower body. Start by attaching exercise tubing to an anchor point at waist height (we recommend an FMT or Grey Cook Band found on the mytpi.com website). Get into a good squat position with a wide base and your toes slightly flared outward. Make sure to maintain a neutral spine in your low back and stay tall throughout your upper body. (1A) Grab one end of the tubing and step out until you feel a moderate amount of resistance. Rotate your torso and arms back and forth while keeping your lower body quiet. Perform two sets of 20 repetitions on each side. 2. Lateral Lunge with Dumbbell This a super exercise to improve your ability to strengthen and stabilize your hips

Sean Riley SwingFit

Ryan Smith SwingFit

while developing lower body strength and power. Holding dumbbells in each hand (5 to 15 pound dumbbells usually provide plenty of load), step into a good lateral lunge position to the right (2A), making sure your right hip and knee are stacked on each other with your weight on the inside of your right ankle. Stand back up and repeat to the left. Perform two sets of 20 repetitions on each side. SwingFit specializes in golf specific fitness, performance, and training services for golfers of all ages. Founded by Titleist Performance Institute Certified Medical Professionals, Ryan Smith, PT and Sean Riley, DC, SwingFit gives players access to the same proprietary testing and training systems used the by the best players in the world. The SwingFit system identifies the least amount of physical changes required in your body to produce the greatest results in your golf swing. The result is better practice with your swing coach and more enjoyment on the course. To schedule your SwingFit Golf Assessment and get fit for golf, contact SwingFit at (918) 743-3737 or visit us on the web at www.swingfittulsa.com.

INSTRUCTION

Pushes and hooks Watch that target line by tracy phillips

If you have tendencies to push shots to the right (as a right-handed golfer) and hit hooks there is nothing more frustrating. You can’t aim right to play the hook and you can’t aim left to play a push. The dreaded two-way miss is a better player’s mistake and at times very hard to fix. So let’s give it a try. The most common mistake I see at the top of the swing is the arms tend to get too deep or too far behind the chest and the club tends to cross the line or point too far right of the target line. Photo 1. This position leads to the club getting under the right arm in the downswing causing the club to swing too much from the inside.

The Fix

The first part is to make sure the club stays outside your hands in the takeaway. This will make it easier to fix the club at the top. Next, as the club reaches half way back you need to keep your arms more in front of your chest .You will need to feel a slight rotation of your left forearm in order to point the club more to the left at the top of the swing. Photo 3. The club should be parallel to the target line only when the club is parallel to the ground. This makes it easier to bring the club down feeling the shaft angle being a little steeper and intersecting your right forearm. Photo 4. This is the critical position that allows the club to approach the ball from the correct path. This means being able to start the ball on the intended target line and eliminating the severe two way miss. work on this and i believe there will bee more fairways and greens in the future !!!!!

1 Photo 2. Resulting in a push if your hands are too slow. The hook is soon to follow caused by hands flipping over to try and square the face.

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INSTRUCTION

Playing closer to the ground Most of the golf I’ve played in my life has been on courses where a high ball flight and soft landings are the preferred style of play, largely because that’s what the courses and conditions favored. Then I moved to Oklahoma. With the strong winds that buffet a high percentage of our golfing days, it’s either play in the wind or don’t play. If you were to couple Oklahoma wind with golf courses designed much like the great links layouts in Britain, Ireland and the Eastern United States, you would really have good cause to learn how to keep the ball low. Golf Oklahoma editor Ken MacLeod and I found just that combination of weather and design at the remarkable Bandon Dunes Resort in Oregon in June. Even though we had the best weather in the history of Oregon, the preferred style of play there is to keep the ball low, to keep the ball under the wind, using the slope of the land to get the ball to the proper place on the fairways and greens. Additionally, with how firm and tight the

fairways were, low running pitch shots were much more preferable and predictable than trying to get the leading edge under the ball to hit lofted pitches. The base skill to be able to control ball flight and produce crisp contact is to achieve a square face early in the downswing and maintain forward shaft lean through impact. “Flipping” with the trailing hand through impact would make playing this kind of golf difficult, at least. Windy conditions being more the norm than the exception here in Oklahoma, here are some concepts that will help you play golf closer to the ground.

Club and Shot Selection

This may seem terribly obvious, but it amazes me how often golfers get the wrong club out in the wind. Playing in the wind requires imagination and patience, as you might be hitting one to four clubs more or less than in calm conditions. If I’m playing a shot from 130 yards into a 25-mph wind, I might hit as much as a 5- or 6-iron, with a

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short swing to keep the ball under the wind. Remember that when you swing hard, more spin is imparted on the ball, which creates more lift making it difficult to keep the ball down. Also, keep in mind that hitting the ball high downwind makes distance control very difficult. Hit the ball high with the driver downwind, but more medium height on approach shots to control distance. Do try to know where you’ll run out of distance off the tee, as 60, 80 or 100 yards of roll are possible in high winds and firm fairways. Heavy crosswinds have their own challenge, and it is a good idea to “ride” the wind off the tee to maximize distance, and try to “hold” the ball against the wind on approach shots to control distance. If you have the ability to hit both fades and draws, working the ball against the wind can help control distance. Understand that on a windy day, a percentage of your good shots are going to end up in bad places, so it is critical to enter the round in the proper mindset. Tom Watson says that the windier it gets, the better his chances are. Wind is either your friend or

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your enemy, and there is no in between. Learn to use the wind, not fight it.

Swing Mechanics

No doubt that slicers will have the most difficulty playing in windy conditions as a slice also has the tendency to also be high and weak. Make no mistake, your slice is NOT due to you swinging outside in. The slice is due to an open club face. Talk with your instructor and consult video to check the position of the club face in the downswing to see if the club is square, open or closed. If the clubface is too open in the downswing, a golfer can either square the face at the bottom by flipping, or he can get the shaft leaning forward, but likely can’t do both. If your clubface is too open in the downswing, then it is a priority to determine at what point in the swing that the clubface is too open, and make changes accordingly. Many times the starting point is simply shoring up a weak grip. In the recently completed British Open, you may have heard announcers say that ‘shut face’ players, like Zach Johnson, have a much easier time keep-

ing the ball low. With the club face already square to maybe slightly closed, then the strike is all about connection and body rotation, holding the face square and shaft leaning toward the target. Lee Trevino was extremely effective in the wind, and one of his thoughts was to rap the knuckles of his left (lead) hand into a wall post impact. Put another way, I heard an interview with one of the Harmons (there’s so many), where he said that ALL of the best ball strikers in history had their left (lead) wrist bowed at impact. That is a very bold statement. He didn’t say that some or most of the best ball strikers had a bowed left wrist, he said they ALL do. If you don’t know if the face is square in the downswing and/or if the left wrist is in the correct position, it’s a good bet that its not. Bottom line is that if your iron ball flight

is very high and left to right, bet the farm that you’re flipping and losing left (lead) hand integrity prior to impact. Start with making sure that 1) Your grip is correct, and 2) that your left (lead) wrist is staying flat throughout the swing. ALL of the best ball strikers have their left wrist bowed at impact. Make sure that yours is at least flat. Bring on the Wind! Pat McTigue, PGA GolfTEC Oklahoma Owner and Director of Instruction

www.golfoklahoma.org •••••• 57

SUPERINTENDENT’S PERSPECTIVE

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Communicating with your course superintendent by michael league meadowlake golf course, enid

Having good communication between the golfers and course superintendent is vital for the success of any golf course. Your course superintendent will be more than willing to discuss course conditioning and agronomics with you as long as this is approached in the proper way. The superintendent can adjust maintenance practices based on input from the players and can provide education on why certain practices are necessary. Golf courses also get negative public perceptions on a number of issues, and golfers can defend against these when properly informed. Any avid golfer should get acquainted with the superintendent at his or her course and become educated on general maintenance practices and philosophies. Superintendents perform cultural practices in order to promote the long-term health and playability of the turf, causing some shortterm negative effects on playability. The superintendent does not enjoy when his or her course has subpar playability any more

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than the golfers. We all got started in this they are doing a good job; this can really business because we are passionate about boost morale and is very much appreciated. the game of golf. We want our courses to When you have concerns and criticisms, play consistently and up to our customers’ keep in mind the problem may be beyond expectations while keeping sound agronom- the control of the superintendent and talk ic practices that promote the health of the with him or her without being accusatory. Often the superintendent is constrained by turfgrass. The best way to keep a positive relation- adverse weather, minimal budget and labor ship between golfers and superintendent is supply, or inadequate equipment. I personally make it a point to check with to communicate regularly. Many superintendents have taken to social media to facili- players on the course about the conditions tate communication; find out if your course and give them the opportunity to pose any superintendent has a maintenance blog, Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook page and follow it. This is a great way to pass information, photos of projects, course conditions and links to articles. To get in touch with your superintendent, stop in the pro shop and ask for the preferred method of contact. If you are given a cell phone number, keep in mind your superintendent works very early mornings and avoid calling in the evenings. Give them positive feedback on course conditions when you think Meadowlake Golf Course in Enid.

questions they may have. I feel it is important for them to understand that we really value their input. One of the most difficult tasks any superintendent has is pleasing golfers of different skill levels; on the same day I will have some tell me the greens are too firm and fast while others may think they are slow. The high-handicapper wants the fairways cut taller to get the club under the ball while the low-handicapper wants the turf shorter and tighter in order to spin the ball. Being a municipal course, we want the beginner to enjoy the round, get around quickly and come back again; we try to avoid setting up too difficult of a course, particularly on weekends. We try and keep greens at a good, consistent speed without getting too quick and cut our fairways a bit higher than some higher end courses will. Often times the superintendent gets a reputation for not caring about how their maintenance practices affect the golfer; I believe with proper communication with the players this perception can be quickly dismissed. Get to know your superintendent and engage him or her in conversations about the golf course. You may find some things quite interesting and gain a new perspective for the work that goes into keeping your course in superb condition.

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www.golfoklahoma.org •••••• 59

SCHEDULES & RESULTS U.S. WOMEN’S AMATEUR PUBLIC LINKS At Jimmie Austin GC, Norman June 17-22 Round of 64 Robyn Ree def. Sierra Brooks 1-up; Ciera Min def. Annie Park 6 and 4; Ashley Holder def. Mercedes Huarte 1-up (19); Raychelle Santos def. Demi Frances Runas 1-up; Chirapat Jao-Javanil def. Madison Opfer 1-up; Ember Schuldt def. Lucy Li 3 and 2; Grace Park def. Maria Villegas 4 and 3; Cindy Ha def. Kaitlyn Papp 1-up (20); Louise Yi def. Abby Newton 6 and 4; Kyung Kim def. Monika Poomcharoen 6 and 5; Briana Mao def. Patricia Wong 6 and 5; Krystal Quihuis def. Kendall Martindale 4 and 3; Ericka Schneider def. Mariel Galdiano 2 and 1; Lauren Diaz-Yi def. Katie Jean 4 and 3; Grace Na def. Tsylor Schmidt 1-up (19); Lucy Nunn def. Lacey Fears 5 and 4; Whitney French def. Hannah Sodersten 1-up; Doris Chen def. Abbey Carlson 4 and 3; Allyssa Ferrell def. Harley Dubsky 5 and 4; Kris Yoo def. Mallory Viera 5 and 3; Allisen Corpuz def. Chonlada Chayanun 2 and 1; Chaewon Park def. Julia Calbi 3 and 2; Krista Puisite def. Sarah Kellam 2 and 1; Kelsey Vines def. Clariss Guce 6 and 4; Casey Danielson def. Kuriko Tsukiyama 1-up; Aurora Kan def. Hannah Wood 5 and 4; Karen Chung def. Vaness Ha 4 and 3; Catherine Dolan def. Lauren Cate 2 and 1; Julie Yang def. Lankareber Abe 4 and 3; Jade Staggs def. Rika Park 2 and 1; Kelly Shon def. Alison Hovatter 6 and 5. Round of 32 Shon def. French 2 and 1; Santos def. Min 4 and 3; Jao-Javanil def. Ree 4 and 3; Schuldt def. Huarte 2 and 1; Ha def. G. Park 1-up; Tanguay def. C. Park 5 and 3; Yang def. Staggs 1-up (20); Mao def. Kim 3 and 2; Quihuis def. Yi 8 and 6; Diaz-Yi def. Schneider 3 and 2; Na def. Nunn 2 and 1; Chen def. Ferrell 1-up; Yoo def. Corpuz 5 and 4; Puisite def. Vines 1-up; Danielson def. Kan 3 and 1; Chung def. Dolan 1-up (21). Round of 16

Ha def. Schuldt 1-up (19); Quihuis def. Mao 1-up; Diaz-Yi def. Na 2-up; Santos def. Jao-Javanil 2 and 1; Chen def. Yoo 1-up (19); Yang def. Shon 1-up (19); Chung def. Danielson 2 and 1; Tanguay def. Puisite 2-up. Quarterfinals Yang def. Chung 2 and 1; Chen def. Tanguay 1-up (19); Diaz-Yi def. Quihuis 4 and 3; Santos def. Ha 2 and 1. Semifinals Diaz-Yi def. Santos 4 and 3; Chen def. Yang 5 and 4. Final Diaz-Yi def. Chen 10 and 9 (scheduled 36 holes). OKLAHOMA GOLF ASSOCIATION STATE AMATEUR At Oklahoma City G&CC July 22-24 Match Play Round of 32 Chris Muriana def. J. Todd Brown1-up; Chandler Rusk def. Quade Cummins 1-up; Tyler Hargus def. Justin Jang 3 and 2; Brett Blundell def. Hayden Wood 3 and 2; Trent Mewbourn def. Brendon Jelley 3 and 2; Sam Lee def. Luke Phillips 5 and 4; Jeff Coffman def. Brady Richardson 6 and 4; Nathan Hughes def. Taylor Lansford 6 and 5; Talor Gooch def. Rustin Purser 4 and 3; Cullen Stahl def. Kaleb Houser 6 and 5; Mason Overstreet def. Lyle Whitworth 3 and 2; Phillip Bryan def. Michael Hampton 1-up; Zach Tucker def. Jett Johnson 3 and 2; Jeffrey Topp def. Baer Aneshansley 4 and 3; Taylor Moore def. Drew Dorsey 1-up (19); Kacey Threet def. Kirk Wright 3 and 2. Round of 16 Rusk def. Muriana 1-up (23); Hargus def. Blundell 5 and 4; Lee def. Mewbourn 4 and 2; Hughes def. Coffman 2 and 1; Gooch def. Stahl 4 and 3; Topp def. Tucker 3 and 1; Moore def. Threet 2-up; Bryan def. Overstreet 5 and 4. Quarterfinals

Rusk def. Hargus 7 and 6; Hughes def. Lee 2 and 1; Moore def. Topp 2-up; Gooch def. Bryan 3 and 2. Semifinals Hughes def. Rusk 2 and 1; Gooch def. Moore 1-up. Final Hughes def. Gooch 3 and 2. SENIOR STROKE PLAY At Dornick Hills G&CC, Ardmore (par-70) July 15-16 1, James Reid 69-73 – 142; 2, Jon Valuck 70-74 – 144; 3, Albert Johnson Jr. 73-73 – 146; 4 (tie), Don Clark 74-73 – 147 and Michael Hughett 7374 – 147; 6 (tie), Dean Riggs 73-76 – 149 and Kirk Wright 77-72 – 149; 8, Brad Christianson 79-72 – 151; 9 (tie), Paul Dickson 78-75 – 153 and Kermit Frank 76-77 – 153; 11, Terry Collier 80-75 – 155; 12, Jim Lack 82-75 – 157. Super Seniors: 1, Gary Bonner 71-71 – 142; 2, Bob Fouke 72-74 – 146; 3, Jerry Greer 74-73 – 147; 4, Jim Wetzel 78-73 – 151; 5 (tie), Duane Chenoweth 77-76 – 153 and Greg Lynn 79-74 – 153. SENIOR STATE AMATEUR At Golf Club of Oklahoma, Broken Arrow June 24-27 Round of 32 Michael Hughett def. Don Quint Jr. 4 and 3; Windy Miller def. Michael Koljack 2 and 1; Jim Curd Jr. def. Gary Bonner 1-up (21); Bob Fouke def. John Reese 4 and 2; Russell Lowry def. Brent Taylor 3 and 2; Ken Kee def. Tom Nielsen 3 and 1; Richard Hunt def. Mike Martin 4 and 3; Mark Robinson def. Tim Hoagland 2 and 1; David Hukill def. Brad Kropp 1-up; Kermit Frank def. Ed Heffern 4 and 2; Jim Arnold def. Darren Rice 1-up (19); Terry Collier def. Michael Lusnak 8 and 6; Jon Valuck def. Scott Burry 8 and 7; Kirk Wright def. Richard Koenig 3 and 2; Bob Mase def. Paul Chissoe 4 and 3; Charles Paul def. Shawn Barker 1-up. Round of 16 Mase def. Paul 3 and 1; Wright def. Valuck 5 and

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3; Collier def. Arnold 4 and 2; Hukill def. Frank 2 and 1; Kee def. Lowry 2 and 1; Hunt def. Robinson 1-up; Fouke def. Curd 7 and 5; Hughett def. Miller 6 and 5. Quarterfinals Hughett def. Fouke 1-up; Hunt def. Kee 1-up (21); Collier def. Hukill 3 and 2; Wright def. Mase 4 and 3. Semifinals Hughett def. Hunt 1-up; Wright def. Collier 2 and1. Final Wright def. Hughett 1-up (19). MID-AMATEUR At Stillwater CC (par-71) June 17-18 1, Don Clark 69-72 – 141; 2, Phillip Bryan 74-68 – 142; 3, Austin Hannah 71-72 – 143; 4 (tie), Kacey Threet 72-73—145 and Jon Valuck 72-73 – 145; 6, Brad Christianson 73-73 – 146; 7 (tie), Tom Zeiders 73-74 – 147 and Justin Jang 74-73 – 147; 9 (tie), Tyler Hall 73-75 – 148, Jeff Tyrell 72-76 – 148, John Stansbury 77-71 – 148 and Jim Davis 74-74 – 148; 13, Jeff Coffman 76-73 – 149. STATE JUNIOR BOYS At Kickingbird GC, Edmond June 3-6 Match Play 16-18 Round of 16 Casey Paul def. Daniel Langley 4 and 3; Thomas Johnson def. Clay Dobbins 6 and 5; Hayden Wood def. Lance Gregory 5 and 4; Sam Humphreys def. Drew Ison 4 and 3; Quade Cummins def. Wyatt Fuzzell 3 and 2; Griffin Pierce def. Brett Hagan 2 and 1; Jacob Bishop def. Zac Schaefer 3 and 2; Trent Evans def. Alexander Hughes 3 and 2. Quarterfinals Johnson def. Paul 5 and 4; Wood def. Humphreys 2-up; Cummins def. Pierce 1-up (21); Bishop def. Evans 1-up. Semifinals Cummins def. Bishop 4 and 2; Wood def. Johnson 3 and 2. Final Wood def. Cummins 3 and 2. 14-15 Quarterfinals Austin Eckroat def. Freddie Wilkson 5 and 3; Dustin Hasley def. Logan Smoak 2-up; Lane Wallace def. Jacob Stoller 2 and 1; Navid Majidi def. Carson Seals 3 and 2. Semifinals Hasley def. Eckroat 1-up; Wallace def. Majidi 4 and 3. Final Hasley def. Wallace 1-up (20). STATE JUNIOR GIRLS June 3-6 At Kickingbird GC, Edmond Match Play Round of 16 Marla Souvannasing def. Bekah Goodwin 6 and 4; Allison Sell def. Baylee Price 3 and 2; Anna Mikish def. Kaylee Neff 2 and 1; Kina Boone def. Madison Herron 4 and 3; Kailey Campbell def. Nicole Nguyen 6 and 5; Raegan Barnes def. Liz Hargis 3 and 2; Alexis Sadeghy def. Shannen Stewart 4 and 3; Emily Folsom def. Emilee White 7 and 5. Quarterfinals Sadeghy def. Folsom 4 and 3; Campbell def. Barnes 6 and 4; Mikish def. Boone 1-up; Souvannasing def. Sell 5 and 4. Semifinals Campbell def. Sadeghy 1-up (19); Mikish def. Souvannasing 4 and 2. Final Mikish def. Campbell 2 and 1. WOMEN’S OKLAHOMA GOLF ASSOCIATION STATE AMATEUR MATCH PLAY At The Greens CC, Okla. City July 15-18 Round of 16 Nadia Majidi def. Leigh Ann Fore 3 and 2; Maddy Haley def. Beth Darrough 1-up (21); Charter Lawson def. Kendra Mann 1-up (19); Kelly Fuhcik def. Amber Hensley 4 and 2; Taylor Neidy def. Tay-

lor Boylan 4 and 3; Maci Arrington def. Caroline Goodin 2 and 1; Kailey Campbell def. Lexi Armon 5 and 4; Jade Staggs def. Katie Wilson 3 and 1. Quarterfinals Neidy def. Lawson 2 and 1; Arrington def. Haley 6 and 5; Staggs def. Fuhcik 3 and 2; Majidi def. Campbell 1-up (19). Semifinals Neidy def. Arrington 4 and 3; Staggs def. Majidi 3 and 2. Final Staggs def. Majidi 3 and 2. Championship Consolation Final Hensley def. Darrough 3 and 2. President’s Flight Final Jaime Branch def. Amanda Johnson 3 and 2. Consolation Final Megan Blonien def. Madison Herron 4 and 3. JUNIOR GIRLS STATE At MeadowBrook CC, Tulsa (par-72) July 9-10 1, Alexis Sadeghy 73-72 – 145; 2, Yujeong Son 7670 – 146; 3, Taylor Boylan 72-75 – 147; 4 (tie), Sydney Youngblood 71-78 – 149, Lexi Armon 75-74 – 149 and Emma Allen 75-74 – 149; 7, Kylie Staggs 75-75 – 150; 8 (tie), Taylor Dobson 76-76 – 152 and Anna Kim 74-78 – 152; 10 (tie), Grace Shin 76-79 – 155 and Mackenzie Medders 76-79 – 155; 11 (tie), Baylee Price 75-81 – 156 and Emily Folsom 80-76 – 156. 14-15: 1, Boylan; 2, Youngblood; 3, Dobson. 12-13: 1, Son; 2, Natalie Gough 85-78 – 163; 3, Shaebug Scarberry 81-85 – 166. 9-11: 1, Sarah Sherrard 47-51 – 98; 2, Amanda Lee 56-49 – 105. STROKE PLAY/MID-AMATEUR At Indian Springs CC, Broken Arrow (par-72)

July 24-25 1, Amber Hensley 73-73 – 146 (Stroke Play champion); 2, Samantha Stewart 71-75 – 146; 3, Lauren Michael 78-76 – 154; 4, Kendra Mann 77-79 – 156; 5, Kailey Campbell 78-80 – 158; 6 (tie), Taylor Neidy 77-82 – 159 and Katy Treadwell 83-76 – 159 (Mid-Amateur champion); 8, Nadia Majidi 87-73 – 160; 9 (tie), Laure MakesCry 80-81—161 and Whitney Hocutt 81-80 – 161; 11, Brandy Jo Gray 80-82 – 162; 12 (tie), Nan Dyer 82-81 – 163 and Karson Bizzell 84-79 – 163. OKLAHOMA JUNIOR GOLF TOUR KICKOFF CLASSIC At Jimmie Austin GC, Norman (par-72) July 10-11 15-18 1, Trent Evans 69-71 – 140; 2, Thomas Johnson 72-70 – 142; 3, Cody Shore 70-75 – 145; 4, Griffin Pierce 74-74 – 148; 5 (tie), Quade Cummins 76-74 – 150 and Nick Pierce 72-78 – 150; 7, Mason Overstreet 73-78 – 151; 8, Garrett McDaniel 74-79 – 153; 9, Casey Paul 80-74 – 155. 12-14 1, Dalton Daniel 70-72 – 142; 2, Lane Wallace 7677 – 153; 3 (tie), Colter Baca 77-80 – 157 and Jared Strathe 80-77 – 157; 5, Patrick Clowe 81-79 – 160. GOLF INC (OKLAHOMA CITY) CITY AMATEUR June 1-2, 8-9 Championship Flight: 1, Eric Fox 77-72-72 – 221 (won playoff); 2, Brent Stone 76-75-70 – 221; 3, Jeff Richter 77-72-73 – 222; 4 (tie), August Frank 74-79-71 – 224, Brad Schultz 76-74-74 – 224 and Kyle Knierim 76-77-71 – 224; 7, Cory Montgomery 77-73-75 – 225; 8, Matthew Heasley 72-85-74 – 231; 9, Randy Brown 78-75-81 – 234; 10, Brian Jones 78-82-76 – 236. Presidents Flight: 1, Jeff Boyer 82-71-68 – 221; 2, Matthew Folsom 81-71-72 – 224; 3, Grant Raney

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82-75-72 – 229. Seniors: 1, Kirk Wright 69-71-69 – 209; 2, Randy Robinson 76-73-75 – 224; 3, John Carver 74-7676 – 226; 4, David Franke 78-79-76 – 233. TULSA GOLF ASSOCIATION PLAYERS SERIES At Golf Club of Oklahoma (par-72) July 9 Gross: 1, Dave Wing 67; 2, Scott Crane 68; 3, Lee Inman 69; 4, Nolan Couch 70; 5, Matt Campbell 71. Net: 1, Scott Crane 62; 2, Lee Inman 63; 3, Dave Wing 65; 4 (tie), Burch Williams and Dave Poczynek 66. Team: 1, Scott Crane, Dave Poczynek and Nolan Couch 56; 2, Bryan Lunger, Lee Inman and Joe Tuttle 59. STROKE PLAY At LaFortune Park GC (par-72) June 22-23 Championship Flight: 1, Colton Staggs 68-70 – 138; 2, Patrick West 71-71 – 142; 3, Ryan Grimm 7073 – 143; 4, Daniel Brafford 71-73 – 144; 5, Shawn Kitchen 71-73 – 144; 6, Bill Brafford 69-77 – 146; 7, Austin Hannah 77-71 – 148; 8, Tyler Hunt 77-73 – 150; 9, Ryan Rainer 78-72 – 150; 10 (tie), Jeff Park 73-78 – 151, John Ryan Bonaobra 72-79 – 151 and Josh Bernard 77-74 – 151. Seniors: 1, Richard Koenig 70-70 – 140; 2, Doug Carroll 67-75 – 142; 3, Dave Wing 74-69 – 143; 4, Tim Hoagland 72-73 – 145; 5, Steve Secora 7669 – 145; 6, Larry Reed 73-76 – 149; 7, L.D. House 70-79 – 149; 8 (tie), Richard Hunt 76-74 – 150, Danny Barnett 78-72 - -150 and Lloyd Gilliam 7575 – 150. GOLF CHANNEL TOUR GRAND LAKE SHOWDOWN At Patricia Island GC, Grove (par-72) July 13 1, Allen Huffman 74; 2, Andrew Ganey 76; 3, Matt McClain 81; 4, Stephen Meyer 82. RED RIVER SHOOTOUT At WinStar GC, Thackerville (par-72) June 29-30 1, Justin Lee 71-76 – 147; 2, Sean Skellenger 79-70 – 149; 3, Travis Nichols 76-75 – 151; 4, John Bohling 76-77 – 153; 5, Scott Blackshear 77-78 – 155; 6 (tie), Lynn Cormier 80-76 – 156 and Tim Williams 76-80 – 156; 8 (tie), Rich Vigil 79-78 – 157 and James Fowler 77-80 – 157. EDMOND SUMMER CLASSIC At Fairfax GC, Edmond (par-70) June 15 1, Hank Darcay 70; 2 (tie), John Montazzoli and Dave Kirby 77; 4, Brook Lister 81. ADAMS GOLF TOUR OK KIDS KORRAL CHAMPIONSHIP At Belmar GC, Norman (par-70) June 19-22 1, William Kropp 69-65-65-69 – 268 ($14,000); 2 (tie), Cody Gribble 68-70-66-68 – 272 and Jonathan Randolph 68-65-68-71 – 272 ($6,868); 4 (tie), Mark Walker 63-71-69-70 – 273 and Blake Redmond 69-71-71-62 – 273 ($4,748); 6 (tie), Gregor Main 68-71-66-69 – 274, Kevin Penner 6772-62-73 – 274 and Blake Trimble 69-67-68-70 --- 274 ($3,298); 9, Chad Ginn 69-69-68-69 – 275 ($2,600); 10 (tie), Jason Meece 68-71-71-66 – 276, Ryan Baca 66-69-72-69 – 276, Charlie Holland 66-71-69-70 – 276 and James Marshall 69-67-7169 – 276 ($2,075); 14 (tie), Matt Boyd 66-71-71-69 – 277, Jordan Russell 61-72-67-77 – 277 and Mark Stevens 65-70-70-72 – 277 ($1,733). PRAIRIE MOON CASINOS CLASSIC At Peoria Ridge GC, Miami, Okla. (par-72) June 12-15 1, Mark Walker 69-67-68-64 – 268 ($15,000); 2, Shawn Jasper 68-66-68-69 – 271 ($8,330); 3, Rika Baitbasaga 71-65-67-69 – 272 ($6,380); 4 (tie), Derek Tolan 72-70-66-65 – 273, Gregor Main 68-65-74-66 – 273 and Sam Powell 6968-70-66 – 273 ($4,747); 7 (tie), Ryan Baca 71-68-68-67 – 274 and Kevin Penner 72-66-6967 – 274 ($3,360); 9, Chris Naegel 70-72-68-65 – 275 ($2,850); 10, John Kimbell 74-68-65-69 – 276 ($2,555); 11, Jason Meece 76-68-68-65 – 277 ($2,350); 12, Brian Mills 72-66-72-68 – 278 ($2,155).

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Win ensures Tway PGA Tour Card Rookie Kevin Tway of Edmond rolled in a six-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole to beat Spencer Levin and win the Albertsons Boise Open on Kevin Tway the Web.com Tour, ensuring a PGA Tour card for 2014. Tway rallied late and posted a 7-under 64 at Hillcrest Country Club to force the overtime session with Levin, who was first in the clubhouse at 23-under after carding a 63. Levin was making only his second start since hand surgery last fall and misfired on his 10-foot birdie effort. That opened the door for Tway to collect his first professional win of any kind. “My hands were shaking a little bit,” he said. “It was on the same line I had in regulation and I just wanted to make sure I got it to the hole.” The win was worth $139,500 and moved the former Oklahoma State All-American to No. 6 on the Tour money list with just four events left on the regular season schedule. His next stop will be the PGA TOUR in 2014.

“This means a lot because I’ve struggled since turning pro,” he said. “This really hasn’t sunk in yet. I’ve always wanted to play on the PGA TOUR since I was a little kid.” Tway moved into contention with an 8-under 63 Saturday and was two shots off the 54-hole pace set by Tennessee’s Philip Pettitt (67/T3). He knew he’d be nervous for the final round so he called his father for some advice. Papa Bob, who won eight times on the PGA TOUR including the 1986 PGA Championship, was in England at the Senior Open Championship. “He said to take it just like any other day,” said the Tour’s fourth rookie winner in 2013. “He said to play like I was in 50th place and that I needed to move the leaderboard.” Tway got close with some early birdies but it seemed everyone was making birdie runs and the leaderboard was lighting up like pinball machine. “I really didn’t pay attention to the boards,” said Tway. “I looked at number 15 and saw someone was at 22-under. I knew I had to make some birdies coming in.”

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