Golf Oklahoma August - September (Vol. 1, Issue 3)

Golf Oklahoma www.golfoklahoma.org August - September 2011

Oak Tree A unique success story among golf course communities

Architect Pete

Dye

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

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Contents

22 Iconic Oak Tree Features

28 Alabama an ideal 32 spot for cool fall trip.

Departments

Bermuda greens gain in popularity

28

37

Lake Texoma and North Texas, best spots to hit during fall football travels

32

10 Letter from the editor 12 OGA 14 Chip Shots 18 The goods 30 Spotlight - Cherokee Hills 46 Pro Profile 47 Amateur Profile 48 Celebrity Profile 50 Talor Gooch 52 Equipment 53 Fitness 54 Instruction 55 WOGA 57 Super’s Perspective 58 Results

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A Scotland pilgrammage for two Oklahoma travelers.

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On the cover: Oak Tree National, courtesy of Mike Klemme

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

Letter from the publisher ken macleod

M

uch was made of restoring the “Tillinghast look” at Tulsa Country Club during the recent renovation by Rees Jones and his team.

One small problem is there really is no such thing.

Tillinghast was a creative man who used the characteristics of the native terrain to create unique and varied portraits.

Tillinghast bunker styles, for instance, varied widely from course to course, Jones said.

“Tillinghast had a different bunker style on every golf course he built,” Jones said. “He didn’t stand still. He had courses next door to each other, like Quaker Ridge and Winged Foot, with completely different bunker styles.”

Restoring a particular style of bunker and green was not as important to Jones and design associate Bryce Swanson as restoring shot options and giving the course a more natural look by the removal of some mounding that was in vogue during the last major renovation by Jay Morrish in the mid1980s.

“The Tillinghast style was all about shot options,” Jones said. “The open entrances, the half-open entrances, the three-quarter open entrances. It was about melding the ground game and the aerial game. It was about having green contours act as a form of hazard.”

Golf Oklahoma Volume 1, Number 3 Golf Oklahoma

To Jones’ everlasting credit, he embraced that style. It’s a repudiation of the style practiced by his famous father, Robert Trent Jones, who preferred building elevated greens surrounded by deep bunkers and allowing very little options for the ground game.

“Rees used to ask his dad, how many U.S. Open’s are there in a year,” Swanson said.

“He would say, ‘What do you mean, there’s only one!’ And Rees would say “then why are we building such hard golf courses.’ “ Instead of a brutal test, Jones said his goal at TCC was for the membership to have fun and forget the travails of life.

If they hit a good shot, take every bit of credit for it. If they hit a bad shot, say they got Reesed.

Bringing in Jones combined with the other renovations has already paid off handsomely for the club. It began with a renovation of the swimming pool, followed by an extensive clubhouse renovation, which led to the course. Already the club has nearly 100 more members than prior to the work and the average age of the membership has dropped 10 years.

With all the strategic enhancements plus some added length on some of the tougher par-4s, TCC will be all the test one wants from the back tees and certainly capable of hosting another USGA event, LPGA Tour event or other tournament.

Play A Round of Golf that is!

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 Art & Technology Director Derek Hillman derek@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 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

800.833.6569 Look for great golf specials at TanglewoodResort.com 10 •••••• www.golfoklahoma.org

Copyright 2011 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.

www.golfoklahoma.org •••••• 11

Oklahoma Golf Association

Hughett wins OGA Senior Amateur, pg. 21

Meyers stands tall in State Amateur With one 345-yard blast of his Taylor Made R7, Cameron Meyers of Edmond pulled out of a late deficit and went on to become the Oklahoma Golf Association State Amateur Champion at Meadowbrook Country Club.

One down after losing the short par-4 14th to Meadowbrook member Nick Lees, Meyers launched a rocket shot on the par-5 15th, leaving himself about 170 yards for his second shot. His 8-iron landed just over the flag and stopped about 22 feet above the hole.

With Lees looking at a 4-foot putt for birdie, Meyers drilled the eagle putt to pull even.

On the par-5 17th, Lees hit his second shot on the green, but left his first putt six feet short and missed the birdie putt for a three-putt par. Meyers, just over the green in two, chipped to about five feet and converted the slider for a one-up lead.

With Lees, a 19-year-old sophomore at Maryville College in St. Louis, pressing to make birdie on the final hole, he pulled his drive left into trees and was unable to put his second shot on the green. He chipped up to about four feet and missed that to make the final margin 2 up.

“It feels awesome,” said an elated Meyers after his third consecutive day of two matches on top of a Monday qualifier. “I’ve always

wanted to win this tournament. This is the biggest win of my career. I’ve always had a great amount of respect for the OGA.” Meyers, a senior at Oklahoma City University who plays out of Oak Tree National, and shot 67 to finish second in qualifying, used his prodigious length and a deft short game in advancing through a tough draw that included a 1-up victory over 13-time OGA tournament winner Mike Hughett in the quarterfinals and a 4 and 2 semifinal win over Bryan Boaz, an Oral Roberts University golfer and Meadowbrook member.

Meyers, who lost in the first round a year ago to eventual champion Stephen Carney, had only trailed by one hole in one match in the tournament until the steady Lees went two-up with a birdie on the par-4 10th hole.

He kept that advantage through 11, but pushed his drive right into the trees on the short par-4 12th and gave a hole back.

Meyers tied it with a gap wedge to about 4 feet for birdie on the par-4 13th but promptly went down a hole on 14 when he pulled his drive left into an unplayable lie while Lees hit the flagstick with his second shot and had a short birdie putt conceded.

The 6-foot-5 Meyers, who won the OGA State Junior Championship at age 15, was the longest hitter in the field and used his

Knowing Local Rules is a must One of the duties for the Tournament Committee is the drafting of the Local Rules (“LR”). LR are very beneficial in that they can expand the scope of the Rules of Golf and explain how the Rules will apply to abnormal conditions that exist. It is the opportunity to provide each player with the same information. The United States Golf Association has published some suggested LR and they are found in Appendix I to the Rules of Golf. They cover many subjects and the proposed wording is constructive.

As a demonstration of the importance of reviewing the LR, you will want to verify that there is one that pertains to the use of distance measuring devices (Note to Rule 14-3), because without it, the use of such a device will result in disqualification.

LR can expand the application of the Rules and one example is in taking relief for an embedded ball. Without a LR in effect to add the area referred to as Through the Green, relief is available in only those areas which are “closely mown” and this means 12 •••••• www.golfoklahoma.org

cut to fairway height, or less. Another example is in reference to starting times (note to Rule 6-3). With a LR in effect, a player has an Gene Mortensen OGA Rules additional five minutes, Director adding an appropriate penalty, to start his round. Without it the player is disqualified for not being timely. When the Committee deems it necessary to use a Dropping Zone as an additional option, this will also be defined by a LR. One LR that always causes me consternation is the one that designates greenside fans as “Temporary Immovable Obstructions” (TIO). A TIO is defined as construction which is made for special events such as; TV towers, concession stands and bleachers.

They are “temporary“ in that they exist until the event is concluded. The problem in doing this is that when you invite the players to pick up the ball, it is imperative for them

Cameron Meyers is proud 2011 champ. length to his advantage, yet the eagle on 15 was his first of the week.

“Nick is a real solid player. He hits it straight and makes putts. I told my dad I needed to make at least three birdies after I fell two down. He said just calm down and hit one shot at a time. He really helped me there.”

to also know how to put that ball back into play. And, in this respect, there are fewer than ten people in Oklahoma who know how to properly take relief from a TIO. Any open-ended invitation to take the ball in hand without something more is certain to result in every player using his ingenuity as to where and how to take relief and in a competition the Committee simply can’t allow that.

I have some strong criticism for the participants in that few take the time to study the LR and ask the starter to explain any point that is not clear. As a player you owe it to yourself to have all of the pertinent information that will apply in that competition, yet they can’t seem to spare the seconds it would take to do that. In that respect, the Committee might find it beneficial to print the LR on the reverse side of the Hole location sheet and in that way you know players will retain that document and, at least, have it if a situation arises.

The Oklahoma Golf Association is available to consult with Committees in respect to the drafting of Local Rules and we welcome any inquiry.

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

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www.golfoklahoma.org •••••• 13

Chip shots

News from around the state

Blast furnace

Courses hold on in record heat Unrelenting, blistering heat is no good for bent grass greens in Oklahoma or anywhere else. Yet there has been one saving grace through early August that has prevented a repeat of the terrible meltdown of greens this state experienced in 2010.

Superintendents use an index that combines the temperature and the humidity, with 150 being the dividing line between being safe and in peril. Though the high temperatures have been averaging 105 or so, the humidity has been in the 30 to 45 percent range. Last summer the temperatures were over 100 with humidity of 60 to 80 percent.

The combination was “just a killer for bent grass,” according to Cedar Ridge superintendent Mike Wooten.

“For the most part, everybody I’ve talked to is doing pretty well,” Wooten said. “We’ve had hot days and hot nights, but the humidity is not as bad as last year.”

The excessive heat is having a detrimental affect on rounds played, however. Most courses report heavy play up until about 9:30 a.m., then few folks teeing off until after 5 p.m. Courses are offering special twilight rates and other incentives, but few folks have chosen to fight the battle between noon and five p.m.

In Tulsa, temperatures had soared over 100 26 times in July and Oklahoma City and western Oklahoma were hotter and drier still. At The Territory in Duncan, July 28 marked the 50th day of breaking the century mark.

Water obviously becomes a precious commodity in such extreme conditions and the drought in western Oklahoma is extreme.

The Territory is 28.1 inches below normal rainfall for the past 18 months. Regular irrigation sources, including ponds and a nearby stream, are dried up. Superintendent Brad Bakek said the course is receiving about 29,000 gallons daily from a local rural water district, enough to keep the greens in good shape (average use at an upscale club like The Territory is between 600,000 and one million gallons daily, depending on availability). The rest of the course has been allowed to go dormant until Mother Nature cooperates.

14 •••••• www.golfoklahoma.org

Babek is praying for rain before the winter, as the dry conditions coupled with some hard freezes could lead to winter kill. The Territory has had 5.3 inches of rain since October of 2010 and none since May. One recent day was 111 degrees, with 30 mph winds and 11 percent humidity.

“It was like standing in front of a hairdryer,” Babek said. “This weather is nuts. All you can say is we’re one day closer to rain, because it’s got to rain sometime.”

Wrap-A-Cart

the year for Tseng, which included two major victories: the Kraft Nabisco Championship and the Ricoh Women’s British Open.

Tseng has Yani Tseng. maintained her momentum during the 2011 season with additional major victories at the Wegmans LPGA Championship and the recent Ricoh Women’s British Open, along with two other wins and eight top-10 fid in just four seasons on tour.

Tickets are on sale at www.NWAChampionship.com, or by calling (479) 715-6100.

There are myriad ways to promote your business, but Jim Towne of Norman has just added one more to consider.

Wrap-A-Cart Media is offering full vinyl wraps on golf carts and has a contract with Westwood Park in Norman. For under $2,500, including design and installation, you can have carts colorfully promoting your business tooling around the course.

Towne said all advertisements will be New owners have big tasteful. His wrap covers most of the cart plans for Muskogee CC and they are custom designed with all colors available. He hopes to expand the business An investor group of 20 members has purthroughout the state. For more information, chased Muskogee Country Club from the contact Towne at 405-875-1440 or jim@ membership for $1.2 million and already wrapacart.com. commenced with a laundry list of improvements designed to again make Oklahoma’s Tseng commits to defend oldest country club one of its finest.

The club, which opened in 1904 with the in NW Arkansas current 18-hole Perry Maxwell layout done Yani Tseng has committed to defend her in 1924, was in need of an upgrade in facilititle at this year’s Walmart NW Arkansas ties and infrastructure. The new ownership Championship presented by P&G. Tseng group took over July 1, but had already unwill also be defending her position as the dertaken a thorough renovation of the swimRolex Women’s World Golf Rankings No. 1 ming pool and tennis courts with spruce up player at Pinnacle Country Club in Rogers, work in the clubhouse.

September 5 – 11.

The course was renovated in 2005 by Last year, Tseng trailed Michelle Wie by Tripp Davis, but the investors are upgradthree strokes entering the final round of ing the irrigation, adding a third row, and play but fired a 6-under-65 to overtake Wie purchasing new maintenance equipment for by one. Her victory marked the third of superintendent Derron Day. New fencing is

going in around the course.

Joey Dills, a prominent member of the investor group, said the goal was to restore the club as the social hub of the city.

“Membershsip had been dwindling for quite some time. We want to restore it and have the community embrace the club for what it was. We want the families back involved. We want it to be the place where you can get the best steak in town. We want the kids using the pool and the tennis and the golf course.”

Dills said the group is still debating whether to renovate the existing clubhouse or tear it down and build anew.

“These people are all very committed and they are all business people there in Muskogee who want to restore the club to its former prominence,” Dills said. “Not all the plans are finalized yet and it’s going to be an ongoing process for quite some time.”

Muskogee Country Club has long been recognized as one of the state’s top courses and is a frequent home to events by the

Oklahoma and Women’s Oklahoma Golf Associations. The OGA Stroke Play Championship will be contested there Aug. 8-10.

Dills is the 1969 OGA Junior Champion and later played parts of four years on the PGA Tour. He is now in the insurance business.

Golf Pigeon takes off with stunning numbers A pair of Oklahomans have launched a new golf website they hope will soon become part of every golfer’s routine.

GolfPigeon.com is the brainchild of Robert Wright, founder and president of Oren USA, a company that has been designing website and software solutions for other companies. He and vice president Steve Graham have put their technological prowess and golf passion into creating a site that in its infancy has drawn uses from more than 136 countries and one with a stated goal of being the world’s largest golf website.

At GolfPigeon.com, users can find just about

Golf Pigeon owner and developer Robert Johnson of Oklahoma City anything related to the game. Daily news and videos from hundreds of media outlets, the best prices on apparel and equipment, lessons, travel specials and much more.

The site has a huge social media component and users can create their own account and interact with golfers throughout the world.

PGA Tour pro Rickie Fowler is a partner

www.golfoklahoma.org •••••• 15

Chip shots in the project and a recent contest for gear from PUMA drew millions of interactions.

Wright said 10 to 15 more PGA Tour pros will join the company as either paid sponsors or partners.

The site is continually evolving. Robots scan thousands of sites for content and add it daily. The site uses artificial intelligence and will track each user’s interests and react accordingly.

“Every person who comes to the site will have a different experience based on their interests,” Wright said. “We want the site to evolve based on people. With our search bots, if something is not indexed and enough requests go out, it will go out and find it.”

Users of the site will accumulate “pigeon points” which can later be used to purchase golf equipment or apparel.

Golf Pigeon by late July had more than 220,000 pages and was growing daily.

“The reaction to it has just been pretty overwhelming,” Wright said. “It’s already taken on a life of it’s own.”

16 •••••• www.golfoklahoma.org

News from around the state

Davis is new Section ED

Brian Davis, the tournament director for the Nebraska Section of the PGA of America, has been hired as the new Executive Director of the South Central Section. He will began his duties in the section office next to Forest Ridge Golf Club in Broken Arrow on July 15. He replaces Barry Thompson, who resigned in May. Davis has been with the Nebraska section since 2006 and previously was the director of the Adams Tight Lies Tour in Dallas.

“Brian is very organized and has been very successful in introducing new programs in Nebraska,” said Brian Soerensen, president of the South Central Section and director of golf at Kickingbird Golf Course in Edmond.

“He’s very organized, very energetic and willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done.”

Davis said he was accustomed to having to be creative to bring in new sponsors for section tournaments and other needs and was looking forward to doing the same here.

He instituted a Fed-Ex Cup style format with an insurance sponsor in which section pros could win points not just for their play but for participation in a variety of section events.

American Jet Charter offers golf trips in style Jim Hensley has been a pilot most of his life. He caught the flying bug when he was young, and enrolled in Spartan School of Aviation in Tulsa. After graduation, he worked for Catlin Aviation as a pilot until the company went out of business in 1986.

Hensley and a partner formed American Jet Charter the same year and, two years

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This six-passenger Citation will get your foursome to the course on time. later, Hensley bought out his partner and became sole owner of one of Oklahoma’s unique charter jet businesses. (His wife, Ramona, also a pilot, is now part owner.)

“We’re the only service in the state that can match the customers needs to a particular aircraft,” Hensley said. “There is no sense chartering a jet if you only need two people to fly a short distance.”

American Jet Charter has a fleet of 10

aircraft, including light twins and jets, making it easier to assess the customers’ needs and assign an aircraft that best meets those needs. Booking is even available by the seat– very unusual in the charter business– but Hensley said business has been lighter than expected. It is, however, good for golfers looking to hop a short flight.

“We’ve taken several groups on golf trips,” Hensley said. “Usually it’s a group headed for Las Vegas, but there are plenty of other destinations.”

In addition to the convenience of avoiding airport parking, security, and delays, American Charter Jet doesn’t have bag check fees, or any other fees, except for federal excise taxes.

“We’re not like the airlines,” Hensley said.

“We’ll give you a firm quote, and that is the price you pay. The only fees you’ll see are the 7.5 percent federal excise tax, and then the federal excise segment tax, which equals $3.70 per person per leg.”

Hensley said the company had a few planes that can easily accommodate the ad-

ditional baggage that comes with a golf outing, especially two of the larger jets, a Falcon and a Challenger.

The service is available 24/7, and Wiley Post Airport, where the company is based, has no restrictions on flight times.

“We can be fueled up and ready to fly with an hour’s notice anytime 24 hours a day,” Hensley said.

The unrestricted times and the ability to respond quickly have developed over the years as American Jet Charter has worked with teams of doctors on organ transplant flights. High stress environments, odd hours, and short notice have created a superbly professional team of 14 pilots that can easily handle a golf outing or vacation.

Information about flights, booking, and aircraft is available at the company web site, as is a form to request a flight booking: www.american-jet.com.

Hensley said calls to the office are also welcome, and phones are monitored 24 hours a day.

www.golfoklahoma.org •••••• 17

The goods

Some things we like to do before and after the round

Tiger treed in new book

SI writers give sordid tale new twist by tom bedell

Don’t Mistake This One for an Instructional Book Why would anyone want to revisit the sordid details of the Tiger Woods sexual scandals?

Well, they’re juicy, for one thing. But in the hands of Sports Illustrated writers Michael Bamberger and Alan Shipnuck, they become suspenseful, comic and poignant by turns.

The Swinger (Simon & Schuster, 2011, $25) is not a book you’ll want to let the kids get their hands on; the co-authors have not left the X-rated stuff out of this roman á clef, and readers will be forgiven for trying to figure out how many of the shenanigans depicted actually occurred. Isn’t that the appeal of the genre?

The French literary term roman á clef literally means novel with a key. Though actual names and events are altered, if you figure out the key, you presumably unlock the passageway between fiction and truth.

With The Swinger a reader doesn’t really need the key; the door is pretty much wide open: Tree Tremont is Tiger Woods, Will Martinsen is Phil Mickelson, Belinda DeCarlo is Elin Nordegren, Andrew Finkelman of the IGM agency is Mark Steinberg, formerly of the IMG agency--and so on and so on.

Sure, Belinda is Italian, not Swedish. The yacht is called Off Course instead of Privacy.

Tree’s mother is from Chicago, not Thailand.

But when Tree utters such press conferences Tigerisms as, “Family is everything to me,” or, “Welcome to my world,” we know what world we’re in.

I confess that I wasn’t really expecting much from The Swinger. Most books in the roman á clef genre tend to be fairly trashy, with Harold Robbins’ The Carpetbaggers (said to be based on Howard Hughes and Jean Harlow) as one dubiously classic example. Alternately, one could point to Robert Penn Warren’s All the King’s Men as an example that ascends to literature (his Willie Stark modeled after Huey Long).

Shipnuck and Bamberger aren’t aiming 18 •••••• www.golfoklahoma.org

that high, and there’s plenty of trashy behavior in the book, but they have good story-telling instincts, and they’ve invested the character of Tree with enough complexity and the events with enough public complicity that the story rises above mere rippedfrom-the-headlines retelling.

Warren used Jack Burden, a political reporter hired by Willie Stark and working through his own troubles, as the insider narrator. The Swinger supplies Josh Dutra, a sports reporter with an ex-wife and mounting debts, newly hired by the Tree Corp to help contain certain cracks beginning to appear in Tree’s carefully constructed public persona.

The story is basically told in three acts-before the fall, after the sexual allegations hit the proverbial fan and then Tree’s month-

long stint in a recovery facility--before gliding to a close.

Dutra, who had written about Tremont early in his career, characterizes him thusly: “[His] parents…hadn’t worked in years.

Tree was their job. He was an only child, homeschooled by his mother and coached exclusively and secretly by his father until Tree entered, at age nineteen, the first tournament of his life, a U.S. Open where he finished ninth. Since then he had become not just the most dominant golfer of all time but also the richest, most powerful, and most popular athlete in the world. He was modest and handsome with perfect Hollywood teeth and the family to go with them: the beautiful wife, the adorable twins. Every-

body wanted a piece of the action, and before long Tree Tremont became the first celebrity ever to have endorsement deals with Coke and Pepsi.”

Dutra knows that Tree is a consummate actor, and that his squeaky clean image is just that, that the façade conceals a highly profane individual, prone to cheapness, probably drug dependant, and increasingly inattentive to details that suggest he is indeed “stepping out.”

But even as Dutra slides deeper into covering up Tremont’s, well, mounting indiscretions, he can’t rid himself of his ambivalence because of the man’s undeniable charm, his unworldly skills on a golf course, and his depth of knowledge about the game’s history – golf being, besides his children, Tremont’s purest abiding love.

Once the sexual revelations begin to hit the internet, the tabloids, the talk shows – and once Belinda hits Tree with a fireplace poker (instead of a five iron), leaving him with the face that launches a thousand quips ­ the story loses a little narrative steam in having to cover the sexting transcriptions, legal wranglings, allegations of homosexuality and steroid use.

But the third act takes place at the Walden Pond Wellness Center in Mississippi, and includes perhaps the funniest set piece in the whole book, as Tree literally counts up and describes for Belinda each of his sexual encounters. Not to give too much away, but there are quite a few.

And it’s here where the authors, after serving up two hundred pages of reprehensible behavior on Tremont’s part, somehow manage to make him seem sympathetic, in many ways a victim himself, of his own and others’ unrealistic expectations for him, and possibly, possibly, now trying to make things right.

The Tiger Woods story is still unfolding in unpredictable ways – his firing of his longtime caddy Steve Williams, his lingering injury that has scuttled this season for him while making his pursuit of the Jack Nicklaus majors record increasingly uncertain.

But it’s not giving too much away to say that The Swinger ends on a sweet and upbeat note, with most of the characters pairing off as neatly as in a Shakespeare comedy, and a new major title in the bag for Tree Tremont.

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since that first year, and two of their wines have firmly established themselves as go-to wines for restaurants and wine lovers: Clarity and Reserve Cabernet.

When Clarity was first released, it was a white blend that was predominantly Pinot Grigio, one of Lawson’s favorite varietals.

Since then, the blend has changed, and 2009 was the first to list Sauvignon Blanc on the label. There is sufficient Sauvignon Blanc to label it such, but it is still a blend.

“Wine Spectator” awarded the vintage 89 points and called it a “Best Buy.” Restaurateurs in Oklahoma already knew that. Clarity is ubiquitous throughout the state beDavid and Maryann Johndrow. cause it works with food and without. You “The tagline we use is ‘find your happy can find it in retail stores for under $15. place,’” he said. “Many people find their hapThe 2007 JV Reserve Cabernet benefited py place on the golf course, spending time from the best Cabernet vintage in Napa since doing something they love. Wine provides 2001. It was also the year Johndrow reduced a similar sort of place, a place to relax with the price on it: a doubly good deal for confriends over great food and great wine.” sumers. The Cabernet has great structure, Johndrow Vineyards, under the direction brambly fruit, hints of tobacco and leather, of winemaker Rob Lawson, released its first as well as earth and briar. It’s a wine that wines in 2007. They’ve added to the list will only get better over the next few years.

Couple helps demystify wine by greg horton

David and Maryann Johndrow entered the wine business for the same reason many others have over the years: They love wine.

“We have visited Napa Valley regularly over the past 20 years,” David Johndrow said. “We had so many of the famous wines from Napa, but one of our favorite things to do was find a delicious wine under $20. You know, that little known everyday drinker.”

The Johndrows live in Gaillardia in northwest Oklahoma City, but they split time between both coasts and Oklahoma. They’ve recently helped finance movies, one of which was shot in Guthrie. Their connections in the movie world helped propel their wines to sufficient fame that they were poured at the ESPY Awards and an Oscar party.

Johndrow said one of the goals he and Maryann had when starting Johndrow Vineyards was to “demystify wine, to make it more approachable.”

www.golfoklahoma.org •••••• 19

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Hughett wins 14th OGA title

By Phillip Rogers OKLAHOMA CITY -- Mike Hughett collected his 14th Oklahoma Golf Association title with a 3 and 2 victory over Brent Taylor in the championship match of the Senior State Amateur Championship at Gaillardia Golf & Country Club.

It was Hughett’s first victory at the event after becoming eligible for the senior division two years ago.

“To win this event is very, very special to me,” said Hughett. “It is one of the OGA events that I’ve never won before.

I thought I had an excellent chance last year, but let it slip away in the semifinals.

Once you hit the senior division, your window of opportunity is very brief, and I’m happy I was able to pull this one out.”

Hughett never trailed in the championship match that featured very few halved holes as the duo combined to win 11 of the 16 holes contested.

The Owasso resident struck first with a win at the opening hole after his par attempt was conceded and Taylor couldn’t convert his par attempt from 15 feet to halve the hole. Hughett also picked up victories at the par-3 fourth hole with an 18-foot birdie putt and two-putted for birdie at the par-5 sixth after reaching the 531-yard hole in two.

“It certainly was not a pretty match,” said Hughett. “I believe we both started to feel the effects of the extreme heat for four straight days of golf. It certainly wasn’t as good as we had played earlier in the week, but we were able to settle down and make some birdies on the front side after our shaky start.”

Any ill effects from the front side were quickly erased as Hughett played the first five holes of the back nine at 1-under, which included the only back-nine birdie of the match with a 15-foot conversion at the par-4 12th hole.

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www.golfoklahoma.org •••••• 21

Iconic Oak Tree

Clubs have created unique legacy by john rohde Oak Tree’s three golf courses have been built and rebuilt, vamped and revamped, ranked and unranked, sold and re-sold. Its parent company even was “assassinated,” yet the elite golf community located in Edmond somehow has endured.

Landmark Land Company Inc. originally owned Oak Tree Golf Club, which was founded in 1974 by former local club pros Ernie Vossler and Joe Walser, along with three-time Ryder Cup member Johnny Pott.

The Oak Tree Country Club East Course opened in 1981 and the West Course in 1983. Renowned architect Pete Dye designed all three courses.

Landmark’s “Oak Tree” insignia quickly became one of golf’s most familiar logos.

At one point, more than 30 players on the PGA and LPGA tours represented Landmark properties, which had a golf and resort portfolio reportedly worth $2.4 billion.

In the early 1990s, however, the company crumbled when federal regulations no longer allowed Landmark’s federally insured savings and loan to finance its own ventures.

As a result, Landmark filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization in October 1991 and its properties were seized. For more than two years, the insolvent property was either government-owned or in receivership.

22 •••••• www.golfoklahoma.org

The 16th hole at Oak Tree National One federal judge later claimed the government had wrongfully “assassinated” Landmark Land Co., but Oak Tree never left golf’s stream of consciousness. Two years after filing bankruptcy, Oak Tree Golf Club still ranked No. 19 among Golfweek’s best modern courses in America.

Coinciding with Oak Tree’s arrival was Edmond’s astounding population spurt.

From 1970 to 1990, Edmond exploded from 16,633 residents to 52,315. The town’s population is now around 86,000. Family Circle Magazine named Edmond one of the nation’s 10 Best Towns for Families in 2010.

It’s impossible to quantify exactly what Oak Tree has meant to Edmond, or vice versa.

Longtime touring pro Gil Morgan, who has 32 tour victories and more than $25.1 million in official career earnings, owned the third house ever built at Oak Tree and arrived in the summer of 1979.

The nearest grocery store was approximately five miles away when the Morgan family moved in. “There wasn’t anything out there,” Morgan recalled. Heavy traffic has since become Edmond’s biggest headache.

Golf and Edmond have become synonymous. How significant has Oak Tree been to Edmond’s growth?

“Golly, I don’t know how significant it would be,” Morgan said. “Obviously, it’s a premier place to live, maybe not at the start, but as Edmond grew, I think (Oak Tree) has done a lot for the community overall in terms of increasing the notoriety of the city itself.”

Hugh Edgmon served as Oak Tree president from 1981-95 after 12 years at Oklahoma City Golf & Country Club. “There are a lot of things Edmond can be proud of, not just Oak Tree,” Edgmon said. “It wouldn’t be fair to just say it was Oak Tree.”

Edgmon viewed his club’s role in much broader terms.

“We always had a perception Oak Tree was an asset for all of Oklahoma, not just Edmond,” Edgmon said. “Golf is a pretty good industry in Oklahoma, period, unlike some states. It’s a special opportunity when you bring national attention to a place the size of Edmond and a metropolitan area like Oklahoma City. We wanted to be considered Golf Central. If somebody came to Oklahoma, we would hope that they would want to play Oak Tree. That was kind of how we went about it.”

Morgan said Walser and Vossler “did everything really, really well. They were instrumental in the golf industry nationwide, not just Oklahoma. Offering things like free

range balls and free carts, that was kind of a said. “There are so many golf courses in Eddrawing card for the club itself. If you have mond that do a great job of attracting people. a nice, gated community, people want to I certainly don’t think that Edmond would come live there, be part of it. I’m sure that be nothing without golf because there are brought a lot of people to Edmond.” many things the city offers, but golf certainEarlier this year, Oklahoma City Mayor ly adds to the quality of life in Edmond.”

Mick Cornett was chatting with a high-rankOak Tree Country Club fed off the sucing official from Boeing Co., which had just cess of Oak Tree Golf Club. The clubs are agreed to relocate from California to a new divided by Kelly Avenue. The Country Club facility in Oklahoma City that will house initially was referred to as the “family side” the B-1 bomber and the C-130 military car- while the Golf Club was called the “men’s go avionics modernization programs. side” because originally it was open to men Cornett introduced the visiting executive only, a policy which changed in the early to Edmond Mayor 1990s.

Patrice Douglas, Stan Ball arwho was standing rived as an assisnearby. The Boeing tant pro at Oak rep smiled, looked Tree Country at Cornett and said, Club for its open“We’re going to ing, then served work in your city, as head pro from but we’re living in 1985-95. “I’m not hers.” saying Edmond Douglas looked at wasn’t going to Cornett and asked, be a hot place to “Is that OK with live anyway, but you?” having 54 holes of A smiling Cornett Pete Dye golf will answered, “Whatchange a commuever works. We’re nity,” Ball said. happy to have them “When Oak Tree here.”

Country Club first Douglas said more opened its doors, than half of Edmond’s we were sold out. working population We had a waiting is employed outside list and I believe city limits. When the average age of she meets with other our membership Oak Tree founders Ernie Vossler, left, and Joe mayors throughout Walser.

Courtesy The Oklahoman was 32. It was inthe country, it is rare credible.” someone does not mention Oak Tree.

Commercial developers Jeff Bolding and “It’s very clear they know about our city Tom Blanton are managing partners in a loand they know some of the amenities we cal investment group that owns Oak Tree offer,” Douglas said. “Golf is something that Country Club and the residential property draws people in. They know we have famous surrounding the Oak Tree National course. courses designed by Pete Dye. Edmond is Oak Tree currently has 650 home sites on known for its golf courses, its green space.” both sides of Kelly Avenue and another 200 Ed Evans, majority owner of Oak Tree acres inside still to develop. “Most people think Golf LLC, purchased Oak Tree Golf Club Oak Tree is full, but there’s probably another in 2008, gave it a $6-million facelift and 250-300 lots to develop,” Bolding said. “We’ve changed the name to Oak Tree National. got a lot of dirt left inside the gates.”

Evans also is a member at Isleworth in Bolding admitted sales slowed during the Orlando, Fla., where numerous PGA touring recent economic downswing, “but we’ve pros call home. “There are several elite golf got some traction going again in the last 6communities out there,” Evans said, “but 8 months. It all goes back to when we purwhen you look at this place and what the chased this five years ago. We all knew this course has to offer, I think we’re absolutely wasn’t going to be a sprint. It was going to in the Top 10.” be a marathon. The previous owners (SignaWhen Evans arrived in Oklahoma City in ture Properties International) had not done 1996, he soon moved to Oak Tree. “I was everything in the best interest of Oak Tree, attracted to the area because of the golf and I’ll put it that way.” what my lifestyle was going to be,” Evans The Oak Tree investment group has spent

NOTEWORTHY EVENTS OAK TREE NATIONAL 1968

Local pros Joe Walser and Ernie Vossler, frustrated at not being able to lure an annual PGA Tour event in Oklahoma City, begin looking for land and funds to build an elite private course worthy of consideration.

1974

Construction of Oak Tree Golf Club begins.

1976

Oak Tree Golf Club opens at a total cost of roughly $3 million.

1977

Golf Digest names Oak Tree GC one of “America’s 100 Greatest Courses,” becoming the youngest course to receive the honor.

1978

Club hosts Round of Champions. National play day with Hubert Green, Lanny Wadkins, Chako Higuchi and Hollis Stacy.

1979

Club hosts Round of Champions. National play day with Andy North, John Mahaffey, Hollis Stacy and Nancy Lopez.

1980

Club hosts PGA Cup Matches between United States and Great Britain-Ireland. U.S. wins 15-6.

1984

U.S. Amateur is is won by Oklahoma State junior-tobe and future Oak Tree resident Scott Verplank.

1988

70th PGA Championship is held and draws a record-setting crowd of 140,000 for the week, including 35,365 for the final round. Jeff Sluman wins with 12-under-par 272.

1989

PGA of America grants Oak Tree GC the 1994 PGA Championship. The six-year turnaround is the quickest in PGA Championship history at the time.

1991

Landmark Land Company, Inc., which owns the club, files Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Citing ownership and financial uncertainty, the club is released from its commitment to host the 1994 PGA and seven weeks later that year’s Championship is granted to Southern Hills in Tulsa.

www.golfoklahoma.org •••••• 23

24 •••••• www.golfoklahoma.org

three courses designed by Dye, a fitness center, swimming pool, tennis courts, et al.

“I’m prejudiced, obviously, but there’s not another residential country club development like Oak Tree in the entire South, I don’t think,” Bolding said. “This is just an unbelievable place. You’d be nuts to try a build a place like this today, quite honestly.”

Oak Tree Golf Club gained immediate national significance because Walser and Vossler specifically instructed Dye to design the toughest course in America, which he did with a course rating of 76.9. The club added name recognition by serving as the home course for touring pros Morgan, Doug Tewell, Mark Hayes, Bob Tway, Willie Wood, Scott Verplank, David and Danny Edwards and a handful of others.

Designer Pete Dye and Joe Walser discuss The club’s first big splash was hosting the Oak Tree layout in 1976. the 1984 U.S. Amateur, which was won by

Courtesy The Oklahoman Verplank, a junior-to-be at Oklahoma State. more than $4 million so far on the property, Oak Tree burst onto the pro scene when it which has included replacing the greens and staged the 1988 PGA Championship, which bunkers and installing a new irrigation sys- brought sellout crowds and nearly 80 hours tem on the East and West courses. The East of national television exposure. “I think that Course is completed and the front 9 of the event raised our image and our profile,” West Course recently re-opened, with work Douglas said. on the back 9 to follow.

The second professional major came with Bolding marvels at the refurbished facilities the 2006 Senior PGA Championship, which available at Oak Tree with two clubhouses, set attendance records for the event. “There

1992

Resolution Trust Corp. takes control of the club. One federal judge later claimed the government agency wrongfully “assassinated” Landmark Land Co.

1994

Members Don Mathis, Walter Duncan, Ran Ricks and Art Swanson purchase club from RTC for $3.5 million.

1995

Sectional qualifying for U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship is first female competition held at a club initially opened to men only.

2000

PGA Club Pro Championship is staged, but putting surfaces are in poor condition. Mathis approaches PGA of America about hosting a future major tournament and is told the greens must be replaced.

2002-2003

All the greens are replaced, 12 new tee boxes are added and other renovations made.

2006

67th Senior PGA Championship is held.

2008

Ed Evans, majority owner of Oak Tree Golf LLC, purchases Oak Tree GC. Terms are not disclosed.

2009

Course re-opens after $6 million facelift and is renamed Oak Tree National.

oak tree It’s your lifestyle.

2012

109th Trans-Mississippi Championship to be held July 9-12.

2014

35th U.S. Senior Open to be held July 10-13. a community centered around you.

For more than 30 years, Oak Tree has enjoyed its well-earned reputation as the best golf and country club in the state of Oklahoma. If you’re looking for championship golf, you’ll find it in our rolling hills and shimmering lakes, where our two country club courses wind gently through the Oklahoma landscape, offering a challenge around every bend.

At Oak Tree Country Club, we’ve thought of everything. Lavish amenities, cutting-edge fitness, gourmet dining, on-site childcare, and two of the state’s top golf courses, all inside a secure, gated community. Luxury living doesn’t get better than this. Start living the Oak Tree lifestyle today.

700 west country club drive, p.o. box 1189, edmond, oklahoma 73025 www.oaktreecc.net | 405.340.1010

OAK TREE CC (EAST COURSE) 1986-present Oklahoma Open held annually.

1989

NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championships won by Oklahoma.

1991

AJGA Rolex Tournament of Champions won by Chris Edgmon, son of Oak Tree GC president Hugh Edgmon.

1992

Southern Amateur.

1999

Women’s Trans-National. www.golfoklahoma.org •••••• 25

The seventh hole at Oak Tree National. were people here from everywhere,” Douglas said. “The citizens were so proud to have it. People were motivated for it. We had more positive comments about the people living in Edmond. We were able to be ambassadors, and never leave our city limits.”

In 2014, Oak Tree National will host the U.S. Senior Open. Evans said his club is eying the U.S. Open in 2020-21, though a decision to submit an official bid is a few years

The tournament instead was staged at Southern Hills in Tulsa.

Had the bankruptcy not transpired, people associated with Oak Tree at the time believed the club’s working relationship with the PGA of America would have become so strong that Oak Tree GC someday would have hosted a Ryder Cup. Though Oak Tree Golf Club was one of America’s most exclusive golf courses from its inception, what initially lured people was the club’s overwhelming hospitality to members and their guests.

“We did that genuinely,” said Edgmon, who specifically credits Vossler and Walser. “That came naturally to people like Joe and Ernie.

We were taught and trained by the best.”

The 82-year-old Vossler remains a longtime resident of La Quinta, Calif., and is batPhoto by Mike Klemme tling physical health problems. Walser, 76, is away with the 2014 U.S. Senior Open essen- in assisted living in Dallas. tially serving as a trial run. Hosting another “Generosity comes back 10-fold in our inU.S. Amateur is another possibility. dustry, and that’s kind of what we were all Evans said the exposure gained from host- about,” Edgmon said. “It was fun for us. I’ll ing a national golf tournament resonates. tell you this, if we had to do it all over again, “Absolutely, I think that’s been proven time we would. That was a good time in our life.” and time again,” Evans said.

Landmark’s bankruptcy prevented Oak John Rohde is a sportswriter with The OklaTree GC from hosting the 1994 PGA Cham- homan in Oklahoma City and can be found at pionship it previously had been awarded. www.newsok.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 26 •••••• www.golfoklahoma.org

www.golfoklahoma.org •••••• 27

The Bermuda takeover

Superintendents endorse conversion by ken macleod One of the new Champion Bermuda greens at Sequoyah State Park Golf Course at Western Hills Resort.

Some folks call in advance for a tour.

Some just sneak out with cameras, click a few pictures and get back in their cars.

Either way, the interest from decision makers in the golf profession in the new Champion Bermuda ultradwarf greens at Page Belcher and other courses throughout Oklahoma was peaking in July as the relentless succession of 100-plus degree days stressed both the bent grass and maintenance crews throughout the state.

To a man, course operators and superintendents who have made the switch are saying they would never go back. What began as a trickle in 2008 with Firelake Golf Course in Shawnee joining Idabel Country Club followed by Sequoyah State Park Golf Course at Western Hills became a stream a year ago with Page Belcher, Chickasaw Pointe, WinStar Golf Course and Silverado, plus the back nine greens at Lake Murray State Park.

The question now is, will that stream soon turn into a flood?

Coffee Creek in Edmond closed July 18 28 •••••• www.golfoklahoma.org

to convert its greens to Champion Bermuda and will reopen in September. At Page Belcher, the remaining 18 holes at Stone Creek will be converted next April. Firelake superintendent Steve Mongomery said he’s talked to superintendents at as many as six other courses contemplating the switch.

How far the trend will go is anyone’s guess, but to say that 50 percent or more of the public course greens in Oklahoma will be Bermuda in the next 10 years would have sounded absurd two years ago. Now that may be a low estimate.

Tom Wolff, who runs the Tulsa city courses Page Belcher and Mohawk Park for Billy Casper Golf, is experiencing the night and day seasonal differences between Bermuda and bent grass greens on his own facility, as the 18-hole Stone Creek course is bent and Olde Page converted to Bermuda in the fall of 2010.

Coming out of the winter, the Stone Creek greens were in great condition considering how badly they had been mauled

by the high heat and humidity that affected bent greens throughout the transition zone in 2010. The Bermuda greens on Olde Page, in their first year, were slow to emerge from dormancy, delayed by record cold nights in May. At Mohawk Park, there were problems on the Woodbine Course that caused some areas to be resprigged.

As the heat took hold in early June, however, the promise of the Bermuda began to show. The plant began to thrive and tighten, the greens firmed up and smoothed out, ball marks became a thing of the past. In the middle of a blistering July it is nothing to have green speeds in excess of 10-11 on the Stimpmeter.

Superintendents at the Bermuda courses say the tradeoff between the more rigorous overseeding and verticutting required by the Bermuda versus the savings in manpower for not having to syringe the greens all day and not having to put down fungicides is not even close.

“I used to run 12 guys in the summer and

now I’m down to five, including two 70year-olds and a weed eater,” Montgomery said.. “I easily save $100,000 a year on manpower and fungicides. And my guys get to go home about 2 p.m. in this heat instead of staying around syringing greens until 8 p.m.”

If maintained with a proper program of verticutting to reduce thatch and top dressing, the ultradwarf Bermudas do not suffer from the grain problem that made Bermuda greens unpopular putting surfaces for decades and was the major reason so many courses in Oklahoma preferred bent grass, choosing to fight the heat of July and August in the hopes of having superior putting surfaces the other 10 months of the year.

The choice now is complicated in that the Bermuda is superior in July and August and probably equal throughout the fall until it goes dormant after significant frost. The X-factor is that, as long as courses properly cover their greens when temperatures plummet in winter, there is probably less chance of having to face a massive green renovation due to cold with Bermuda than there is due to heat with bent, as so many courses in Oklahoma were reminded as recently as last summer.

Fortunately for most of the state, despite

the sizzling temperatures, humidity this summer has been fairly low and the lack of rainfall means superintendents have been able to control the amount of moisture reaching greens, a situation far different from the summer of 2010 when greens were boiling after the frequent July showers. With any kind of luck, most bent grass greens will survive the record heat of 2011, but at what cost?

“We haven’t put one ounce of fungicides down this year and that has saved us at least $40,000,” said Ryan Chapman, director of golf at Chickasaw Pointe. “We don’t have to use walk mowers any more and we’re not hand watering. And the greens are phenomenal. They are firm and fast and you have to hit a good crisp shot in order to hold them.

In the morning you make a small ball mark but there’s never a splatter. It’s just been wonderful.”

Silverado near Durant went without the recommended covers and as a result had some areas that were slow to respond in the spring, but has since recovered and officials are extremely pleased with the condition of its greens.

WinStar Golf Course used MiniVerde on all 27 holes and it too had some areas of concern coming out of winter.

“We got off to a slow start this spring, but

since it got hot they really took off,” said Mike Hammond, director of golf. “It’s been 100 to 105 for more than a month and we have them rolling at 10.5 daily and can get them up to 12 or 13 easily for an event.

“From what I’ve seen thus far, the ball marks are negligible and you can get them much firmer than bent grass. If well maintained, it’s going to roll just like a bent-grass green. If you don’t verticut and top dress, it will get grainy.”

Andy McCormick, whose Millenium Golf Group owns the public course Coffee Creek and the private course River Oaks, both in Edmond, researched the issue thoroughly after Coffee Creek’s greens experienced frequent stress over the years. He began the switch in July and the new greens are expected to open in September.

“We’ve struggled every year for 10 years with our bent grass,” McCormick said.

“The main thing for me was getting an understanding of what it would be like in the winter. Once I was comfortable with that, it was an easy decision. From a financial and playability standpoint, this adds up to the best choice for us to get our golf course back on track.”

See BERMUDA, page 58

www.golfoklahoma.org •••••• 29

STATE SPOTLIGHT

No gamble here

Cherokee Hills a safe bet for great golf by ken macleod Cherokee Hills Golf Club ranks No. 36 in the latest Golfweek rankings of casino courses. Yet it draws the vast majority of its play from Tulsa and the surrounding communities.

That will change somewhat with the addition of the 100-room, 10-story tower that is the latest addition to the massive Hard Rock Casino in Catoosa.

The new project is expected to be complete and open in the summer of 2012, adding yet another dimension to the good times available at one of the largest entertainment meccas in the southwest. The Hard Rock added The Joint a year ago, a 45,000 square-foot, 2,700-seat amphitheater that is the home of sold-out shows for popular groups, including a recent performance by Peter Frampton and upcoming shows by Styx, Judas Priest, Incubus and Roger Daltrey.

Jeff Jarrett, director of golf at Cherokee Hills, appreciates any play that spills over from

the casino, but is equally appreciative that the course draws such strong play from its regulars and is also the home for frequent big amateur and competitive events.

The course features some holes from its original 1924 design by Perry Maxwell plus an extensive renovation in 2004 by Tripp Davis. It’s undulating greens can make it a demanding track for any golfer, as the collegians in the Sooner Athletic Conference learned at their championships this spring and the top high school players found out at the All-State Games in late July.

“We’ve stayed busy despite the heat,” Jarrett said. “It’s the normal deal when it’s 105 out, we have tee times until 11 a.m. and then they show back up about 5:30 p.m.

Cherokee Hills fleshed out its instruction staff this summer with the addition of former Oklahoma State golfer Brian Montgomery, a former Big Eight champion.

“Brian’s one of the most respected and one of the

The eighth hole at Cherokee Hills Golf Course in Catoosa, above the 12th hole.

30 •••••• www.golfoklahoma.org

nicest guys in the profession,” Jarrett said.

“Having him here has really helped. He’s taken over our junior program for the Cherokees and he’s still seeing a lot of the public players that went to him at LaFortune Park, where he worked for 13 years.”

Cherokee Hills, ranked as the fourth best public course in the state by Golfweek, has been offering a variety of membership specials, including annual memberships starting at $150 per month and card holder rates starting offering a round, range and cart for $40. For more information, call the pro shop at 918-384-7600.

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32 •••••• www.golfoklahoma.org

H

ere’s a trick question. of golf.

Who was the only “What Mr. Jones primarily did Oklahoman to design was try to make the holes fit in with a course on the Robert what Maxwell had done,” Fraser.

Trent Jones Golf Trail?

“Mr. Jones was a big admirer of Perry Wrong, RTJ did not design every Maxwell and his work. Some of the course on the popular trail. The hisstuff the other architects had added toric Lakewood Golf Club, with the just really didn’t fit at all.” original 18 holes designed by none Lakewood Golf Club is next to the other than Perry Maxwell of Ardhistoric Grand Hotel, an amazing more, were adopted by the Trail in Marriott Resort facility that opened 2005. in 1847 and served as a hospital durSo for all our readers who love ing the Civil War. A hole in the wall Southern Hills, Dornick Hills, Hillof The Grant was courtesy of a cancrest, Oakwood, Muskogee CC nonball from a battleship commandand the rest of the Maxwell gems ed by U.S. Navy Admiral David Farin Oklahoma, now you can get play ragut (of “Damn the torpedoes, full some Maxwell holes on on a trespeed ahead!” fame) during the Battle mendous golf vacation as well. of Mobile Bay, a key Union victory Lakewood is in Point Clear just that helped bring the war to a close. outside Mobile on the bay and not More than 300 Confederate soldiers far at all from the white sand beachdied in the hospital at The Grand and es of Gulf Shores. The course has 36 Perry Maxwell designed 18 of the 36 holes at The Lakes most are now buried in a cemetery adholes, including nine holes added by in Point Clear. jacent to the hotel. Every day at 4 p.m., Bobby Lee in 1965 and the final nine a military processional starts in the

by Ron Garl in 1982. well’s holes. lobby and proceeds to the waterfront where a The Maxwell nines are now split between Jones had his influence as well. He was cannon is fired in honor of all those who have the two courses. The back nine of the Dog- hired to renovate Dogweeod in 2002 and or are serving in the military. wood Course is all Maxwell while holes 1-5 Azalea in 2005. His lead builder, Niall Fraser, If you’re a history buff, Fort Morgan, and 15-18 on the Azalea Course are Max- stayed on at the facility and is now director which provided stiff resistance to Farragut,

UNI_RP_L185_GolfOklahoma.indd 1

7/26/11 4:20 PM www.golfoklahoma.org •••••• 33

also makes for an interesting visit. The beach houses nearby are just one of many outstanding lodging options for your Gulf Shores trip, as are the condos in Gulf Shores itself. We stayed recently at Turquoise Place and it was beyond compare.

Kiva Dunes is the best known and highest rated course in the area but certainly not the only treat. The Peninsula Golf & Racquet Club is probably every bit its equal, particularly now that it has gone to ultradwarf Bermuda greens that were running at least at 12 on the Stimpmeter.

Two certainties about golf trips are you will eat too much good food and regret every hole you don’t play and this trip was no exception. Alas, of the 27 holes at Peninsula that wind through the Bon Secour Wildlife Preserve, we only played nine on this trip, as we had a date a few miles away at Rock Creek that afternoon. Both courses were designed by Earl Stone, a local architect who did beautiful work throughout the region.

His courses are challenging without being punishing and he is equally at home winding through the wetlands or in a more traditional parkland setting such as Rock Creek or Timber Creek.

For those who haven’t been lately, Gulf Shores has added another course to its stable.

34 •••••• www.golfoklahoma.org

The Gulf Shores Golf Club (formerly Golf Club of the Wharf) is a great course on which to begin your trip and work the kinks out, very pleasant, and scenic, in excellent condition and mildly challenging. It was completely renovated in 2005 by Jay Morrish and son Carter, who have both worked in Oklahoma.

The elder Morrish renovated Tulsa Country Club in 1984 while son Carter did the same for Meadowbrook Country Club.

The best thing about southern Alabama is it is where the RTJ Trail meets the ocean (okay, the Gulf) so you have not only Lakewood but Magnolia Trail, a 36-hole RTJ facility where you can work on your aerial game.

Treat yourself to an overnight stay at The Battle House in Mobile and dine at the original Wintzell’s Oyster House. You won’t soon forget either.

There are virtually no traces of the oil spill left in Gulf Shores and the beaches were full this summer. On a recent day when the termperatures topped 111 in Oklahoma, Fraser noted that it was 93 with a sea breeze at Lakewood. The prime time for golf, however, is September through late November, while the Bermuda is still green, the temperatures are pleasant and you can still take a refreshing plunge in the Gulf or your pool.

Planning a trip?

Golf Courses Gulf Shores Golf Association www.golf.gulfshores.com 1-(888) 815-1902

Robert Trent Jones Trail www.rtjgolf.com 1.800.949.4444

Alabama Tourism Department www.Alabama.travel 1-800-ALABAMA

Choice Dining Experiences Southbeach at The Beach Club Gulf Shores, AL thebeachclub.spectrumresorts.com

Live Bait at The Wharf Orange Beach, AL www.livebaitrestaurant.com

Lulu’s at Homeport Marina Gulf Shores, AL www.lulusathomeport.com

Wintzell’s Oyster House Downtown Mobile, AL www.wintzellsoysterhouse.com

Deep Sea Fishing www.orangebeachfishing.com

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DESTINATIONS

Border haven

Great golf awaits at Lake Texoma by art stricklin Above, Chickasaw Pointe at Kingston, Okla., is one of the prime drawing cards for the Lake Texoma recreation area.

The Lake Texoma recreation area has always been a haven for both Oklahomans and Texans, a place one can fill a line with striped bass in the morning and play a beautiful golf course in the afternoon.

Golf in the area has taken a huge leap forward of late. Chickasaw Pointe at Kingston has all new greens, WinStar Golf Course opened nine new holes and has 27 new greens and the Jack Nicklaus-designed Rock Creek Resort on the Texas side now has all 18 holes open and is looking for members.

The massive Pointe Vista project of which Chickasaw Pointe is a centerpiece continues to grind through channels, mainly waiting for Corps of Engineers studies to be completed. Meanwhile Chickasaw Pointe and the attendant marina are as busy as ever.

Ryan Chapman, who now overseas both the golf course and marina for Pointe Vista Development, could not be more pleased with his course’s conversion to Champion ultradwarf Bermuda greens “We’re really pleased with the golf course and know it was a great decision to install the greens last fall,” Chapman said. “The feedback has been great from the golfers and we’ve seen a lot of play here.”

The time saved by not hand watering bent grass greens has been well used, Chap-

man said.

“We’re doing a lot of little things, attention to detail things, that in the past we might have had to neglect. We’re trying to make everything as perfect as we can.”

The par-72 Randy Heckenkemper design was originally opened in October of 1999 and quickly rose up the rankings list to as high as No. 2 behind Karsten Creek among Oklahoma public courses. Chickasaw Pointe is ranked #16 in the 50 best golf courses in America for under $50 green fee.

“Lake Texoma is just a great destination and people just want to come here and play golf,” said Chapman. “We’re seeing a lot more people coming our way.”

The new Rock Creek course now has a full 18-hole championship layout, making it one of the few private 18-hole facilities in the lake area.

The combination of lake views, plenty of post-round entertainment, good weather, lodging options and ease of access is what brought North Texas hospitality giant Double Diamond to Rock Creek, located just north of Whitesboro, less than 10 miles south of the Oklahoma border, and only two hours from Oklahoma City.

The only Nicklaus-designed course in the area, the first nine holes were opened in early

fall of 2009 and feature heavily wooded terrain and tight fairways with plenty of water, including the namesake Rock Creek coming into play on holes 10, 15 and 17.

The new front nine opened in April and is much more wide open with room for errant drivers to stray. It features lots of elevation changes and beautiful skyline views of the North Texas treetops with the lake in the distance.

Key Nicklaus design associate Chet Williams, who also did much of the work on

Where to play Chickasaw Pointe www.pointe-vista.com Phone: (580) 564-2581

Rock Creek Golf www.rockcreekontexoma.com 888) 554-9130

WinStar Golf Course www.winstargolfcourse.com Phone: 580-276-1240

Tanglewood Resort www.tanglewoodresort.com 1.800.833.6569

www.golfoklahoma.org •••••• 37

the highly acclaimed Whispering of room to grow on the thousandPines course outside of Houston, plus acre property. crafted both nines at Rock Creek.

Mike Fish has been the head “It’s certainly different for golfpro at Tanglewood on Texoma in ers between the front and the back Pottsboro, Texas, since 1994 and nine, but a difference they will seen plenty of positive changes at enjoy,” said Heath Allsup, Rock the original resort on the lake. It Creek’s head golf professional. opened its par 72 18-hole course “Chet spent a lot of time here getnearly 40 years ago, designed by arting everything right and the result chitect Ralph Plummer and Arnold was really spectacular.”

Palmer, in 1973.

At par 72, Rock Creek plays 7,056 “We are starting to see an inyards from the back tees down to crease in golfers, certainly from the 4,798 from the forward markers.

2008-2009 levels,” Fish said. “We The firm fairways, deep bunkers, have about 1/2 play from members water and ever present trees, not to and 1/2 from resort guests, so it’s a mention the bentgrass greens, raise nice mixture.”

The new Rock Creek Golf Club, a Jack Nicklaus design. the challenge level for anyone.

Tanglewood was one of the first Allsup said it’s still too early to of Rock Creek but only a few live on site golf courses anywhere to use the tell which side will be tougher and more although the infrastructure is in place for Diamond Zoysia grasses when it reopened enjoyable, but both have their advantages. thriving neighborhoods. in 2007 with its new greens and renovated Contrast the beauty of the par-4 eighth hole, “We feel like we’re in a real good spot bunkers and fairways. which drops dramatically from tee to green here, two hours from Oklahoma City, just Aside from the golf and the eight-story against the tight finishing challenge of the over an hour from Dallas, close to Arkan- lakeside tower, which was part of the origipar 3 16th over water, the par-4 17th, with sas and near the lake,” Allsup said. “We are nal opening, there is a lot of activity which more water, and the long par-5 18th hole. drawing from a large area.” continues to draw families and guests to A prerequisite to membership at Rock A new clubhouse, which includes a large Tanglewood.

Creek is the purchase of a lot, beginning grill and bar is now open along with a huge A new 120-room hotel was built in 2001 at $18,000. Preview rounds are now being driving range. Future plans include a lodging with half the rooms overlooking the lake. offered. There are already 400 members tower and a full marina and there is plenty There is also a full-service spa, a large resort

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pool, tennis, horseback riding and famous striper bass and other types of fishing on Lake Texoma.

“We are almost totally sold out every weekend from before Memorial Day to the third weekend in September,” said Tanglewood Director of Sales and Marketing Marsha Coleman. “We are seeing more people spending more time here because of the variety of things we have to do.”

WinStar Golf and Casino, in tiny Thackerville, next to the Texas border, opened its first 18-holes in 2006 and has continued to grow. The Golf Academy led by LPGA Hall of Famer Sandra Haynie opened in March with full teaching and practice facilities.

The new nine holes, designed by architect and pro golf star D.A. Weibring and partner Steve Wolfard, who also designed the original 18, opened on Memorial Day weekend.

The new nine and the orginal 18 have MiniVerde Bermuda on the greens which has worked out well in the summer heat.

“We’ve had rave reviews on the new nine-hole course,” said general manager Mike Hammond. “Our business continues to grow, we have been up 10 to 15 percent a year. Part of that is having the third largest casino in the world here and golf growth everywhere.”

Zoysia greens a hit

POTTSBORO, Texas – Most golfers have plenty of experience putting on bent grass or Bermuda. Zoysia makes a nice fairway surface, but has always been regarded as too slow growing and maybe even too sticky to make a great surface for greens.

Not so, as golfers who have played Tanglewood Resort on Lake Texoma in the past four years can attest.

When longtime head pro Mike Fish was looking for a surface that could stand up to the hear and humidity of north Texas, he consulted with noted turf expert Dr. Milton Engleke of Texas A&M University, who persuaded him to try a strain of Zoysia he had been working on for greens called Diamond Zoysia.

The Diamond Zoysia is noted for its fine texture, shade tolerance and rapid regrowth and recovery from damage compared to other Zoysia varieties.

Not only did the installation take just over a month, but combined with some bunker renovations, came to a total cost of $300,000.

“It’s been four years since we’ve done

it and it just gets better every day,” Fish said. “It holds shots well plus runs true and fast. It’s one of the best business decisions we’ve made in the last 10 years. The players always know what to expect when they get here, because the greens will always be good in the summer heat.”

Like many courses in Texas, Tanglewood had struggled to maintain bent grass greens in the summer season. Zoysia, like Bermuda, thrives in the heat if it is watered and cared for properly.

Tanglewood became the first golf course in Texas and one of only a dozen nationally to use the grass on its greens “We’ve been able to save money with less water on the greens, less worry about the weather and more enjoyment from the players. It’s been a huge win for everybody,” Fish said.

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DESTINATIONS

Oklahoman Tripp Davis along with Justin Leonard designed the Old American course on Lake Lewisville in The Colony.

Lone Star standouts

Originals to replicas, North Texas has it by steve habel There are some residents of the Lone Star State that will tell those that query that North Texas – a region generally considered to include the land south of the Red River, east of Abilene and north of Waco – as just a southern extension of Oklahoma.

As the home of “New Texas,” the area is much more than that, of course. The Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex is actually Texas’s largest metropolitan area and is noteworthy for being one of the country’s best places for golf, ranking behind only Orlando and Phoenix-Scottsdale in the number of off-season homes for PGA Tour players. One trip in and out of the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and you’ll understand how easy it is to get to the Metroplex from just about anywhere at any time.

Most of the Tour players practice and play at fancy private clubs, but there are plenty 40 •••••• www.golfoklahoma.org

of great resorts and daily fee golf courses to satisfy every level of golfer. The hundreds of golf courses in the Metroplex area range from ultra-exclusive to downright economical and are spread across the region’s varied terrain.

Here golfers will find impeccably conditioned resort courses fashioned by the game’s greatest designers, daily-fee tracks that pay homage to some of the world’s great holes and dozens of municipal facilities that rank among the best of their kind anywhere.

Area resorts run the gamut Set in the northern suburbs of the Metroplex in Frisco, the Westin Stonebriar Resort is one the region’s top spots for golf and relaxation and a favorite place for even the pros to get away when they are in town.

The resort’s centerpiece is a thrilling Tom

Fazio-designed course.

The Westin Stonebriar Resort’s course was the first track routed by Fazio in North Texas and includes 115 acres of intermediate rough and native grasses and a variety of water hazards including a five-acre lake.

During construction, more than 600,000-cubic yards of dirt were moved to transform the mostly flat parcel of property and more than 2,500 trees (including 1,500 pines) were brought in to line and separate the fairways and to provide aesthetics. The result is an extremely manicured layout set in a lush golf environment.

Fazio improved on the aspects Mother Nature provided, with the product a core golf experience that is devoid of the usual distractions. Instead, golfers will find dramatic landforms among mounding that creates isolation, subtly contoured greens, na-

tive grass border areas and masterful but fair bunkering in a landscaped environment that looks long-finished and evolved.

The Westin Stonebriar Resort is 30 minutes from downtown Dallas and was designed as a business and resort getaway. It has a 24,000-square foot conference center with high-tech audio-visual capabilities.

The Fazio course is a welcome amenity for the business meeting or for travel golfers.

Only hotel guests and members of the adjacent Stonebriar Country Club are able to play the track, and minimal play on a course often means there is less slow play and the course stays in better condition.

There is nothing subtle about the golf experience you encounter at the Four Seasons’ Resort and Club Dallas at Las Colinas, but that’s a good thing.

Here you get two great golf courses, the brutish TPC Four Seasons Las Colinas and the underrated Cottonwood Valley, which will call on all your wiles to negotiate its twists, turns and undulations. Two completely different golf experiences, but both are highly challenging and satisfying.

The courses are part of the comprehensive, award-winning golf resort at the Four Seasons Resort and Club Dallas, the largest Four Seasons in the world. The resort also offers a driving range, sand bunker practice area and putting and chipping greens, and professional private instruction is available with certified PGA golf instructors.

And, because the resort bears the name Four Seasons, the attention to detail throughout the facility is second to none. Where the golf course at TPC Four Seasons Las Colinas is about as in your face as it gets, the accommodations and service is understated and purely professional, with no detail too small and your every need anticipated.

Head west for about an hour and a half and drive through Fort Worth, Weatherford and Mineral Wells on the way to The Cliffs Resort, set on the high ground above massive Possum Kingdom Lake. Owned and operated by Double Diamond Resorts, the course at the Cliffs has been rated as one of the toughest in Texas and is one of North Texas’s most beautiful.

The resort’s par-71 track is a direct reflection of its designers – former PGA Tour pro Bruce Devlin and renowned architect Robert von Hagge – who sculpted its routing into the flow of the unique West Texas terrain.

Players need to control their shots as they will encounter strategically placed bunkers, natural landscape hazards, contoured fairways set between rock outcroppings, a handful of forced carries over ravines and valleys, several blind shots and plenty of

The Tom Fazio-designed course at Westin Stonebriar. elevation changes. The meat of the course’s The Cliffs Resort has something for evchallenge is its tough approaches to well- eryone, including deluxe accommodations, protected and smaller-than-average putting both upscale and casual dining, a spa and surfaces. fitness center, a private marina, a conference

www.golfoklahoma.org •••••• 41

center, swimming pools and tennis courts as well as real estate opportunities.

Replica and homage courses find footing in D/FW The region sports three courses – Tour 18, The Tribute GC and Old American GC – that are made up of either direct replicas of holes from famous golf courses (the case with Tour 18 and The Tribute) or holes patterned after such (Old American).

Tour 18 Dallas is actually located in Flour Mound, about 35 miles north and west of Big D. Here you will find spot-on replicas of Augusta National GC’s “Amen Corner,” which are the finishing holes at Tour 18, as well as reproductions of Harbour Town’s No. 18 and the famed island hole par-3 at Sawgrass.

Along the way players will face, among others, Oakmont’s No. 3 with its notorious church-pew bunkers, Doral’s Blue Monster, Southern Hills’ picturesque and dangerous 12th and Pine Valley’s daunting 17th.

If you have longed to play golf in Scotland or on one of America’s landmark golf holes or even to tee it up on some of the exclusive private courses in the northeast, you can do all that and more and never drive more than an hour from downtown Dallas.

The Tribute, located in The Colony, about 23 miles from D/FW Airport, is a true links course, patterned after the legendary courses of Scotland and the British Open. Designed by golf architect Tripp Davis, The Tribute features the finest elements of traditional Scottish golf, including wide-swept dunes, sea-washed grasses and challenging water hazards.

The first and 18th holes, like on the Old Course in St. Andrews, share the same fairway and the fifth is modeled after the famous Postage Stamp hole of Turnberry, one of the shortest holes in major championship history. At The Tribute, players will find holes from Prestwick, Muirfield, Western Gailes and Royal Dornoch to name a few. And no Scotland tribute course would be complete without the Road Hole of St. Andrews and the Valley of Sin found on the Old Course’s (and The Tribute’s) finishing hole.

A real treat at The Tribute is a night’s stay in one of the eight guest suites above the clubhouse, overlooking the course and Lake Lewisville. Each features old world furnishings, but also offer mini-fridges and high-def satellite TV for the best of both worlds.

Also in The Colony and run by the same folks that handle The Tribute is the Old American Golf Club. Old American GC pays homage to early American architects, many of who made their way to the United States from Great Britain around the turn of 42 •••••• www.golfoklahoma.org

the 20th century. The holes reflect the design styles of architects such as Donald Ross and A.W. Tillinghast.

Designed by Davis and PGA Tour professional Justin Leonard, the course’s natural contours, hazard styles, native grasses and green shapes conjure images of such storied masterpieces as Shinnecock Hills, National Golf Links, Prairie Dunes and Crystal Downs.

“The Old American Golf Club focuses on emulating design techniques from the great American courses that were designed with strategic interest as the foundation,” Davis said. “Stylistically, we took cues from how these early American designs created strategic interest via features.”

Daily-fee golf the Cowboy way, a remote gem and municipals above the norm North of the D/FW Airport in Grapevine is Cowboys Golf Club, opened in 2001 as the world’s first NFL-themed golf course.

Arlington-based golf course architect Jeffrey D. Brauer and his team worked with the City of Grapevine and the Army Corps of Engineers to preserve the natural environment of the 159-acre site, which is surrounded by forests of trees, not residential development.

Players will be amazed by the dramatic elevation changes and magnificent views which are truly unique to the North Texas area. The 18-hole championship course features five sets of tees, and every hole offers variety and contrast making the experience more enjoyable for all levels of players. An oasis of trees, waterways and natural habitats leaves the golfer with a thousand impressions and provides a true resort experience.

Cowboys Golf Club offers some great golf packages, including a basic inclusive in which the player gets 18 holes of golf, cart fee, GPS and range balls and complimentary non-alcoholic beverages and food service throughout the day in the clubhouse and on the golf course for one price.

If you are north of the city and want a real challenge, head to Gunter and play the 7,600-yard-plus Bridges Golf Club. The course is Brauer’s latest creation – designed in conjunction with PGA professional Fred Couples – and meanders up and down rolling, wind-swept hills, with a links feel from its old-school square tees to its large, undulating greens.

The area is chockfull of great municipal courses, including Tierra Verde Golf Club in Arlington, Tangle Ridge Golf Club in Grand Prairie, Indian Creek Golf Course in Carrolton and Grapevine Municipal in Grapevine, right next to the Cowboys GC.

Getting to North Texas Dallas is the number one destination in Texas for visitors and is about 250 miles from the Gulf of Mexico to the south. It’s also unique in that it’s only four hours by air away from large metropolitan areas in Canada and Mexico as well as most U.S. cities.

If you’re driving to the Metroplex area, you have several options. If you are coming from the North, you can take I-35, which runs through Oklahoma City, until it splits into I-35W and I-35E. East will take you into Dallas and west goes through Fort Worth.

The two routes join again and continue running south to Austin. Interstate 30 runs East and West through the heart of Dallas, Arlington and Fort Worth.

From Tulsa and points east of OKC, take Highway 75 through Durant and across the Red River into the Lone Star State near Denison; from Duncan and points west drive south on Highway 81.

Where to play Westin Stonebriar Resort 972-668-8000 westinstonebriar.com The Cliffs Resort on Possum Kingdom Lake, 888-335-8882, thecliffsresort.com Tour 18 Dallas 800-946-5310 tour18-dallas.com The Tribute Golf Club 972-370-5465 thetributegc.com Old American Golf Club 972-370-4653 theoldamericangolfclub.com Cowboys Golf Club (817) 481-7277 cowboysgolfclub.com The Bridges Golf Club 903-696-0022 bridgestexasgolf.com Tierra Verde Golf Club 817-572-1300 arlingtongolf.com/tierraverde-golf-club Tangle Ridge Golf Club 972-299-6837 tangleridge.com Indian Creek Golf Club 972-466-9850 indiancreekgolfclub.com Grapevine Municipal GC 817-410-3377 grapevinetexas.gov

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Journey of a lifetime

Father, son embrace hallowed land by darryl fisher, md

& eric fisher

The fifth hole at Turnberry provides an education in links golf.

Editor’s Note: Below is a brief excerpt from a fascinating journal kept by Oklahomans Darryl Fisher and Eric Fisher of a recent pilgrammage to Scotland. To read the complete story and see more photos, please go to www.golfoklahoma. org/scotland.

Jerusalem, Mecca, the Wailing Wall, and Lourdes draw millions of the devout from all over the world in pilgrimages to these hallowed locations. To the devoted golfer, the traditional Scottish-links courses on sandy soil and dunes next to the sea have held a spiritual pull for generations of golfers. Today nearly 500,000 Americans travel each year to Scotland, and surely the majority of these tourists making this pilgrimage play golf at the venerable courses in this fascinating and welcoming country.

Virtually every American golfer who makes this golf pilgrimage to the hallowed courses in Scotland returns with a zeal that is infectious to fellow golfers. Indeed, these golf pilgrims speak of the experience in soft reverential terms. Such was our experience in listening to golfing friends who had made the Scottish pilgrimage that convinced us that we should make this journey to hallowed ground as a father-son event.

Every Scot lays righteous claim to the origin of golf. Caddies offer with absolute certainty a historical account of the game dating back at least six centuries. As might be expected, other countries claim to be the 44 •••••• www.golfoklahoma.org

birthplace of golf, notably the Netherlands in the 13th century, and even during the Tang Dynasty in China about a thousand years ago.

However, the 350-year-old Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, one of the oldest Scottish golf organizations, allows no other version for the birthplace of golf than Scotland, unequivocally offering this comment “Stick and ball games have been around for many centuries, but golf as we know it today, played over 18 holes, clearly originated in Scotland.”[4] In fact, the first written record of golf is Scottish King James II’s ban of “gouf” because it was an unwelcome distraction to the sport of archery.

It was in 1860 that the first Open Championship was held at Prestwick and was contested by eight leading professionals.

The Open Championship or simply The Open (sometimes referred to as the British Open outside the United Kingdom), is the oldest of the four major championships in professional golf. These prestigious courses are the real draw for American golf travelers.

We soon learned that the Scotland golfing adventure requires advance planning and nonrefundable reservations, generally months ahead. With the internet, faxes, email, and credit cards, the feasibility of planning and arranging your own trip is feasible.

From our experience, we prefer using a large and experienced golf-tour company to work

up a proposal for the region and the courses where we wish to play. We have found that these large companies have negotiated discounts and available tee times with the major courses not available to the individual.

These discounted rates also apply to rental cars and to hotels. So that the package price from the company is substantially less than the “rack rates” for the separate pieces that we would be required to pay if we chose to book alone as individuals.

Much is made in correspondence and in published materials about the importance, and indeed the implied necessity, of having a Proof of Handicap with you at all times on the Scottish courses, especially the Old and New Course at St. Andrews. We complied with this stated requirement, but at no time were we asked to show our Proof of Handicap or even asked about our handicap.

The 4,400 miles from Oklahoma to Scotland is a daunting journey under the best of circumstances, consuming 22 hours by almost any choice of schedules and airlines: an hour to Dallas, 10 hours to London Heathrow, 3-hour layover, and 1½- hour flight on to Edinburgh with another 1½- hour car trip to St. Andrews. Add time for security and customs, the trip reaches 22 hours, going and coming.

Arriving in Edinburgh or Glasgow, the two major cities near the waist of the country, may give the first-time tourist a false impression of Scotland as a densely urbanized

Above, Eric, left and Darryl outside the Royal & Ancient Golf Club. At right, Western Gailes. country with tall buildings, interlacing freeways, and lots of traffic. Soon after leaving the cities, the countryside becomes a beautiful landscape with a full palette of greens. It is invariably clean and well groomed with faded castles, neatly kept houses in the center of rolling fields of cultivated grains, interspersed with occasional ancient ruins, cultivated fields and battlegrounds, bed and breakfasts, grazing sheep and cattle. We saw no billboards or commercial signs in this lovely bucolic countryside.

As in Oklahoma, weather is unpredictable in Scotland. Yes, there are forecasts, trends, and averages, but you really can’t expect to

avoid rain. With highs in the low 60s in July, it is a welcome change from Oklahoma.

One morning, we awoke to rain and a bit glumly announced to the golf starter as we checked in, “This wet weather surely isn’t the good weather of yesterday.” The older grayish man, dressed in his blazer with its coat of arms, said, “Aye, lad, ‘tis a better day today. Enjoy your game!” But by sheer good fortune we played all our scheduled rounds in the dry without rain interruptions.

In fact, at least half our days we were treated to such splendid sunshine and calm winds that even the locals were commenting about the unusual great stretch of weather. But we

were always prepared with rain gear, umbrellas, and extra golf gloves.

Drawing near to the links courses, we encountered spectacular vistas of the seaside, pristine, alone, as they have been for eons. The country is situated north of the continental United States. Glasgow and Edinburgh are at approximately the same latitude as Juneau, Alaska. This northerly position makes for short summer nights with golfing still possible until nine in the evening or even later, and dawn breaking well before 5 a.m.

To continue with the journey, please go to www.golfoklahoma.org/scotland.

www.golfoklahoma.org •••••• 45

MAHOGANY’S PRO PROFILE

Chris Tidland Chris Tidland, who secured his place in Oklahoma State lore with his role in the monumental comeback to edge Tiger Woods’ Stanford team for the 1995 National Championship, still remembers the evening of the playoff as if it were yesterday. Another experience the 12-year pro will always treasure came this summer, when he had the opportunity to compete in the British Open for the first time. and fell in love with links golf.

What was your British Open experience like?

“I had never played links golf, but it’s now the favorite tournament in which I’ve played. Bo Van Pelt and I rented a house together and had a great time. It’s so different, you don’t hit any normal shots. I would love to get another chance. I love the style of golf you have to play and the creativity it requires.”

so I started reading up on it.

After my visit there I was convinced, but coach Holder said he didn’t have any more spots.

I finally convinced him to let me walk on.

My freshman year Alan and I redshirted and that was probably the most fun I had at OSU. The older guys like Kevin Wentworth, Brian Montgomery, Bob May and coach Holder, who would practice and play with There is a special bond among the team every day, used to just OSU players past and present. beat my brains in, but by the end Rickie Fowler wearing his or- of the year I had grown a lot as ange on Sundays has brought a player. more attention, but it has existed for a long time. How do In 1995, at the Scarlet Course you describe it? at Ohio State University, you “I was talking with Alan Brat- were part of probably the most ton (OSU women’s coach and dramatic and now famous Bratton’s teammate and best NCAA Championship ever as friend) about it a few weeks the Cowboys came from behind ago. We decided there is no way to tie and eventually beat Tito accurately put it into words. ger Woods and Stanford, even Whether you played with a though the Cowboys were down guy or not, there is no separa- a man for the playoff when Leif tion. From Doug Tewell to Scott Westerberg had to catch a flight Verplank to Bob Tway, Willie to Europe to play in the British Wood, David and Danny Ed- Amateur, a move Holder enwards, all the way to guys like couraged. You finished second Rickie Fowler. The older guys individually by a shot. did an incredible job with my “I remember it like it was yesgeneration and when we got on terday. All the little details, what tour they were there to answer we ate, the movies we went questions, take us to dinner. We to, how great Coach Holder try to do the same.” was that week in keeping us all loose and focused. It was very When did you decide you want- special for Alan and I. We were ed to go to OSU? We under- about to become the first class stand you had to convince Mike to go through and not win the Holder to take you. national championship. Then Bob May was the best player Alan birdies the last three holes in Califormia and he went there, See TIDLAND page 48 46 •••••• www.golfoklahoma.org

CHARLESTON’S AMATEUR PROFILE

David Thompson David Thompson, a member of Tulsa Country Club since 1966, is completing his second one-year term as president of the Oklahoma Golf Association. He also is one of the state’s top rules officials and presides over numerous OGA events and other tournaments in which the OGA lends assistance.

Tulsa Country Club just reopened after a major redesign

by Rees Jones. You were instrumental in the previous renovation by Jay Morrish?

I was the greens chairman and hired Jay Morrish in 1984.

We had used Joe Finger (architect of Cedar Ridge Country Club) to redesign some greens, but his superintendent had used the wrong peat in the greens construction and it had formed a brackish layer that the roots couldn’t penetrate. He really wasn’t ready to take responsibility for those, so I suggested he didn’t let the screen door hit him on the way out.

I called Tom Fazio, and he said he was covered up, but that we had one of the best architects in the U.S. living right there in Tulsa in Jay Morrish. He had moved to Tulsa when he and Jack Nicklaus were doing The Coves (at Grand Lake). I was not familiar with his name at that point, but the first time riding around with him on a cart, even though I had been a member for 18 years, he was pointing out things to me that I had never noticed.

I thought he did a fine job.

Styles change over 25 years and Rees has a different eye. The things we’re fighting today is the length of today’s player and that we are land locked. You have to have more tactical thinking now.

Mortensen, who is also a Tulsa Country Club member (and the rules columnist for Golf Oklahoma). When I retired in 2006 (as Director of Human Resources for Williams Communications), I became more active. I became more and more active as time went on and joined the board in 2007.

What did you want to see accomplished as president of the OGA? Historically, the OGA had been a tightly knit group of people without a lot of outside input. I wanted to get the board thinking more strategically about what our future looks like. We can’t be totally focused on tournament administration.

We have to ask ourselves what our mission is. I asked that at the first board meeting and got some strange looks.

We’re making progress on that, particularly in the formation of the OGA Foundation, which among other things supports junior golf. I think it’s important that we understand what we’re trying to accomplish for not only the OGA but for the foundation.

How often do you get involved in a making a ruling where the situation gets tense or testy?

Not very. A lot of it goes back to how you approach people and that, unlike some other How did you get involved with sports, there is not a whole lot of the OGA? See THOMPSON, page 49 Primarily through Gene www.golfoklahoma.org •••••• 47

LOOK WHO’S PLAYING every group on a par 3. I don’t own clubs.

When I do play, I love the new technology.

I never was a very good ballstriker, but the break through. Then I had a breakthrough new clubs help a lot. after my sophomore year at Putnam City.

We were a really good team and by the time Still a golf fan?

I got to be a junior, I was playing No. 1 or 2 Yes. I watched the British Open on DVR. I and we were state champions. don’t watch much television in general, but We barely beat John Marshall. They had I still enjoy watching golf. I’m so amazed by Robin Freeman and Jim Woodward and we how good these players are. played them over and over again. Woodward was the best player in the state, but You were on the golf commission for seven Freeman came out of years from 1996 on and now are in posinowhere. tion to determine who is on that commisOf my teammates, sion. What do you look for?

Jeff Walser, Kenny I want them to be experienced players.

Wynn, John Roberts We just appointed James Reid a few weeks and Ron Hood, I was ago. That level of expertise really adds a lot. the only one who didn’t He understands what the professional needs turn professional at least to be successful.” for a while.

Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett is in one of his golf lulls. One of the state’s top high school players at Putnam City where he graduated in 1976, he dropped the game to concentrate on his career after unsuccessfully attempting to walk on to the University of Oklahoma team. About the age of 30, he got the itch again and for the next 10 years was a regular in Oklahoma Golf Association events and big amateur events in the Oklahoma City area.

In his previous career as a broadcaster, he always gave amateur golf excellent coverage. Now in his third term as mayor, his game is largely in mothballs again, but he’s starting to feel like it might be time for a comeback...

After finishing third individually as a senior, you walked on at the University of Oklahoma. What happened The Oklahoma City there? public courses are In what was a blessrespected nationing in disguise, Jim wide for their ability Awtry cut me. He said to provide excellent there was no room on playing conditions the team, but come back and well-rounded next semester. Instead, I golf experiences went to the student rafor a minimal fee. dio station and started What’s the key to putting all my focus into that? that. Jim Awtry cutting I think it comes me was one of the best down fundamentally to we always have things that ever happened to me. It forced seen the value of having a Class A PGA Pro- me to look at my future in a different way. fessional run the course. They provide the But golf was really hard for me to give up. highest level of management. We’re not trying to run the courses as a city entity.

After focusing on your radio and television career throughout your 20s, you made a You got your start in golf and the business comeback. world at Lake Hefner.

I was hitting balls with Len Casteel at When I was 13, I would spend half a day Oklahoma City Golf & Country Club. I said working around the pro shop and then I got if I come back, I want to be able to compete to play for free. Even though green fees were at the statewide amateur level. He said he only a couple of bucks, it was very impor- had the confidence in me that I could. tant for me to have access to the course.

I played 10 years of competitive golf, Maybe a year later, they started a more made it to match play of the state amateur expansive program of hiring kids to work several times, won a first-round match in the driving range for 75 cents an hour. I Ponca City and at Twin Hills. Now I’ve been picked them by hand at first, but it wasn’t off for about 10 years. long before I was driving the truckster.

Do you play any golf now?

Tell us about your high school career.

Virtually none. I have a Mayor’s Golf I played a lot in middle school but couldn’t Tournament every June in which I hit with 48 •••••• www.golfoklahoma.org

Tidland, continued from 46 of regulation and then the playoff hole. To birdie the last four holes of your college career, that’s pretty amazing to see your best friend do that.

Leif is still one of my best friends and playing in Europe on the Challenge Tour, I talk to him all the time. I felt so bad for him because he wasn’t in any of the pictures after.

Do you ever talk to Tiger about it?

Sure, I’ve talked to him about the book that came out out (The Last Putt: 2 Teams, One Dream & a Freshman Named Tiger).

We joke about it. He says he still can’t believe we beat him with four players. He’s so competitive that any time he loses, he remembers it.”

You’ve won twice on the Nationwide Tour but have yet to break through on the PGA Tour. It’s been a career of bouncing back and forth between the two tours. Is it hard to keep your confidence or do you go out every week believing you can win?

“Sure, I feel like my game is good enough to win on Tour and I’ve proven it at times.

I’ve been in contention and played well and it just hasn’t happened. But it is my passion and love for the game that keeps me going.

This can be a tough game, a humbling and fickle game. My goal each year is to just improve at certain aspects of the game and make little gains and I feel like I’ve improved each year.”

THOMPSON, from 47

Does your weekly foursome depend on you for rules interpretations? interpretation involved. The rules of golf are Generally. And when the phone rings, the more black and white and you don’t have first thing I hear is, “OK, here’s the situation.” the subjectivity of other sports. It kind of I get a lot of questions from members and the boils down to it’s not the official making the answers are not always favorably received. call, it’s the Rules of Golf making the call.

One thing we noticed at the OGA State AmaWhat’s your best advice for golfers who teur this year at Meadowbrook and the past few want to follow the rules but haven’t actu- years is that there is a huge void of the businessally studied them? man golfer between 25 and 40 committed to takThere are two great principles of golf as ing the time to compete. This is the age group that outlined in Robert Tuft’s book The Principles once produced the vast majority of the state chamBehind The Rules of Golf. 1, Play the course pions in the past and there was a large contingent as you find it. 2, Put your ball in play at the of fine players who would take the time each year start of the hole, play only your ball and do to compete. not touch it until you lift it from the hole.

That’s an area on which we’ve had a lot of Most of the problems in golf come from not discussion and continued focus. We would following those two edicts. like to get more of those players. What do we have to do to build that commitment?

What’s the most common misinterpreta- That’s a great topic. Personally, I think the tion? work situation is not as flexible for these People rely on rules officials and don’t guys as it once was. And I think guys are have a copy of the rules in their bag. I’m awfully busy working and raising families. amazed how many people don’t know how It’s almost a cultural change. to take a drop from a water hazard. They Those guys can still play. We had a great want to go back on line of flight. There is no match between Mike Hughett and Danny such thing as line of flight. You must keep Funk this year. They just scorched the course the point between you and hole and then go and halved about five holes with birdies beback as far as you want. fore Mike won 1-up.

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OSU’s Talor Gooch was a rock for his team in the NCAA Championships.

“All I’ve ever known is golf” Dad inspired Gooch’s love for game by corinne meyerson

It seems Talor Gooch’s future was set in stone at age one.

After receiving a set of plastic golf clubs at the age children are just learning to walk, Talor insisted on going to the golf course with his father, Ron Gooch.

“I changed his diapers on the course,” Ron said.

Ron, who worked for a car business at the time, got one day off per week and spent it golfing at various courses near Midwest City, their hometown. It was only a matter of time before Talor figured it out and insisted on participating.

“He always waited for me to come home and had his clubs standing out in the front yard,” Ron said. “I’d pull up, load him up and we would head out to the golf course.”

At 3, Talor’s parents bought him an electric toy Jeep, and in no time Taylor trans50 •••••• www.golfoklahoma.org

formed it into a golf cart.

“We lived on an acre, so he’d hit all the balls he had and then drive in his Jeep to get them,” Ron said. “This would go on for hours a day.”

Talor may have been too young to remember those days, but his memories of his childhood into his adult life are pretty consistent.

“All I’ve ever known is golf,” Talor said.

Talor has come a long way since plastic clubs and toy cars and is now a sophomore on the Oklahoma State men’s golf team, one of the most renowned programs in the country.

After his freshman campaign, Talor proved to be an asset to an already talented OSU team.

In order to represent OSU at the tournaments, players compete against each other

at Karsten Creek. Talor ultimately qualified for every tournament — a rarity for a freshman player.

“He wasn’t given a spot,” OSU coach Mike McGraw said. “He earned it.”

McGraw said he walked with Talor in most tournaments and was impressed with his maturity.

“He really only lost his composure one time this year,” McGraw said. “He has a great attitude, a winning attitude, and he’s easy to be around.”

McGraw said he was most impressed with Talor during the postseason.

In his first career Big 12 start, Talor finished in the top 20. In the NCAA tournament, Talor won his quarter-final and semifinal matches.

“He played as well as I’ve seen him play,” McGraw said. “In the post-season, he knocked it out of the ballpark.”

The Cowboys lost to Augusta State in the semifinals, a tough outcome to stomach after losing in the championship to the same team last season.

“It was very devastating at the time,” McGraw said.

Even after the disappointing finish on the Cowboys’ home course, Karsten Creek, Talor said he is encouraged by the improvements he made in just one year at OSU. “It was a learning experience,” Talor said.

“There were some highs and lows. I gained a lot, and I am a better player now than I was coming out of high school.”

Talor attended Carl Albert High School in Midwest City and was named The Oklahoman’s state golfer of the year in 2008 and 2010 and captured the Oklahoma Class 5A state title in 2008.

Growing up in Midwest City meant Talor was closer to Norman than Stillwater, and Stillwater was not always where he expected to end up.

When McGraw first set his sights on Talor as a seventh grader, he knew it was going to be an uphill battle to see Talor donning orange.

“Talor was wearing an OU hat, an OU shirt and had Sooners down the side of his golf bag,” McGraw said.

Talor’s great-grandfather (Gene Blalock) played football for OU in the ‘40s, his uncle (Paul Blalock) played golf for OU in the ‘60s, and his mother (Ambre) graduated from Oklahoma and attended law school there.

“He was basically brainwashed to go to OU, and everything was OU this and OU that,” Ron said.

It didn’t take long for Talor to realize that trading in crimson for orange would give him a better chance to pursue his dream of

playing professional golf.

“I grew up playing the OU golf course,” Talor said. “It was my home course. I grew up dreaming of going to OU, but once I got older and became more aware of OSU’s program, the rest is history.”

Ron said Talor was also encouraged to set his standards high because of Talor’s competitive nature and love of proving people wrong.

“There were some that said, ‘Don’t go to OSU because you won’t get to play,’ and I think that motivated him,” Ron said.

Talor said he got his competitive nature and work ethic from his father, who played second base for the Texas Rangers’ AAA team.

“My dad exemplified hard work,” Talor said. “I never give up, I always grind. Even if I’m not playing well, I can somehow get a good round out of it.”

Talor followed in his dad’s footsteps, playing baseball until he was 14, but with his baseball and golf swing conflicting, Talor knew he had a difficult decision to make.

“When I was younger, I played in a Little League World Series tournament and then came back the next day for a golf tournament and had the shanks,” Talor said. “At that point, I started thinking to myself that baseball was getting in the way a little bit.”

Talor has no regrets letting go of baseball, for golf has proven to be what he was meant to do.

Golf has also been a staple in Talor and Ron’s relationship.

Ron picked up golf after he was injured, ending his baseball career.

Talor recalls countless hours he and his father have spent on the golf course together over the years. Ron still caddies for Talor from time to time.

“It’s good and bad,” Talor said. “We know each other so well that we butt heads some times. But it’s really good having my dad on the bag. My dad is my hero.”

Ron is flattered Talor thinks so highly of him, but said Talor’s success can solely be attributed to his unwavering love for the game of golf.

“From age two to now, he’s enjoyed going to the course every day,” Ron said. “He just loves it.”

With or without golf, Ron said he couldn’t be more proud of the man Talor has become.

“Unfortunately, with raising kids there are no mulligans,” Ron said. “You just hope you get it right the first time. Talor is polite, and he is a gentleman. Anything other than that is just icing on the cake.”

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Club makers support Tee it Forward initiative

by ed travis

The PGA of America and the United States Golf Association want golfers to “Tee It Forward.” In other words, play from one set of tees forward in the likelihood shortening the course will make the round faster and more fun.

This novel idea of playing a set of tees more in keeping with skill level came from the fertile mind of Adams Golf founder Barney Adams.

Adams’ goal is to make golf more enjoyable and less time consuming to help retain players and encourage new golfers. The PGA and USGA strongly endorse the program and a nationwide trial in mid-July from all reports was a success.

Most men play from tees that make courses too long for their ability reflected in an inflated idea of how far they hit the ball.

While studies have shown the average male player hits his drives about 200 yards or perhaps slightly more, when asked the answer is usually 225…or better. This of course

makes playing, much less scoring, well on a 7,000-yard layout hard work, not fun.

Put another way if PGA Tour professionals played courses proportionate in length to what amateurs are playing they would be teeing it up at over 8,000 yards every week.

Adams’ suggestion that amateurs should move up a set of tees makes a lot of sense.

It raises an interesting question, namely what effect would everyone playing from shorter tees have on the golf club design?

Would accuracy rather than distance come to the forefront or will some other factor be more important?

To find out, we asked some of the major club manufacturers.

All of the manufacturers are supportive of the “Tee It Forward” concept as expressed by what Dick Lyons, Vice President and General Manager of Mizuno USA Golf.

“First and foremost, we always support any and all creative ideas or initiatives to grow the game of golf. If the Tee It Forward move-

ment starts to gain momentum, you can bet that we would be fully aware and monitor the situation closely to see if there are any adjustments in our club designs or equipment offerings that make sense.”

Keith Patterson at Cleveland Golf provided an interesting perspective seeing the potential for an increased need for the type of club for which his company is well known, “…we would probably not change our design philosophy significantly. I think golfers will always value distance regardless of where they tee up. If this really caught on, we would definitely try to tie it into having players carry more wedges. Closer tees mean shorter second shots which means less need for long irons and more need for wedges.”

Danny Le, Golf Club Marketing Manager at Bridgestone Golf believes designing drivers for distance will still be important to their sales. “This program will not change anything in terms of our driver design. Players will still want to hit the long ball regardless of how short the course is. There will still be par 4s and 5s that the average amateur will still need to hit the driver on, so we will continue to design the most accurate and longest drivers we can.”

Callaway Golf looks at an integrated approach to club design with stress on juniors and those just beginning to play. Alan Hocknell, Senior Vice President, Research & Development shared his thoughts. “The idea of finding more ways to get people involved in the game of golf is exciting to us at Callaway, especially as it pertains to junior golfers who are looking to develop an interest in the game. Playing a shorter course certainly would not cause us to alter our approach to equipment design. When we design golf clubs and golf balls, we are doing so with the intent of delivering performance from tee to green. So we don’t design strictly for maximum distance—although we aim to deliver that as well—but for every shot a player comes across during a round.”

Adam Barr, President of Miura Golf, got right to the point. “I don’t think that a broad move to shorter golf courses resulting from playing shorter tees will change the basics of golf club design. Although the overall length of the course for some players will be less, they will still encounter shots that call for every yard they got from their clubs when they played one set of tees further back.”

Barr continued, “This will be true even for drivers. A player who hits his driver 210 yards on a 390-yard par-4 will still want to

See FORWARD page 52 52 •••••• www.golfoklahoma.org

GOLF FITNESS

Invest in your fitness

these key areas will help you increase your range of motion in your backswing and lead to more distance off the tee.

Finally, get involved in a golf-specific strength training program that improves your core stability, pelvic power, and motor sequencing. Most of us aren’t teens anymore, so grabbing our clubs out of the trunk and walking directly to the first tee with no preround or weekly work to improve our body’s performance leads to ever decreasing distance on the course. There isn’t a better feeling than blowing your drive 20 yards past your buddy, particularly late in the round.

Sean Riley Ryan Smith To take your game to the next level, do SwingFit SwingFit what the pros do and invest in the most imwarming up physically and less time bang- portant part of your golf game...YOU! ing balls on the range and you will be looser, Ryan and Sean are Founders of SwingFit more relaxed on the first tee.

Next, most of us sit or stand most of the Golf Fitness and Performance Training in Tulsa, day in our professional careers. This leads and are certified by the Titleist Performance Instito imbalances in our musculature with tute. They specialize in golf-specific physical testcertain muscles becoming tight and others ing, fitness instruction, and performance training. becoming long and weak. Before and after Theyy can be contacted at SwingFit at (918)743each round and exercise session, do what 3737 or at www.swingfittulsa.com. pros do and spend a few minutes focusing on stretching three key areas: the chest, hip flexors, and ankles. Increasing flexibility in

You have many clubs, one body For many years, even into the mid-1990’s, PGA teaching professionals focused on three key components in player development: instruction, mental training, and equipment fitting. For most, this seemed to be a complete solution to learning the game of golf and improving a player’s score.

However, in 1996 a young man named Eldridge Tiger Woods hit the scene from Stanford. His approach to the game, shot making skills, and ability to handle pressure, turned the entire golf world upside down. Suddenly there were things Tiger was working on and doing that others had never heard of. Instructors realized their model was incomplete and began to replace the triangle style of development focused on the three components above to a much more detailed, comprehensive approach to the game of golf.

Now all of the best teachers and players break golf down into six primary categories, with one no more important than the other.

Balance in all six areas is required for an elite level player. The components in the new school are: basic instruction, shot-making skills, mental and emotional training, course management, equipment and physical conditioning. Without a doubt, physical conditioning was the biggest addition and shift in the golf instruction paradigm.

Recently, we saw this shift first hand when we were honored to be part of the 2011 U.S. Open Wellness Team at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md. One of the main things we noticed in both watching and working with the players was how flexible and strong each of the players were. Nearly every player is long, lean, and dense with an amazing ability to turn their body away from the ball in their backswing.

This ability to turn creates a large amount of elastic energy in their trunk leading to increased power and distance off the tee.

While the recreational golfer usually doesn’t have the time to work on their physical fitness like the pros do, there are three key things you can do to help improve your body’s ability to turn and ultimately increase your power off the tee.

First, if you aren’t dynamically warming up before a round, you aren’t setting yourself up for success. Your warmup should involve full body motions using nothing more than a golf club and gradually moving more into golf specific motions. Spend more time

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INSTRUCTION

YES

YES

NO

You don’t need to lay the face wide open and lean forward to get the ball out, keep the clubface slightly open at most and finish the swing with a high follow through.

Bunker Shots

NO

Sweep, don’t dig the ball out by jerry cozby

For the past two years I have been fortuthe ball. nate enough to be Director of Instructions at 3. A club face as open as a Tour ProfesLakeside Country Club in Houston, Texas, sional or sometimes even more. during our Oklahoma winter months. During that time Lakeside Country Club has Steps to remember for a normal lie from a rebuilt all the bunkers and have created bun- greenside bunker: kers as good as any course in the country.

1. The sand iron is the most upright club Our professional staff would hear several in your bag. Set up and let your hands of the Lakeside members say; “I love the and arms hang with the same lie angle new bunkers; however, they are more diffias the club- do not reach or bend over cult to hit the ball out.” In most of the bunker the ball. lessons I have given, I have found students 2. Open your body to the target at the adtrying to dig the ball out, rather than letting dress position. (This means open your the sand-iron do its magic by just swinging left foot and hip for a right-handed the club and sweeping the ball out. player.) The open position will create a smoother swing and not such a strong The reason the students were having hit since the left hip is already out of trouble: the way.

1. Reaching for the ball too much with a 3. Hands even with the ball or slightly stance square to the target (poor posahead at the address position. If the ture). hands are way in front of the ball at 2. Ball played too far off the back foot, the address position, you will take too which put their hands way ahead of much sand and probably leave the ball 54 •••••• www.golfoklahoma.org

in the bunker.

4. Keep the clubface square or slightly open for most amateurs. Only experienced professionals have an extremely open clubface. (You should keep it simple.)

5. Finish the swing. You are now in an address position that you can finish the swing with a high follow through and most of your weight on your left foot (for a right handed player).

I hope these steps help you enjoy the bunkers on any course you might play. Ask your Teaching Professional about different types of lies in a bunker. They will know the answer.

Jerry Cozby, PGA Professional Bartlesville, Okla.

918-914-1784 jerrycozby@aol.com

WOGA News and Notes

Mueller easily defends Amateur title

T

wo-time defending chamtwo-day total 153. pion and former UniversiPat McKamey of Tulsa added ty of Oklahoma standout even more excitement by scorEllen Mueller lit the course on fire ing a hole-in-one on the par-3 with rounds of 67 and 66 while fourth hole. Pat used a-5 iron on winning her third Women’s Oklathe 130- yard hole. homa Golf Association Stroke “We were delighted to have Play Championship at Gaillardia such a strong field for both Country Club in Oklahoma City. events and look forward to the Mueller posted an 11-under continued growth in our organipar score of 133 over the 36-hole zation,” said Susan Hall, presichampionship to win by a stagdent of the Women’s Oklahoma gering 18 strokes over her nearest Golf Association. competitor, former Oklahoma JuThe Women’s Oklahoma Golf nior Golf standout Jade Staggs of Association announced the 2011 Oklahoma City.

Fore State Championship Team.

Mueller, a nationally ranked Ellen Mueller, left, and Mid-Amater champion Katy Treadwell. The Fore State Championship amateur, finished her eligibility will be held at the Hardscrabble at OU this spring but has plans to pursue a first-round deficit to force a sudden-victory Country Club in Fort Smith, Ark. Aug. 2-4.

PH.D in Physical Therapy. playoff with first-round leader Chrissy Bag- The 2011 Team includes Ellen Mueller, WhitKaty Treadwell of Oklahoma City, a re- well of Edmond. Bagwell shot a 1-under-par ney McAteer, Aubrey Vaughan, Jade Staggs, instated amateur and former Futures Tour 71 during the first round, but struggled with Leigh Ann Fore, Kendra Mann, Chrissy Player, defended her Mid-Amateur Champi- a second-round 82, opening the door for Bagwell, Ashton Collier, Sydney Tallon and onship title by coming back from a nine-shot Treadwell, who shot rounds of 80-73 for a Danielle Wright.

www.golfoklahoma.org •••••• 55

CLUB FITTING: WEDGES

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

Which wedge works? by steve ball

Playing with the best wedge for your game involves much more than looks and loft. A lot of players make decisions on just those two specifications alone. And, while they are important there is much more to wedges than that. Some of the following aspects can be fitted by a knowledgeable fitter and some of the choices rest with the player. So here is what a player should consider and these are in no particular order of importance. They all must be addressed: Loft – Generally, we are looking for 4-6 degrees of loft difference. The more spread between lofts the better the player must be at varying his clubhead speed to create different carry distances. I am a proponent of all players having a lob wedge of between 58 and 64 degrees. These clubs are great for short pitch shots than must stop quickly and most players have a lot of trouble with that shot.

Bounce – Bounce has three factors - the degrees in bounce, the width of the sole and the amount of sole camber. This can get complex but here is a simple way to look at

BOUNCE ANGLE The angle between the leading edge of the sole and its lowest point.

bounce. The more bounce you have on the sole the better the club will perform from soft conditions such as sand or deep rough.

If you are picking a club for your sand bunker shots you would most likely want a lot of bounce to help the club slide through the sand. Conversely, the less bounce on your sole the better the club will play from tight lies such as firm, bermuda fairways or hardpan. Usually I will fit the lob wedge with shallow bounce and the primary bunker club with more bounce.

Player feel – Once I make some fitting decisions for them then I will have the player hit shots from the sand and various fairway conditions for them to see how the club and sole feel penetrating the turf. Feel is strictly up to the player.

Lie angle – This can have a huge effect on the direction the ball goes. An incorrect lie angle of just two degrees with a 56* loft sand wedge will hit the ball 20 feet off line at 100 yards. Most players will fit into a slightly flatter lie with their sand wedge and lob

SOLE WIDTH The distance from the leading edge to the trailing edge of the sole.

SOLE CAMBER The amount of curvature from the leading edge to the trailing edge.

wedge than they will their irons.

StyleSOLE of GRIND play – Some players tend to sweep The theshape, ball more and players tend contour andother amount of ground trailing edgelatter is a to traprelief or dig the into ballthemore - the the sole from heelstyle to toe. here in Oklamuch of more common homa. The more the player sweeps, the less bounce they want onSOLE theirRELIEF wedges.

LESS Steve Ball ownsIncreases the Ball the Golfeffective Center in Oklasole width and bounce. homa City, 405-842-2626.

Better for softer turf and sand.

MORE SOLE RELIEF Reduces the effective sole width and bounce.

Better for firm turf and sand.

56 •••••• www.golfoklahoma.org

SUPERINTENDENT’S PERSPECTIVE

Bermuda here to stay

PRESENTED BY

by ron gates

gcsaa, chickasaw point golf club

Stressful times for bentgrass greens have become more a common occurrence in the past few years for southern Oklahoma and this transition zone. The climate has changed which has forced golf courses to do the same. Knowing that, we made the decision to investigate different grasses for our putting surface. The alternative that has been used successfully in the Dallas/Fort Worth/North Texas area is ultradwarf Bermuda grass.

After discussions with architect Randy Heckenkemper, the choice was made to go with Champion ultradwarf. Since time was of the essence, the course ownership made the decision to move forward with Champion Turf Farms (CTF).

With the direction of Morris Brown, CEO of CTF, we began the process of the turfgrass conversion. After spending the first week killing the bentgrass, the Champion team was on site planting a little less than three acres of grass on August 19-20, 2010. The

following five weeks was strict regimen of soil amendments, fertilizer and water. CTF made regular visits to monitor the grow-in and continued visits and customer support.

Six weeks from the day of planting, we were playing on a high quality, putting surface.

Cultural practices are like night and day versus bentgrass. Fungicide applications are virtually nil (so far only one fungicide application was made for spring dead spot prevention in November 2010). Hand syringing greens is almost non-existent as well. Green aeration is a lot less labor intensive due to no core removal because the core plugs are worked back into the subsurface. Aeration dates are late April/early May, with small 1Ž4” core tines and late July/early August with large 5/8” core tines on 1” centers. This summer’s aeration was July 19-20, with temps at 102-104. However, each Monday, light vertical cuttingand top-dressing helps the control of thatch and creates the smooth, firm surface. And

extreme, cold weather days, covers for the putting surfaces are a must to prevent root desiccation by maintaining soil temperature above freezing. Once the temperature is rising near the freezing mark, the covers can be removed for play.

Why would we never go back? As of July 22, 2011, we are on our 22nd day of 100+ degree temperatures and approximately 60 days of no rain. The greens are showing no stress with a mowing height of .125”, with firm, fast surfaces and accepting good shots.

We are very pleased and found that this grass is an excellent fit for Chickasaw Pointe. Although still in a learning curve, it has been a less stressful year on this superintendent and we have created a superior putting surface for our customers year around.

www.golfoklahoma.org •••••• 57

Bermuda, continued from 29 McCormick believes that more and more public courses will be making the same decision soon.

“The economics of golf today almost require it,” he said. “When you factor in that the grass is really good, it’s really tough not to go in that direction.”

On the other hand, McCormick said he doesn’t expect to be converting to Bermuda at River Oaks any time soon. There still seems to be the thought that private club members will not accept Bermuda greens and at this writing we are not aware of any

private clubs planning to convert.

That too may change someday. K.D. Davis, superintendent at no less than Southern Hills, said a year ago that he would like to see Champion Bermuda on the West Nine greens at Southern Hills if he thought the members would go for it and that it makes an excellent playing surface at many clubs in San Antonio where he worked previously.

Don’t look for Southern Hills to lead the way on this, but private courses with tighter budgets and greens coming due for renovations may be taking a close look. As Wolff said, he doesn’t know who all the guys with cameras out on Olde Page are.

No-Till Greens Renovation www.championturffarms.com 800-463-8873

Forward, continued from 52 hit it that far on a 360-yard version of the same hole...and will presumably benefit from a shorter, easier-to-achieve approach shot.”

Larry Edlin the President of PowerBilt Golf Worldwide is equally candid whether club design philosophy will change, “In short, no.

Tee it Forward is encouraging recreational golfers to give themselves a distance “handicap” in comparison to where the Pro’s play.

I think the change in mentality is long overdue. I too want to play the course like the pro’s do, but not from the tee box. I want to play on their level from the approach.”

Lastly, Vice President Jay Hubbard of Tour Edge Golf makes it unanimous that club companies wouldn’t think of making clubs any differently with an additional bow to the machismo factor. “I would not anticipate any change in club design as a result of Tee It Forward. Golfers want to be able to hit the ball further than their playing partners regardless of which tee they are playing. New equipment designs that help a player achieve that goal will always be in demand.”

“Tee It Forward” can be one of the factors in renewing the game and really making it more fun. After all, isn’t that the reason why we play?

WWLS

The Sports Animal 640 AM-98.1 FM

TOTAL SPORTS COVERAGE YOUR HOLE-IN-ONE FOR ALL FOUR MAJORS

58 •••••• www.golfoklahoma.org

ONLINE: Get the latest schedules and results at

SCHEDULES & RESULTS OKLAHOMA GOLF ASSOCIATION SENIOR STATE AMATEUR At Gaillardia CC, Oklahoma City July 25-28 Round of 32: William J. Lavender def. Michael Lusnak 2 and 1; Scott Ward def. Jack Steinmeyer 1-up; Joseph Bushee def. Michael Goold 6 and 5; Neil Oxford def. Nick Sidorakis 1-up (19); Jon Valuck def. John Reese 6 and 5; Gary Bonner def. Charles Paul 2-up; Michael Hughett def. Bob Alexander 2-up; Ed Cohlmia def. Mike Johnson 1-up (19); Brad Kropp def. Mike McCurdy 4 and 3; Brent Taylor def. Darren Rice 2 and 1; Steve Chapman def. Doug Perry 1-up; Duane Chenoweth Jim Roberts 1-up; Gregory Brasher def.

John Donaldson 7 and 6; James Reid def. Paul Dickson 1-up; Paul Chissoe def. Brad Miller 2 and 1; Craig Collins def. Shawn Barker 1-up (19).

Round of 16 Lavender def. Ward 3 and 1; Bushee def. Oxford 3 and 2; Valuck def. Bonner 5 and 4; Hughett def. Cohlmia, forfeit; Taylor def. Kropp 4 and 3; Chapman def. Chenoweth 2 and 1; Reid def.

Brasher 5 and 4; Collins def. Chissoe 6 and 5.

Quarterfinals Bushee def. Lavender 4 and 3; Hughett def.

Valuck 1-up; Taylor def. Chapman 6 and 4; Reid def. Collins 4 and 3.

Semifinals Hughett def. Bushee 2 and 1; Taylor def. Reid 1-up.

Final Hughett def. Taylor 3 and 2 STATE AMATEUR At Meadowbrook CC, Tulsa July 11-14 Match Play Round of 32 Stephen Carney def. Jordan Perceful 4 and 3; Cole Wiederkehr def. Nick Heinen 2 and 1; Tate Williamson def. Todd Brown 3 and 1; Bryan Boaz

golfoklahoma.org

def. Preston Wilkins 4 and 3; Justin Jang def. Dillon Rust 2 and 1; Cameron Meyers def. Clint Burley 4 and 3; Michael Hughett def. Drew Dorsey 1-up (19), Daniel Funk def. Tanner Owens 2 and 1; Hayden Wood def. Jackson Ogle 1-up; Levi Molini def. Terence Begnel 2 and 1; Nick Lees def.

Zach Tucker 4 and 3; Jack Kasting def. Brent Taylor 2 and 1; Taylor Moore def. Kyle Hudelson 7 and 6; Jacob Bartel def. Andre Tourinho 2 and 1; Casey Fernandez def. Blake Gibson 4 and 3; Travis Keeley def. Brandon Wong 1-up (24).

Round of 16 Carney def. Widerkehr 3 and 2; Boaz def. Williamson 3 and 2; Meyers def. Jang 3 and 2; Hughett def. Funk 1-up; Molini def. Wood 4 and 3; Lees def. Kasting 1-up (23); Moore def. Bartel 1-up; Fernandez def. Keeley 3 and 1.

Quarterfinals Boaz def. Carney 1-up (19); Meyers def. Hughett 1-up; Lees def. Molini 3 and 2; Fernandez def.

Moore 1-up.

Semifinals Meyers def. Boaz 4 and 2; Lees def. Fernandez 1-up (22).

Final Meyers def. Lees 2-up STATE JUNIOR AMATEUR At Kickingbird GC, Edmond (par-70) June 13-16 Match Play 16-18 Quarterfinals Max McGreevy def. Tyler Hargus 6 and 4; Blake Rhodes def., Ryan Evans 6 and 5; Brady Richardson def. Garrison Mendoza 6 and 5; Alexander Hall def. Zach Enzbrenner 7 and 6.

Semifinals McGreevy def. Rhodes 5 and 4; Richardson def.

Hall 5 and 4.

Final Richardson def. McGreevy 5 and 4.

14-15 Quarterfinals Quade Cummins def. Cody Troutman 1-up; Casey Paul def. Thomas Johnson 1-up; Cole Matthews def. Daniel Langley 1-up (19); Ty Tamura def.

Alexander Hughes 3 and 2.

Semifinals Cummins def. Paul 4 and 3; Tamura def. Matthews 2-up.

Final Cummins def. Tamura 1-up (22).

WOMEN’S OKLAHOMA GOLF ASSOCIATION STROKE PLAY At Gaillardia CC, Oklahoma City (par-72) July 19-20 1, Ellen Mueller 67-66 – 133; 2, Jade Staggs 79-72 – 151; 3 (tie), June Tigert 76-76 – 152 and Kylie Bollenbach 75-77 – 152; 5 (tie), Chrissy Bagwell 71-82 – 153 and Katy Treadwell 80-73 – 153; 7, Kamryn Cunningham 79-75 – 154; 8 (tie), Aly Seng 78-78 – 156 and Taylor Neidy 75-81 – 156; 10 (tie), Kendra Mann 79-78 – 157 and Sarah Harper 76-81 – 157; 12, Aubree Vaughan 79-79 – 158.

Mid-Amateur: 1 (tie), Chrissy Bagwell 71-82 – 153 and Katy Treadwell 80-73 – 153; 3, Rebecca Davis 79-81 – 160; 4, Leigh Ann Fore 81-82 – 163; 5, Ann Cowan 81-84 – 165; 6, Nan Dyer 80-87 – 167; 7 (tie), Jann Fouke 82-86 – 168 and Sherri Mattiussi 84-84 – 168; 9 (tie), Janet Miller 83-87 – 170 and Jill Johnson 86-84 – 170.

A flight: 1, Joyce Washam 78-86 – 164; 2, Ann Turner 86-80 – 166; 3, Kelly Lewis 80-87 – 167.

JUNIOR GIRLS At Oaks CC, Tulsa July 11-12 16-17 1, Megan Blonien 74-73 – 147; 2 Charter Lawson 73-75 – 148; 3 (tie), Amanda Johnson 80-80 – 160 and McCandren Lewis 82-78 – 160; 5, Katie

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www.golfoklahoma.org •••••• 59

SCHEDULES & RESULTS Lee Wilson 82-81 – 163; 6, June Tigert 84-80 – 164; 7 (tie), Ashton Gores 85-80 – 165 and Catrina Pearson 78-87 – 165; 9, Kailey Campbell 86-82 – 168; 10, Katie Vaughn 88-85 – 173.

14-15 1, Alexis Sadeghy 78-75 – 153; 2, Emma Allen 78-78 – 156; 3, Maria Souvannasing 84-77 – 161; 4, Lexi Armon 81-83 – 164; 5, Madison Luitwieler 87-78 – 165.

12-13 1, Taylor Dobson 83-84 – 167; 2, Kaitlin Milligan 85-87 – 172; 3, Trudy Allen 88-85 – 173; 4, Taylor Boylan 95-83 – 178.

11-under 1, Yujeong Son 44-38 – 82; 2, Madison Smith 4946 – 95; 3, Cecilia McHugh 54-50 – 104.

STATE AMATEUR MATCH PLAY At Muskogee CC June 20-23 Championship Flight First round: Whitney McAteer def. Courtney Epps 6 and 5; Ashton Collier def. Ann Cowan 4 and 3; 3, Aubree Vaughan def. Janet Miller 5 and 3; Kamryn Cunningham def. Jill Johnson 7 and 6; Lauren Michael def. Leigh Fore 7 and 6; Katy Treadwell def. Maddy Haley 7 and 6; Catrina Pearson def. Sidney Tallon 4 and 3; Kathy West def. Danielle Wright 1-up.

Quarterfinals McAteer def. West 4 and 2; Collier def. Pearson 7 and 6; Cunningham def. Michael 1-up; Vaughan def. Treadwell 3 and 2.

Semifinals McAteer def. Cunningham 3 and 2; Vaughan def.

Collier 2 and 1.

Final McAteer def. Vaughan 3 and 1.

Consolation Final Wright def. Tallon 4 and 2.

Presidents Flight Final Alexandra Koch def. Tersa DeLarzelere 1-up (20).

ONLINE: Get the latest schedules and results at

golfoklahoma.org

GOLF INC (OKLAHOMA CITY) OKC AMATEUR June 4-5 & 11-12 Championship Flight: 1, Hunter Sparks 276; 2, Cameron Meyers 279; 3, Brad Townsend 286; 4, Jeff Boyer 298; 5, Chad Armstrong 308; 6, Scott Kennedy 309; 7, Joseph Okerland 310; 8, Adam Martin 321.

Presidents Flight: 1, Aaron Ashley 322 (won playoff); 2, Kevin Simons 322; 3, Jerrid Eischen 324; 4, Clint Stewart 327.

Senior Flight: 1, Ricky Lutz 269; 2, Paul Dickson 284 (won playoff); 3, Bob Alexander 284; 4, John Carver 300; 5, Mike Jackson 307; 6, Larry Buck 309.

Super Seniors: 1, Joe Bushee 272; 2, Gary Bonner 289; 3, Randy Robinson 295; 4. Duane Chenoweth 307.

TULSA GOLF ASSOCIATION STROKE PLAY At LaFortune Park GC (par-72) June 25-26 Championship Flight: 1, Brent Williamson 69-74 – 143; 2, Darrell Landry 75-69 – 144; 3, Tanner Owens 71-73 – 144; 4, Bill Brafford 73-73 – 146; 5, Ben Harris 73-73 – 146; 6, Chris Noel 70-76 – 146; 7, Steve Hughes 75-73 – 148; 8, Joel Smith 74-75 – 149; 9 (tie), Danny Funk 73-77 – 150 and Kyle Jones 75-75 – 150.

President’s Flight: 1, Parker Foster 78-69 – 147; 2, Jordan Miller 79-70 – 149; 3 Brian Jones 78-73 – 151; 4, Clint Burley 78-73 - -151.

Senior Championship: 1, Richard Koenig 71-71 – 142; Ken Kee 73-70 – 143; 3, Bill Heldmar 74-72 – 146; 4, Tim Wilson 74-72 – 146; 5, Richard Hunt 71-75 – 146; 6, Roger Andrews 75-72 – 147; 7, Terry Collier 73-75 – 148; 8, Tom Wilson 74-77 – 151.

Senior A Flight: 1. Sean Savage 74-74 – 148; 2, Steve Gidley 80-76 – 156; 3, Ray Raines 76-80

– 156; 4, Brad Darrow 76-80 – 156.

OKLAHOMA HIGH SCHOOL ALL-STATE MATCHES At Cherokee Hills GC, Catoosa (par-70) July 25 Boys Team scores: East 31, West 23 Individual leaders: 1, Casey Fernandez (McAlester) 71 (won playoff); 2 (tie), Josh Bernard (Lincoln Christian) and Robert Rayborn (Sallisaw) 71; 4 (tie), Jackson Ogle (Okla. Christian), Graham Billeg (Newcastle) and Justin Ary (Quinton) 73; 7 (tie), Scottie Verplank (Okla. Christian), Michael Varner (Cascia Hall) and Andrew Riesen (Ardmore) 74; 10, Luke Coppedge (Tishomingo) 75.

Girls Team scores: East 32, West 22.

Individual leaders: 1, Kendra Mann (Harrah) 70; 2 (tie), Alexandra Koch (Jenks) and Jessica Hollock (Broken Arrow) 73; 4 (tie), Taylor Arnold (Pryor) and Taylor Williamson (Okla. Bible) 76; 6, Kelsey Waldon (Jenks) 81; 7 (tie), Ashton Collier (Union) and Caitlin Swisher (Chandler) 82; 9 (tie), Courtney Steuver (Washington, Okla.), Makenzi Wagner (Piedmont) and Payton Taylor (Seminole) 84.

SOUTH CENTRAL PGA MATCH PLAY At Forest Ridge GC, Broken Arrow July 12-13 Quarterfinals Bruce Baxley def. Kyle Flinton 8 and 6; Brian Soerensen def. Tim Fleming 3 and 2; Mark Fuller def. Cary Cozby 3 and 2; Tim Fleming def. Shannon Friday 1-up.

Semifinals Fleming def. Flinton 6 and 5; Fuller def. Soerensen 8 and 6.

Final Fleming def. Fuller 3 and 2.

Walter Hopper Junior Tour Championship South Central PGA Section At Rose Creek Golf Club, OKC Boys 12-14 1. Griffin Pierce, Edmond, 76-75-151; 2. Mason Overstreet, Laverne, 71-80-151; Brandon Strathe, Owasso, 76-75-151; 4. Garrett McDaniel, Shawnee, 77-75-152; Brett Tyndall, Jenks, 79-73-152 Boys 15-18 1. Alexander Hall, Edmond, 73-68-141; 2, Connor Goodwin, Jones, 75-72-147; 3. Jc Escandor, Broken Arrow, 73-75-148; 4, Caleb Haight, Wichita 75-77-152; 5, Jake Johnson, Tahlequah 75-80-155 +11 Boys 9-11 1. Nick O’Donnell, Oklahoma City 37-34-71; 2, Matthew Braley, Broken Arrow, 38-40-78; Wil Gibson, Ark. 39-39-78; Josh McNulty, White Hall, Ark. 38-40-78; 5, Matt Geurin, Edmond, 40-4080; 6, Chandler Copeland, 38-46-84 +12 Girls 12-14 1. Allie Weiner, Maumelle, Ark. 46-42-88; 2. Anna Pool, Coffeyville, Kan. 45-45-90; 3. Katelyn Dunstin, Little Rock, 47-44-91; Rebekah Goodwin, Jones, 45-46-91; 5. Lauren Chappell, Conway, Ark. 48-44-92 Girls 15-18 1. Anna Mikish, Choctaw, 81-81-162; 2. Emily Folsom, Oklahoma City, 83-80-163; 3. Ashton Gores, Ardmore, 87-82-169; 4. Taelyn Entriken, Wichita.

86-84-170; 5. Olivia Bersin, Tulsa, 85-86-171 Girls 9-11 1. ShaeBug Scarberry, Tuttle, 39-44-83; 2. Josie Roberson, Maumelle, Ark. 52-47-99; 3. Faith Hopkins, Bartlesville 53-52-105; 4. Bailey Dunstin, Little Rock, Ark. 69-65-134; 5. Olivia Schmidt, Edmond, 62-75-137

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Alabama offers something for golfers of all abilities.

Namely, a big ol’ slice of humble pie.

When it comes to challenging public golf courses, Alabama has more than any other state. In fact, we’re the home of three of America’s 50 Toughest Courses as selected by Golf Digest. Testing your mettle is as easy as visiting Silver Lakes, The Shoals or the stunning new Ross Bridge near Birmingham. They’re part of the mighty Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail – 24 demanding gems that are winning accolades from The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Golf Magazine to name just a few.

If you’d like to combine time spent in the beach with a little time spent relaxing on the beach, there are a half-dozen more world-class public courses on Alabama’s gorgeous Gulf Coast featuring designs by the likes of Arnold Palmer and Jerry Pate.

And more great golf finds are sprinkled throughout the entire state. Truly, if you’re looking for great golf and genuine hospitality on your next trip, you owe it to yourself to w w w. a l a b ba a m a .t .t ra ra av vel experience all Alabama has to offer. www.golfoklahoma.org •••••• 61

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64 •••••• www.golfoklahoma.org