May 2018
May 2018
Keeping Golfers Connected in TN, KY, MS, AL, NC
Return Engagement Web.com Tour makes third visit to Music City Pages 2-3
Inside!! appeal: Get fitted to find 7 Shaft the right specs for your clubs restrictions: Streamsong Black 18 No adds to resort’s claim to fame peek: HoriPro Honors tourney 22 Sneak mixes golf, music, pleasure at Henry Horton
? 2016 Winner James Driscoll
Brandt Snedeker
2017 Winner Lanto Griffin
2018 Winner
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All systems are a go for the NGO By Gregg Dewalt Tee Times Editor All systems are a go for the third playing of the Nashville Golf Open benefitting the Snedeker Foundation. Armed with a third date, and arguably the best date, in the three-year history of the Web.com Tour event, new tournament director Charlie Clarkson is confident this year’s tournament will be the best yet. For the third consecutive year, the tournament will be played at the Nashville Golf and Athletic Club. This year’s tournament dates are May 21-27. Last season, it had ended on July 2. “We’re expecting 20,000 people for this year and last year we were at 16,800, so that’s a 20-percent increase,” Clarkson
said. “Our new sales are up about 40 percent. Our renewals are about 85 percent. I do think we are going to get there. We have two years left on our contract. We’re getting there. We put this thing together the first year in six months. We had hardly anytime at all and there was no budget for advertising. “So, it was a slow start,” he continued. “Last year was way better. The players thought it was better. The golf course improved tremendously. They thought the food and beverage was better, the hospitality side was better.” James Driscoll won the inaugural event in 2016 and is expected back again this year. It’s uncertain if last year’s winner, Lanto Griffin, will return. He played well enough last year to graduate to the PGA Tour where he has made five cuts in 13 starts. “He would like to come back and said if he can, he definitely will,” Clarkson said. Also expected to tee it up is Knoxville’s Eric Axley, who is coming off a win at the North Mississippi Classic. Several other players with ties to the state also are expected to play. Also, country music star Jake Owen, an accomplished golfer, received an unrestricted sponsor exemption. Owen, a nearscratch golfer, will compete as an amateur. It’s not uncommon for highly recognized non-professionals to receive sponsor’s exemptions. Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry played in a Web-com event last year, while former Dallas Cowboys star quarterback Tony Romo played in an event
Charlie Clarkson, NGO Tournament Director
James Driscoll, the 2016 NGO 2018 Champion will be in the field for
PGA Tour pro Brandt Snedeker poses with the NGO trophy and 2017 winner Lanto Griffin
earlier this year. “It’s so cool to have been awarded a sponsor exemption to play in the Nashville Golf Open,” Owen said last fall. “I am truly honored to have this opportunity to play golf with guys whose work ethic I admire so much, like my buddy Brandt Snedeker. I know how hard he works to get to play in these PGA Tour tournaments. I am really grateful, and I can’t wait for this week in May to get here.” Although the official pairings have not been made, Clarkson said Owen will tee off
early Thursday morning on No. 10 and play in the afternoon on Friday. He also will play in Wednesday’s pro-am tournament. “I know he is all in and can’t wait to get out there,” Clarkson said. “He’s got his work cut out for him, but hopefully he makes the cut.” Owen is no stranger to the PGA Tour, having participated in several pro-ams, including a four-year run at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am with Jordan Spieth as his partner. He also received “The Arnie Award” in 2017 alongside Peyton Manning and Phil Mickelson as part of Golf Digest’s Golfers Who Give Back event. Clarkson said, “we have a lot of good stuff going on,” with the tournament. He said this is the best date the tournament has had and hopes to keep it there. “We’re very happy with it,” he said. “A couple of things we have to pay attention to is that we use Ravenwood High School for parking, and Ravenwood has to be out before we can use their parking lot. This falls in that category – it works there. And the other part of it is we are ahead of all the other stuff that happens in Nashville now. The past two years we have been up against other clubs’ member-guests, we had the CMAs, the steeplechase. We’re ahead of all of that. Other than the Predators and the playoffs, we are first on the list. We definitely like that.” Clarkson expects excellent playing con-
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May 2018
ditions at Nashville Golf and Athletic Club despite a spring that produced a copious amount of rain and temperatures that remained in the 60s for highs and 30s and 40s for lows well into the final days of April. “The golf course is going to be a little different,” Clarkson said. “The rough might not be grown in quite as much as it would, but the greens and fairways, which are the primary part of it, are going to be spectacular. Brandt Snedeker with Brian Jorgenson, Director of Golf, Nashville Golf & We aren’t concerned Athletic, and Jake Owen, Sponsor’s exemption about that. We have plenty of time to get Snedeker also will participate in the Charley the course to where we want it to be.” Clarkson said there have been some cosmetic Foundation Junior Clinic on Sunday, May 20 changes to the course, but nothing major. The from 2-to-4 p.m., a new event added to the Nashseventh hole was re-sodded, a couple of tee ville Golf Open. Other new additions to the tournament include boxes were leveled, a tree removal program is in place and new drainage was installed in the the Chuy’s Chihuahua Lounge, a public hospitality suite that costs $25. bunkers. “Not everybody could afford the $125 Jack DanClarkson said the club membership still embraces the tournament as it enters its third year. iels tickets, so we came up with this new pro“(Head professional) Brian Jorgensen and his gram,” Clarkson said. “For $25, that gets you in whole staff, they love to see us out there. They the gate and you get access to Chuy’s Chihuahua welcome us every day,” Clarkson said. “The Lounge.” Once inside the lounge, fans can purchase their membership is awesome. They support the event very heavily. The Whittemore family, Bri- own food and beverages. “We are trying to let more people have access an’s crew and the membership are 100 percent behind it. We love it. It’s a win-win situation. We to the suite experience,” Clarkson said. The Gray Line Express, a 20-seat limousine, will support them and they support us for sure.” This is the second year that Nashville native pick spectators up at the clubhouse and shuttle and PGA Tour pro Brandt Snedeker has attached them to the middle of the course to Crockett’s his name to the tournament. Clarkson said that Corner, where there are more food and beverage affiliation has been invaluable when it comes to opportunities. There also will be a Sunday morning church promoting the event. service on the golf course, Clarkson said. Scott “A lot of people might not know what the Web. com is, but they know who Brandt Snedeker is,” Lehman of In His Grip Golf will do the service Clarkson said. “His name brings more class to prior to play. Daily tickets are $10 or a weekly pass is $35. the thing and people who are knowledgeable. It opens more doors. He does a great job for us, Cost for the Gray Line Hospitality Pavilion is $75, too. He throws out stuff on Twitter and Insta- while the 18th Hole Hospitality Suite is $125. For more information, go to ngogolf.com. gram about the event.”
Charlie Clarkson, NGO Tournament Director, Brenden Todd, PGA and Web.com Champ, and Patrick Nichol, NGO Executive Director/Tour/CEO,Tour Vision Promotions.
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Charley Foundation sponsoring free junior clinic at NGO Tee Times Report Junior golfers of all ages will be able to get up-close and personal instruction from some the best Tennessee PGA professional teachers at The Charley Foundation Junior Clinic on May 20. The clinic is being held in conjunction with the Nashville Golf Open benefitting the Snedeker Foundation Web.com tournament. The clinic is scheduled for 2-4 p.m. at Cheekwood Golf Club in Franklin. All junior golfers have to do to participate is show up. There is no registration required and it is a frfee clinic. Cheekwood Golf Club is located at 285 Spencer Creek Road in Franklin. Charlie Clarkson, the NGO’s tournament director, said partnering with The Charley Foundation for the tournament’s first junior clinic was an easy decision. “Junior clinics are extremely popular at many PGA Tour events and we know this one will be a huge success due to the popularity of junior golf throughout Middle Tennessee,” Clarkson said. “We are proud to provide area children in need
with access to the game thanks to The Charley Foundation, and we’re grateful to the golf professionals for their willingness to share their teaching skills with all the participants.” Carolyn Miller, founder and chairman of The Charley Foundation, said she was looking forward to “helping enhance the lives of many kids for years to come.” “The new partnership between The Charley Foundation and Nashville Golf Open will introduce the wonderful game of golf to so many deserving area children,” she said in a release. “Golf is the perfect sport to clear your mind of some of life’s stresses and important life lessons can be learned from the game.” The Charley Foundation is a non-profit organization that provides support to charitable agencies addressing the critical needs of children. For more information about the organization, go to www. charleyfoundation.org. The Nashville Golf Open is scheduled for May 21-27 at the Nashville Golf and Athletic Club.
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From tHE Editor By Gregg Dewalt
Oak Ridge’s Schubert named to Curtis Cup team; Cink talks golf Catching up on some news from the world of golf: Tennessee will be represented in the June Curtis Cup matches set for Quaker Ridge Golf Club in Scarsdale, New York. Sophia Schubert, of Oak Ridge, was named to the 8-woman team that will represent the United States against a team representing Great Britain and Ireland. The biennial matches will be played June 8-10. In addition to Schubert, 16-year-old Memphis golfer Rachel Heck is an alternate for the U.S. team. Other members of the U.S. team are Mariel Galdiano, of Hawaii; Kristan Gillman, of Texas; Jennifer Kupcho, of Colorado; Lauren Stephenson, of North Carolina; and Californians Andrea Lee, Lucy Li and Lilia Vu. The other alternate is Emilia Migliaccio, of North Carolina. All eight players are ranked in the top 25 of the Women’s World Amateur Golf Rankings, including five in the top
PUBLISHER Joe Hall pgegolf@bellsouth.net EDITOR Gregg Dewalt ASSOCIATE EDITOR Justin Onslow SENIOR EDITOR David Widener widecard@aol.com
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10. Schubert, 22, is the oldest member of the team. Li, who is 15, is the youngest. Schubert, who will play in the U.S. Women’s Open in late May at Shoal Creek in
Sophia Schubert shown here with her 2017 U.S. Women’s Amateur Trophy
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without hitting the trees – a lot of really good shots hit trees. • On rolling the ball back to limit distance: The distance debate I think is being fueled by a little bit of bad information. We’re not really hitting the ball further than we did from about 2003. .. We’re hitting it further because we are deciding to hit it further. It’s a strategic decision to attack courses in new ways. There are holes now that I never used to consider driver on that now I don’t consider anything but driver. That drive goes into my stats (all drives) and it looks like I am hitting it a lot longer, but in actuality I am hitting it about the same. Shotlink is telling us it is most advantageous to hit closer to the green the most often. All those drives get measured, so we are hitting it further on purpose. It’s a strategic decision to attack courses in new ways. There’s no reason to roll the ball back and remanufacture a whole new product. The longest hitters are going to be the PGA Tour professional Stewart Cink is interviewed longest hitters. at an outing at Lake Oconee, Ga. in April • On using rangefinders on Tour: I would definitely put that issue to bed because there Hoover, Alabama, is the reigning U.S. Women’s Amateur champion. She is slow play now. I see the range finder won 6 and 5 last year at San Diego coming out to get the flagstick yardage, then putting that away and out would Country Club. Schubert is a senior at the Univer- come the yardage books to look at all sity of Texas and a WGCA All-America the other different pieces of informahonorable mention. She is a two-time tion that we want to know. One caveat to that, that my caddie Taylor Moore came All-Big 12 team member. Two U.S. team members are also up with, is that you should be able to use teammates at Alabama – Gillman is a laser two times per round maximum. a sophomore and Stephenson is a ju- Let’s say you hit it in the trees and have to chip out to the other fairway – how nior for the Crimson Tide. Cink discusses state of the many times have you seen a caddie walk all the way to the green from the ball a game hundred yards or more and then walk Tee Times publisher Joe Hall and I were back. That would be a good time-saving at Reynolds Lake Oconee in Georgia re- deal right there. cently for a Golf Writers Association of • On growing the game: I think people America function and were fortunate to are finding reasons to stop playing golf. encounter PGA Tour professional Stew- It’s expensive, it’s time consuming; we art Cink. The former resident of Flor- all know that. We need to give people ence, Alabama, who now lives in Duluth, reasons to play. I love the idea of a sixGeorgia, held a question and answer ses- hole course. It doesn’t take as much sion and had some interesting things to time. Golf doesn’t have to conform to say. Here are some of the highlights from some conventions that we have in our the 2009 Open Championship winner: minds like an 18-hole round. It needs • On whether shorter courses like to be about fun, creativity and expressHarbour Town can remain viable on ing yourself almost in an artistic kind the PGA Tour: I hope Harbour Town of way. I think that would attract more lasts forever. It’s shorter, it’s tighter. It’s people to play. The only thing an 18-hole like the antithesis of Augusta Nation- round gives us is a score at the end, and al. Unfortunately unlike most modern really who plays by the rules to the point courses, it’s a throwback. I still think where a score is relevant anyway? When courses like Harbour Town with their you lose a ball, do you really go back to unique design characteristics can with- the tee and say ‘sorry, I know you guys stand the length that players hit it to- are waiting for our group but I have to day. It’s a tough test in a different way reload? No one does.’ I like how the game than most modern courses are. I don’t is, but six holes and two ranger finders remember ever playing a round there per round, things like that.
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Planning your Financial Legacy By Jonathan Scott and Glenn Price
Jonathan
Glenn
Common sense is the key to secure retirement Unfortunately, when we meet with most people before they become a client at Keystone Financial Resources, they are very gloomy and discouraged about their retirement future. Who could blame them? On one hand you see all the bad news and reports of impending financial doom. On the other are
glowing stock market reports from the very same “experts” that didn’t see that last crash coming. Can’t there be a better way? Most people think they are being stuck with either low-paying CDs or uncertainty in the stock market. Both will keep you up at night and neither provides you with the retire-
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ment you deserve. There is a better way! Wouldn’t you like to be able to sleep at night and enjoy your retirement traveling, fishing, gardening, playing golf? Don’t you deserve retirement that is worry free? Here’s the good news. Singer Pat Boone had a hit song “I Have Great Good News.” The good news is that what we need in retirement is common sense. Unfortunately in the investment world common sense is
The
Guys STRATEGY
far too uncommon. At KFR common sense has been the right answer for our clients year after year. What does common sense for retirement mean? • Safety. “If you want eggs, don’t eat chickens,” granddaddy used to say. Don’t lose principal in retirement. You are no longer working, so you can’t make it back. Common sense, right? • Liquidity. Don’t tie all your money up and don’t leave too much of it lying around making nothing. Balance. • Earnings. Make as much as possible without losing anything. It’s not that hard if you follow the first two rules. • Service. Do you want to call an 800-number, press buttons and be put on hold? Or, do you want to call a real human being who speaks Tennessee? You can come in and meet with us face-to-face and our employees can handle things in person directly with you. I encourage you to come in and find out for yourself how good it feels to relax and enjoy a secure retirement. If you want to stop worrying and start enjoying, take three easy steps: • Call our office at 615-6619554; • Ask for Jonathan or Glenn, and tell them you want an appointment with a member of our KFR team to discuss common sense retirement; • Come into our office to discuss exciting retirement opportunities.
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Get Shafted! Finding the right shaft for your game By Leonard Finkel Think you know a lot about golf shafts? Think again! Did you know there are no standards for shaft flex? It can mean something different for every manufacturer. Playability tolerances in each category of stiff or regular are vast. To understand this better, I spoke with several shaft industry leaders: Fujikura’s Sales Manager Chad Embrey; Victor Afable, CEO of VA Composites; Gawain Robertson, Owner of ACCRA Shafts; and Nick Sherburne, co-founder of Club Champion. Club Champion is the No. 1 premium club fitter, builder and retailer of the best brands in golf. Its master fitters and builders are unrivaled experts whose approach is unbiased, where no specific vendor is promoted. The only goal is to find the best combination of components to lower your scores. Club Champion offers over 35,000 hittable shaft and head combinations, making Sherburne an expert on this topic. “The industry taught us the club head is the engine of the golf club because that’s ‘what hits the ball,’ but the shaft is far more important,” Sherburne said. “With thousands of shaft options and no industry ‘flex’ standards, it’s nearly impossible for golfers to find the shaft that performs best for them without professional help. It’s important to find a skilled fitter with a launch monitor to find the right shaft to maximize your performance.” According to Robertson, “terms like stiff or regular flex are so generalized, they essentially mean nothing. Different sections of the shaft can be totally different flexes.” Manufacturers design shafts for three different sections; 1) butt (the grip end), 2) midsection and 3) tip sections. They can produce shafts that are soft in the middle, stiff at the tip, and medium in the butt or any combination imaginable. “Club fitters understand the profiles of shafts,” Robertson said. “If a player needs something with a softer tip section and a stiffer butt section, they know which shaft has that profile. Club Champion’s understanding of how to fit golfers is an integral part of any club being successful in a player’s hands. “ “Flex specifications are impacted by torque - a misunderstood shaft specification,” Embry said. “Many golfers believe lower torque means better shafts, which is not necessarily true. Seasoned fitters will often choose a higher torque shaft for smoother, slower swingers to help get the ball up in the air faster and create spin. Lower torque is better for
players that swing aggressively.” Afable believes custom fitting is very important. “Shafts with various weights and flexes react differently to individual heads,” he said. “Some retail stores sell shafts off a wall. The problem is they may or may not be the right shaft for you. Furthermore, the builder who installs the shaft may not know how to trim it correctly which is where things can go wrong. It is essential to find a highly skilled fitter, like Club Champion, who understands the difference and are trained to properly fit and install shafts.” There is an enormous difference between club manufacturers’ stock shafts and higher-end, aftermarket models Tour professionals play. Typically, cheaper shafts are made from lower grade materials. They’re manufactured in larger quantities in places like Mexico and Vietnam, which often means watered down tolerances. Exotic materials from Japan maintain very tight tolerances, not only for weight or flex, but straightness and roundness of the shaft. When a shaft is not rolled or manufactured properly, there will be gaps within the layers of graphite, which can really affect performance. “Mostly, OEM shafts do what they’re intended to do, but they’re not designed to dial players in,” Embry noted. Club Champion uses a unique coupling system allowing golfers to hit any combination of heads and shafts. They find combinations that solve a golfer’s problems. Most fitters use club carts provided by club manufacturers, however, they are unable to mix-and-match across carts to determine the ideal combination. Club Champion offers hundreds of shafts, many not available through most other fitters and retailers.
Sherburne believes golfers should start thinking about what value they put a on their golf game. “Sometimes people come in and say they’ll just get something off the shelf because spending $500 to get an extra 20 yards isn’t worth it,” he said. “That 20 extra yards is two less clubs into the green? Hitting pitching wedge instead of 8-iron, you’re going to hit more greens. I can almost guarantee that 20 yards is going to knock two strokes off your handicap.” Club Champion delivers a Tour-quality fitting producing longer, more accurate shots with a nearly 100-percent satisfaction rate. Whether looking to buy new clubs or just fix your current set, a premium club fitting is the answer. Many assume that premium fitting is
only for great golfers, but a 2017 Golf Magazine study found that high handicappers improved even more dramatically. With 31 studios across the country, including 6551 York Avenue in Edina, and seven more coming in the next three months, Club Champion is ready to improve your game. Don’t just buy clubs, buy guaranteed improvement. Schedule and complete a fitting before May 20, and save 50% on full bag fittings and 33% on all other fittings. Full bag fittings are now $175 and are regularly $350
For more information visit clubchampiongolf.com or call 888-335-9445. Check out our new Cool Springs location.
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We are taking the Nashville Golf Show to the Nashville Fairgrounds
Save the Date! 2019 Nashville Golf Show At the Nashville Fairgrounds February 15-17, 2019
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Paul Warren Memorial Award winners for 2018 Read all about our winners in the June Tee Times
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Opinion By David Widener
Member Golf Writers Association of America
P
Spotlight on water hole at Players Championship
atrick Reed was not on the radar to win the Masters this year. Golf Magazine said it eliminated him from consideration “because of sub-par driv-
ing.” What Reed did was win by shooting 15-under par. With that effort in winning his first major, he will not be under the radar for the Players Championship, but he still won’t draw the most attention, nor will any other golfer in the field. Why? Because the Players Championship is played on the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass, where the 17th hole grabs the spotlight. It is a par-3, 137-yard hole with an island (actually peninsula) green that ranks one of the most exciting holes on the PGA Tour. So much so that NBC has 11 cameras on the hole and PGA Tour live streams every shot. It rivals the back nine at Augusta National as must-watch TV and proves to us that pros are human. Since the tour started keeping records on the hole in 2003, water surrounding the green has claimed 713 balls, with the highest being 93 in 2007 and the fewest being 28 in 2014. The highest score recorded on the hole belongs to Bob Tway, who posted a 12 in the third round of the 2005 tournament after putting four balls in the water and three-putting once on the green. The only player to birdie the hole all four rounds is Paul Azinger, who accomplished the feat in 1987. Perhaps Johnny Miller best describes the hole, who said in 1984: “Every course needs a hole that puckers your rear end.” Nerves or whatever you want to call it definitely affects you. “You knew you were in trouble when you got on the tee,” Jack Nicklaus said in 2007. “No matter what, you knew sooner or later it was going to get you.” In 2009, Tiger Woods called the hole “too gimmicky for the 17th hole of a championship.” However, there have been some great shots at
the 17th, including eight holes-in-one, the latest by Sergio Garcia in the first round last year. Fred Couples aced it 1997, and had a memorable par in 1999 when he put his first shot in the water then reteed and knocked his third shot in the hole on the fly for par. The 12th hole at Augusta National and the 7th at Pebble Beach also are great par-3 water holes. Swirling winds and Raes Creek in front of the green make the 12th at Augusta extremely tough despite being shortest hole on the course at 155 yards. Jordan Spieth, on his way to the championship in 2014, but put two in the water in recording a seven. However, the record score is 13 that Tom Weiskopf posted in 1980 when he hit five shots in Raes Creek. Just as dangerous is a pond that guards the green at the par-5 17th. It killed Garcia’s bid to repeat as Masters champion this year when he put five balls in the pond to post a record 13 on the hole. The seventh hole at Pebble Beach is the shortest hole on tour at 106 yards, but a tiny green well guarded by bunkers and surrounded on three sides by Carmel Bay makes for no easy shot. It is perhaps the most photographed hole in golf, even being the site of CBS Patrick Reed announcer Jim Nance’s wedding. Nashville’s Brandt Snedeker, a two-time winner (2013, 2015) at Pebble Beach, has seen No. 7 at its worst. He remembers hitting a 4-iron straight into the wind and rain “as low and has hard as I can” and barely making the green. He’s also quick to smile and tell you he two-putted for par and “went along my happy little way to the next green.” Wind is always a problem when playing the hole. Sam Snead once chose to putt off the tee rather than send a tee shot into the teeth of a wicked wind. It was reported that he was the only player to par the hole that day. For you Trivia buffs, the first ace on the hole was recorded by former 49ers quarterback the late John Brodie in 1959 while playing in the Pro-Am. Being a high handicap golfer, water and me never got along. Being known as “King of Cheap,” it got so bad I would not use one of my new balls for fear of it finding a watery grave, which it usually did. Talk about being a pessimist. My problem seemed to be I was coming up too soon on my downswing thinking I had to lift the ball to get it over the water which resulted in me topping the ball. Here’s hoping you readers who are beginners or high handicap golfers are optimistic when water comes into play.
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Vanderbilt golf takes home third straight title at Mason Rudolph Championship Tee times Report For the third year in a row, Vanderbilt golf defended its home turf with a team title in the Mason Rudolph Championship at Vanderbilt Legends Club in Franklin. This year, however, it took some late-tournament heroics to bring home the hardware. No. 4 Vanderbilt trailed Liberty by five shots entering the final round. Liberty faltered with a team score of 291 while the Commodores posted a tournament-best 278 to finish at 853, three shots ahead of second-place Alabama. Liberty finished 9-over while Florida (+15) posted a 288 in the final two rounds to finish fourth. Vanderbilt also took home prominent individual honors as sophomore John Augenstein posted a tournament-best 206 (-7) to win by five strokes and senior Theo Humphrey rode a first-round 68 to a third-place finish at 212. Alabama boasted three finishers in the top 10 with a second-place finish from Davis
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14.
Vanderbilt 853 (+1) Alabama 856 (+4) Liberty 861 (+9) Florida 867 (+15) East Tennessee State 883 (+31) Georgia 883 (+31) Louisville 883 (+31) Middle Tennessee 895 (+43) Charlotte 896 (+44) South Dakota 899 (+47) Ball State 902 (+50) Troy 911 (+59) Tennessee Tech 938 (+86) High Point 940 (+88)
Shore (211) while Wilson Furr (215) tied for seventh and Jonathan Hardee (217) tied for 10th. While Liberty failed to hold its Round 2 lead, it did finish with a trio of top performers to join Alabama in a tie for most top-10 individual performances. Ervin Chang (213) followed a second-round 68 with a final-round 72 to finish fourth for the tournament while Mickey De(l-r) Head Coach Scott Limbaugh, Cooper Sears, Patrick Morat (216) sat alone Martin, Mason Greenberg, John Augenstein, Harrison Ott, in ninth place and Isaiah Theo Humphrey, Will Gordon, Luke Zieman, Michael Decker, Logue finished at 217 Andrew Jacobe, and Assistant Coach Gator Todd and tied for 10th.
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Don’t neglect your putting when it comes time to practice By Paul Brannon Do you want to play better golf? Then you need to make more putts. Putting is the stat that is most overlooked but makes up the majority of your score. Several studies have shown putting makes up 35 to 50 percent of the game. Yet most average players would rather spend their time on the range hitting drivers. I admit the long drive competitions are fun to watch, but shooting better scores is even more fun. If you can work 1 to 2 hours of putting practice into your week your scores will start Set up for good Roll the putt to lower. Here are a few drills to Reading the putt alignment help you become a better putter. left breaking putt. Your goal is to make 10 4 Corners: What you need - 4 tees or coins, 5 golf balls and your put- in a row or a total of 25 putts from each ter. Set up 4 tees a putter’s length from tee. This drill will help you become accusthe hole. The tees should be set up in a tomed to making putts. Reverse Ladder: What you need - 2 north, south, east and west compass pattern. This ensures that you will have an ball marks or coins, 7 to 10 golf balls and uphill, downhill, left to right and right to putter. Put the 2 coins about 20 feet apart.
Putting area at the Brentwood store
Reverse Ladder Drill
Four Corners Drill
Try to make sure you have an uphill and downhill putt. The first putt you are trying to roll the ball to the other mark, stopping as close as possible. Getting it within 2 feet is the goal. The second putt should stop within 2 feet of the first ball. You will continue this process with all the balls. Each ball should finish about 2 feet apart. If your gapping is not consistent redo the drill until the pattern is there. Now repeat the drill in the opposite direction. This way you are working on the speed of uphill and downhill putts. These two drills will help you improve your putting and should lower your scores. Good luck and go play better golf.
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“Best Course You Can Play” - GolfWeek
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YOUR NEXT EVENT. Golf Outings • Social Events • Weddings • Complimentary Parking • Corporate Events Retreats & Team Building
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Equipment Corner ClubGlider golf travel bag has legs that support the weight Sun Mountain ClubGlider is the next evolution in golf travel bags. It’s the only golf travel bag that has extendable legs and wheels to support 100 percent of the weight, while eliminating the repeated bending and lifting required with traditional travel bags. ClubGlider is available in four different models – Pro, Tour Series, Meridian, and Journey – offering protection for golfers ranging from weekend warriors to touring professionals. And, that protection is more robust than ever with the switch to ballistic-style nylon on the Meridian model. Retail prices are $349, $329, $289, and $249 respectively. ClubGlider glides from parking lot to luggage counter because its legs extend and support all of the weight and pivoting caster wheels that handle corners and curbs with ease. Once checked-in, the legs easily tuck away securely
for carefree travel. ClubGlider offers all of the protection and storage space of a traditional golf travel bag. Making the cut from over 1,000 entrants in the Golf Channel “Fore Inventors Only” reality show, ClubGlider was named one of five finalists in this search for the next great golf invention. After a successful introduction, Sun Mountain increased the offering to include additional models. ClubGlider Meridian is the name of the original ClubGlider. ClubGlider Pro is the largest of the models made to accommodate tour players’ oversized staff bags (or two lightweight
carry bags). ClubGlider Journey is a smaller and lighter version and the Tour Series feature vinyl fabric instead of nylon. ClubGlider eliminates on average over 45 pounds of pressure from the golfer’s shoulders and back. ClubGlider can also be loaded while standing, eliminating the need to bend all the way over as with other travel bags. ClubGlider is simple, fast and easy to use with retractable legs and wheels that lock securely for travel. ClubGlider includes heavy-duty twoway zippers, thick foam padding extending down the travel bag to protect clubheads and shafts, storage pockets, internal cinch straps, reinforced wear areas, and a lift-assist handle. ClubGlider’s unique benefits have also been extended to a suitcase, ski travel bag and snowboard travel bag. For the retailer nearest you call 800-2279224 or visit www.sunmountain.com.
80BREAKR™ unveils advanced app features SAN DIEGO - The 80BREAKR™ golf scorecard app now includes advanced features that make it an even more user-friendly experience - a result of direct feedback from golfers. “We are very excited to get all these improvements into the 80BREAKR™ app over a couple of official releases in the coming days,” said Thomas Stewart, president and developer of the 80BREAKR golf app. “We are surprised by the high adoption rate of the 80BREAKR™ app by golfers so early in the season, as well as by golf courses looking to boost revenue & profit for 2018.” One-Tap Scoring The first new feature is one-tap scoring. While two-tap scoring was fantastic, our app’s users thought we needed to do even better. So, we have. With one-tap scoring, if someone pars any hole, the next open hole for any golfer on the scorecard can be auto-filled with a par by tapping the par row on the scorecard for that hole. Mind you, we still offer two-tap scoring -- just tap the box you’d write the score in on a piece of paper, and select score, and you’re done. GPS Flyovers The second new feature is a GPS flyover view of every hole. Simply tap the hole number, and you’ll see the hole’s graphics along with a shotdistance tool. Fewer Buttons The latest version of the app also features fewer buttons, which helps simplify the interface. 80BREAKR previously displayed eight buttons across the top of the scorecard...that has been reduced to four without lessening functionality. Selecting a golf course is now tappable on the golf course row, stats is a drop-down menu, voice-input is tapping the scorecard
80BREAKR logo, and we’ve dumped the seldom used “new game” button. One-Time Sign-In The next release of the app will have a “remember me” checkbox. So, from any device, you simply need to login once, check the box, and you’ll never have to login for that device again -- even if it has been powered off or reset. Easier to Add your Friends to your scorecard 80BREAKR™ is always looking to reduce screen taps & make it easier to use. Most golf-
ers play with golfers they know, so we help you enter your friends using your Contacts on your phone. How? After you hit the add player “+” button, as you start to type a friend’s name, the 80BREAKR™ app looks for matches in your contacts and auto-fills name and email address to make it easier to add players to the scorecard. There are many improvements you can see and take advantage of, but there are also a bunch of
improvements you can’t see: We’ve made updates for new Apple devices, several changes when connecting to the GPS satellites & the 80BREAKR™ server in background mode. While the app is waiting for connectivity, the app keeps working as the best & easiest golf scorecard ever. Our mission to help amateur golfers improve is the driving force behind every change we make in the 80BREAKR™ app. 80BREAKR™ Saves Your Scorecards Finally, 80BREAKR is releasing an update that keeps your scorecards seamlessly and securely on our server. This is very convenient for golfers who can use their phone one day to keep score, an iPad or tablet the next, then go back to their phone after that. All the while, all scorecards are accessible from any device.
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Tee it up and celebrate National Trails Day L
ast month I said that spring was just around the corner. Wrong again. This has been the worst winter we have experienced in Tennessee in quite some time and the pent-up demand to play golf is about to explode. Hopefully, when you read this, the tide has turned, the sun is blazing, everything is blooming to the hilt, and we are all enjoying the fact that we are outside playing every day, because that’s what it will take for all of us to catch up on the rounds of golf that each of us have missed. All of a sudden it’s just about tournament season, and I hope many of you played in the Dogwood Classic at Montgomery Bell State Park golf course the last weekend of April. In that vein, Montgomery
Home of The Dogwood Classic
Bell is also hosting the TGA State Senior and Super Senior 4-Ball Championships on June 12-15. Montgomery Bell and the Tennessee Golf Trail are proud to be associated with the Tennessee Golf Association and look forward to hosting many championships in the future as well as supporting junior golf all over the state. In conjunction with National Trails Day on June 2, the Tennessee Golf Trail will have a celebration of its own at the Bear Trace at Cumberland Mountain State Park in Crossville. That day also happens to be the 20th Anniversary of the opening of that facility and golf professional Kelvin Burgin and his staff are arranging to have a gift for each golfer that plays from
Hole No. 11 Montgomery Bell Golf Course
Sunday, May 27 through Saturday, June 2. Each player will receive a $20 Bear Bucks Certificate good for merchandise in the golf shop during the celebration and a good time should be had by all, and it’s the perfect time to be on the plateau. As I mentioned, National Trails Day is June 2 and Tennessee State Parks will have free guided hikes on that day to encourage outdoor enthusiasts to participate in several planned activities
across the state. Each state park will host its own hike, offering a variety of family-friendly activities including historical hikes, educational programming, re-enactments and wildlife watching. So, take the family to the park and play some golf and enjoy other activities sponsored by Tennessee State Parks and the Tennessee Golf Trail. As always, we appreciate the support of the Tennessee Golf Trail and Tennessee State Parks. - Mike
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Streamsong Black sings a winning tune By Gregg Dewalt Tee Times Editor BOWLING GREEN, Florida – The anticipation of a first visit to Streamsong Resort and its three acclaimed golf courses builds with each passing mile on the trip south from Orlando. The first order of business is to find the resort, though, and that’s not entirely easy as you put your trust in the vehicle’s GPS. Even by Florida standards with its never-ending line of strip malls, Streamsong is located in an isolated part of the Sunshine State, and that’s a good thing. This early-morning jaunt is to tackle Streamsong Black, the latest addition to the resort and created by Gil Hanse, who is one of the hottest designers on the market. Recent additions to his portfolio include Mossy Oak in West Point, Mississippi and the Olympic Course in Rio de Janeiro. The first visual upon arrival before the sun even crests the horizon is the ultramodern clubhouse that offers a panoramic view of the course. To say the least, the views from the clubhouse are stunning. When the sun does appear, it offers a first-glimpse of the property’s expanse. Black opened in 2017 and is routed across 300 acres. Everything about it is big. The par-73 layout features greens that average 8,000 square feet, gaping bunkers and wide fairways. Aside from the largesse, though, is the minimalist approach Hanse took while designing Black as a companion to the previously opened Red and Blue courses. “For us, the biggest challenge was to distinguish Black from Red and Blue from a playability perspective, from an experience perspective,” Streamsong CEO Rich Mack said days later while attending the PGA Merchandise Show. “So, that was a really unique part of it.” Mack’s suggestions to Hanse when it came to design were simple, yet challenging. “It was primarily, don’t try to outdo Red and Blue,” Mack said. “Because you can go and build dramatic hole after dramatic hole, but we wanted to have flow and transition and we wanted it to fit together, and I think he did that.” Although Black, which was named Golf Magazine’s Best New Course of 2017 and could easily host professional tour events, Mack had something else in mind. “Our intention was to not make it a hard course, our intention was to make it a course that had resistance if we wanted it to have resistance,” he said. “But we wanted to make it definitely strategic, fun and bold.” Hanse definitely did that. Playing Black is unlike most golf in the U.S. Instead, think the links courses in the U.K. – open
and exposed to the elements while putting a premium on creativity and imagination for each shot. “Some people say that it looks like the course has been around here for 100 years, which is really a compliment,” Mack said. “It fit into the landscape very nicely. There is nothing unnatural about this.” Unlike Red and Blue, which were designed by Ben Crenshaw/Bill Coore and Tom Doak and carved from old phosphate mines, Black is a completely different beast. “Our tees are expansive, we have a lot of teeing space from front to back,” Mack said. “In most respects, they are continuous, so they are not like they are separate paths. We can kind of go anywhere. There are no restrictions.”
Streamsong Black No 5. Photo credit: Larry Lambrecht
Black can play anywhere from 5,200 yards to 7,500 yards, according to Mack. It also features five par 5s. “I love par 5s,” he said. “It gives the average golfer another scoring opportunity if you hit some decent shots.” Black features three other unique aspects. It plays fast and firm, thanks to the installation of Celebration Bermudagrass., which is ideal for tolerance, recovery and drought resistance. “Your ball will definitely scoot,” Mack said. “That’s pretty neat. Hanse incorporated mini-verde grasses on and around the greens structures, providing multiple options for chipping and pitching. In many instances, using a hybrid, long iron or putter is a better option than a wedge or sand wedge. Because the surrounds and the greens utilize the same mini-verde grass, it’s often difficult to determine if your ball is on or off the green. Green painted dots offer
Streamsong Black No 7. Photo credit: Larry Lambrecht
guidance in that regard, and because the greens are so big it’s not uncommon to hit a green in regulation and have a birdie putt measuring 80 to 100 feet. Hanse summed up what he hoped to create perfectly when talking to Ken MacLeod of Golf Oklahoma. “My hope is that they had fun, and that the creativity required to play the course provided some memorable shots. We also hope that they leave the course wanting to come back and try it again, armed with some course knowledge that they might not have had on the first time out. We hope it is a course that needs to be learned over multiple visits and that the additional experience yields more enjoyment each and every time.” For more information, go to streamsongresort.com.
Streamsong Black No 17. Photo credit: Larry Lambrecht
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Acceleration is key to hitting good bunker shots By Grayson Kirkham Tee Times contributor When many golfers find themselves in a greenside bunker, one word often comes to mind: jail. Without proper technique, that’s exactly what these large bowls of sand can feel like to a player. However, there’s another word (a more positive one), that can change this task from a prison sentence into an opportu-
make the area of sand you take smaller and more exact.
nity. Understanding the key concept of acceleration will lead you to success out of the sand.
Throw the Sand onto the Green
What is Acceleration?
According to the dictionary definition, acceleration is an “increase in the rate or speed of something.” If we apply that to golf, that may translate to hit “through the ball.” This is a concept not exclusive to just bunker shots, but is essential in all golf shots. If you think about it, acceleration is what makes a golf swing a swing. Imagine something that’s big, efficient and powerful, like a locomotive. If there’s something sitting on the tracks, in the path of the train, does the train stop when it hits it or does it keep moving forward? We have to swing the golf club all the way into the finish, as if there’s nothing in its way.
Contacting the Sand
Now that we understand acceleration, we need to understand how to hit the golf ball in a bunker. Better yet, how we don’t hit it. In a greenside bunker, we don’t want the club to contact the ball. The sand under the ball is our only target at impact. Generally speaking, you want the club to enter the sand a few inches behind the ball. When you practice bunker
shots, draw a circle or rectangle around the golf ball (6 inches or so in length) and see if you can consistently take the same amount of sand with each swing. If you can do that while entering the sand at the same point behind the ball each time, you will become consistent with your bunker shots. As you improve, you’ll be able to
The sand wedge is designed to easily glide through (when the club face is set in an open position) and splash sand out of a bunker. Now, since we have to be sure we accelerate through the shot, a great way to ensure that is to take note of where the sand is going after making contact. If we want to get the ball out of the bunker we have to get the sand out with it. So, think of yourself throwing sand onto the green with your club. If the sand makes it to the green, odds are the golf ball will make it too. Practice bunker shots with no golf ball and see how often you can get sand to splash onto the
green. If you can master acceleration in the bunkers, your worries of ending up in golf jail will dissolve and you can actually have fun escaping. (Accelerate through the sand and into a high finish to ensure you get the ball out and back in position.)
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In His Grip By Scott Lehman
Are you striving with excellence? Golfing great Jack Nicklaus stood in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda and wiped away tears. On the table near him was the Congressional Medal of Honor with an inscription explaining why he was being awarded America’s highest civilian honor for, “Excellence in sport, promoting integrity and sportsmanship, and dedication to philanthropy and children’s healthcare, with a lifelong commitment to family.” What an honor for a man who has done so much throughout his life through the game of golf. But here is a question for you. What would your Christian life look like if you pursued Jesus with the same commitment to excellence with which Nicklaus pursued golf? I admit, I’m not totally there, but I want to be. I want to pursue Jesus with everything I’ve got. I want to be excellent for Him, so I keep striving toward that goal. You should too. Excellence is our calling as Christians.
“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus.” (Colossians 3:17; NIV) “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31; NIV) The Apostle Paul wrote both of these verses and he picked two of the most mundane activities in which a human being can engage – eating and drinking – to represent that is to be done with excellence that honors God. Paul was no compromise on challenging Christians to not only pursue excellence, but
to achieve it. In Romans 12:1-2, he urges believers to offer their entire lives as a sacrifice to God. He tells us we must elevate the mind to the point that our old ways of thinking, ways that were entrenched in sin and thinking only of ourselves, are transformed to focus on God. He also tells us this way of transformed thinking is a sacrifice to God. Think about that. You have nothing to offer God. If you did you wouldn’t need a Savior. There would be no need for Jesus to bridge the gap between you and the Father. However, in response to the reconciliation and forgiveness of sin God brought through the salvation He’s provided, Paul calls us to give the only sacrifice we have to offer: our lives. And if that’s what we’ve got to give, then let’s give it with excellence - begininning today!
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Ed Polanec, Jones flight
Kelly Raglin, Hogan flight
Brandon Casella, Sarazen flight
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Ryan Love, Hogan flight
Joshua Cox, Championship flight
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Dale McLemore, Hogan flight
Golf Channel Amateur Tour offering once-in-a-lifetime opportunities every year By Justin Onslow Tee Times Associate Editor The average weekend golfer probably never dreams of playing on a tour, much less a tour that offers the opportunity to play such prestigious courses as TPC Sawgrass, Chambers Bay and the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island. Luckily for golfers of any skill level, the Golf Channel Amateur Tour offers the opportunity to play at what some may consider oncein-a-lifetime courses every year. The Golf Channel Amateur Tour has chapters all across the country, including a Nashville chapter that caters to golfers of all skill levels, as is the aim of the tour. As Director for the Nashville Golf Channel Amateur Tour Joe Craig puts it, it’s a chance to play on historic tracks making friendships along the way, regardless of talent and skill level. “I think the biggest thing the tour does is (players are) going to meet other players and other people who want to improve their game,” Craig said. “One of the things I’ve tried to emphasize with this tour is camaraderie.” The Golf Channel Amateur Tour is a flighted tour that matches players with similar handicaps. All players are welcome, from “Champion” players (0-3.9 handicap) to “Hogan” (8-11.9) and even “Snead” players with a handicap of 20 or higher. In all, the tour flights players into six categories with corresponding flights for the senior divisions. What’s more, the tour is for both male and female golfers, all of whom play together in their respective flights. Women who participate on the tour are grouped with male counterparts according to handicap and simply play one tee box ahead. And while the Nashville chapter doesn’t currently have any female members, Craig acknowledges he’s made it a point to recruit female golfers in
his brief stint as director of the chapter. “I have tried to get a couple of ladies to look at our tour,” Craig said. “In other (chapters) they have regular attendance from ladies. But currently here in Nashville we don’t have anybody. I wish we did.” There’s still plenty of time for Craig to get the word out, however. The 64-year-old West Virginia native, who has called Nashville home for more than 20 years, took over management of the Nashville chapter in December after having been a part of the tour for several years. “I was a playing member for the last five years of the tour,” Craig said. “A young man by the name of Kyle Landrum is really the head-up person who started this thing. He stepped down in December because he has started a family. I had an interest to make sure it continued to grow and it became a thriving tour.” With the benefits the tour offers, it’s hard to imagine a scenario in which it doesn’t thrive. For a $199 membership fee ($179 for renewing members), golfers are given a chance to play at any Golf Channel Amateur Tour event in the country. All tournaments are one-day, 18-hole events for which participating members pay a discounted fee to play. “Once you pay your fee you’re okay to play at any event anywhere in the country,” Craig said. “You just pay your fee to play that day, which I think is a really great opportunity.” Craig estimates tournament fees of between $85 and $120, which, for the venues at which many tournaments are held, happens to be a bargain compared to the prices of playing the same courses as a casual weekend golfer. “Call it a bucket list kind of thing,” Craig said. “How many of your average golfers get to go to Kiawah and play the Ocean Course? And not only that but the prices that are negotiated are usually half of what it costs to walk
on.” In addition, prizes and trophies are awarded to the top finishers in each flight of every tournament and all players have an opportunity to compete for a spot in the 36-hole Golf Channel Amateur Tour National Championship. For golfers who already spend hundreds or thousands of dollars to play throughout the year, the tour might simply be a sound investment in playing stunning
golf courses. “When you walk the Ocean Course at Kiawah and you think about all the tournaments and all the people who have played there… this is a once in a lifetime thing,” Craig said. “It’s an opportunity to play and compete on some of the finest courses in the country.” Additional information about the Golf Channel Amateur Tour can be found at gcamtour. com.
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HoriPro Honors golf tournament gives golfers peek behind curtain of Nashville music industry By Justin Onslow Tee Times Associate Editor The vast majority of what it takes to make a record happens behind the scenes with people most listeners will never knew existed. It’s people like Jim Ed Norman, who worked alongside the Eagles for several years on some massively popular albums, who few outside the music industry could pick out of a lineup. But on June 1, Norman will be recognized and honored alongside fellow music industry giants Mike Owens and Bergen White at the HoriPro Honors golf tournament at Henry Horton State Park. The tournament has been around since 1967 in several iterations and, despite a few hiatuses, remains alive and well to this day. The long-running tournament isn’t just for music industry folks (though the industry is well represented every year). It’s also for the golfer or music fan who just wants to spend some time around the people who don’t often get recognized on the street but have influenced music in some very profound ways. And despite the tournament not being an industryonly event, nearly two-thirds of the tournament participants are people who work or have worked behind the scenes in the music industry. As HoriPro Entertainment Senior Vice President Butch Baker, Sr. ex-
plains it, the tournament started as a means for industry professionals to get together and play golf at an affordable event at “the best state-run golf course in Tennessee.” “It started for guys who couldn’t afford to play in the Chet Atkins and some of these other tournaments that were so expensive,” Baker said. “Those tournaments were $1,000 or $1,500 to play. So (Four Star Records exec) Bob Jennings said, ‘We need to start a tournament that everyone—all those guys behind the scenes—can play in.’” The resulting tournament grew in popularity and has evolved into a wonderful occasion for area golfers to enjoy an affordable round of golf alongside engineers,
This foursome was having a good time at the 2017 event (L-R) Living Legends, Jody Williams & Dave Hall
Music is an integral part of the HoriPro Honors tournament
Golf Galaxy at Brentwood & Cool Springs celebrates the ladies
Come see what Fun with more in June issue Tee Times
Our winner is all smiles
Staff at Cool Springs having fun!
Cody Hale of SeeMore giving putting tip
producers, arrangers and even song writers who are directly responsible for hits we can all sing along with even if we have no idea who penned them. The entry fee for the tournament is $150 per golfer and includes an 18-hole round of golf, a gift bag, a shirt and a dinner ticket (which can be purchased separately for $30 for non-golfers). All proceeds from the tournament go directly to the T.J. Martell Foundation for Leukemia, cancer and AIDS research. Included in the full day of events is a unique opportunity to listen to several songwriters in attendance play their songs at the postdinner banquet and bonfire (the last event on the daily schedule), some of which are always instantly recognizable hits. And it’s a good bet there will be several songwriters participating in the tournament as the prior two days leading up to the event serve as a songwriters retreat at Henry Horton. As tournament director and longtime industry professional Jack Craw puts it, the interaction with songwriters is one of the best things about the event. “That’s one of the most fantastic things that the outside public (gets). You’ll get a lot of the songwriters that are there to play some of their hits. They get in a circle and they just kind of go around and you’ll hear all the writers playing some of their new stuff and old stuff. You just don’t know who’s going to show up.” And while the HoriPro Honors tournament is very much for the outside public, one of the largest elements of the event that draws music industry professionals is in the name of the event itself. Each year, the tournament honors industry legends and gives them a spotlight they very much deserve. This year,
Norman, Owens and White will receive recognition at the honors banquet. In addition to producing major acts such as Kenny Rogers and Hank Williams, Jr., Norman served as president of Warner Brothers Records Nashville and is the current Chief Creative Advisor for Curb Records. Owens helped build the careers of Alan Jackson, Brooks and Dunn and Diamond Rio at Arista Records and has worked alongside Joe Nichols and George Strait as well as being the publisher responsible for recordings by the likes of Garth Brooks, Josh Turner and Lee Ann Womack. Like Norman and Owens, White’s influence has been profound and vast. In his five-plus decades in the music business, White has worked with a litany of huge names like Elvis Presley, Chet Atkins, Glen Campbell, Jimmy Buffett, Vince Gil and hundreds more. He also served as music director for the CMA Awards for more than 20 years. All three men will get some well-earned time in the spotlight on June 1. If the allure of rubbing shoulders with music industry professionals and the great cause the tournament benefits aren’t enticing enough, there’s also the fact that the Henry Horton golf course is a tremendous place to spend a day for a round of golf. “[Henry Horton] gives us a special rate at the lodge to stay there that night,” Baker said. “People come stay all day long, bring their (family) and go to the dinner at night, go to the guitar pull in the evening and just make a night of it. A lot of people get a room, play the golf tournament, get up and play golf the next day because it’s that kind of amazing place to be.” For additional information about the HoriPro Honors Tournament presented by Legends Bank, contact Courtney Crist at courtney@horipro.com (615-2559837) or Jack Craw at gocraw@att.net (615-403-5225).
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Rules to golf by By Buddy Harston
Head Golf Instructor Vanderbilt Legends Club
Knowing the rules can be stroke savers This month we’re going to have a discussion on the Rules of Golf and how you can be better at administering rules questions that arise during the course of play. I realize that learning the many different rules can be boring, to say the least. But I also realize that knowing the rules can actually save you strokes. Saving strokes, now that is worth your attention. Golf is like no other game in that the player is the first referee and umpire. The rule book decrees that golf is played by ladies and gentlemen and that they are to uphold the laws of the game even when no other player witnesses an infraction. The great Bobby Jones was playing in the U.S. Open one year and inadvertently caused his ball to move. No other person saw it move. He immediately called a penalty on himself and became quite perplexed when his playing partners and spectators made such a big “to do” over being so honest. He said, “You might as well praise a man for not robbing a bank.” Such was the mindset of this great golfer from Georgia. In order for a player to be proficient with the Rules of Golf, they must first have a pretty
fair understanding of the definitions in the rule book. It’s almost like learning a new language in that it will be very difficult to understand the rules if one doesn’t understand the definitions. For instance, if you don’t know the definition of a “movable obstruction” then you probably won’t know that you cannot move an apple that has fallen from a tree into a bunker but that you can move an apple that has a bite taken out of it. So, my advice is to study the definitions and then be proficient at finding the rule in the USGA Rules of Golf booklet. You don’t need to memorize the rules but it certainly will help if you have a good knowledge of the definitions. Major 2017 Rule change: if your ball moves accidentally while in the act of marking or replacing it on the putting green, there is no penalty. You must, however, replace it correctly. This is the famous Dustin Johnson rule that cost him a stroke in his U.S. Open win.
ROAD TRIP No. 44
More golf than you can shake a 9-iron at. When it comes to championship golf, there’s no better destination than Alabama. Come play where the PGA TOUR professionals compete and see why Golf Digest editors picked two of Alabama’s golf resorts among their favorites. For starters, there are the 468 holes along the world-renowned Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail. Stretching from the mountains in the north to the Gulf Coast in the south, America’s original golf trail opened 25 years ago and recently completed a massive renovation of its 26 courses. Then there are the many other impressive courses scattered across the state, designed by the likes of Arnold Palmer and Jerry Pate. Each with its own set of challenges, each with its own rewards. Plan an epic road trip to great golf courses across the state of Alabama. Download Alabama Road Trips from your app store
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