Central Texas Golf News

Leading wedding resource The Knot and the all-new JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa have announced the names of six lucky couples who will tee off on March 4 for the chance to win a $150,000 dream wedding. The finalists were selected in a nationwide contest titled "The Perfect Match" hosted on TheKnot.com.

The tournament will be held at the new PGA Tour Tournament Players Golf Club (TPC) San Antonio and the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa. 

Art Stricklin is an award-winning Texas golf writer and current president of the Texas Golf Writers Association. After graduating from Baylor University in 1983 with a double major, he spent more than a decade working for Texas newspapers including three years as the golf writer for the San Antonio Express-News.

Stricklin has now written a total of seven books including, ‘Thanks for the Memories,’ on the history of the Northwood Club in Dallas and Links, Lore & Legends: The Story of Texas Golf.

He formed his own company, Stricklin Free-Lance & Books in 1995, where he has became one of Texas’ foremost experts on golf history and travel, personally witnessing nearly every professional and amateur golf tournament played in the state and talking with every historic figure. 

Ping recently announced that John Rowsey at The Golf Club has been honored as a 2009 PING Regional Club Fitter of the Year.

The company, which pioneered custom fitting nearly 40 years ago, recognized Rowsey for his continuing commitment to custom fitting and its value to golfers of all abilities.

“John shares our belief that if golfers take the time to get custom fit, they’ll see improved performance on the golf course. His attention to detail and passion for service ensure golfers benefit from the most thorough custom fitting in the industry,” said John A. Solheim, PING Chairman & CEO. “He demonstrates his expertise on a daily basis to ensure golfers receive the full value offered by PING’s custom fitting program. John’s  commitment to our program makes him very deserving of this honor."

Five years away from golf course architecture stokes project designer’s creative juices

In a move that returns him to his roots in the golf industry, veteran technical advisor and project designer Bill Fitzpatrick has re-joined the team at GolfScapes, Inc., where he will work in conjunction with company founder and principal Jeffrey D. Brauer.

Fitzpatrick worked with Brauer and GolfScapes from 1997-2003, when he left to become a land development project manager, construction administrator and field representative with D.R. Horton Homes. His time at that position will bring new sophistication to his field work skills.

HILTON HEAD - This spring bands of brothers from every corner of the country will once again set aside sibling rivalries and team up for a chance to claim the 2010 Brother-Brother National Championship at Bluffton’s Old South Golf Links. The 36-hole Better Ball tournament is open to any and all two-man blood brother teams, and features two divisions of play: team low net and loss gross. The event is scheduled for May 13-15.

Part golf tournament and part social gathering, the Brother-Brother event has become a yearly ritual for some brothers since its inception in 1993. For other pairs, it’s served as the common ground to repair estranged relationships.

As curious little boys evolve into men who know everything, they gleam much of their worldly knowledge from their fathers, absorbing behaviors, vocabulary, values, work ethic and a sense of who they will be – like freshly unwrapped sponges. Of course all of that information and understanding doesn’t pass from parent to child through osmosis. As is often the case, father and son will discover a shared passion or common ground ideal for cultivating the closest of bonds.

Whether it’s Little League baseball, Pop Warner football or a Saturday morning soccer league, sports often serve as the vehicle for forming that special friendship. But is there any better way for a father and son to learn about life and each other than by playing a round of golf together?

Carl Cooper won a closely-contested final match against Lonny Alexander by a 1-up margin to take the victory in the 2009 TaylorMade-adidas Golf Southern Texas PGA Match Play Championship at Escondido.

Cooper was one hole down after Alexander birdied the 10th hole in the finals, but came back to go 2 up after the 14th hole. Alexander pulled back within a single hole after the 15th, but both could only manage on the remaining holes, giving Cooper the championship.

A golfer’s vision of the target line on left-to-right breaking putts is the single most important factor in his or her ability to make putts. Almost all right-handed golfers tend to agree that left-to-right breaking putts seem to be more difficult to make than right-to-left breaking putts. Should these putts prove to be difficult for you, I offer the following simple solution.

First, simply observe where your vision focuses on your last glance from the golf ball toward the direction of the hole just prior to beginning the stroke. The hole draws the attention of most players’ eyes as they set up to make their final observation toward their intended starting direction of the ball, however, the hole is where you want the ball to end--not begin.