Central Texas Golf News

Often chastised for his aggressive style of play and questionable decision-making, Phil Mickelson is a go-for-broke type of golfer. But when his bold approach combines with his brilliant talent, Mickelson can produce strokes of genius.

Standing about 140 yards from the hole during the final round of the Crown Plaza Invitational at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Mickelson threaded a wedge shot under one tree and over another and landed it nine feet from the pin on the 72^nd and final hole of the tournament. Mickelson calmly sank the nine-foot birdie putt to win the event by one stroke over Australian Rod Pampling and South African Tim Clark. It was the 34^th career victory for Mickelson and his second career title at Colonial.

SAN ANTONIO – Sara Jane Hughes, 17, Sara Diaz, 15 and Daniel Ortega, 17 from The First Tee of San Antonio will compete for the opportunity to play in the Wal-Mart First Tee Open at Pebble Beach in August. Hughes and Diaz are two of 36 girls from The First Tee learning facilities worldwide who will take part in The First Tee selection process at Wentworth By The Sea Country Club in Rye, New Hampshire, July 23-27. Ortega is one of 90 boys from The First Tee learning facilities worldwide who will take part in The First Tee selection process at Kansas State University and Colbert Hills Golf Course in Manhattan, Kansas, July 14-18. 

Of the 78 juniors that will participate in this year’s unique tournament, 70 will be chosen from these two selection events. The fifth-annual Wal-Mart First Tee Open at Pebble Beach presented by Nature Valley, a nationally televised Champions Tour tournament, takes place August 25-31 over Labor Day weekend. 

Customer service and attention to detail are often sacrificed on the altar of size when it comes to stores specializing in golf equipment and merchandise. The Golf Club in Austin, located two-miles south of the river on Lamar Boulevard, has also expanded its operation but hasn’t lost its personal approach along the way.

“We occupy more of a niche,” said owner John Rowsey. “We have a down home feel and offer a personal touch. We can provide that for the customers better than anyone.”

The Golf Club has been at its new location for a little over a year and a half and has been in business a total of four and a half years. The family owned and operated store doesn’t have trouble matching the selection offered by the boys. 

Unknown to the many common golfers, is the fact that golf courses are bought and sold, have management company changes, or other behindthe-scenes efforts being worked on much of the time.

Fortunately, this has happened recently at The Golf Club of Seguin. The storied course, formerly known as Chaparral Country Club, was purchased about a year ago by the dynamic team of Jason York and Ken Whitaker. Ever since then, they have been focused on improving, as they say, the “product”. The product they refer to is the golf course. I can tell you this, they are making it happen A few years ago, under its former name, the course wasn’t even on my radar. However, in the past year, the concentration being made to the condition of the course, from tee to green, is very commendable. 

Forest Creek Golf Club in Round Rock is the site of the Central Texas Amateur. This years event marks the 10th anniversary of the Centex, know as one of the premiere amateur competitions in the Austin area. The championship will be held on July 19th and 20th at Forest Creek which has the reputation as one of best daily fee courses in Central Texas. The field is limited to the first 144 paid participants, and will fill quickly.

Entry forms may be obtained by downloading entry or by calling the Forest Creek pro shop at (512) 388-2874. 

There is nothing better in life than standing on the first tee, lining up your shot, the morning mist just starting to clear, and smoking on a good cigar. You watch the smoke curl upward, using it to judge the wind, knowing your going to have a great day.

People ask me all the time, “What is your best cigar?” or “What do you smoke?” There are many good cigars, and a lot depends on who you are with, what you are doing, etc. Here is a very short list of five cigars I enjoy while hitting a few balls on the range or playing a few eighteen.
In no particular order…

A Beautiful Addition to the Landscape of Brackenridge Park

Fresh on the heels of the renovation of the Japanese Tea Gardens and coinciding with the restoration of historic Brackenridge Golf Course, construction of a new Learning Center for The First Tee will add another jewel to Brackenridge Park in the heart of San Antonio. The existing eyesore of a building at the Polo Field Golf Center, home to The 1st Tee of San Antonio, will finally be leveled and replaced with a 6,000-square-foot building whose design borrows liberally from the architectural beauty that already exists in the park. 

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Some of golf’s most influential leaders and members of the game’s most prominent associations converged on the nation’s capitol to celebrate a bipartisan Congressional resolution which declared April 16, 2008 as National Golf Day.

The golf leaders discussed the game’s impact on society, in particular its role to the U.S. economy.

The golf industry is the sports and entertainment worlds’ largest contributor to our economy, generating $76 billion in direct economic impact according to a recent study, the 2005 Golf Economy Report, commissioned by World Golf Foundation’s GOLF 20/20 initiative completed earlier this year and released at the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, Fla. 

If you decided to attend this year’s NCAA basketball Final Four in San Antonio, Texas before the season started, regardless of which teams would be there, you’re in for a treat this weekend.

For the first time since the NCAA began seeding the teams in the tournament field, this weekend’s final four will feature all four No. 1 seeds for the first time in history.

More than ever the host city is in the spotlight as this historic event approaches. San Antonio the ball is in your court.

The second largest city in the state of Texas and seventh largest city in the United States is set to host its third Final Four this decade, having hosted the event in 1998 and 2004. With ideal weather expected, an estimated 35,000 hotel rooms and the expansive Alamodome, culturally spectacular San Antonio is an ideal location for the culmination of the Big Dance, which is estimated to bring in an economic impact of $76.6 million for the city.

For a number of acclaimed municipal golf courses and similar facilities that share same designation, things just don’t get much better.

This summer the south course at Torrey Pines in San Diego will become only the second municipal course in history to host a U.S. Open Championship. The first was Bethpage Black in Farmingdale, N.Y., which did so in 2002 and will repeat the feat in 2009.

A sparkling new municipal layout in Washington State, Chambers Bay, was recently awarded an upcoming U.S. Amateur and the big prize, the 2015 U.S. Open.

San Francisco’s Harding Park, widely considered a landmark public course, will host the President’s Cup competition in 2009.

But while these municipal layouts are experiencing unprecedented success, one course in particular finds itself preparing for yet another battle to keep its place in one of America’s most celebrated golf cities.