Central Texas Golf News

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. 

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. 

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.

Last year, Golf Magazine and the National Golf Foundation joined forces to compile a countdown of America’s 10 Best Golf Cities. After receiving a slew of feedback, the magazine opened up the ballot boxes to its readers, who in turn produced their own list.

After more than 1,000 votes were tallied, Phoenix emerged as the new No. 1.

The Austin, TX Chapter of the Executive Women’s Golf Association Announces its Kick-Off and Women’s Golf Fair benefiting the LPGA-USGA Girls Golf of Austin

Austin,TX:
The Austin, TX Chapter of the EWGA will host their 6th Annual Kick-Off and Women’s Golf Fair on Saturday, March 29th at the Harvey Penick Golf Campus. The event is open to the public and will open with registration at 8:30am, followed by a four-station rotation of interactive golf instruction from the area’s top female instructors. Women will be grouped by ability (“never-ever’s”, beginner, intermediate and advance). Following the clinic, the participants will be treated to lunch from Romeo’s Italian Restaurant. In addition to the golf instruction and lunch, there will also be a Women’s Golf Fair, showcasing some of Austin’s local business’s (jewelry, clothing, golf equipment, nutrition, etc.). Women will have the opportunity to ask questions and purchase products directly from the various vendors and to bid on some great silent auction items.

Cleveland Golf has introduced the family of HiBORE® XLS drivers, fairway woods and hybrids. In utilizing Distance Driven GeometryTM, they have lowered the crown which, in turn, lowers the center of gravity (CG) to produce the only face-centered sweet spot in golf.

The HiBORE XLS driver has a 17% larger face and 13% higher MOI, compared to its HiBORE XL predecessor. The HiBORE XLS offers maximum size and increased stability for added confi dence and control off the tee.

Its dual alignment features, which include a crown plaque and stability foils, also make it much easier to properly align the club at address.

Chris de Keratry
Director of Golf & Instruction
Oak Hill Golf Range & Forest Creek Golf Club

Release The Club! How often have you heard that advice? Just what exactly does that mean? Does it mean to roll your hands over through impact? Does it mean “Hit it like a tennis racket”? Depending on who or where you hear the term, it could mean any number of things. Another confusing phrase you hear a lot is “ you are releasing the club too early”. 

A “Total” Experience

Normally, when you visit a golf course or golf club, you get a 4 1⁄2 to 5 hour taste of the place. Book yourself into Star Ranch and you can, literally, make it a “golf day.” How about a free breakfast, a free lunch, free range balls, and an opportunity to play as many holes of golf as you can cram into daylight hours? All for a fi xed price? On a beautiful course? That’s the Star Ranch Experience.