« February 2008 | Main | April 2008 »
When I saw the above headline in Jim Achenbach's Golfweek column this morning, I thought it referred to playing nine holes only, which is one of my big mantras ("Nine-hole golf is good golf"). However, it refers to an interesting concept of using only nine clubs instead of 14. Read more HERE.
Sophomore Jamie Lovemark fired a 6-under 66 while freshman Gavin Reid carded a 2-under 70 to help the No. 6 USC men’s golf team stave off a charging field and win its second tournament in the last three outings on the final day of the 2008 U.S. Collegiate Championship in Alpharetta, Ga., on Wednesday (March 26) at the Golf Club of Georgia’s Lakeside Course. MORE
Tom Cunneff, Senior Editor of Links Magazine, e-mailed me to ask how many course records Tiger Woods holds in Southern California (the answer is 3: Sherwood CC, 62; Hacienda GC, 62; and Big Canyon CC, 61).
That got me to thinking about course records in general, and you may find the following interesting (all information is from SCGA records; if you know of updates, pass them along to me at bthomas@scga.org):
MOST RECORDS HELD (some are held jointly)
• Fred Couples has the most course records in Southern California with 6 (La Quinta Resort Mountain Course, 63; The Valley Club of Montecito, 59; Santa Ana CC, 63; Rancho San Marcos GC, 63; Lost Canyons GC Shadow Course, 68; and Mission Hills CC Arnold Palmer Course, 61).
• 1979 SCGA Amateur champion Jeff Hart and 1995 California Amateur champion each hold four course records. Hart: Desert Willow (Firecliff), 62; Rancho La Quinta ((Jones), 64; General Old, 62; Lomas Santa Fe, 63. Sanday: Primm Valley (Desert), 63; The SCGA GC, 62; Coyote Hills, 64; Sierra Lakes, 62.
• Woods is one of five golfers with THREE course records (the others are multiple SCGA titleholder Mark Johnson, Chris Starkjohann, PGA Tour multiple winner Paul Goydos and Jeremy Tucker.
• Phil Mickelson is one of many who holds two course records: The Grand GC, 64; and La Jolla CC, 60. His brother, Tim (head golf coach at the University of San Diego), also has two: The Farms GC, 62; and Del Mar CC, 67.
• In addition to Woods, Couples and Phil Mickelson, other professional major winners with SCGA course records are:
— Jerry Barber (Wilshire, 61, tied with tennis hall of famer Ellsworth Vines)
— Gay Brewer (Desert Horizons, 61)
— Billy Casper (San Diego CC, 62)
— David Duvall (PGA West, Arnold Palmer Course, 59)
— Al Geiberger (O'Donnell, 59; Rancho Course at The Alisal, 65)
— Raymond Floyd (Cabo Real, 65)
— Corey Pavin (The Bridges, 64)
— Sam Snead (Balboa Park, 60)
— Payne Steward (Indian Ridge, Grove Course, 63)
— Dave Stockton (Westlake Village, 58; The Reserve, 62)
— Lee Trevino (La Quinta Resort, Citrus, 64)
— Tom Watson (Woodland Hills, 62, tied with multiple SCGA titleholder Tim Hogarth)
— Mike Weir (Indian Ridge, Arroyo Course, 64)
— Tom Weiskopf (Brookside No. 1, 63)
The list of former California, SCGA and USGA amateur champions is too long to count right now.
HIGH AND LOW NUMBERS
• The highest course record is 71 at Las Caras de Mexico (which is an SCGA club) by David DiMartino.
• Couples’ 68 is tied for next highest with three other golfers, one of whom — James Popoff — holds both the Eisenhower and Zaharias records at Industry Hills Golf Club with 68s.
• Couples and Geiberger are two of 10 golfers who shot 59 for their course records on courses over 6,000 yards
• Seven golfers shot 58 for their course records
• Four golfers shot 57, with Takashi Hamano at La Cañada-Flintridge GC being the longest course in terms of yardage (5,744)
Golf legend Arnold Palmer has been named to host the 50th anniversary of the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, to be played Jan. 19-25, 2009 at four Coachella Valley courses.
Palmer has not only played the tournament 42 of its 50 years, he also won five of his 62 PGA TOUR titles there, including his last. Palmer is also a part-time resident of La Quinta, owns a restaurant there, and has designed many courses in the Coachella Valley, including three of the four layouts used in the tournament.
“We can’t think of a more appropriate person to help us celebrate our 50th year of this wonderful event,” said Bob Hope Chrysler Classic President Dave Erwin.
“It was very special to me when I was asked to serve as the host of next year’s 50th anniversary Bob Hope Chrysler Classic,” said Palmer, who won the inaugural event in 1960. “I enjoyed some of my greatest success in the Hope in the early years and have loved the Palm Springs area ever since I first went there. I consider it a great honor to follow in the footsteps of Bob Hope as host of this wonderful tournament.” Hope died in 2003.
Palmer replaces comedian George Lopez, who served as the tournament host for two years. MORE
The 5th SCGA Senior Four-Ball Championship will be held December 1-2 at El Caballero Country Club in Tarzana. Entry close date will be Wednesday, October 22. Maximum index for each player is 10.4.
In a change from previous years, the SCGA Senior Four-Ball NET Championship will be played on a different date and site: November 17 18 at The SCGA Golf Course in Murrieta. Entry close date will be Wednesday, November 5. Maximum index for each player is 18.4.
Entries for both events will be posted online at www.scga.org next week.
Comedian George Lopez has been unceremoniously dumped as the host of the PGA Tour's Bob Hope Chrysler Classic after just two years. Several stories indicate that Arnold Palmer, a five-time BHCC winner and part-time La Quinta resident, has been approached about hosting next year's event, which will be the 50th renewal of the event.
Here's the statement issued by Tournament President Dave Erwin:
"After speaking with George Lopez, we have agreed to move in a different direction for the 50th anniversary of the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. We would like to thank George for the two years of selfless and dedicated service he gave the Classic. He has an open invitation to participate as long as he wants.
“We hope to be able to announce our plans for the 50th Bob Hope Chrysler Classic tournament in April.”
For more of the back story, read Larry Bohannan's column in The Desert Sun HERE
Many teams in the SCGA Foursomes Championship come together after great thought, thoughtfully considering their games, the course, driving skill, putting ability and other critical factors.
Then there's Brian Edick and Robert Carver, who are tied for the lead with Jason Bittick and John Adams at Rancho San Marcos Golf Course in Santa Barbara.
The story begins with SCGA board member Kevin Smith, who was scheduled to play with former SCGA President Ed Holmes, who trails his son, Johnny, 1-0 when it comes to SCGA championship titles. Unfortunately, Holmes had to pull out due to illness. So Kevin agreed to play with Edick, who has been runner-up in the past three SCGA Amateurs. Then Kevin had to withdraw after injuring his hand, as he reports, "boxing with my trainer....I know, in the immortal words of Roberto De Vicenzo,'what a stupid I am.' "
So, Edick agreed to play with Carver, the reigning SCGA Super Senior champion (and 49 years Edick's senior), despite the fact that the two had never met. When Edick arrived at RSM, he told me, "Do you know Robert Carver? I've never met him and we're playing together today." It didn't seem to matter MORE.
So, if Brian and Bob go on to win, Ed and Kevin want a piece of the plate.
If Bandon Dunes terms itself (and rightly so) “Golf as it was meant to be,” then Rancho San Marcos Golf Course is golf as nearly every other course wishes it could be, at least in terms of scenery. Nestled in a valley beneath the Santa Ynez Mountains, about 12 miles inland from Santa Barbara and next to Lake Cachuma, Rancho San Marcos is that rarity in modern courses : there’s absolutely no housing anywhere around the course. Actually, that’s not quite accurate; there are several old buildings that remain from the days when the property was a ranch, but they merely add to the club’s charm.
We’re here for the 6th SCGA Foursomes Championship, the first of more than 20 championships on the SCGA’s 2008 schedule, and it’s easy to be seduced by the locale’s beauty. Katie Denbo has written an article in the current issue of FORE Magazine about RSM and its older “sister,” Sandpiper GC in Goleta, so you can check the details in her cover story. 
Early this morning, it was sunny and crystal-clear in Santa Barbara, but as we drove up Highway 154 we headed into a fog bank. Fog hovered around the course until just before the players teed off at 10 a.m. At the rustic clubhouse, players and officials were greet by a fires in outdoor pit before they headed out to the course and there were also fires at the first and 10th tees, a nice, warming touch.
The tournament headquarters was in the barn — and in this case, the word “barn” was literal since the building was lined with horse stalls from olden days, but it was a barn with internet access — what more could anyone want?
Robert Trent Jones, Jr. and his team designed the course, which was resurrected after being purchased by Ty Warner (of Beanie Baby fame). One look at the layout — especially the undulating greens and sculptured bunkers — tells you that RTJ had a hand in it. Moreover, the distance between tees and greens and the elevation changes make carts almost mandatory (the drive from the 10th tee to the 11th tee is about 1/2 mile).
Land constraints in the Los Padres National Forest made for some interesting hole alignments, including back-to-back par-3 holes on the back nine followed by a par-4 where a blind tee shot must negotiate a narrow chute of a fairway to a small green. Unless you’re a very low-handicap golfer, don’t even think of playing this course all the way back on your first try. The land constraints did, however, give Jones and company an opportunity for some magnificent scenic views. From the 13th tee, you look back down the valley and the forested mountain backdrop of the par-3 14th green is breathtaking. 
Animals abound throughout the course, including white tail deer, wild turkeys and a humongous hog named, mischeviously, by 1999 SCGA Amateur champion John Pate as “Miguelito Pate,” which is analogous to nicknaming Shaquille O’Neal “Tiny.”
David Bartman and Robert will pair up once again, seeking to defend their SCGA Foursomes title beginning tomorrow (Thursday, March 13) at Rancho San Marcos in Santa Barbara.
Bartman, who is coming off his first SCGA individual title with a win at the SCGA Tournament of Club Champions in December at The Classic Club, and Funk, who at three off the lead secured third place in that event, won last year's championship at El Niguel CC in a three-hole aggregate playoff against brothers Jon and Scott McGihon. Bartman and Funk tied for second at the 2007 SCGA Four-Ball Championship, a title they took the year before.
Tee times for the championship begin at 10 a.m. on Thursday, March 13 at Rancho San Marcos off of the first and 10th tees, and at 8 a.m. on Friday. Stories and photo galleries will be available after each round.
• For the official site, click HERE
• For live scoring, click HERE
The April 2008 issue of Golf Magazine, which just landed in my in-box, has a front-cover box that says "The Last True Amateur," referring to an article by Allen Shipnuck about Trip Kuehne. The article's subhead is even more arrogant. If you don't get the magazine, don't bother to buy it just to read the article; when it appears online, I'll amend this post.
Following is a letter to the editor I e-mailed in response:
"I read the cover blurb on Allen Shipnuck’s article in the April, 2008 issue, “The Last True Amateur,” and thought to myself, “Say what?” Then I read the subhead to the article about Trip Kuehne — “one of the few true amateurs of the modern era” — and thought to myself: “that’s written by a man who lives his life among professional golfers.”
As any regional or state golf association executive can attest, there are thousands — perhaps millions — of “true” amateurs who compete in our events year in and year out solely for the love of competition and for some sort of trophy. They’ve never played professional golf (which, apparently, is Shipnuck’s definite of a “true” amateur). Nearly all of them find ways to successfully juggle their home, business, family and golf lives successfully. Moreover, many of them don’t have the financial advantages that Trip Kuehne has enjoyed all of his life, advantages that have allowed him to compete in prestigious amateur events around the world. Nonetheless, they are the “true” amateurs and I’m sorry that Trip’s new focus won’t include time to compete with them."
By the way, I even take issue with Shipnuck's definition of a "true" amateur, but that's for another letter.
