Jacobsen-Hardy design team hired to retool Galveston Country Club

By David R. Holland, Contributor

GALVESTON, Texas -- Jacobsen Hardy Golf Course Design of Houston has been hired to revamp Galveston Country Club, the state's oldest private club. The project is expected to be completed in September 2003.

GCC is 105 years old and has been located at 14228 Stewart Road since 1947. Seadwarf Paspalum, a grass developed to utilize salt water, and used extensively in the Caribbean, will be utilized. It also resists insects, weeds and needs very little fertilizer.

Some greens will be relocated and elevated and seven holes will be reconfigured. The new grass will be used on all 18 greens. Two new lakes will be added and the club will remain open for play.

Galveston Country Club, dotted by hundreds of palms and oleanders, once hosted Bobby Jones in his heyday, and is also an important part of the history of Galveston Island -- a place where early Texas traditions are still honored.

The original golf-course site sat on the beach west of the United States coastal fortification, Fort Crockett, in an area called the Denver Resurvey. It was just west of present-day 53rd Street (and the San Luis Hotel and Condominium). It was also the first course in Texas to be designed by a professional golf-course architect. The club has changed locations four times, settling in its present location adjacent to Lake Como in 1949.

Mickelson & Stephenson Design

Texas Tech graduate Gary Stephenson, a native of Richardson and designer of the Wildhorse and Mustang nines of Robson Ranch in Denton, has joined forces with Phil Mickelson Design.

Mickelson's first design effort was Whisper Rock Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz., two years ago.

Gary Stephenson Design, formerly called The Linksmen, is based in Celina. He previously served as Senior Designer for the golf-course architecture firm of David Graham & Gary Panks International (GPI). Stephenson designed Tierra Verde in Arlington under the GPI banner.

Stephenson has also joined forces with golf legend Byron Nelson and with United States Open Champion Steve Jones on a project named Teton Springs Golf & Fishing Club in Driggs, Idaho. The property is just across the state line from Jackson Hole, Wyoming and will measure 7,445 yards from the Byron Nelson tees. It will also include a 9-hole par-3 course and a bentgrass Putting Course built to USGA standards.

Log on to linksmen.com for more information and links to Mickelson's design company.

Hole In One! loaded with Texas stories

Chris Rodell says he's the only golf writer in the world who lives on Arnold Palmer Drive, a half mile from Latrobe Country Club in Pennsylvania -- the home of Mr. Palmer himself. He's also a writer who specializes in the quirky side of golf and life.

His new book, Hole In One!, The Complete Book of Fact, Legend, and Lore on Golf's Luckiest Shot, is full of stories, anecdotes and fun facts -- did you know 42,000 golfers a year register an ace?

"A hole in one can happen to the holy and the hapless, the magnificent and the mundane," Rodell says. "It happened to Richard Nixon, to drunken stooges, pastors, toddlers, blind grandmothers and one-armed senior citizens."

Some of the interviews Rodell had with PGA Tour players came at the 2002 Texas Open in San Antonio -- including chats with Corey Pavin, D.A. Weibring, Joel Edwards, Fred Funk, Brandt Jobe, Bob Estes, David Gossett, Mark Brooks and Notah Begay. He also spoke to Lee Trevino, Ben Crenshaw and legendary Texas ace machine -- Odessa's Mancil Davis, who has 51 perfect shots.

Hole In One! is an affordable paperback ($9.95), check your local book store or call Andrews McMeel Publishing at (816) 932-6700.

Sellinger opens new venture

Art Sellinger, two-time national long drive champion and power golf's most popular entertainer, has opened a new retail venture, Sellinger's Power Golf and Club Repair, in Southlake, north of Dallas.

"This fulfills a dream, to apply my expertise in power golf to club building, club fitting and player performance," said Sellinger, who represents Pinnacle and Cobra and is one of six members of the Long Drivers of America (LDA) Hall of Fame.

"We're putting in a retail golf operation unlike any other in North Texas," said Sellinger. "We're creating a power golf performance lounge with unmatched customer service. We'll have clubs for all golfers -- beginners, juniors, seniors, women -- as well as a full line of apparel and accessories. We'll also have access to PGA Tour-type shafts and prototypes generally not available to the public."

Rodney Lehman, formerly with the Four Seasons Resort and Club at Las Colinas, will serve as general manager. Sellinger's Power Golf and Club Repair is located at 175 Miron Drive in Southlake -- south of highway 114 on Southlake Boulevard and just east of Southlake town square. The phone number is (817) 488-6966. Log on to longdrivers.com for more info.

Qualifying underway for 2003 long drive championships

Qualifying for the 2003 RE/MAX Long Drive Championship has begun and will continue throughout the spring and summer at more than 400 sites worldwide, Long Drivers of America (LDA) has announced.

The six-month competition builds to a climax at the 2003 RE/MAX world finals on October 14-18 at the Palms Golf Club in Mesquite, Nevada. A total purse of $350,000 is at stake, with the winner in the open division taking home $80,000.

New to the RE/MAX World Long Driving Championships this year will be a "Super Senior" division for men 55 and up. In addition, junior boys and junior girls will be split into two segments: the 14-under division and the 15-17 division.

Complete information about the 2003 RE/MAX World Long Drive Championship, including schedules of qualifying dates and sites, is available at remaxwldc.com.

The Creeks at Beechwood gets new name

The Creeks at Beechwood Hotel and Greg Norman-designed golf course in north Fort Worth has been renamed Doral Tesoro Hotel & Golf Club.

The hotel initially opened in October 2001 as the Westin Beechwood. It now becomes Interstate's sixth Doral hotel.

Interstate said it chose Tesoro, which means "treasure" in Spanish, because it refers to a local legend about outlaws and train robbers burying gold in the golf course area that was never found.

Interstate said it plans a $2 million upgrade of the golf course, including elevating greens and improving drainage. The company has hired golf course designer Jay Morrish for the project. High water has been a problem in the short life of the golf course.

May 25, 2003