admin — Page 32

Linda Hartough, Lady of The Masters

April 2, 2015 By admin

CLICK Here for a VIDEO INTERVIEW with Linda Hartough on her 2015 Masters Exhibit

The 12th at Augusta National. Image is property of and used with permission of Linda Hartough.

I first met Linda Hartough at the 2010 PGA Show in Orlando. For years, while in corporate America I had been admiring and collecting her work. Her paintings drew me into her booth where I met her and her brother Dale. As she explained to me how she created each painting I became mesmerized by a new aspect of golf for me. Here is one of the pioneers of golf art in our midst who possesses a creative talent that allows us to take the game’s most storied golf courses home with us to enjoy whenever we want. Linda’s pictures take you there time and time again.

Last year Linda was honored by the United States Golf Association as she created her 25th consecutive golf landscape of the U.S. Open golf course. This year her work, all originals, is being shown at the Morris Museum of Art in Augusta, Georgia during Masters week. This is her largest show ever, with nearly 50 pieces, and it seems fitting that it is associated with The Masters. The Augusta National Golf Club found her down in Hilton Head painting landscapes of the Low Country and asked her if she would like to paint the 13th hole. That was back in 1984 when Ben Crenshaw was winning his first of two Masters. This year Gentle Ben, along with his caddie Carl Johnson, will be saying good bye as they compete together in their last Masters.

With Linda Hartough, Lady of the Masters, U.S. Open, British Open… at the 2015 PGA Show.

I don’t think Linda Hartough will ever say good bye to us as she continues to create special artwork that will speak, embrace and entertain us for many years to come. Here are two other articles I have written on Linda. The full press release for the exhibition, “In Celebration of Golf: Landscapes by Linda Hartough,” is below.

Linda Hartough Outlasts Tiger and Paints Her 23rd U.S. Open

Linda Hartough’s 25th U.S. Open Landscape!

Linda Hartough to Appear at Exhibition Opening at Morris Museum of Art in Augusta, Georgia

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. (March 26, 2015) – Linda Hartough, world-renowned golf-landscape artist (www.hartough.com), will attend the official opening reception April 2 of the exhibition, “In Celebration of Golf: Landscapes by Linda Hartough” at the Morris Museum of Art in Augusta, Ga. Hartough will be present from 6:00 p.m until 8:00 p.m. to greet attendees and talk about her work. The exhibition, which will extend through April 26, including during the week of the Masters Tournament, is an exclusive showing of her work.

“I look forward to seeing everyone at the opening reception,” Hartough said. “We invite anyone interested in golf art to join us at the reception or anytime during this special exhibit, especially visitors attending this year’s Masters Tournament.”

Every piece being shown at this exhibition is a Hartough original. This represents Hartough’s largest showing ever of her original work. She is the only artist featured at the exhibit.

One of Linda’s favorites is the 18th at Pebble Beach. From 1992 the year Tom Kite won. Image is property of and used with permission of Linda Hartough.

Hartough’s oil paintings on display include:
1) The 18th Hole, Pebble Beach Golf Links
2) The 4th Hole, Black Course, Bethpage State Park, 2002 U.S. Open Championship
3) The 16th Hole, East Course, Merion Golf Club, 2013 U.S. Open Championship
4) The 18th Hole, Lake Course, The Olympic Club, 2012 U.S. Open Championship
5) The 10th Hole, Blue Course, Congressional Country Club, 2011 U.S. Open Championship
6) The 17th Hole, Black Course, Bethpage State Park, 2009 U.S. Open Championship
7) The 12th Hole, North Course, Olympia Fields Country Club, 2003 U.S. Open Championship
8) The 17th Hole, Royal St George’s Golf Club, 1993 Open Championship
9) The 18th Hole, Lake Course, The Olympic Club, 1998 U.S. Open Championship
10) The 17th Hole, Old Tabby Links
11) The Swilcan Bridge, The Old Course, St Andrews

In addition to these oil paintings, also included in the exhibit are 36 framed Hartough drawings and watercolors.

About the Morris Museum of Art

The Morris Museum of Art, located on the Riverwalk in downtown Augusta, Ga., is the first museum dedicated to the art and artists of the American South. First incorporated as a nonprofit foundation in 1985, the Morris Museum of Art was established by William S. Morris III in memory of his parents, William Shivers Morris, Jr., and Florence Hill Morris. The collection includes holdings of nearly 5,000 paintings, works on paper, photographs and sculptures dating from the late-eighteenth century to the present. In addition to the permanent collection galleries, the museum hosts eight to ten temporary special exhibitions every year. The museum also houses the Center for the Study of Southern Art, a reference and research library that includes archives pertaining to artists working in the South.

For more information, visit www.themorris.org.

About Linda Hartough

A confirmed artist since childhood, early in her career Hartough painted landscapes, portraits and horses. In 1984, Augusta National Golf Club commissioned her to paint its famous 13th hole, an event which propelled Hartough toward specialization as a golf-landscape painter. Since then, her work has achieved a distinguished status, displayed in the permanent collections of such legendary clubs as Augusta National, Laurel Valley, Pinehurst and Pine Valley, as well as in the personal collections of such golf notables as Jack Nicklaus, Raymond Floyd and Robert Trent Jones Sr. Known for extraordinary attention to detail in her recreation of some of golf’s most beautiful holes, Hartough imbues her paintings with admiration for the scenery’s natural beauty and respect for the game’s history and tradition, elements which seem to emerge from the canvas.

Hartough’s paintings of various holes at Augusta National Golf Club are prized by collectors the world over. In addition, Hartough painted the first of her U.S. Open series in 1990 – commissioned by the U.S. Golf Association – a 25-year series she completed in 2014, as well as her official British Open Championship series from 1990-1999.

Hartough is a Founding Trustee of the Academy of Golf Art, a professional society of golf artists established in 2004 to create an awareness and appreciation of golf art as a valuable segment of fine art.

For more information, visit www.hartough.com.

Filed Under: People in Golf

First Tee ParTee, the Not-to-Miss Event at Pebble Beach

March 22, 2015 By admin

The logo for the First Tee ParTee to benefit the First Tee of Monterey.

This was my 7^th straight year at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. It was AT&T’s 30^th anniversary. The tournament dates back to 1937. My experiences at Pebble Beach are only a couple pebbles from the beach of life that extends from celebrity to each one of us. I am fortunate to have the opportunity to interview celebrities and amateurs each year on the practice putting green at Pebble Beach.

That putting green is a special place. It’s an arena, encircled by the Lodge, the first tee and the Shops of Pebble Beach including one special one—Golf Links to the Past. Like my volunteering at the World Golf Hall of Fame in St. Augustine, that golf emporium takes me back to the very essence of the origins of this game of golf we love. The spirit of golf and life is alive and thriving in each individual I meet on the grounds at Pebble Beach.

Heading down the red carpet to the Great Gatsby Party of the West.

This year was different as I found that special spirit alive and well off-property for the first time. The experience took place, not far from the Lodge, at the inaugural First Tee ParTee. Ironically, it was held at the home of Stefanie and Robert Skinner right on the second fairway of Cypress Point Club. After World War II, Bing Crosby’s membership at the Cypress Point Club was the key link to bringing the Bing Crosby’s National Pro-Am (a.k.a. The Crosby Clambake, the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am today) to the Monterey Peninsula.

The Crosby: Greatest Show in Golf, a book written by Dwayne Netland in 1975, has a prologue by Bing Crosby. What is a prologue? One definition, the one I think that fits here is that a prologue is an introductory speech, often in verse, calling attention to the theme of a play.

Bing Crosby (left) is seen here with Bob Hope (center) and Babe Ruth, circa 1940. (Courtesy of the USGA Museum).

“In the early thirties, having abandoned the rigors of the vaudeville circuits for the more prestigious posture of a film personality, I joined a club called Lakeside,” opens Bing Crosby.

He goes on that “our first event was held in 1937 at Rancho Sante Fe, and the weather that day seemed to set the pattern for what was to occur with annoying frequency in the years that followed: a small deluge.

They got that first round in despite the weather and Bing would describe the activities when the golf was over by saying—“the first party was a pretty good little soiree, lasting far into the night… thus was born what was to become known as “The Clambake.”

By the way, this year, the weather was the best I have ever seen in seven years—warm, sunny and calm.

Stefanie and Robert Skinner, hosts of the inaugural First Tee ParTee. Photo Credit: The Desisle Group

Like Crosby, the Skinners relocated to Pebble Beach. Since they did not know any of their neighbors they decided to have a party. That private party, after six years of progressively becoming bigger and better, transitioned this year into a charitable event called the ‘First Tee ParTee.’ Hosted in their back yard in a corporate tent turned club extraordinaire, the night flowed upon arrival descending onto a red carpet and into a magical celebration of golf and life just like, in my imagination, that first Crosby soiree in San Diego County in 1937 or the first shindig at Pebble Beach in 1947. The heart of the event is the fundraising for The First Tee of Monterey County.

Over the years I had interviewed several people associated with The First Tee of Monterey County and the Monterey Peninsula Foundation, both nonprofits targeted at helping the youth of Monterey County. So impressed and so inspired by their stories I stopped by to visit The First Tee of Monterey County facility last year while in town for the Pro-Am.

Welcome to the First Tee of Monterey, an exceptional facility for youth.

What an amazing sight—computers galore and a golf course! One, a way to connect with anyone in the world, the other a way to connect with yourself. Growing up in a de facto First Tee-like setting, I first learned to play golf with my Dad up on the par-3 course at Ely Park Municipal Golf Course in Binghamton, New York. The 9-holer with a view of the big course on the 7^th tee was designed by the pro Ernie Smith so kids could have a place to play golf starting at a young age. There weren’t computers back then but education and an open-mind to the world was stressed in our home, at school and in our little community in the ‘Valley of Opportunity.’ My brother’s gift and inscription of the Ben Hogan’s Five Lessons book to me at age 12 is still with me today: “Golf is a lot like life, the more you learn and understand about it, the easier it is to meet its challenge.”

Little did I know at the time of the visit that a year later I would be invited to the inaugural First Tee ParTee,

I gave it a shot on the simulator but it was not a very good shot. No hole-in-one. No Lexus for me.

The extravaganza felt like a Great Gatsby party of the West. There was a red carpet complete with a photographer to take you picture in front of the themed backdrop. Three shining Lexus in the driveway yours for making a hole-in-one in the golf simulator in the garage, not on the nearby par-3 third hole at Cypress. Upon entering the Skinner home you cascaded through and down to the festive environment of a Hollywood-like party gone wild yet in a restrained manner. The buzz and clamor likened to the on-course drama of Bill Murray winning the Cinderella Pro Am in 2011 with D.A. Points, Phil Michelson winning his fourth title in 2012 or Brandt Snedeker winning again this year, his second triumph in the last three years. Aptly named for the occasion, the band Money with lead singer Zoe Alexander was a big hit and played well into the Crosby morning.

Club scene with The Money Band performing at the First Tee ParTee.

Rob Skinner was best described to me as a “Connector,” of people, ideas and movements. No doubt this first ParTee for the First Tee of Monterey County is a great move in the right direction. Also no doubt that it will be taken to a bigger venue next year. As Stephanie mentioned to me, the party grew so big last year, they came to the conclusion of let’s do something good. Surely that is worth repeating at the 2016 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

There were handwritten cards from the First Tee kids. One said “I like the core value of respect because when you respect others they respect you back.” Another simply said “thank you for donating to the First Tee and letting us play golf. It seems to me that this the Spirit of Crosby is alive and well in Pebble Beach and this party will impact the next generation in a positive manner.

Bing would hit the nail right on the head as he said “the golf tournament, I believe, was a success if for no other reason than the opportunity it afforded the amateurs to meet and play with some great golfers of the day, and for the professionals to establish a social relationship with some of the people who played and supported the game.

The First Tee of Monterey County.

Crosby’s tournament raised over $3 million by 1975 with part of the proceeds benefiting the youth in Monterey County through the building and maintenance of recreation centers. That giving spirit is alive and well with the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am and the nonprofit Monterey Peninsula Foundation who has upped that total to over $120 million.

The Skinner party, now the First Tee of Monterey County ParTee, on Friday night at the AT&T, brings a focus on what individual people can do to give back and give forward, to others in need in their communities. And it goes without saying that your last name does not have to be Crosby or Skinner. Proof positive the thousands of volunteers at Pebble Beach over the years.

I will close with another Crosby quote from Netland’s book, with a slight modification—“We used to have some beautiful parties, of course, during the tournament in the evenings. Big functions with Big Purposes, one of them will occur well after I am gone at Stephanie and Rob Skinner’s home, it will be the annual “do.”

Well the future is now, the Big Purpose is The First Tee of Monterey County, and the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am party not to be missed is the Friday night ‘First Tee ParTee.” Look for it in 2016.

The Crosby spirit is alive and well at Pebble Beach.

I hope to see you there next year!

With Shirley Ryan Roy of the Roy Estate Winery and Zoe Alexander, Lead Singer for The Money Band.

Ran into professioanal golfer J.J. Henry at the simulator.

With comedian Jackie Flynn. Funny guy!

With Jim Harbaugh, former 49ers coach, now Michigan Coach.

Filed Under: People in Golf

Tim Tebow Performs a Miracle at TPC Sawgrass

March 14, 2015 By admin

Tim Tebow giving autographs after the Celebrity Golf Classic.

With only 54 days to THE PLAYERS Championship, Tim Tebow and his Foundation came to TPC Sawgrass for their 5^th Annual Celebrity Classic and carried out a miraculous transformation of the Stadium Course. The normally overly difficult, Dye-abolical, and unforgiving golf course was converted into a fun, engaging, and child-like playground. I have never seen anything like it in my past seven years of wandering around the home club of the world’s best golfers. And there may have been other miracles taking place.

Former Undisputed World Champion Evander Holyfield on the Red Carpet. His next opponent is Mitt Romney.

How did he do it? The local boy turned Christian football icon rolled out the red carpet at the Clubhouse on Friday night. Celebrities, donors and kids with a WISH showed up to celebrate the good things in life, especially faith, hope and love. They came from all walks of life—golfers, boxers (Evander Holyfield), football players galore, basketball players (Artis Gilmore), country singers (Jake Owen & Kristy Lee Cook), The First Voice (Javier Colon) and even from the kitchen (Master Chef Whitney Miller). Okay, maybe it was mainly sports figures, sports broadcasters and entertainers. No politicians needed for these miracles.

Then on Saturday, the Heisman Trophy winner and soon-to- be-signed quarterback (my guess) calmed the waters on the Stadium Course and hosted a classic golf tournament unlike any other I have seen.

It was all fun and all for charity for Jason Day and Billy Horschel on the Red Carpet Friday night and on the Stadium Course on Saturday.

On the 15^th tee, World No. 5 Jason Day, took a cell phone from his playing amateur partner, after being asked if he FaceTime with his daughter, and said “sure.” On the 18^th green, World No. 17 Billy Horschel, after signing a bunch of autographs, stopped, turned around and asked if he “had got everyone.” This doesn’t happen in the Pro-Am during the PLAYERS, primarily because there is no Pro-Am during the PLAYERS, but it does happen at the Tim Tebow Celebrity Classic, the most intimate intermingling of celebrities, professional golfers and fans I have ever seen.

Jason Day coaching his team through the corn bag toss on the 15th tee.

Each hole had an “activity” and “The Gauntlet,” the four finishing holes on the Stadium Course, were setup, in order, as a “Corn Hole Challenge,” “Meet the Master Chef,” “Golf Skate Caddy,” and “Spectator Putt.” If running the Gauntlet to a PLAYERS Championship was only that easy—toss a corn bag, woof down a handful of Whitney’s crispy chickpeas, ride a golf skate up to the 17^th tee and pick out a spectator (hoping David Stockton is in your gallery) to drain the winning putt. Maybe if Jim Furyk had picked me on that 15-footer before the rain last year, he would have been in a playoff with Martin Kaymer? NOT, I wouldn’t have been able to get the putter back.

The Tim Tebow Foundation helps kids around the world.

The Tim Tebow Foundation raised more than $4 million in the first four years. This year’s outing raised well over one-and-a-half million dollars. The money goes to making dreams come true for children with life threatening illnesses through the W15H program (everything’s a 15 for Tebow, his number at Florida and on the Denver Broncos), providing life-changing surgeries to the children of the Philippines through the Tebow CURE Hospital, building Timmy’s Playrooms in children’s hospitals around the world, supporting more than 2,000 orphans in four countries, sponsoring Night to Shine, a nationwide prom for people with special needs, and encouraging service to others through Team Tebow.

Tim and the Foundation’s mission is “to bring Faith, Hope, and Love to those needing a brighter day in their darkest hour of need.” He referenced this verbatim in his media interview and it is easy to see it not only in print and in his words but in his heart, his soul through his eyes and everywhere around TPC Sawgrass on a blessedly beautiful day.

An innovative temporary walk bridge has been installed on the island 17th green to minimize foot traffic entering the green. Maybe a new back left hole location this year?

The grassy green grounds of TPC Sawgrass has never looked better to me this early in the year. This year, undoubtedly the 41^st PLAYERS will be the best ever in terms of playing conditions, field strength, entire entertainment for the guests and most importantly, charitable dollars raised.

There is definitely a winning formula at TPC Sawgrass with golf and charity fundraising.

Maybe Tim Tebow did not perform a miracle at TPC Sawgrass, but the Tim Tebow Foundation has and will continue to do so for sure. Just ask some of the children and their parents that have benefited around the world.

Please consider making a donation by clicking here.

Postscript:

Tim Tebow fielding media questions, many about his future NFL playing career.

Oh, did you catch the “soon-to-be signed” reference? Only my opinion. No expert here, just a hunch from being around the media hounds and being present and listening closely to Tim’s interviews. Tebow, when pressed by the great Jacksonville sportswriter Garry Smits, stated that he did not apply for the first-ever NFL Veteran Combine. That is why his name is not on the list of participants that was recently released. Though he quickly followed with “I feel like I am in great shape,” and definitely looked like he was. Subsequent to his media interview I see he tried out for the Eagles but no contract was signed.

Tebow brothers on the 17th green. Robby putting Kaymer putt with Tim watching. Both are good golfers.

Tebow brothers on the 17th green. Robby putting the Kaymer putt with Tim watching. Both are good golfers.

His situation points out one of the differences between golf and football. In my opinion, the raw deal Tebow got in Denver happens in the NFL but not on the PGA Tour. Once an opportunity to play on any tour is earned in golf it is given to the deserving player. Not so in football. Maybe the NFL has an opportunity to learn something here. When a guy takes over a 1-4 team at halftime and leads them to the playoffs and wins a game against the Steelers he deserves a chance the following season. Granted in golf, success one year does not guarantee success the following year but it does give a player status and the opportunity to compete.

From what I saw of Tim’s (and his brother Robby) golf game, maybe he should give golf a go?

I hope Tim Tebow gets that opportunity in football, he deserves it!

Billy Horschel fulfilling all autograph requests.

Tebow’s foundation, his family and friends on the 17th tee.

The Tim Tebow Foundation Celebrity Gala & Golf Classic is a great charitable event and fun to cover!

Filed Under: People in Golf

Broken Sound Club’s Day of Love, Support & Respect for America’s Bravest…

March 9, 2015 By admin

Heartfelt standing ovation for Sergeant Kent (forefront in wheelchair) was the highlight of the day.

A Day of Love, Support and Respect; there really is no other way to describe the Golf Fore America’s Bravest event at the Broken Sound Club in Boca Raton, Florida.

Present in spirit was Stephen Siller, the NYFD firefighter that ran through the shutdown Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel to the Towers of the World Trade Center on September 11th, 2001 to help those in need. Stephen gave his life out of a sense of duty and perished with other like-minded public servants and innocent victims that day; 2,995 souls lost in total.

Present in flesh was Army Sergeant Corey Kent, who lost his legs and left-hand fingers to a roadside bomb in Afghanistan on July 12th, 2010. He is one of 1,558 American service women and men with major limb amputations since September 11th. Thankfully, for the Building for America’s Bravest program of the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation, Corey is No. 41 on the list to receive a custom designed, specially adapted SMART home.

As the numbers indicate, the need to fund a home for these disabled veterans where they can cook, shower and do simple things like adjust the HVAC from a handheld electronic device, is immense.

CLICK here for a VIDEO INTERVIEW with Sal Caragliano, organizer of the Golf Fore America’s Bravest event.

Logo of the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation.

Broken Sound Club member Sal Caragliano and his wife Wendy saw the need and organized the first fundraiser in 2011 in part for Will Lyles, an Army buddy of their son-in-law Ben Harrow. Will stepped on a pressure plate Improvised Explosive Device (IED) during a fire fight with insurgents in Afghanistan on August 28, 2010. The Army Team Leader of the 7th Special Forces Group suffered several injuries and lost both of his legs.

Ironically, Army Special Forces Captain Ben Harrow lost both legs due to an IED explosion in Afghanistan on May 15, 2012, eleven days after the second annual fundraiser at the Broken Sound Club. Less than nine months later, Captain Harrow hit the ceremonial first tee shot to kick off the Allianz Championship at Broken Sound Club.

There is a bridge of support from our September 11th heroes to our decorated American war heroes. While one could find the logo miniature Swilican Bridge markers on the tees of the Old Course at Broken Sound Club, you didn’t have to look far or listen very closely to see the human bridge embracing and supporting our disabled veterans on the warm and sunny day of the Golf Fore America’s Bravest event.

Retired NYFD Battalion Commander Jack Oehm giving a tour of the September 11 traveling exhibit to Mrs. Mulligan’s eighth grade class.

Joining Wendy and Sal Caragliano were Frank Siller, the brother of NYFD fallen hero Stephen Siller, Jack Hoem, retired NYFD Battalion Commander who brought along with him a traveling version of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum complete with a room devoted to Stephen Siller, and Danny Rodriguez, the singing NYPD retired policeman, who serenaded all souls present and above with his amazingly patriotic and resounding voice.

Stephen Siller was a golf nut like all of us. The plan of his last golf outing was to play 90 holes in one day. He and his brother Frank got in 54 with the last nine holes being Speed Golf, literally running from shot-to-shot. Earlier in the day he had lost a ball down in a water hazard and ended up emerging with a hundred or so balls while Frank repeatedly played the next par-3 hole.

Stephen Siller, Firefighter and September 11 Hero.

On that fateful day in New York City, Stephen was headed for a brothers foursome of golf after coming off the graveyard shift as a NYFD firefighter right across the East River from Manhattan in Brooklyn. He heard the call on his scanner, turned around and headed back to the fire station for his gear. When he was confronted by a closed tunnel, he hopped out of his truck, put on his 60 pounds of gear and ran nearly two miles through the Tunnel to the Towers to help those in need. As his brother says in the video, “while Stephen was saving other people’s lives, he gave up his own.” I picture him playing Speed Hero in the Towers running from victim to victim and bringing them to safety probably rescuing more lives than he ever did golf balls.

CLICK here for a VIDEO INTERVIEW with Frank Siller, Chairman & CEO of the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation.

Retired NYFD Battalion Commander Jack Oehm in front of the fallen Towers and the risen Freedom Tower.

Jack Oehm is a retired Battalion Commander of the NYFD. He was there that day in New York City. He survived. Twenty of his men did not. Off duty that day, he was on the top of the 110 stories of the World Trade Centers, which became a 12-story pile known as Ground Zero, by 11 am. His search for survivors continues today by insuring knowledge, inspiration and wisdom from September 11 survive in our minds and lead us to making our world a better place to be. It occurred to me as I observed him giving a tour of the traveling version of the National September 11 Museum & Memorial to Mrs. Mulligan’s eighth grade class (her real name) that they were all born shortly after September 11. Some young people legitimately don’t know and need to be informed. As for the rest of us who may have forgotten, as Jack points out in the video, about our September 11 and war heroes and the freedom they bring us—let’s remember now and do something to honor their memory and support the wounded and their families.

Commander Oehm is a stand-up guy focused on all things good in life. I am sure these eighth graders will remember this tour and Jack’s words for the rest of their lives. With the mural behind him he pointed out one of life’s greatest lessons—when you get knocked down, you get right back up. The World Trade Center Towers were knocked down by evil and the new Freedom Tower was built on inspiration, strength, and goodness. Stephen Siller ran the right way and the right race in life, from the Tunnel to the Towers to sacrifice his life for others. Private First Class Kyle Hockenberry got it right with his tattoo—”For those I love I will sacrifice.” What have we done to honor their memory and support the wounded and their families?

CLICK here for a VIDEO INTERVIEW with Retired NYFD Battalion Commander & September 11 Exhibit Tour Guide Jack Oehm.

Danny Rodriguez, America’s Beloved Tenor, singing God Bless America…

All of America’s patriotism and prayers can be found in one place—in the voice of Danny Rodriguez, America’s Beloved Tenor. On September 11 he was a NYPD police officer on his way to work crossing over the Verrazano Bridge from Staten Island to Brooklyn when he saw the smoke from the first Tower. He was one of the last civilian cars to make it through the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel, moments ahead of the running firefighter Stephen Siller. Planning to go right after emerging from the Tunnel to park at the Port Authority God directed him to go left at the last moment to spare his life so he could inspire us with his voice. He was a block away from the Towers when they came down. Now he is closer than ever to capturing the spirit and the sacrifice of those 2,995 heroes and innocent victims and bringing us to a more peaceful and loving world. “We can Choose to Believe,” is the duet he sings with his wife Marla, it really is that simple.

CLICK here for VIDEO INTERVIEW (& Singing) of Danny Rodriguez, America’s Beloved Tenor.

Private First Class Kyle Hockenbury, down but now up, and his inspiration—For those I love I will sacrifice…

The the day they named the Broken Sound Club, the silence around this area was only broken by the sound of a golf ball being struck by a golf club. For sure, the peace and quiet of our world was shattered on September 11. Who knows when the world will become civilized again? One thing I know for sure is that next year’s Play Fore America’s Bravest day might be called Spirit Day for good cause as America’s Spirit will never be broken. Like Jack Oehm will tell you when touring the September 11 Exhibit, the lesson to be learned is when you fall down like the towers did, you get right back up, brush your self off and stand as tall as the new Freedom Tower. Or as Danny Rodriguez sings… God Bless America… and our world.

God Bless You and please donate to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation and say Thank You to those brave women and men who serve and protect us. And save us when the situation arises.

Filed Under: People in Golf

Beau & Texas Win The Hayt at Sawgrass CC

March 1, 2015 By admin

The Hayt has been hosted by Sawgrass CC, John Hyat and UNF for the last 15 years.

There is a lot of golf history at Sawgrass CC in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. The club that celebrated their 40th anniversary in 2014 hosted the first five THE PLAYERS Championships in the late 1970s and early 1980s and has hosted a premier collegiate golf tournament for the last 15 years—The Hayt. In between there was a lot of fun member golf with the club and community living up to its motto—”Ocean to Green and Everything in Between.”

I went over to catch the final round action of the 2015 Hayt. The weather was reminiscent of the days the PLAYERS tournaments were held with wind and a bit of a chill in the air. A chill that did not cool off the red hot Texas Longhorns from stampeding to victory led by individual medalist Beau Hossler.

Beau Hossler, Individual Medalist, accepts the trophy from tournament sponsor and namesake John Hyat.

Beau as you may recall was the youngest to ever qualify for the U.S. Open in 2009 at Southern Hills at age 14 and three years later held the lead in the U.S. Open early in the second round at Olympic Club. His three day 4-under par performance (76-66-70) in the wind at Sawgrass CC was reminiscent of some of the best rounds from the PLAYERS days. Many compared it to the 5-under par winning performance by Lanny Wadkins in 1979. The World Golf Hall of Famer’s Saturday round of 68 was characterized by Gary Player as “absolutely unbelievable” and self proclaimed by Wadkins as “one of the finest rounds I have ever played.” Congratulations Beau and Texas Longhorns!

Another Longhorn story, this one with local ties, is that of 2013 U.S. Open qualifier at Merion Gavin Cole. He won the 2011 Junior PLAYERS Championship across the street at TPC Sawgrass on his 17th birthday. After a brilliant 64 on the Dye’s Valley Course he survived The Gauntlet on the Stadium Course to seal the deal. It was good to see Gavin and his parents Mary Ellen and Bob again at Sawgrass CC. My guess is the next time I see him four years out he will be playing on the PGA TOUR back across the street in the PLAYERS!

Texas Assistant Coach Jean-Paul “J.P.” Hebert walking up the 18th fairway with Gavin Hall.

Another fun time was connecting with Jean-Paul “J.P.” Hebert, my friend from golf broadcasting. Happy he is now the Assistant Coach to Texas Head Coach John Fields after being so on a volunteer basis for several years. Sad we will not be seeing him out on the road in the golf broadcasting world. I will always remember when I first met him at Irondequoit CC volunteering for the Xerox Web.com (Nationwide at the time) and how he made us all laugh with his dry and riveting sense of humor!

Hebert played golf for Texas back in the early 90s and led the Longhorns to a second-place finish at the 1994 NCAA Championship in his senior season. He won the prestigious Monroe Invitational Championship at the Monroe Golf Club in Pittsford, New York. After seeing Texas alumni Jordan Spieth win the Australian Open up close and personal in Sydney in late November and the team on the fairways of Sawgrass CC, I can’t help but think more great golfers will come out of the Texas program.

Our 29th ranked Ospreys from the University of North Florida, coached by Scott Schroeder, nearly pulled off the win finishing only six strokes shy of Texas while beating the Crimson Tide of Alabama, reigning back-to-back NCAA Division 1 National Champions, by 15 strokes. Dillon Woods and Taylor Hancock finished 2nd and 3rd respectively behind Beau Hossler, the Individual Medalist.

Congratulations to the “Hook ‘Em” Horns of Texas!

Our Jacksonville University Dolphins finished 9th out of the 15 teams competing in The Hayt. Coach Mike Blackburn has the program on the upswing as the Dolphins captured the Donald Ross Intercollegiate at Mimosa Hills Golf Club in Morgantown, North Carolina. Junior Franck Medale was the Individual Medalist after opening with a school record 7-under par 63. The Dolphins hosted the Sea Best Invitational on the Dye’s Valley Course at TPC Sawgrass in early February. Won by UNLV Running Rebels with their John Oda winning Individual Medalist and UNF finishing 4th, Jacksonville University T10.

We are fortunate to have great amateur and professional golf competitions in Northeast Florida hosted by great venues like Sawgrass CC and TPC Sawgrass.

Next year we promise great weather!

Participants in the 2015 Hyat included UCLA…

T for Tennessee but it was the Longhorns who came out of the pack to win The Hayt!

Winning scores of Texas!

Filed Under: Hickory Golf, PGA TOUR Golf

Media Guide for the “Golf Journey to New Zealand”

February 25, 2015 By admin

Perfect Day 1 in New Zealand golfing at Jack’s Point.

The “Golf Journey to New Zealand” was a 32-day, 4,648-kilometer (2,888 miles) driving all over the North & South Island, 21-golf course Odyssey. New Zealand and Auckland are comparable in size and population to Oregon and Portland, respectively. I never felt constrained, there is much more to see. I hope to return for more golf and adventure travel and to meet more New Zealanders! Great country, great people!

It took 24-1/2 hours to travel 11,628 miles to get there via Dallas-Fort-Worth, Honolulu and Sydney and 22-1/2 hours and 10,827 miles to return home to Jacksonville, Florida, USA. No worries, it was well worth the travel time!

Here is a general summary of accommodations, golf courses played, tourist destinations visited (tour guides used) in the course of traveling, golfing and living in Kiwi-Land for one glorious month!

My last day in New Zealand at the Sky Tower in Auckland.

Feature articles with stay, play & visit details along with pictures and video interviews will be coming soon so please check back. In the meantime links to their websites are included below.

If I can assist you with your travel plans to New Zealand please do not hesitate to contact me at AndyReistetter@gmail.com.

I hope you will visit New Zealand. I am happy I did as it was a lifetime adventure and memory for sure!

Kel Nagle, Australia’s Legendary Golfer

January 29, 2015 By admin

Kel Nagle was gregarious, energetic and a friendly fellow when I met him on December 16th in Terrey Hills near Sydney.

I spent my only night sleeping in the car on the 2-1/2 month “Golf Journey to Australia & New Zealand” but it was worth it to meet and spend a couple of hours with Kel Nagle and his buddies David Mercer and John Holiday.

Let me explain. It was the day before the ‘Golf Journey to Australia’ ended with a flight from Sydney over to Queenstown to continue the odyssey in New Zealand. I had completed the Australian Trifecta, going to Melbourne for The Masters, back to Sydney for the Open and then up to Brisbane and the Golf Coast for the PGA Championship. There, after seeing Greg Chalmers beat Adam Scott in a playoff on the 18^th in the 7^th round after Wade Ormsby was knocked out in the 3^rd round, I was invited to play the RACV Royal Pines Golf Course the next day in a ‘Play the Course the Pros Played’ outing. Of course I accepted the invitation, played and for the record shot 39 on the new Graham Marsh-designed front nine. Thank you very much Graham Marsh for that insightful, walk-the-front-nine interview on Saturday morning! The event ended at 3 pm Monday afternoon about 950 kilometers north of the Terrey Hills Nursing Home where Kel lived and we had a tea time at 10:30 am on Tuesday. That’s about a 10-hour drive and there wasn’t time to get a hotel room and sleep a conventional night (nor was it in the budget). So I drove and stopped and napped when needed.

The sunrise along the coast in Berlin Blue as I made my way south to meet Mr. Nagle.

When I met Kel in his room I had the same reaction as when I first entered the Terrey Hills Nursing Home. For somebody five days shy of his 94^th birthday he looked and acted to me like somebody turning 74. The place was not what the name implies, especially for Kel who readily admitted that it was only because of the lower half of his body, not above the waist as he gestured, that he lived there. His mind, his spirit and his bright smile were all fully present.

Kel lived in ‘Dormie Corner’ at Terrey Hills as evidenced by the nameplate outside his room (which was more like a suite). I never asked him about it but I took the name to mean a good place to be in any match—in the lead by as many holes as are still to be played. Outside his room was a mural of the Old Course at St. Andrews, a tribute and reminder to all of his victory there over Arnold Palmer in the centenary year of the Open Championship. The staff at the Thompson Health Care facility were warm and friendly and readily admitted in writing and more importantly by their actions that “residents do not live in our facilities, we work in their homes.”

Our friendly foursome for tea that morning included golf professionals John Holiday (left) and David Mercer (right).

Kel, David and John were great guys and I enjoyed the two hours we spent together talking about golf and indirectly about life. It was ironic to me that the Sydney terrorist hostage crisis at the Lindt Chocolate Café in Martin Place in downtown Sydney was on the television during our visit. Sadly, the siege had ended just after 2 am that morning with the deaths of two innocent victims. While only 25 kilometers from where we were, the unexplainable violence seemed a world away from the gentlemen I was sitting with and the game of golf. Why I wondered can’t differences be resolved without the taking of life in what seems to otherwise be a civilized world?

Kel told most of the stories though David and John interjected occasionally with some banter of their own. Kel met David at the Killara Golf Club a long time ago where David became a golf professional in 1953 and Kel went to practice when home. Though he still remembered that David had “taught him all his bad habits.” John became an apprentice in David’s shop later in the 1950s. I just sat there and smiled thinking that these three guys had known each other for the last 60 years. It was a magical time, no different than when you are paired up with some new friends on the first tee of most any golf course in the world.

Painting in ‘Dormie Corner’ outside Kel’s place- a tribute to Kel’s 1960 Open win at St. Andrews.

I loved hearing Kel Nagle tell golf stories. I just sat there and took 14 pages of notes, some amazingly that I am able to read. He started playing golf at age 6 with an old knobby stick from his father’s orchard. When he met his wife as a teenager he told her mother “one day I will be a champion.” Teamed up with the great Peter Thomson to win two World Cups (then Canada Cups) and credits him with noting that he was playing well and telling him that he could win the Open the week before while competing in the Canada Cup at Portmarnock. Arnold Palmer telling him that he “had a habit of getting in his way.” After his loss to Nagle, Palmer would win the Open the next two years at Royal Birkdale and Troon to pave the way for American golfers to compete regularly in golf’s world championship.

When I asked him who his favorite player to watch on television was he quickly replied without hesitation that it was Jordan Spieth, the American who had won the Australian Open two weeks earlier at the Australian Golf Club in Sydney.

With Kel Nagle, the legendary Australian golfer and a great guy!

That made me think of the comment made by Troy Grant, the Deputy Premier Minister for Tourism, in the Awards Ceremony on the 18th green, that Jordan is a “credit to golf and a credit to his country.” Here I was sitting in the presence of Kel Nagle, one of Australia’s and the game’s legendary golfers and a true gentleman. The lineage is Australian golfing greats is well represented as World Golf Hall of Fame members—Walter Travis, Peter Thomson, Kel Nagle, Greg Norman, Karrie Webb and soon to be inducted this year—David Graham.

One of the last things Kel Nagle said to me before I left and he could have his lunch, with a wry smile of course, was “it’s a good game, isn’t it.”

Yes it is Mr. Nagle and thanks to you and David Mercer and John Holiday y’all have put the cherry on the cake I call the “Golf Journey to Australia.” Much appreciated!

Editor’s Note:

Subsequent to the visit I learned Kel Nagle has passed on January 28^th, 2015. I was shocked as he looked so healthy and full of vigor only a month an d a half ago. It was an honor and privilege to meet and spend some time with a true golfing legend. He and David and John were also some of the nicest men I met on the “Golf Journey to Australia and New Zealand.”

My thoughts?

“Dormie no more,” as the great champion golfer finished his round victorious in life and has entered the great clubhouse above. My thoughts, prayers and sympathy go out to the family and friends of Mr. Nagle.

Filed Under: Journey to Australia, People in Golf

Modern & Historic; Mission Inn is Orlando’s Top Golf Resort

January 25, 2015 By admin

Partial view of the Mission Inn Resort from the ‘Devils’ Delight’ 17th green on El Campeon.

You can tell a golf resort by its golf courses. If there is only one, then it really isn’t a resort, rather more of a private estate for the owner to entertain her or his friends. When there are two then it is a golf resort for sure, but what kind? Are they mirror images of each other or stately and unique in their own right? At Mission Inn Resort & Club there are two golf courses—El Campeon and Los Colinas and there is no doubt that they are stately and unique in their own right!

El Campeon, a.k.a. The Champion, is the preserver of golf history in the Southeast United States. While not the oldest course in Florida it is old and dates back to 1917. This unusual Florida golf course with significant elevation changes captures the essence of the early years of golf design in America. The Los Colinas course, a.k.a. The Hills, is relatively new and brings into play all the latest modern design principles. Together, the historic and modern golf courses make Mission Inn, located in Howey-in-the Hills, the Orlando area’s top golf resort, if not in the entire state of Florida.

Fountain in the Plaza de Las Palmas at Mission Inn Resort.

This was an exciting “stay and play” adventure for a number of reasons. First of all, I have heard about the Mission Inn ever since I moved to Florida in 2008. The location, “Howey-in the Hills” always intrigued me as well—hills in flat Florida? Who-the-heck is Howey and why is he in the hills? Plus I was part of a large group of golfing buddies.

The trip was scheduled right after the annual PGA Merchandise Show at the Orange County Convention Center and the majority, if not all, of the media gathered at the Mission Inn Resort & Club were fellow Golf Travel Writers Association (GTWA) members. Mission Inn is so close to Orlando you could almost golf your way there. It was easy to close the PGA Show at 3 pm, drive to Mission Inn and check in, take a nap and join the Welcome Event in time for dinner at the Lakeside Pavilion with time to spare.

The Mission Inn Resort and El Campeon is part of Florida’s Historic Golf Trail.

GTWA folks are special and I need them in my life so maybe I am a special needs person in life after all. What they found at the “Granddaddy of All Golf Shows” and their stories about their finds were wonderful and beneficial to hear about. I am not saying I am the youngest member of GTWA but I probably am and who better to learn from than folks who have been going to a show for twenty or thirty years longer than you have? As long as I stayed away from their one-putt on-course golf betting scam (you know the one where they always just miss the green and get it up-and-down to take your money), I knew I would have a great time at Mission Inn.

Los Colinas, designed by Gary Koch, opened in 1992 to rave reviews.

George O’Neil, the famous Chicago golf professional and architect, was employed to design El Campeon at a time when golf resorts were just emerging In the United States. O’Neil was also a golf instructor and helped develop the skills of the great amateur golfer Chick Evans. Hiring O’Neil was a bold and provocative decision at the time and sent the message that nothing but the best is good enough at the Mission Inn Resort & Club. This message continues today nearly one hundred years later.

Los Colinas has a storied, yet shorter, design history. Gary Koch, the acclaimed amateur and professional golfer turned golf broadcaster and course designer created the original design in 1992. It was an instantaneous hit and was nominated as the “Best New Resort Course” by Golf Digest. Ron Garl, a prolific designer of golf courses in Florida and around the world updated the layout in 2007.

Like so many dual coursed resorts, El Campeon and Los Colinas are the perfect complement to each other and a purely passionate place to play golf.

Golf groups, like PJ Vandewalle, keep coming back year-after-year to the Mission Inn Resort.

Our GTWA gathering was like a corporate meeting or convention with the agenda, logistics and operation professionally orchestrated by Drew Toth (Director, Sales & Marketing) and Bud Beucher (Vice President/General manager). While celebrating 50 years of Beucher family ownership and creating a “Lifetime of Memories” it is easy to see why groups like the PJ Vanderwalle Golf Group came back year-after-year and were celebrating their 20th year anniversary at Mission Inn. Maybe you have an association of family members or folks in your company that could enjoy a ‘stay and play’ experience at the Mission Inn Resort & Club?

“Blessed by nature, touched by history,” I certainly agree. Family owned and operated, there is a strong sense of home when one visits.

Even Debra’s osprey family comes back each year to the Mission Inn Resort!

Who is Howey? William J. Howey is the entrepreneur who purchased 60,000 acres, including the grounds of Mission Inn, to grow citrus fruits and ship Florida sunshine around the country. In 1917 it was he who hired O’Neil to build El Campeon and diversified his business. Nick Buecher, an adventurist, who rode horseback across Mexico after recuperating from broken leg suffered in a rodeo tumble bought the operation in 1964 and expanded to what it is today. Celebrating 50 years of family ownership is quite an accomplishment!

The question isn’t why Howey and Buecher were in the Hills, the question is why you are not? Whether a private or corporate endeavor, the place to endeavor is Mission Inn Resort & Club with its two golf courses, 176 hotel rooms, Lakeside Pavilion, fresh-water fishing, marina, full-service spa, Billiard Room, three restaurants and 30,000 square feet of group space for meetings, weddings and special events.

Here’s a citrus toast to the Beucher Family and the Mission Inn Resort celebrating 50 years! Thanks for having me!

My GTWA buddies and I had a wonderful time at the Mission Inn Resort & Club. I even received a gift of homemade Ma Poole’s Chutney from John Dyson. Just in time for the Super Bowl party back in Ponte Vedra Beach, the chutney was as big a hit as our time at Mission Inn.

Modern and historic, with a strong sense of family, for personal or corporate events and outings, Mission Inn has it all to not only offer but to deliver. Check it out next time you are anywhere near Orlando and you won’t be disappointed in any way. In fact unless you are staying there for a week or more you won’t experience it all and will want to make a visit to the Mission Inn Resort & Club an annual affair.

Here are six more memories from a fantastic visit to the Mission Inn Resort & Club:

The grandeur of the Mission Inn Resort is found in every vista!

The classic par-4 5th hole on El Campeon with part of the Mission Inn Resort in the background.

On the par-5 5th on Los Colinas. A beautiful walk through the hills hitting that little white ball!

Lots of golf memorabilia displayed at the Mission Inn Resort. I liked this cabinet commemorating Gary Koch’s career.

Autographed scorecard from the original opening of Las Colinas in 1992.

With our host Drew Toth, Director, Sales & Marketing at the Mission Inn Resort.

Filed Under: East Coast Golf Journey, Travel Golf

2015 PGA Show Demo Day 1: 360-Degree Full View!!!

January 20, 2015 By admin

The PGA Show 72 years ago in a parking lot in Dunedin. Photo Credit: Bob Denney, PGA of America

The PGA Merchandise Show is truly “the MAJOR of the golf business” and “the global gathering of the golf of the golf industry and the kickoff to the 2015 season!” Demo Day, the outside version in its 13th year, is what kicks off the modern version of the PGA Show and is held at the Orange County National Golf Center and Lodge. The mammoth show itself, a three-day spectacular extravaganza, is held in the cavernous Orange County Convention Center. In its 62nd year it has come a long way from the group of like-minded golf businessmen who first met in a parking lot near Tamps in a place called Dunedin in 1952 some 100 miles away from Orlando.

My seventh consecutive PGA Show but my first Demo Day!

This was my first Demo Day and it was memorable to say the least. The driving range, a 360-degree brilliant design, is known as the largest and the best golf driving range in America. My personal opinion, with a diameter of 400 yards, is that it is unmatched anywhere in the world. Even with golf clubs of the latest technology, some virtual professional models, I was hard pressed to carry my golf ball to the center of the range let alone anywhere near the fellow drivers opposite me.

Grant the ball picker. Smartest person I met at Demo Day for convincing me not to get out of the cart to shoot the 360-degree video!

Arriving around 1 pm and approaching the circular trunk show and party from almost due south, my goal was to walk around the entire circle of vendors in a clockwise motion. Four and a half hours later I did come back to my starting point as the Demo Day concluded but only because about half way around most companies had already begun to tear down their camps. I started the day by hoping into a picker cart with Grant a wide-eyed youngster that turned out to be wise beyond his years. I wanted him to drive me out to the center of the range where I would get out and sho0t a 360-degree video of the driving range encircled by vendors. Luckily Grant was experienced and able to convince me not to do such a ridiculous maneuver. Balls were bouncing around all over the place and several squarely hit the caged picker cart. With a million balls being hit in an eight hour time period the math came out to about 10,000 in the five minutes it took to drive out and back. All by well-skilled club professionals of the PGA of America. Fun but silly idea there to start the day!

CLICK here for 360-degree VIDEO from the center of the OCN driving range from mostly inside the cage!

Christopher Mata, a Master Club Fitter Golf Professional from Mission Hills CC in Rancho Mirage, did a great job of fitting me with Taylormade clubs!

My afternoon around the circle included a FlightScope fitting at Taylormade. The new R15 driver with an XS shaft worked well for me. At Titleist the D3 driver with an 8.5 degree face on the C1 setting with a silver Aldila X-flex shaft made me feel like the old Tiger in me was driving the ball. I tested two amazing creations—a metal driver and hybrid with a hole in them and loved the feel, sound and result. I hope to win the raffle by AmazingCre!

I rode a GolfBoard and found it to be more fun than a golf cart though not as much exercise as walking and carrying my bag. Surfing on the golf course may turn out to be more than a fad as it feels better than riding in a golf cart.

With Chad English, Head Golf Professional at Shady Oaks CC (L), and Brad McCollum, Director of Partner Development at the Ben Hogan Golf Equipment Company (R) and holding the modern Equalizer!

As I hurried to complete the circuit of golf innovations I came across the new Ben Hogan Golf Equipment Company. This was a full circle experience for me as my first set of clubs, a used set, were Ben Hogan APEX irons. I remember the Equalizer wedge very fondly. I hit the new FT. WORTH 15 irons and TK 15 wedges. No iron numbers, only degrees of loft. As the website says, “the precision is back,” and I like it a lot!

It was a great first day to the 2015 PGA Merchandise Show. Now a good night’s rest and the opening ceremony at the Orange County Convention Center and another three days of golf passion, madness and excitement!

With Mike Rainwater, club fitter for Titleist, and the 915 D3 driver and 3-metal.

With dono Kim, President of AmazingCre, and the hole-in-one-club!

Riding the GolfBoard was FUN!

Filed Under: Hickory Golf, PGA TOUR Golf

Golf…The Game with a View

January 20, 2015 By admin

Golf…The Game with a View

Do you know what golf course this is and where it is located?

The beauty of golf…

Feast your eyes on some of the most beautiful golf courses around the world. Play along with others to win great prizes awarded weekly.

The game of golf…

The Where’s Waldo of golf. Guess what course is featured each week, make your guess, and you will be entered to win free stays, plays, clubs and more.

Golf…The Game with a View

Filed Under: Uncategorized