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UA has recruiting edge in golf Saturday, Jun 7, 2008 By Harry King FAYETTEVILLE - Arkansas' golf coaches are going to have an in with about 100 young players as soon as the golfers arrive at Blessings Golf Club for an American Junior Golf Association tournament next month. The practice facility at John Tyson's course near Johnson is the home of the Razorbacks and a bona fide recruiting tool. And, the layout is a non-stop test. Walton Arena is very nice, but a basketball stage is pretty much the same whether it's in Fayetteville or Conway - 94 feet long, 50 feet wide, with a 10-foot high basket. The Blessings has all the latest technology, including a rare machine that produces tons of data on a putting stroke, but it's the other amenities that cover all bases: -A putting green with bermuda grass was built a couple of years ago to help the Razorbacks prepare for courses farther South. -Week to week, the world's best nip shots from close-cropped fairways. It's the chipping that varies depending on the grass, so the Blessings has practice greens surrounded by different grasses of varying heights. -Six bays open to the practice area for use during cold and-or wet weather and four of them are for UA players. -The hitting area circles left, altering angles to the many practice greens, and changing the effect of the bunkers. -To hone distance control from scoring range, there is the Peter Kostis-inspired horseshoe with four pins 40 to 80 yards away on an 8-yard deep strip of green. The 54-hole AJGA tournament is for boys and girls, 12 to 18, and Tyson's two-year commitment to an open event means the course he affectionately calls a "goat ranch," will host the Rolex Junior Championship in 2010. That's a big deal. Phil Mickelson won the boys title three times. Female champions include Morgan Pressel and Paula Creamer. When Masters champion Trevor Immelman won his first AJGA event at 15, the field included Ben Curtis, Carl Pettersson, Charles Howell III, Lucas Glover, Kevin Stadler, and Matt Kuchar. But, even the cream of the crop will be tested by Blessings Golf Club, about 10 minutes from the UA campus. The AJGA website has this tip: "Be prepared to be challenged in every aspect of your game." The yardage is listed at 7,139 for men and 6,361 for women, but it can be pushed back to 7,600 yards - even the Razorbacks don't play from the tips very often - and is the most visually intimidating course I have ever seen. A half-dozen times on the back nine, the tee shot must clear ravines teeming with native growth where no one dares to trod. To hit driver without overswinging, a player needs to first consult a trusty range finder because the needed carry is deceptive. For instance, on No. 12, the fairway beyond an outgrowth on the left appeared to be 230 from our tee. Turns out, it was 206. While on the PGA Tour in the early 1980s, Blessings Director of Golf Tom Jones learned how to dissect a course where the trouble smacks a player between the eyes. Go to the landing area and look back to the tee, he said, and you will find there is fairway available. Although the multitude of tees offers so much variety that par can be changed on three holes, there is not a breather among the 18 in accordance with Tyson's orders for Robert Trent Jones II. The prominent ridges and swells will be accentuated when the greens are quick and anybody who can walk the course is dead fit. The July 27 qualifying round for non-exempt youngsters will also be played at Blessings just in case there are some potential Razorbacks in the group. Normally, such competition is on an another nearby course. ---- Harry King is sports columnist for Stephens Media's Arkansas News Bureau. His e-mail address is hking@arkansasnews.com. |
