GOLF PENNSYLVANIA Vol. XXIX No. 6 GOLF NORTHEAST Oct.–Nov. 2017 Southern Golf Getaways Destination: Mtns. to Midlands Great Golf in South Carolina BMW Championship to be held at Aronomink GC Pebble Beach to Host U.S. Opens Western Florida Courses Bounce Back Tournament of Champions Playoff Justin Thomas PGA Tour Player of the Year PGA 2017-18 Tour Schedule Art Wall Tournament Results Pebble Beach Golf Links California Hole # 8 Results; Philly PGA , PPGS and AGA Photo by Evan Schiller 2 G OLF P ENNSYLVANIA ~ G OLF N ORTHEAST Oct.–Nov. 2017 Gary Player | Class of 1974 Arnold Palmer | Class of 1974 Jack Nicklaus | Class of 1974 CELEBRATE THE GAME’S BEST! Memorabilia & Artifacts from our 150 Members |18-Hole Putting Course | Challenge Hole | Golf Simulator WORLD GOLF VILLAGE | ST. AUGUSTINE, FL | WORLDGOLFHALLOFFAME.ORG Oct.–Nov. 2017 G OLF P ENNSYLVANIA ~ G OLF N ORTHEAST 3 Great Golf and Southern Hospitality On Mountains to Midlands Trail in S.C. Tony Leodora Host of GolfTalk Live Walker Course Clemson University - Hole #17 - TigerPaw Mount Vintage Golf Club - Vintage Course - Hole #6 By Tony Leodora That caused us to reverse the Mountains to Midlands directional suggestion, starting instead in the rolling hills area of the state capital, Columbia. When most people think of golf in South Carolina, the mind immediately Obviously, in a fairly large city, hotels are plentiful. We found ourselves in is drawn to the coast. Resort areas such as Myrtle Beach, Charleston, Kiawah a very nice, and very new, Hyatt Place. It was a short drive to the renovated Island and Hilton Head Island are favorite golf destinations of millions each downtown area that features many trendy restaurants and shops. year. It also was a short drive to our first golf course, Cobblestone Park, home of To the great amazement of some, an entire other world of golf enchantment the University of South Carolina golf team. The colors, garnet and black, were exists in South Carolina. For the purpose of shining the spotlight on the trail everywhere – except on the emerald green fairways. of golf that stretches from the northern border of the state to the southern In fact, two of the nines on this 27-hole layout are named Garnet and border – throughout the interior – the Mountains to Midlands Golf Alliance Black. The third nine is the Gold nine. was formed. The longest combination is the Garnet-Black course. Don’t let its length “We knew we had something special – both in terms of golf and southern from the tips – 6,788 – fool you. With all of the hills and the elevated greens, hospitality – so we decided to work together back in 2001,” said Rick Saucier, the course plays much longer and can be a beast. the marketing arm for the Mountains to Midlands Golf Alliance. Or, as it is “If people select the proper tees, the course is actually very playable,” commonly called, M2M. explained Tom Graber, general manager at Cobblestone Park. “There is plenty “The tough part was bringing together almost 50 golf courses, as well as of room in the fairways and the holes are very much straight-forward.” all of the partners in the region,” Saucier explained. “We got help from two Second stop in the Columbia area was Golden Hills Golf and Country tourism organizations and a number of hotels and, before you knew it, we were Club. This Ron Garl design is a much tighter course, require shotmaking skills opening a formerly undiscovered area to the traveling golfers of America. It has on a number of holes. There also is quite a bit of water on the course, including been fun watching this grow.” a pond guarding the peninsula green on the challenging 10th hole. A big part of the fun is working with so many passionate people who Slightly more than an hour away lies Thoroughbred Country -- featuring are ready and willing to welcome visitors to their golf courses, hotels and the quaint town of Aiken and burgeoning North Augusta, divided by the restaurants. There is no way to hide the joy they share about working in their Savannah River from the heralded town of Augusta, Georgia. corner of the Deep South. The jewel of North Augusta is Mount Vintage Club, considered by many To make the trip as realistic as possible, we embarked on an eight-day, to be among the most scenic courses in South Carolina and the finest venue in 2,000-mile trek that began in the Philadelphia area, then completed a giant the M2M collection. circle that brought us to eight golf courses, three hotels and hundreds of Another fine course in the area is River Golf Club, designed by Jim Fazio. smiling faces. The basic route was I-95 on the way down, and I-81 through the beautiful Shenandoah Valley of Virginia on the way back. South Carolina Golf continued on page 19 4 G OLF P ENNSYLVANIA ~ G OLF N ORTHEAST Oct.–Nov. 2017 “What golfers will enjoy at Huntsville is the beauty of the site and the way that the holes fi t the land so perfectly.” - Rees Jones, course architect Voted #5 Best Golf Course in PA by Golf Digest Oct.–Nov. 2017 G OLF P ENNSYLVANIA ~ G OLF N ORTHEAST 5 The BMW Championship Will Be Held At Aronomink Golf Club Aronomink Golf Club – Hole # 8 Aronomink Golf Club Clubhouse By Mike Kern limited quantities. There’s a variety of corporate hospitality options as well. Big-time golf will be returning to the Philadelphia area next year for the The response in the corporate community has been so good that an first time since the 2013 U.S. Open at Merion. additional Chalet inventory was added on the tee at the 18th hole. For more The BMW Championship, the penultimate event in the PGA Tour’s information on those possibilities contact David Fox at [email protected]. Or FedExCup Playoffs, will be held at Aronomink Golf Club in Newtown Square call him at 610-356-8000, extension 225. from Sept. 6-9. It’s basically the semifinals, which means the top 70 players in Aronimink hosted the PGA Championship (won by Gary Player) in 1962, the standings are competing to get into the 30-man Tour Championship two the U.S. Amateur in 1977 and the Senior PGA Championship in 2003. weeks later. Past BWM winners include Dustin Johnson, Jason Day, Rory McIlroy, “We look forward to welcoming fans (from) near and far to join us for a Zach Johnson, Justin Rose and Tiger Woods (remember him?). This year the week of drama, fun and world-class golf,” said Aronimink president Joe Fabrizio. champion was Mark Leishman, who beat Rose and Rickie Fowler by three “When spectators arrive on the grounds ... they will find a fully restored course shots at Conway Farms in suburban Chicago. that is among the most challenging and celebrated in the country.” The 2010 AT&T, where crowds were overflowing mostly because of Aronimink has just gone through a renovation that brought the course Woods’ presence, was won by Rose, who beat Ryan Moore by a stroke. The back to its original 1928 Donald Ross American Parkland design, under the next year the champion was Nick Watney, by two over K.J. Choi. direction of noted Malvern-based architecitect Gil Hanse. The number of Another thing to keep in mind is that some players might be fighting for bunkers has increased from 75 to 176, and the greens and fairway areas have a spot on the U.S. Ryder Cup team, as the Americans will attempt to win in been rebuilt to their original dimensions. Europe for the first time since 1993. And just the fourth time anywhere in a The course was the venue for the AT&T National, hosted by Tiger Woods, dozen matches since then. in 2010 and ‘11. Proceeds will be used to fund Platt Evans Scholarships for caddies attending This is the first time since 1959 that the event, formerly known as the Penn State and to establish a scholarship house in University Park, where the Western Open, has been contested in Pennsylvania. recipients can live together. Since 2007 the BMW has raised more than $26 “We’re pleased to be bringing the world’s top golfers to .. the Delaware million for caddie programs. Valley’s tremendous golf fan base,” said Vince Pellegrino, Western Golf The WGA is taking registration for tournament volunteers. More than Association senior vice president of tournaments. “We’re looking forward to 2,200 are needed to perform various tasks both inside and outside the ropes the energy and excitement (it) will generate.” that week. Tickets can be ordered at www.bmwchampionship.com. Grounds, For more info visit www.bnwchampionship.com. upgraded Trophy Club and all-inclusive 1899 clubs are currently available in See you there. 6 G OLF P ENNSYLVANIA ~ G OLF N ORTHEAST Oct.–Nov. 2017 Two premier courses. One unbelievable trip. Book your golf getaway with Caledonia Golf Vacations today. Experience priority tee times, exclusive packages ledon a ia and golf memberships to two of America’s C most celebrated courses. 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