2012 FRIENDLY RIVALS: BUDDY TRIPS COMPLETE COURSE THE SPECIALIST: GUIDE RAZORBACK BRADLEY PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SWAPS 3-POINTERS COURSE FAVORITES FOR 3-WOODS WARREN’S TURN WARREN STEPHENS AND HIS LIFE IN GOLF, FROM LITTLE ROCK TO AUGUSTA AND BACK Q&A WITH STATE’S SIGNATURE TOP EXECUTIVE HOLES GOLFERS A SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT TO 7 April 16 2012 • VOL. 29 ISSUE 16 Is Your Home Course This Pleasant? Pleasant Valley Country Club offers members and guests memorable social experiences with its 27-hole championship golf course, fine dining, beautiful lake views and modern recreational facilities in West Little Rock. Golf is the heart of the club, with its 7,100-yard layout by world-renowned architect Joe Finger that is regularly ranked among the top courses in the Mid-South. Our new tennis complex features 12 lighted courts, including two clay and two permanently covered for year-round play. The newly built Fitness Center features state- of-the-art equipment and a spectacular lake view, and the swimming pool is designed for fun and competition. Our food service ranges from fine dining to casual buffets to Contact our office at the magnificent Sunday Brunch. The professional banquet staff (501) 225-5622 ensures quality wedding receptions, meetings, reunions and for your opportunity to experience other special events for up to 500 guests. Pleasant Valley Country Club Visit www.pleasantvalleycountryclub.net for more information. Publisher’s Note Golf has earned the reputation as a game of maintenance, a needy companion that requires regular attention for a healthy relationship. After all, a respectable golf game, any decent player or time- strapped slouch will tell you, takes practice. PINNACLE COUNTRY CLUB Often overlooked, 4 Hole 14 however, are the gifts the game reciprocates. People don’t just work on Signature Holes their golf games. Golf works on them. A combination of beautiful scenery and In this third edition of challenging layouts from courses around the state. ArkansasSports360.com’s Executive Golfer you’ll see this symbiotic relationship at its best. Warren Stephens talks about golf as FEATURES a lifelong opportunity to bond with his dad, but it’s hard to ignore the game’s paternal influence on him as a man. You’ll also find instances of golf as not just a source for life lessons but conversely a realm where the most important experience and wisdom we pick up off the course are also applicable. Former Razorback basketball sharpshooter Pat Bradley, for example, 12 23 30 offers a favorite Nolan Richardson quote to explain the philosophy behind his Stephens Executive Tournament uncomely-yet-effective golf play. I hope you enjoy this issue and find On Golf Q&A Time within it some sage advice – for your golf Stephens Inc. CEO Warren Get in a few rounds with some of The Western Amateur and game, your life or otherwise. Stephens has not only played the state’s top business executives Southern Amateur tournaments Have a great game! some of the country’s best courses, and Arkansas State football coach are headed to Little Rock. Find out he built one. Stephens shares his Gus Malzahn to discuss favorite how UALR Coach Wyn Norwood memories of a life in golf and the courses, players and that elusve is helping to make the city a new creation of the Alotian Club. hole-in-one. mecca for golf. Chip Taulbee Publisher INSIDE 10 Going Pro 20 The Specialist Good starts for Bryce Molder and Ken Duke and Pat Bradley on his evolution from Razorback 3-point Publisher Chip Taulbee; Editors Chris Bahn, Todd Traub; Art updates on rest of the state’s professionals. shooter to lifetime golfer. Directors Wayne DePriest, Waynette Traub; EDITORIAL Contributing Editor Jim Harris; Database Administrator Alex Graham; SALES & MARKETING Vice President of Business 16 New Products 38 Readers’ Choice Sales Bonnie Jacoby; Account Executives Graham Cobb, Neil Gray; Enhance your golf outings with the latest in apparel Top public and private courses in the state as voted Advertising Coordinators Bekah Caraway, Kristen Heldenbrand, and accessories. on by the experts. Alissa Mathews; DESIGN Production Manager Tona Jolly; Digital Operations Specialist Rebekah Eveland; CIRCULATION Circulation Manager Dana Meyer; Circulation Coordinator Cara 17 On the Road 44 Rosswood Gieringer; ADMINISTRATION Accounting Manager Hal Lammey; Place your bets with some veteran travelers as they Columnist Jim Harris on the late, great course where Accounting Assistant Kim Clark; Human Resources Bill Page; renew rivalries annually on the course. John Daly and Arnold Palmer once strode. Chairman & CEO Olivia Myers Farrell; President & Publisher Jeff Hankins; Chief Operating Officer Chuck Ballard; Chief Information Officer Brent Birch; Soiree Publisher & Editor Becki Moore; Associate Publishers Rachel Bradbury, Jennifer C. Pyron, Mandy Richardson, Chip Taulbee; Interactive Editor Lance Turner On The Cover Stephens Inc. CEO Warren Stephens at The Alotian Club he built west of Little Rock. PHOTOGRAPH BY DERO SANFORD ©2012 Arkansas Business Limited Partnership 2 / EXECUTIVE GOLFER / 2012 ARKANSASSPORTS360.COM Play through The Natural State. 1. Big Creek Golf and Country Club Mountain Home 2. Eagle Crest Golf Course Alma 3. Glenwood Country Club Glenwood 4. Harbor Oaks Golf Club Pine Bluff 5. Hot Springs Country Club Hot Springs (Two courses) 6. Mountain Ranch Golf Club Fairfi eld Bay 7. Red Apple Inn Heber Springs 8. Sage Meadows Jonesboro 9. Stonebridge Meadows Fayetteville 10. Tannenbaum Golf Club Drasco Take a tour of Arkansas from tee to tee on The Natural State Golf Trail. With 11. Thunder Bayou Golf Links 12 courses to choose from, the trail takes full advantage of the diverse landscapes Blytheville to challenge your game. For exciting things to do off the links as well, discover delicious dining, thrilling gaming, luxurious spas, unique shopping and more in vibrant cities and charming retreats always just a short drive away. For more information, call 1-866-2GOLF-AR or visit NaturalStateGolfTrail.com Mountain Ranch Golf Club, Fairfi eld Bay NO. 14 PINNACLE COUNTRY CLUB (Rogers) A look at this Randy Heckenkemper-designed course and it is clear why the LPGA Walmart NW Arkansas Signature Classic is played here. The par-71, 7,001-yard course features cutting-edge turf with Zorro Zoysia fairways. No. 14, which shares its green with No. 12, is a demanding par-5 Holes that requires three quality Don’t get taken in by the view. Signature holes offer shots. The fairway bunker on the left has been removed, an enticing combination of scenery and challenges which opens up opportunities for the discerning golfer. Here are some of our from the tee. The contours of the green require an accurate favorites from around Arkansas. third shot. Expect to see mostly 3-woods off the tee as hitting the fairway is a must. 4 / EXECUTIVE GOLFER / 2012 ARKANSASSPORTS360.COM [ED COOLEY WHITE RIVER GALLERY] NO. 10 THE ALOTIAN CLUB (Little Rock) The Alotian Club, built atop rugged hills in western Pulaski County, was recently ranked No. 7 among all U.S. courses for its beauty by Golf Digest. That followed up Golf Digest’s No. 14 ranking among the best 100 courses in the country in 2011. Lake Maumelle and the mountain peaks in the distance provide some eye- popping vistas, such as on the par-4 No. 10. [MICHAEL PIRNIQUE] ARKANSASSPORTS360.COM 2012 / EXECUTIVE GOLFER / 5 NO. 16 PLEASANT VALLEY COUNTRY CLUB (Little Rock) Some golfers believe Little Rock’s Pleasant Valley Country Club has 27 “signature” holes. No doubt, every hole on this Joe Finger- designed layout is unique. The last three of the second nine, traditionally16-17-18 on the scorecard, offer the most talked about view. No. 16 is a short par-4, 320 yards from the tips, but with the practice range and trees to the right and the lake guarding the entire left side, two precise shots are required to hit a small green. [PHOTOGRAPH PROVIDED] 6 / EXECUTIVE GOLFER / 2012 ARKANSASSPORTS360.COM NO. 18 BALBOA (Hot Spring Village) The Balboa course at Hot Springs Village can surprise golfers who think its relative short length means a tame test. The course has teeth, ending with this dogleg-right 400- yard No. 18 with trees lining the left and water awaiting on the right for the second shot. When the hole location is in the back, any golfer would be thrilled to leave the green with par. [PHOTOGRAPH PROVIDED] NO. 17 HARDSCRABBLE (Fort Smith) Fort Smith’s Hardscrabble Country Club played host to a Nationwide Tour event for several years, and its par-3 17th “signature” and the nearby fountain in the middle of the lake were seen by television viewers via the Golf Channel. From this view, the professionals were required to hit a 200-yard shot to a small, hourglass-shaped green. Luckily for most amateurs, there is a much shorter tee box to the left. A Hardscrabble round concludes with the par-4 No. 18, teeing off just left of the dike on the left side of the lake. [PHOTOGRAPH PROVIDED] ARKANSASSPORTS360.COM 2012 / EXECUTIVE GOLFER / 7 NO. 9 BEAR DEN (Little Rock) The prominent rise of Bear Den Mountain, which gives the 18-hole course its name, stands out in the distance from the green on the par-5, 590- yard No. 9 at Chenal Country Club’s newest of two courses. Bear Den will play host to the 106th Southern Amateur Championship in July. [PHOTOGRAPH PROVIDED] NO. 8 CORTEZ (Hot Springs Village) Take a look at this bird’s- eye view of No. 8 at the Cortez course in Hot Springs Village. The 180-yard par-3 is all carry over water. Cortez, opened in 1977, recently underwent an update of its 18 holes, and on a clear day the gorgeous Ouachita Mountains are seen from many spots on the course.