Tampa Bay Golf News

Temple Terrace Golf & Country Club was designed and built in 1921 by renowned golf course architect Tom Bendelow. Nicknamed “The Johnny Appleseed of American golf," Mr. Bendelow is credited with designing more than 600 golf courses in a 35-year span during the early 1900s. He is most famous for his design of the three layouts at Medinah Country Club in Chicago.

Temple Terrace is currently offering some outstanding deals on memberships. You and your foursome are cordially invited to be a “Member for the Day." This is an opportunity for golfers in the area to experience Temple Terrace Golf & Country Club first hand and find out why it's the best kept secret in Tampa.

Seven months after its former owners unexpectedly and with unexplainable reasons closed its doors, Spring Hill Golf Club has reopened under new management. Headed up by Roger Thompson and his 19-partner business group, U.S. Golf Properties, one of Spring Hill's oldest courses reopened Feb. 12 and plans a grand reopening Friday, Feb. 27.

"We realize we have to earn back the faith of the community," Thompson said. "We have to get back to where people realize not only that we're open, but we're going to stay open."

The Florida State Golf Association (FSGA) has announced the 2010 schedule for the FSGA One-Day events. Starting April 8, the FSGA One-Day events will travel around the state visiting courses that include Black Diamond, The Concession, TPC Blue Monster at Doral, Bear Lakes CC, TPC Tampa Bay, Innisbrook Resort, Reunion, Old Corkscrew, The Ritz-Carlton (Bradenton), Golden Ocala and Southern Hills Plantation.

FSGA One-Day participants can play where the pros play. There are more than 50 events from April 8 – Nov. 1 at the top courses in the state. Events take place during the week and all events are shotgun starts. 

HILTON HEAD - This spring bands of brothers from every corner of the country will once again set aside sibling rivalries and team up for a chance to claim the 2010 Brother-Brother National Championship at Bluffton’s Old South Golf Links. The 36-hole Better Ball tournament is open to any and all two-man blood brother teams, and features two divisions of play: team low net and loss gross. The event is scheduled for May 13-15.

Part golf tournament and part social gathering, the Brother-Brother event has become a yearly ritual for some brothers since its inception in 1993. For other pairs, it’s served as the common ground to repair estranged relationships.

Entries are now open for the 2010 Florida State Golf Association tournament schedule. The FSGA conducts 25 state championships, seven of which require qualifying. Volunteers are welcome to sign up online for tournaments in their area.
 
The 49th Senior Championship will be played at Southern Hills Plantation Golf Club in Brooksville, April 13-15. Players can qualify between March 15 and March 29 at eight different locations. Southern Hills has hosted the second stage of the PGA Tour's Q-School for the past two years.

BELLEAIR - Sometimes, when Pat McClanan-Shriver watches Connor Campbell golf, she forgets that he's just 11 years old.

This 135-pound, five-foot-one fifth grader hits better shots than most golfers twice his age, but it's how the junior golfer holds himself on the course that impresses the teaching pro at Belleview Biltmore Golf Club.

As the unusual wintery weather in Florida dissipates, Innisbrook, a Salamander Golf & Spa Resort, is offering its Best Golf Package Ever…Period. The Tampa Bay area resort, which hosts the PGA Tour Transitions Championship at its famed Copperhead Course every March, is welcoming snowbirds to the Sunshine State with a special rate.

The package begins at $229 per person per day, and includes a round of golf at one of Innisbrook’s four championship courses, suite accommodations, full breakfast, $25 dining credit, $25 spa credit, unlimited driving range usage and a golf clinic.

For most golfers clubfitting is the unanswered question, the unsolved mystery of their golf games.

Is your equipment right for you? Did the sales person waiting on you really know how to fit you for clubs ? Do you have the brand that suits you best? Is your driver the right loft for you? Do you need more fairway woods, or hybrids in your bag? How many wedges should you carry, and what lofts should they be? Do you have the correct shaft flex, grip size, lie angle, length, head style for you? What type of putter are you using? Is it the correct length for you? Do you prefer an offset, or center shafted putter? Have you tried a “belly putter”, “anser style”, “mallett head”, “or “blade”?

Bob VanSweden is the 2009 TaylorMade National Club Fitter of the Year.

As part of the celebration and his further education, Bob enjoyed an all-expenses paid trip to TaylorMade’s headquarters in Carlsbad, CA last summer.

Bob met with all the movers and shakers at TaylorMade and was briefed on all phases of their operations.

Blue Collar Golf in Largo is exactly as their slogan says... “Where the Common Man Isn’t So Common!” Owner Ernest Porter gained a passion for golf when his father in law introduced him to the game in his early 20’s. He knew he needed to get a set of clubs, and went to a well-known golf store looking for a used left handed set. After 15 minutes and no salesman waiting on him he noticed a well dressed golfer come into the store and the sales clerks tripped over themselves to wait on this man who appeared to be an avid golfer with more money.