Tampa Bay Golf News

A Major Demo Day is scheduled at World Woods Golf Club on Saturday, Nov. 7th from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Participating manufacturers include: Titleist, Cobra, Ping, Cleveland, Wilson, Nike and Callaway. Break 30 Putting Systems and Dr. Sampson Chiropractic of Crystal River will also participate.

Free range balls will be available. Come on out and test drive the latest golf equipment. Manufacturer’s representatives will be on hand to answer your questions. New equipment and accessories will be on sale at the best pricing available.

•  Work continues at the Chi Chi Golf & Family Sports Complex across the street from the Chi Chi Rodriguez Golf Club in Clearwater. A new 1.25 acre short game practice facility is scheduled for completion in mid November. The area will have 15,000 square feet of greens, including a putting green, a chipping green with two sand bunkers, and a pitching green for shots 60 yards and in. The clubhouse is also undergoing renovations. Projects on the drawing board include batting cages, miniature golf and paint ball fields. For more information, call (727) 216-6389.

•  The Downs Golf Practice Facility in Oldsmar has added a new Mizuno Fitting Cart. The Mizuno performance fitting system features an array of interchangeable heads and shafts to provide necessary tools to conduct a fitting and determine your clubs’ “DNA”. Also, a Shaft Optimizer tool and software make it possible to capture swing data and precisely identify the ideal shaft for your swing. Mizuno has four new exciting models to choose from in 2010. Look for a Mizuno Demo Day soon at the Downs.

Great news! A recent change to MacDill Air Force Base policy now allows you to enter the base and have access to the Bay Palms Golf Complex. That’s right. You may now enter the base, just like any active-duty or retired military person, merely by presenting your law enforcement or firefighter credentials to the gate guard. Once inside the gate, you may play golf at MacDill’s Bay Palms Golf Complex, featuring 36 holes of championship golf. You will enjoy the stunning vistas; especially the fairways that run right along the waters of Tampa Bay.

You may also dine in the spacious clubhouse and shop in the expansive pro shop, where you’ll find all brands of clubs, bags, balls, apparel and accessories. You may also make tee times on their automated telephone system up to three days in advance by calling (813) 840-6915 and entering PIN#9999 when prompted.

The First Tee of St. Petersburg is in the process of reorganizing and relaunching itself as an independent 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization. Since its inception in 2005, the First Tee of St. Petersburg has operated under the city of St. Petersburg as part of its Golf Courses division.

The move away from city operations, set to be completed by January 2010, will bring about a new organizational structure and new leadership. “It’s a good thing for both the city and the organization”, says Rick Waltman, junior golf coordinator. “Being separate from the city will give us access to more corporate and grant funding, as well as enable us to collaborate more easily with other communities outside of St. Petersburg."

TPC Tampa Bay closed for two months this past summer to re-grass all of its greens on the award-winning golf course, host of the Champions Tour Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am.

TPC Tampa Bay chose Champion Ultra-dwarf Bermuda grass for the new project. “Champion is a terrific warm weather turf-grass, and we have had great success with it at our sister clubs throughout the south,” commented Jason Kubel, TPC Tampa Bay’s golf course superintendent. Champion turf can be found on more than 400 courses throughout the south.

•  Bloomingdale Golfer’s Club in Valrico underwent a $250,000 renovation this past summer. Every green was re-grassed with Champions Bermuda grass, the same grass found on the greens at Seminole Golf Club, the No. 1 ranked course in Florida. This Ron Garl-designed layout has been a Tampa Bay favorite since opening in 1983. For more information, go to www.bloom-ingdalegolf.com.

•  The Claw at USF also renovated their greens this past summer. They also went with Champions Bermuda grass. Other notable courses with Champions greens include PGA National, TPC Southwind (home of the St. Jude Classic), and An-nandale Golf Club (15-time Tour stop). For more information, go to www.theclawusfgolf.com.

The Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am is proud to present the Bright House Networks Challenge Golf Series. 

These two-ball qualifying golf tournaments allow you and your partner the opportunity to advance to the final competition in March 2010 at TPC Tampa Bay. The individual winner of this competition will play alongside a Champions Tour professional during official tournament rounds on Friday and Saturday (and maybe Sunday, too) of the 2010 Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am - valued at $12,000. 

Four golfers from Florida and one from Arizona will represent the United States in the World Golfers Championship after winning their respective flights in the rain-shortened national qualifying at the Mission Inn Resort & Club in Howey-in-the-Hills, FL. held Sept. 12-13, 2009.

The 15th World Golfers Championship is scheduled Oct. 24-30 in Marbella,Spain where the Americans will be joined by teams from 32 other countries. The legendary Seve Ballesteros is serving as Honorary Chairman of the event.  

Lew Smither III, the Director of Instruction at Innisbrook Resort, has resigned his position to become the new Director of Golf at Cypress Run Golf Club in Tarpon Springs. In his new position, he will oversee all golf-related operations and work to establish the club as the premier private club in the area.

Smither comes from a family with an established background in the golf industry. His father Lew Smither II, a Master PGA professional, has operated and owned several golf courses as well as served as golf coach at Eastern Kentucky University. He is also a past President of the North Florida Section PGA and the Kentucky Section PGA.  

It happens every day on every course in every state. Golfers, with the cooperation of their playing partners, actually hit two shots but count only one.

The practice is called a mulligan, and for weekend hackers it’s as much part of the bag as a 7-iron. On Oct. 17, this somewhat unofficial rule will be somewhat officially recognized by National Mulligan Day.