Colonial Country Club

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Colonial Country Club is a private golf club in Fort Worth, Texas (USA). It is host to an annual PGA Tour event. It is the longest running PGA Tour event to be held at the same site.

1 History
2 The Course
3 The Tournament
4 Trivia
5 References
6 External links

[edit] History

Colonial Country Club was started in 1936 by Marvin Leonard who had a keen interest in bringing bentgrass greens to his hometown of Fort Worth, TX. When his initial plans to install bentgrass greens at an already existed Fort Worth golf club failed, Leonard came up with his vision for Colonial Golf Club. His vision came to fruition in January 1936 when the club open with approximately 100 members.

In the late 1930s, Mr. Leonard began talks with the United States Golf Association to conduct the U.S. Open at Colonial Golf Club. After guaranteeing the USGA $25,000, the USGA granted Colonial the rights to the 1941 U.S. Open.

In 1942, Leonard decided to sell the club to the members of Colonial. His first attempt to sell to the members was rejected, but he eventually sold the club to the members on December 31, 1942 when it took its current name, Colonial Country Club.

[edit] The Course

The golf course at Colonial Country Club was designed by John Bredemus of Texas and Perry Maxwell of Oklahoma. The 7080 yard par 70 course is bordered on the northern edge by the Trinity River with the rest of the course surrounded by the neighboring residential area. The Course hosted the 1941 U.S. Open, the 1975 Tournament Players Championship, and the 1991 U.S. Women's Open.

Hole by Hole

Hole 1	Par 5	563 yards	Hole 10	Par 4	407 yards
Hole 2	Par 4	387 yards	Hole 11	Par 5	611 yards
Hole 3	Par 4	467 yards	Hole 12	Par 4	417 yards
Hole 4	Par 3	252 yards	Hole 13	Par 3	171 yards
Hole 5	Par 4	472 yards	Hole 14	Par 4	448 yards
Hole 6	Par 4	394 yards	Hole 15	Par 4	428 yards
Hole 7	Par 4	432 yards	Hole 16	Par 3	188 yards
Hole 8	Par 3	194 yards	Hole 17	Par 4	382 yards
Hole 9	Par 4	408 yards	Hole 18	Par 4	433 yards

The course has the following ratings and slopes:

Championship: 74.7 / 133
Men's: 71.7 / 127
Executive: 69.6 / 124
Women's: 74.7 / 136

[edit] The Tournament

The Colonial golf tournament has been held every year since 1946, with the exception being in 1949 when it was rained out due to the flooding of the Trinity River.

Notable winners of the tournament include: Ben Hogan (5 times) , Sam Snead, Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino (twice), Ben Crenshaw (twice), Al Geiberger, Bruce Lietzke (twice), Jack Nicklaus, Peter Jacobsen, Corey Pavin, Lanny Wadkins, Ian Baker-Finch, Nick Price, Tom Lehman, Corey Pavin (twice), Tom Watson, Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia, Nick Price (twice), and Kenny Perry (twice).

The tournament record is 261 shot by Kenny Perry in 2003 and 2005. Kenny Perry also has the 54 hole record of 192 and the 36 hole record of 128, both of which he shot in 2005. The 18 hole record of 61 is held by 6 players. The front nine and back nine record are 18, held by Wayne Levi and Keith Clearwater, respectively.

The 2006 purse was $6 million with the winner receiving $1,080,000.

The 2007 tournament will be sponsored by Crown Plaza Hotels and Resorts and will be called the Crowne Plaza Invitation at Colonial. Previous title sponsors include Southwestern Bell, MasterCard, and Bank of America.

For additional information on the tournament see: Bank of America Colonial

[edit] Trivia

The fifth hole of the course is often mentioned as one of the best holes in America.
The course is ranked 73 on Golf Digest's list the 100 greatest America golf courses.[1]
Annika Sorenstam was the first woman to play in PGA event since 1946, when Babe Didrikson Zaharias played in the Los Angeles Open.
Ben Hogan has won the Colonial tournament a record five times.
The course is nicknamed "Hogan's Alley."
Part of Bud Shrake's 2001 novel, Billy Boy, was set at Colonial.