Colonial Country Club (Fort Worth)
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For the club in Tennessee, see Colonial Country Club (Cordova)
Colonial Country Club is a private golf club in Fort Worth, Texas (USA). It is host to an annual PGA Tour event. Excluding the Masters Tournament, it is the longest running PGA Tour event to be held at the same site.
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[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 became a reality in January 1936 when the club opened 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, Lanny Wadkins, Ian Baker-Finch, Tom Lehman, Corey Pavin (twice), Tom Watson, Phil Mickelson (twice), Sergio García, 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 28, held by Wayne Levi and Keith Clearwater, respectively.
The 2006 purse was $6 million with the winner receiving $1,080,000.
Effective as of 2007, the tournament is sponsored by Crowne Plaza Hotels and Resorts and is called the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial. Previous title sponsors include Southwestern Bell, MasterCard, and Bank of America.
[edit] Trivia
- The fifth hole of the course (which has the Trinity River running alongside the right for nearly the entire length) is often mentioned as one of the best holes in America, and is regularly ranked as among the most difficult in the annual survey performed by the Dallas Morning News (which appears in early spring in a special golf section).
- The course is ranked 73 on Golf Digest's list the 100 greatest America golf courses.[1]
- Annika Sörenstam 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.
[edit] References
- "The Legacy Continues" by Russ Pate.
- Colonial: 60 Years of Greatness. Panache Partners, LLC. 2006.
