Chip Shots: Heat wave not so bad for course renovation + Bob Bass Open & Alumni Update

Dan McDonald • Advertiser Golf Writer • June 24, 2009

Acadiana’s hot and bone-dry weather has created problems for some outdoor activities. For golf course renovation, though, it’s been perfect, according to Les Vieux Chenes pro Todd Robertson.

The LVC facility is in the middle of a nearly-million-dollar reworking, and Robertson said the conditions have enabled the Wadsworth Golf Construction contractors to stay close to their original schedule.

"It’s actually premium weather for them," Robertson said. "Rain can interrupt the construction and keep them from moving the heavy equipment they have out on the course. The foreman said that it’s as good as it could be because he can control the water with the sprinkler system.

"It may be like a desert some other places, but our fairways are nice and green right now."

Wadsworth has completed construction work on all 18 greens and the practice green and will begin the process of grassing those next week after making arrangements with a grass farm on Tuesday. All tee areas, which were raised and laser-leveled, have been planted and growing, and the sodding of slopes and areas surrounding the tees and greens has been completed.

Three new cart paths have been completed – on the ninth (now on the left), the 11th (now left of the fairway and lake) and 17th (now to the left of the tee box) holes.

"They poured those, on about 1,000 yards of golf course, in a day and a half," Robertson said, "and they came out really well."

Now it’s a waiting game for the grass to grow in on the tees and greens. Robertson said the tees have already been turned over to LVC superintendent Eric Indest, and that the greens will follow when Wadsworth finishes the grass surfaces.

The contractor must return the rest of the course to its pre-construction condition, so Wadsworth will have to do major clean-up on the course and in the parking lots as well as replanting of some dirt paths that were necessary during the renovation of the greens. That work should be completed in less than a month.

During the renovation, the course staff and the Lafayette Recreation and Parks Department have worked on other areas of the facility. Both the men’s and women’s locker room and the snack bar area have been redone, and work is underway in the golf shop. Once those projects are finished, the exteriors of the facility’s buildings will get a clean-up prior to the reopening – tentatively scheduled for shortly after Labor Day.

"I have a list of about 60 things we’ve done so far," Robertson said. "It already looks like an all-new place. Lately I’ve been giving a lot of tours, and everybody is raving about it. Everywhere I go people always ask me how it’s going, and I tell them it’s like watching your own house being built … the frame goes up quickly and then it looks like it slows down. But we’re getting a lot accomplished."

BILL BASS OPEN

When Les Vieux Chenes reopens, one of the first events to be held there will be the annual Bill Bass Alumni Open Tournament during UL’s Homecoming week. This year’s event is Friday, Oct. 23, and tournament officials plan a concerted effort to restore that event to its former luster

The tournament is one of the highlight activities of Homecoming, with many former Cajun athletes joining current fans and supporters for a four-man scramble.

"We’re planning on boosting this to a major event," said Bob Bass, recently-retired UL golf coach and son of the former long-time Cajun coach and alumni director. "We want to make this tournament ‘the’ place for former athletes to gather to get Homecoming started."

Entry forms will soon be available at all courses.

LAST HALL CHANCE

Only a couple of slots remain available this Friday for the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame’s Celebrity Pro-Am Scramble scheduled at Oak Wing in Alexandria. Some of the state’s all-time great athletes and athletic figures will be taking part, and golfers still have a chance to get into a group with some of those all-time state greats.

The scramble tournament is part of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Weekend where Hal Sutton, Michael Brooks, Marshall Faulk, Sonja Hogg, Willie Roaf, Freddie Spencer, Carrice Baker and Marty Broussard will be inducted into the state’s sports shrine in Natchitoches.

Each group will be paired with a celebrity captain for the scramble, with play scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m. following lunch (included) and introduction of the Hall of Famers. Entry fee is $150 per player including two meals, golf shirt and hat, and prizes will go to the top four teams.

The tournament has sold out each of the last three years. Entry information is available by calling the Hall of Fame office at (318) 238-4255.

HEAVY WITH CAJUNS

UL’s golf program will have three players taking part in the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championships scheduled July 13-18 in Norman, Okla. Thomas Petts and Andrew Noto each took first-place finishes at sectional qualifiers last week to claim spots in that field, joining Kyle Pritchard who had earlier qualified.

Petts qualified at the Home Course in Dupont, Wash., with a 71-68-139 showing to finish atop a 40-player field, from where only two players qualified. Noto took his first-place finish at The Bridges in Bay St. Louis, Miss., with a 71-73-144 total, which tied him with UL Monroe’s David McKendrick. After both players parred eight straight holes in the sudden-death playoff, Noto won with a par on the ninth.

Pritchard earned his slot one week earlier at the Pecan Valley course in San Antonio, Texas, where he shot 70-70-140 on the par-71 layout to top a 50-player field earn one of the two available slots.

"I couldn’t be happier right now," said UL coach Theo Sliman. "We’ve got three qualified in one of the top amateur events in the country."

"I think it’s awesome that all three of us qualified," Noto said. "I think it shows the UL program’s potential and that we can compete at a high level even losing two seniors off last year’s team."

The Public Links event is open to all qualifying amateurs who do not hold private club membership. The winner of the Amateur Public Links earns an automatic slot in the following year’s Masters.

UL teammate and reigning Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year Philipp Fendt continued his strong summer play in his native Austria by winning the Startzeiten event – equivalent to a state amateur championship – last week. Fendt shot 66-69-71-67-273 to finish seven strokes ahead of the field and was the only player to break par. He is scheduled to play in the Austrian National Open next week.

Alumni upDATE

Former Ragin’ Cajun golfers Greg Sonnier (1996-99) and Michael Smith (2005-08) took top-20 finishes at last week’s Coca-Cola Wal-Mart Open, part of the Adams Golf Pro Tour Series, at Oak Wing in Alexandria.

Sonnier finished tied for 17th at 68-70-68-72-278 (-10) and earned $1,750, while Smith was one stroke back at 67-73-69-70-279 and earned $1,550 by tying for 20th. Sonnier has two top-10 finishes this year and Smith has one through seven tournaments, and Sonnier ranks 19th and Smith 39th on the Tour’s current money list.

The Adams Tour’s next outing is the $100,000 Avid Golfer Classic in one week (June 30-July 3) at The Bridges course in Gunter, Texas.

STRONG FINISH: Opelousas’ Amanda Mathis had a top30 finish at last weekend’s Duramed Championship in Mason, Ohio, one of the "majors" on the Duramed Futures Tour. Mathis tied for 28th overall with a 72-73-70-215 score.

Mathis’ best finish on tour this year came at the Texas Hill Country Classic in San Antonio in May, where she tied for 18th at 77-70-71-218 and earned $1,115. She currently stands 51st on the Tour money list after finishing 56th last year, and is 46th in stroke average (74.40)

LGA UPCOMING: The Louisiana Golf Association is now accepting entries, both on-line and by hard copy, for its upcoming State Junior Amateur, Four-Ball and Mid-Amateur events.

The Junior Amateur is set for July 8-10 at Alexandria Country Club with a $50 entry fee. Entries for the 54-hole event are open to boys ages 10-17, and an overall winner and age-group champions will be crowned. The State Four-Ball is July 18-19 at TPC Louisiana in New Orleans with a $300 entry fee for the 36-hole event and entries due by July 6.

The Mid-Amateur, open to players age 25 and over, will be a local event with Oakbourne hosting the 54-hole tournament Aug. 7-9. Qualifying rounds will be held at eight statewide sites including a July 13 qualifying at Oakbourne. Entry fee is $200 with individuals not qualifying for championship rounds receiving a $100 refund.

On-line registration is available at www.lgagolf.org with a click on "Online Tournament Registration." Entry forms may also be printed out and mailed to the LGA Office. Entry forms are also available for the remaining two LGA events this year, the Senior Amateur Aug. 20-22 at Lake Charles Country Club and the Senior Four-Ball Sept. 26-27 at Southern Trace in Shreveport.

MIKE OPEN: The prime slots are starting to fill up for the 14th annual Mike Open, presented by district attorney Mike Harson and scheduled for Monday-Tuesday, July 13-14, at The Wetlands. The Mike Open raises funds for local charities and is one of the area’s largest tournaments, with shotgun starts at 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. each day and nearly 500 total golfers taking part.

Entry fee is $125 for the four-person scramble including cart, food and drinks, and sponsorships are also available from $125 to $1,500. Deadline for registration is Friday, July 10, but preferred time slots will be filled before that deadline. Entry forms are available at all local courses or from Ken Franques at 207-4288 or kfranq@cox.net.

ALSO AT THE WETLANDS: The Arrowhead Junior Golf Tour comes to Lafayette Saturday and Sunday for The AJGT Wetlands Junior Classic. The event is open to boys and girls age 12-19, and is the first of two local stops this year for that Tour with the Farm d’Allie Junior Classic set Nov. 21-22. Information and entry forms are available online at www.arrowheadjgt.com or at 850-650-.

The Arrowhead Tour held its FAL Match Play Championships last Thursday-Sunday at Copper Mill in Zachary, and Crowley’s Ali Lucas finished second in the girls age 15-19 division. Lucas (5-1) won all five of her round-robin matches before losing to Allison Kippers of Zachary 3 and 2 in the championship match, after beating Kippers 1-up in her first round-robin match.

Sydney Martien of Lafayette (2-3) finished fourth in the girls 15-19 division and Skye Mejia of Lafayette went 1-3 and finished fourth in the boys 12-14 division.

One week earlier, Lucas had won the AJGT Governor’s Games Junior Classic at Carter Plantation with a 74-77-151 total in the girls 15-19 division. Lafayette’s Anna Heim (77-79-156) was third and Martien (76-83-159) was fourth.

LAGNIAPPE: Spanish Trail will host one of its major events this weekend with the 15th annual Member-Member Tournament at 8 a.m. Saturday (scramble) and Sunday (best-ball). Deadline for $50 entry fee is Thursday and info is available at 364-2263 … Opelousas Catholic’s Logan LaJack has signed a scholarship with McNeese State after earning four All-State honors and finishing fourth in the Class 2A state eent this year. He was sixth in 2008 and third in 2007.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: For the complete listing of Chip Shots, visit theadvertiser.com.

Dan McDonald’s local golf column appears each Wednesday. Clubs, courses and individuals wishing to submit items may e-mail to danmcdonald@cox.net or fax to (337) 857-8763. Please include a return phone number.)