This week the PGA Tour returns to Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas for the Crowne Plaza Invitational. GCSAA Certified Golf Course Superintendent Scott Ebers (pronounced E-brrs) completed a significant renovation last summer immediately following the 2008 tournament. Improvements include new tees, bunkers, and a new green at No. 13. Native stone walls were installed on two of the water features and trees were repositioned in a few strategic areas. The tournament yardage was increased to 7,204 yards.
Ebers caught a break from a wet and cloudy month, with warm, sunny weather last week and has the bentgrass greens rolling at 11.5 feet on the stimpmeter, and the bermudagrass rough at three inches tall.
Known as “Hogan’s Alley,” Colonial Country Club has a long history with Ben Hogan, whose legacy is intertwined there. Holes 3-5 are known as the “Horrible Horseshoe.” No. 3 is a 465-yard par 4, dogleg left with bunkers in the landing area. No. 4 is a 245-yard par 3 with a firm, crowned green. No. 5 is a 470-yard par 4 with the Trinity River on the right and a ditch on the left, making it a hard fairway to find, and a tricky approach shot as well.
Colonial is a member of the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program and Ebers prefers organic fertilizers as much as possible. His staff maintains martin and bluebird houses throughout the golf course, which serves as nesting grounds for red-tailed hawks and a natural corridor for various wildlife coming to and from the neighboring river.
Other environmentally-friendly programs initiated with the tournament this week include increased recycling opportunities and the tournament will make a $10 donation to the local ecological organization Streams and Valleys for each fan that comes by bike, through the entrance off the Trinity River trails.
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Weather: Partly cloudy skies are expected all week, with highs in the mid to upper 80s. | |
Yardage: 7,204 yards. Par 70. | |
Signature hole: Holes 3-5 are known as the “Horrible Horseshoe.” At 245 yards the par-3 4th might be the toughest par, but 3 and 5 are no bargains. |
