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Out of the Bag

Icons Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player,
and Lee Trevino are collaborating for the first time
in an unprecedented architectural achievement in
the history of building golf courses. The proposed
mountain course at The Greenbrier will overlook
the historic Oakhurst Links course and will be the
centerpiece of the newest neighborhood planned
there. Jim Justice, owner of The Greenbrier, has
brought together these four golf legends and hopes
one day to host a major championship. The 7500-yard, 18-hole mountaintop course has
a scheduled opening for fall 2016. “We've been friends and competitors for a long time,
but most of all, we all loved the game,” said Jack Nicklaus. “Jack, Arnold, Lee and I
have been competing for more than 50 years, and to be collaborating is very special,”
Player said. “I have a soft spot for The Greenbrier–I was invited to play in the Sam Snead
Festival in 1955, my first year on Tour,” Palmer said. “No four guys with those credentials
have ever built a course together,” said Trevino, The Greenbrier’s Golf Pro Emeritus. “It’ll
be a unique challenge, but we’ll get it done.” “It’s not often you are truly in the midst of
history being made,” said Justice.
At the mid-year point in 2015, PGA PerformanceTrak in cooperation with the NCGOA
reports rounds played were up 2.2% and days open were up 2.9% over last year. For
the first six months, a total of 30 states posted increases over last year in golf rounds
played with the majority of this growth occurring in the northern half of the country and
the West. YTD rounds played increases were also reported in parts of the Ohio Valley
including West Virginia and Pennsylvania despite the wetter weather in this region. In
the mid-Atlantic, which included Virginia and Maryland, declines in play continued with
precipitation levels that were above average and included impacts from severe weather.
The World Golf Foundation, a non-profit organization
that develops initiatives that positively impact lives
through the game of golf, has launched a new women’s
website, golfforher.com, designed to increase women’s
participation. A revolutionary collaboration with the major entities in golf, the resource
site is designed to attract and support female golfers of all ages and abilities. Among
those contributing are the LPGA, the PGA of America, the PGA TOUR, The First Tee, and
the USGA. The website features individual sections for new players, recreational players,
competitive players, and juniors. “This a place where women golfers can find answers to
their questions,” said golfforher.com launch ambassador Stacy Lewis. “We’re all so quick
to jump on the internet these days for answers, so this site makes perfect sense. Anything
we can do to get more women into the game and on the course is great.”
The Baltimore Municipal Golf Corporation (BMGC)
has opened a new butterfly garden at Pine Ridge
Golf Course, planted as part of a community
partnership between the Baltimore Golf Academy’s
Junior Girls Golf Program and Baltimore-based spice
manufacturer McCormick & Company. A “planting
team” made up of a dozen girls who learn golf and
life skills through the Junior Girls Golf Program
worked together to plant more than 150 items as
part of the project. Julieta Stack, Director of Golf
Instruction at the Baltimore Golf Academy, hailed the partnership as a success, bringing
together organizations in the community together to teach junior girl golfers vital life
skills and the importance of community service.

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