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COURSE
FEATURE BA 20 minute drive
north of Omaha on Highway 75 will take you
to River Wilds Golf Club. Constructed in
1944 and operated by the Blair Golf Club,
it originally was maintained as a nine
hole course on land which, at that time,
was adjacent to the Blair Airport(in fact
the course wrapped around one end of the
runway). For more than half a century
Blair Golf Club was a private member only
golf course. In the mid 90's, the airport
was relocated south of town, and in 1995
the Blair Golf Club began construction to
expand the course to 18 holes. The
expanded course opened in July of 1999,
and continued to operate under the
ownership of the Blair Golf Club through
the 2000 season. In early spring of 2001,
the golf course was purchased by Perfect
Drive LLC. Perfect Drive LLC., opened the
course in April of 2001 as a public golf
course, under the name River Wilds Golf
Club. The new ownership made many
improvements in 2001 including adding cart
paths, new bridges and completely
remodeling the clubhouse. Activities
include league play, junior golf, couples
fun night (Fridays'), private or group
lessons and group/corporate outings. Our
facilities include a driving range,
putting green and a practice hole. The
newly remodeled clubhouse has a fully
supplied Pro Shop and Bar/Grill. The new
owners are committed to providing a
quality golf environment for the Blair
community and the public for many years to
come The success Perfect
Drive LLC. enjoyed at River Wilds Golf
Club caused them to pursue purchasing
Tiburon Golf Club from The Legends, a
South Carolina based company, in June of
2003. On April 9th of 2004 the purchase
became a reality. Tiburon Golf Club is a
27 hole golf course that is strategically
located just off Interstate 80 at the
Highway 370 exit, then west to 168th
street. Tiburon combines the serenity of
the rolling countryside with the challenge
of 27 holes of championship golf. Nature
bounds with over 12 acres of lakes,
natural rolling hills, and wildlife
combining spectacular scenery and
challenging golf shots. Tiburon is a
comfortable setting for meetings,
seminars, receptions, holiday parties, and
family gatherings. The full service
kitchen will prepare specialized meals and
can comfortably accommodate groups of up
to 200 for formal events or 300 for more
casual affairs. Tiburon also provides
terrace seating with a panoramic view of
the golf course. If you are planning to
have a company golf outing, give River
Wilds Golf Club at 402-426-2941 or Tiburon
Golf Club at 402-895-2688 a call and rest
assured that your golf outing will be a
success. One thing that is
common to both golf courses is head golf
professional Myron Troehner. Myron is a
no-nonsense professional that expects his
employees to foresee the unexpected. By
that, he means to anticipate the wants and
needs of the customer. Providing the best
customer service of any golf course is
what Myron strives for and what he has
achieved at the golf courses he has come
in contact with throughout his career. The
entire management staffs at both River
Wilds and Tiburon treat customers with
respect and excellent service because they
know you have a lot of courses to choose
from. Some of the changes
that have occurred at Tiburon are:(1)new
superintendent - but the fairways and
greens have not taken on much change;(2)
new food - larger portions, better
quality, better service; (3)new staff -
customer service oriented, friendly, and
helpful;(4) new management - Perfect Drive
LLC. listens to the customer to provide
them the very best experience at their
golf courses and is committed to provide
the golfing community a great golf value
at both facilities. You can also visit our
websites at www.riverwilds.com or
www.tiburongolf.com. FEATURE By Bob O'Keefe • If Tiger Woods is going to get
back on track with winning tournaments, I
believe he has to do two things: 1) get
Butch Harmon back on his payroll and 2)
start playing more tournaments. You don't
get better without facing the same type of
competition on a frequent basis. He can
practice all he wants, but he needs to get
back to "wanting" to win instead of just
going through the motions. It's hard to
'imagine' playing against some of the best
golfers in a practice round. You need to
experience the stress, the decisions, the
adrenalin changes, and you can only do
that if you are playing with the type of
golfers that give you that feeling. • You know great golf courses when
the parking lot is full and it is not
because of a corporate outing of some
kind. • The UNO golf team finished up
the season with a disappointing fourth
place in the regionals. Even though they
didn't fare well at the end, their season
had a lot of high points that they should
be proud of accomplishing. • In the coming weeks, Tara Hills
and Eagle Hills website, will allow you to
make your own tee times. No more calling
in and seeing when you can play. Just sign
on and type in your name. • Even after numerous attempts to
inform golf courses about the way they
handle their aeration, they still continue
to refuse to give discounts and not tell
you when you call in for reservations.
They still complain about golfers not
practicing golf etiquette on the course.
Not all golf courses are like this. Some
are using the small tines and you don't
even notice the aeration holes because
they are adept at brushing in the sand and
your putts are still smooth and fast.
However, there are golf courses that have
not made the switch and it is those that I
get the most complaints from golfers. How
about a golf course writing in and giving
us their testament on why the golfing
public isn't informed when this process
takes place. Write me at
golf-fore-um@cox.net. • If you haven't purchased one of
the new Vision putters from Prairie Golf,
you better hurry. This unique design and
ability to change weight parameters is
selling like hotcakes. The four footers
seem like tap-ins and the 20 footers are
so close they are easy two putts. Call
around before you go because they are
being grabbed up quickly. • Trivia: This is outside of the
golf world, but, I thought it was
interesting. On June 8th, 1935, racehorse
Omaha won the Belmont Stakes and the
Triple Crown of racing. On June 5th,
Smarty Jones can become only the 12th
horse in history to become a Triple Crown
winner. • The 3rd annual Al & Jean
Veys Memorial Golf Tournament will be held
on Sunday, September 12, 2004, at Eagle
Hills Golf Course in Papillion, Nebraska.
It consists of an 8 AM Shotgun start,
T-Bone steaks Luncheon from noon to 4 PM
at the Knights of Columbus Hall on 43rd
& Washington. The format is a Flighted
Texas Scramble and the entry fee of $75.00
covers your golf, cart, luncheon and
skins. For entry forms and information
visit www.veysgolf.com. • ARE YOU READY FOR SOME
GOLF!!!!!!!!!!!! It's never too early to
start thinking about the Cox Classic,
Omaha's answer to golf enthusiasts around
the country. This years tournament begins
August 2nd and runs through August 8th,
and promises to be another excellent
family week of golf. The Nationwide Tour
stop for Omaha will bring players from
across the world and give you the
opportunity to watch them 'up close and
personal'. If you want to get even closer
there are two pro-ams scheduled: August
2nd with Creighton Medical Center and
August 4th with Toyota. With charity
auctions, hospitality tickets, award party
tickets, gift packs, and an autographed
picture of your foursome and the pro you
played with as a memento, the cost is
minimal. Call the tournament headquarters
at 402-399-1800 for information. With
McDonalds Fun Day sandwiched in between on
August 3rd this makes the tournament at
Champions Run one of the favorite tour
stops on the Nationwide Tour. If you would
like to volunteer sign on to
volunteer@coxclassic.com or call the
Volunteer Hotline: 712-329-4979. You can
obtain tickets at all TierOne Banks
(Nebraska, Iowa and Kansas. • 1964 Archbishop Ryan High School
alumni need to give me a call at
402-734-2476. Big 40th reunion coming up
on July 9th and 10th. Great time and
stories to unfold from the past. Don't
miss this gala. • If you haven't signed up for the
Benson High Golf Outing yet, you better
get your money in fast. This is going to
prove to be one of the best. Opportunities
to win $10,000 should be enough incentive,
but, they provide lunch, a banquet, and
prizes; all for $55.00. Don' let this one
slip away. See the ad in this issue of
MTT. FEATURE By Troy Martin, MTT
Writer I use to believe I had the best job in
the world as a Professional Golfer.
However, in March of 2003, Dave Stockton
Sr. asked me to be his caddie full-time on
the PGA Champions Tour. At that moment, I
became a caddie first, golfer second. Dave
had been a mentor of mine since 1996, when
I first played with his sons Ronnie and
Dave Jr. on various mini-tours around the
country. Last year I had 'no status' on
any major tours and the offer allowed me
to caddie 20 weeks and still play in
roughly a dozen events myself. WHAT A
GIG! Since becoming a full time "looper",
I've had the privilege of walking
side-by-side with many of the legends of
the game we love so much. How can you beat
a Thursday-Friday pairing in the U.S.
Senior Open with Jack Nicklaus? Or a first
round pairing with Arnold Palmer in San
Antonio when he shoots 2 strokes under his
age? Not to mention, being 'hands-on' on
all of the decisions made by a legend like
Dave Stockton, as he attempts to push his
career earnings over the $12 million
mark. I am often asked how much money I make
as a caddie. And while I am not
comfortable discussing my arrangements, I
would like to give you an idea of how an
average caddie is paid on the Champions or
PGA Tours. A weekly salary around
$800-$1,000 is standard with percentages
paid as: 10% on a win, 7% on a top 10
finish, and 5% on anything else. Eighty-seven players on both tours made
over a million dollars in 2003, which
explains why a lot of caddies are flying
first class. Caddies are expected to pay
their own expenses, which can run as high
as $30,000 per year. There are cases where
flat fee arrangements are made. I know of
one caddie on the Champions Tour that
makes $10,000 per month whether her pro
wins every week or finishes last. There is
another rumor of a caddie on the PGA Tour
that makes a flat $1 million per year.
Don't want to name any names, but his
pro's last name rhymes with "Woulds." Over the last year and a half, I have
noticed there are caddies that are
'hands-on', and there a 'bag-toters'.
Bag-toters are just that, a human pull
cart. We have been in pairings with a Pro
and a bag-toter where not one word was
uttered between the two. I feel lucky to
be 'hands-on', because Dave lets me "in
the game." I am the one with the yardage
book and he asks that I read every putt.
This is exhilarating, especially when one
of the best putters ever, looks at you
over a five-footer for $125,000 and asks,
"What do you see?" You better be right! Dave is also capable of enjoying a good
laugh on the course to lighten things up.
On #10 at Greystone Golf Club in
Birmingham, we had 175 yards to the pin,
uphill, and into the wind. Dave asked me
if a 5 iron would get him there. I
politely responded, "Eventually." After a
few chuckles, he hit a 4 iron to 10 feet
and made a birdie. He got me back a few
weeks later during the 2003 Senior PGA
Championship. A wayward 7 wood led to a
swing at the bag that grazed its target
and hit me square in my "targets." I
eventually got back on my feet, and after
an apology from Dave, I reminded myself I
still have the best job in world! Keep your eyes open for more
installments of Caddie Corner in MTT. I'll
introduce you to some of the character
caddies like Port-o-let (He looks like one
and is full of the same waste), Disco
(Can't dance a lick), Smiley (Haven't seen
his teeth in yet), Baghdad (He gets bombed
every night), and myself Amber Alert
(might tell you next time)… |
