Onion Creek Hickory Classic

Entrants gathered in front of the putting green.

Onion Creek member Don Bledsoe wearing

his marshall's uniform from the inaugural

1978 Legends of Golf Tournament

Chuck McMullin hitting to #12 on the Original Course

This looks like Modesto's Bob Wolfensperger

TRADITIONAL GOLF ATTIRE

Recommended and encouraged

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COMPETITIVE CATEGORIES FOR THE 36-HOLE MEDAL PLAY TOURNAMENT

 

INDIVIDUAL-PLAY:

• Championship (open to all; gross and net)

• Senior Division (age 60-plus; gross and net)

• Statesman Division (age 70-plus; gross and net)

• Ladies

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SCRAMBLE TEAMS:  Four person teams.  Regular scramble format.  You may pick your own team or ask the committee to assign you to a team.  Gross Score award and Net Score award.  This tournament uses the "fifty percent of the average team handicap" method to determine net winners.

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Note:  One cannot play in both an individual-play division and the Scramble Team division.

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TEXAS FIRST TEE HICKORY CHAMPIONSHIP.  This will be the Inaugural event.  Contact Jennifer MacCurrach of the First Tee of Austin for more information.   All Texas First Tee chapters are invited to participate.

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Jennifer MacCurrach, Executive Director, The First Tee of Austin, 512-751-9351 or

 

No-duplicate-awards policy.  One cannot win both a gross score award and a net score award.  We identify the top three finishers in each division and these persons are the top three gross-score winners.  The top three net-score winners are then identified from the remainder of those in that division.

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AWARDS

(see more on awards)

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RULES

(see more on rules)

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PRACTICE ROUNDS

Coming to Austin early and want to get in a practice round?  Contact Pete League (512-694-9904; league1967@gmail.com) and he can help you make arrangements at Onion Creek Club or at another local course.

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WHAT DOES IT COST?

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Thursday only                              $100.   (1)  (2)

Friday The First Tee tournament             (6)    

Friday and Saturday only             $175.   (1) (3)

Thursday, Friday and Saturday    $250.   (1) (4)

Friday dinner                                $35.     (5)

Saturday dinner......                       $20.     (5)

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(1) Includes green fee, cart, unlimited range balls, lunch, one-time registration fee, well-stocked hotel hospitality room, plenty of  beer and wine, awards, trading tables (but reservation required). 

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(2)  Onion Creek members:    $60.

 

(3)  Onion Creek members:  $100.

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(4)  Onion Creek members:  $130.

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(5)   Free to all Canadians.

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(6)  Contact Jennifer MacCurrach of The First Tee of Austin at 512-751-9351 or

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HANDICAPS

Players are encouraged to join the Society of Hickory Golfers and to establish a hickory handicap.  If a player does not have a hickory handicap, his or her regular handicap will be used without adjustment according to Society of Hickory Golfers guidelines.

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TOURNAMENT HOTEL

 

We have a block of rooms at the Comfort Suites Hotel in Buda, Texas.  It is located on the northeast quadrant of Interstate 35 and Main Street  in Buda, Texas (near the McDonald's restaurant)

 

The hotel  is a five minute drive from the Onion Creek Club parking lot. 

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The rate is $109. per room.

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For reservations, call 512-295-8600 before March 13, 2020 to get this rate.  DO NOT CALL the hotel's 800 number.  March 13, 2020 is also the cutoff date to cancel a reservation.

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You are urged to make your hotel reservation as early as possible.   The Austin hotel picture is getting weird.  Rooms may be limited.

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REPEAT:  MARCH 13, 2020 IS THE DEADLINE FOR RESERVATIONS AT THE $109 RATE  AND  FOR CANCELING A RESERVATION WITHOUT PENALTY.

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The hotel is located within the NORTHEAST quadrant of the intersection of Interstate-35 and Main Street.  When you get to the immediate area (there is a McDonald's at the intersection of I-35 and Main Street) the Comfort Suites hotel will be in plain sight.

 

SEE MAP  / VISIT HOTEL WEBSITE

 

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HOSPITALITY ROOM AT THE HOTEL

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The hotel hospitality room will open on Wednesday, March 25, 2020 at around 5:00 PM.  We have the room to ourselves through Saturday.

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ONION CREEK CLUB FACILITIES

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The Onion Creek Club locker rooms are open to all hickory players and there are no restricted areas.  Players are expected to follow the same dress code as OCC members when using the clubhouse facilities, e.g., casual golf attire, no jeans or cargo pants, no tee-shirts.  Jackets are not required.   Gentlemen are expected to have shirts tucked in and to remove hats while indoors

 

("A gentleman will remove his hat while indoors."  Arnold Palmer).

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THURSDAY - FOLLOWING GOLF

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"On your own" for dinner.

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FRIDAY - FOLLOWING GOLF

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(To returning players:  the Friday night and the Saturday night functions are reversed.)

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On Friday evening, we will gather at the Texas Disposal Systems Exotic Wildlife Ranch's event center.  Everyone may take a tour of this outstanding facility in the comfort and safety of the ranch's bus.  The first tour will be at 5:00 PM.  The meal will be catered by popular Austin Mexican restaurant, The Texican.  Plenty of beer, wine and soft drinks are included.  We expect to begin the formal program at 7:00 PM.

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Go to the following link for more information about the TDS Exotic Wildlife Ranch.  The drive to the ranch entrance takes less than nine minutes from the Onion Creek Club parking lot.  It is another five minutes to the event center.

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https://www.texasdisposal.com/exotic-wildlife-ranch/  

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There will be plenty of trading tables available (free of charge, but you must order your tables in advance).

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Mobile Loaves & Fishes SILENT AUCTION items will be on display and open for bidding.  The silent Auction will take the place of a raffle (held in 2018 and 2019).

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We will present awards for Friday's Texas First Tee Hickory Tournament and Thursday's Swift Trophy matches, including the fantastic Swift Trophy MVP Awards (miniature versions of Chicago sculptor Michael Roche's "Keeper of The Greens").  Returning past champions of the Championship Division, who have not previously his Vardon Jacket, will receive his jacket at this dinner.

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Our guest speaker, award-winning sports commentator Vern Lundquist, will join us at the Friday night dinner.

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There is no Friday night dinner charge for Canadians and First Tee players.

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Dietary issues?  Please send an e-mail to Lettie Garza at

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SATURDAY - FOLLOWING GOLF

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2:00 PM...   The Lone Star Model A Ford Club will again show some of it's wonderful 1928-1931 vintage automobiles behind the 18th green.

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We will have a hamburger/hot dog cookout behind the 18th green following play.

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AWARDS PRESENTATION will take place behind the 18th green (or on the veranda if we have inclement weather)

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No meal charge for Canadians.

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This new schedule will allow players to get a head start on their return trip back home.

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GUEST SPEAKER:   

 

Award-winning sports commentator VERN LUNDQUIST will be with us for the Friday night event.

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PREVIOUS GUEST SPEAKERS

 

2006  John Paul Cain and Rives McBee (PGA Senior Tour professionals)

 

2007  Joe Black (former PGA of America president, a 48-year rules official at the      Masters Tournament, former director of the PGA Tour, and former Chairman of the Ryder Cup, among many  other distinguished achievements)

 

2008  Randy Russell (noted golf course architect)

 

2009  Dr. Gary E. Wood (former member of the Federal Reserve Board and distinguished financial/economics authority)

 

2010  Curt Sampson (golf writer and best-selling author)

 

2011  Bill Reed (President, Golf Collectors Society)

 

2012  Jim Apfelbaum (golf writer and radio personality)

 

2013  Pat Wheeler  (golf writer and radio personality)

 

2014  Terry Todd, Ph.D. (Director, Stark Center, University of Texas at Austin), and

          Cindy Slater (Associate Director, Library Services, Stark Center)

 

2015  Charlie Epps (golf professional, coach of  Masters and U. S. Open Champion Angel Cabrerra, member of Texas Golf Hall of Fame) 

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2016  Bill Eschenbrenner (former head golf professional at El Paso Country Club for 40 years, member of the Texas Golf Hall of Fame and the PGA of America Hall of Fame)

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2017  Kevin Robbins (author of Harvey Penick, the Life and Wisdom of the Man Who Wrote the Book on Golf.  This terrific work won the United States Golf Association's 2016 Herbert Warren Wind Award for the best golf book of the year.)

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2018  Robin Burke (of Champions Golf Club in Houston, TX.  Member of the Texas Golf Hall of Fame, Captain of the 2016 United States Curtis Cup Team, key player in managing the 2020 United States Women's Open at Champions Golf Club.)

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2019  Kathy Whitworth (the most successful woman golfer in history!!!)  Kathy is the fifth member of the Texas Golf Hall of Fame to serve as our guest speaker.

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OFFICIAL CHARITY

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Mobile Loaves & Fishes of Austin, TX is the official charity.  More specifically, we raise funds to sponsor homes at COMMUNITY FIRST VILLAGE, an outstanding ML&F initiative to take homeless persons off the streets forever.  To date, the Onion Creek Hickory Classic raffle has generated $7,000 and every cent went to ML&F.  Combined with other fund-raising efforts, we were able to provide financing for a mobile home at Community First Village.  Community First Village is now the permanent home for more than 200 formerly homeless persons.

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Go to for more information on Mobile Loaves & Fishes and Community First Village.