About the 2021 tournament
COVID-19 AND THE ONION CREEK HICKORY CLASSIC
The 2020 OCHC was cancelled. The 2021 OCHC is scheduled for Thursday, Friday and Saturday, March 25, 26 and 27, 2021.
The City of Austin COVID-19 regulations now in effect preclude indoor dining for large groups of people. Therefore, the TDS Wildlife Refuge Event Center is no longer available for our use. Onion Creek Club’s banquet facilities are also unavailable.
We will have informal awards presentations behind the 18th green on Friday following golf for the First Tee participants and on Saturday following golf for the OCHC participants. If inclement weather, we will move to the veranda overlooking the first tee.
Our web site registration page has been modified to not collect fees for Friday and Saturday meals. If circumstances change and we have the Friday and Saturday “meal events” we will communicate with all participants and announce a procedure for
collecting appropriate fees. In other words, “We’ll work it out!”
We are planning to have the usual Hospitality Room at the Comfort Suites Hotel in Buda, TX. All participants are asked to wear masks and maintain social distancing as recommended by the CDC.
DATES
Thursday, March 25, 2021:
Swift Trophy Matches. USA vs. CANADA
Friday, March 26, 2021:
Inaugural Texas First Tee Hickory Championship
Friday and Saturday, March 26 & 27, 2021:
36-hole medal-play Onion Creek Hickory Classic
LOCATION (see map)
Onion Creek Club, Austin, Texas
EQUIPMENT
All players will use hickory-shaft clubs. Equipment will conform to Society of Hickory Golfers guidelines (click here for more information):
Hickory club rentals, contact Max Hill at 512-740-7368 or max@hickorysticks.net.
Max has agreed to rent a set of hickory golf clubs at a rate of $40. This rate is for the entire tournament, a substantial discount from the regular daily rate of $40.00.
DEADLINE for ENTRIES
March 22, 2021
DEADLINE FOR HOTEL SPECIAL TOURNAMENT RATE & TO CANCEL RESERVATION WITHOUT PENALTY:
March 12, 2021
Entrants gathered in front of the putting green.
TRADITIONAL GOLF ATTIRE
Recommended and encouraged
COMPETITIVE CATEGORIES
TEXAS FIRST TEE HICKORY CHAMPIONSHIP.
Contact Jennifer MacCurrach, Executive Director, of the First Tee of Austin, at
512-751-9351 or for more information.
All Texas First Tee chapters are invited to participate.
AWARDS
(click here to see more on awards)
RULES
(click here to see more on rules)
PRACTICE ROUNDS
Coming to Austin early and want to get in a practice round? Contact Pete League at
512-694-9904 or for help in making arrangements at Onion
Creek Club or at another local course.
2020 ONION CREEK HICKORY CLASSIC FEES
Thursday, 3/25/2021 only
Swift Trophy (Note 1) $100
Friday, 3/26/2021
Texas First Tee Hickory Championship (Note 2) ------
Friday & Saturday 3/26 & 3/27/2021 ONLY
Medal Play Tournament (Note 1) $175
Thursday, Friday & Saturday, 3/25 thru 3/27/2021
Swift Trophy & Medal Play Tournament (Note 1) $250
NOTE 1
Includes registration, green fee, cart, range balls, box-lunch
each day, hospitality room (with plenty of beer, wine and snacks),
keg beer after each round, and all awards
NOTE 2
Contact The First Tee of Austin (Jennifer Maccurragh) at 512-751-9351
or
NOTE 3 (ONION CREEK CLUB MEMBERS)
Onion Creek Club members: contact Pete League at 512-694-9904 for entry fees.
NOTE 4 (CANADIANS)
50% Discount for all Canadians playing Friday and Saturday
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.
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.
The rate is $109. per room.
For reservations, call 512-295-8600 before March 12, 2021 to get this rate.
DO NOT CALL the hotel's 800 number.
To cancel a reservation, call 512-295-8600 by March 12, 2021.
You are urged to make your hotel reservation as early as possible. The Austin hotel picture is getting weird. Rooms may be limited.
REPEAT: MARCH 12, 2021 IS THE DEADLINE FOR RESERVATIONS AT THE $109 RATE AND FOR CANCELING A RESERVATION WITHOUT PENALTY.
HOSPITALITY ROOM AT THE HOTEL
The hotel hospitality room will open on Wednesday, March 25, 2021 at around 5:00 PM. We have the room to ourselves through Saturday.
ONION CREEK CLUB FACILITIES
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).
TRADING TABLES
There will be trading tables available in the hospitality room (free of charge, but you must order your trading tables in advance).
SILENT AUCTION
Mobile Loaves & Fishes SILENT AUCTION items will be on display and open for bidding throughout the week.
THE VARDON JACKET
Returning past champions of the Championship Division, who have not previously received a Vardon Jacket, will receive their jacket.
THURSDAY / FRIDAY - FOLLOWING GOLF
"On your own" for dinner.
SATURDAY - FOLLOWING GOLF
The Lone Star Model A Ford Club will again show some of it's wonderful 1928-1931 vintage automobiles behind the 18th green.
AWARDS PRESENTATION will take place behind the 18th green (or on the veranda if we have inclement weather)
GUEST SPEAKER:
No guest speaker this year due to Covid-19 restrictions.
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)
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)
2017 Kevin Robbins (author of Harvey Penick, the Life and Wisdom of the Man Who Wrote the Book on Golf. Kevin has since published The Last Stand of Payne Stewart. Both books have won the USGA's Herbert Warren Wind Award for the best golf book of the year.)
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, and key player in managing the 2020 United States Women's Open Championship.)
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.
OFFICIAL CHARITY
Mobile Loaves & Fishes of Austin, Texas is our official charity.
More specifically, we raise funds for COMMUNITY FIRST VILLAGE, a ML&F initiative to take homeless persons off the streets forever. To date, the Onion Creek Hickory Classic has generated about $10,000 for ML&F. Combined with other contributions over the past two years, we were able to finance a new mobile home at Community First Village. There are now more than 200 formerly homeless persons living in new homes within Community First Village.
Go to WWW.MLF.ORG for more information.
This looks like Modesto's Bob Wolfensperger
Onion Creek member Don Bledsoe wearing
his marshall's uniform from the inaugural
1978 Legends of Golf Tournament
