Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Callaway Center’s ‘Divine Nine’ challenging

Tuesday, Dec. 2, 1997 | 11:21 a.m.

The Las Vegas area is blessed with several top-notch golf practice facilities. But the folks at Saint Andrews Golf Corporation have raised the bar with the new Callaway Golf Center and its "Divine Nine" par-3 golf course.

In addition to a state-of-the-art 110-station driving range, the Callaway Golf Center's par-3 course allows golfers to work on their short games on nine immaculately manicured -- and challenging -- holes.

Part of the 65-acre All-American SportPark at the south end of the Strip (corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Sunset Road), the Divine Nine is not your average par-3 course. With holes varying in length from 110 to 164 yards, each is a legitimate championship-caliber test of golf.

Water comes into play on four of the nine holes and there is enough desert waste area, sand bunkers and rough around the large, undulating greens to make this tract a good test for even the low-handicap golfer.

The Divine Nine features both grass and synthetic tees (the facility charges a $10 premium to play the grass tees) and is lighted for night play. The course measures 1,152 yards from the back (grass) tees, 1,033 yards from the blue (synthetic) tees and 988 yards from the forward tees.

Winter rates for the Divine nine are $20 to play from the synthetic tees and $30 to play from the grass tees. Greens fees include 20 minutes of range time and there is a $7 charge (per person) for an electric cart. The Callaway Golf Center takes tee times up until 9:40 each evening.

Equally as impressive is the Callaway Golf Performance Center, located on the ground floor of the 20,000-square-foot clubhouse. Featuring state-of-the-art computer technology previously offered only to Callaway touring professionals, the center allows golfers to have their swings analyzed using different clubs in the Callaway line.

Reservations are required, but there is no charge if a player is recommended to the center by a club professional.

The remaining 23 acres of the All-American SportPark will feature a 100,000-square-foot SportPark Pavilion, Major League Baseball Slugger Stadium and NASCAR SpeedPark. The Slugger Stadium and SpeedPark, which will feature three go-kart tracks and scaled NASCAR stock car replicas, are scheduled to open at the end of February.

Locals advance

Three golfers with Las Vegas ties will be competing in the final stage of the PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament this week in Haines City, Fla. Chris Riley, a four-time All-American at UNLV, Henderson resident Craig Barlow and former Western High standout Jerry Foltz will attempt to earn their PGA Tour cards in the grueling six-round tournament which begins Wednesday at the Grenelefe Resort.

The low 35 players and ties will earn their 1998 PGA Tour cards and the remaining players will earn Nike Tour cards.

Among the notable local players who made it through the second stage but did not qualify for the final stage were UNLV products Edward Fryatt, Ted Oh, Chad Campbell and Gilberto Morales.

Whirlwind fall

The UNLV golf team started the fall season without three of its top players, losing two seniors to graduation and junior Ted Oh to the pro ranks, but finished with two wins and a No. 1 ranking in the Golfweek/Taylor Made Collegiate Rankings.

"If you would have told me before the season started that we would win two of the biggest tournaments of the (fall) and have a chance to win another, I wouldn't have believed it," Rebels head coach Dwaine Knight said. "I'm just real proud of what they've done. I take my hat off to this group because they've worked as hard or harder than any group I've had here and I think they're seeing the results of that hard work."

The Rebels, who won the Ping Preview Invitational and the Rolex Match Play Championships and finished second at the season-ending Golf World Invitational, will have two months off to prepare for the spring season and a run at their 10th consecutive appearance in the NCAA finals.

"We're still going to have some ups and down (in the spring) but now our sights have been raised and our expectations are raised a little bit more," Knight said.

Pulling the plug

LPGA Tour officials were understandably miffed when ABC cut away from its live telecast (on the East Coast) of the ITT LPGA Tour Championship at the Desert Inn Golf Club after the second playoff hole. Annika Sorenstam won the tournament with a par on the third extra hole.

ABC stayed on the air for an extra half hour to cover the playoff, but cut away at 6:30 p.m. (EST) to allow its affiliates to switch to either local or national news.

"The tour was disappointed," said Ty Votaw, special assistant to LPGA commissioner Jim Ritts. "The fact (ABC) stayed a half-hour later is certainly laudable but it doesn't lessen the disappointment."

Although hard-core golf fans may disagree with ABC's decision, the network hardly can be blamed: Last year's LPGA Tour Championship final round drew a 1.3 rating while the national news pulled in a 4.7 rating.

West Coast viewers were not affected by ABC's decision because they were watching on a tape-delayed basis and saw the entire playoff.