Bear’s Best Golf Club celebrates 50th anniversary

Jeff Jensen

Thursday, Sept. 4, 2008 | midnight

ClubCorp, operator of Bear's Best Golf Club in Summerlin, is marking its 50th anniversary by holding the world's largest one-day charity golf and dining event, "The ClubCorp Charity Classic: Celebrating a Legacy."

During the event, ClubCorp's 140 golf clubs around the country will open their courses to an estimated 25,000 members, guests and patrons for tournaments, dining events and social extravaganzas designed to raise funds for charity.

The event is expected to raise $3 million for charities nationwide.

The Las Vegas event will take place Sept. 26 at Bear's Best, 11111 W. Flamingo Road, starting with lunch and registration at 12:00 p.m. followed by a shotgun start at 1:00 p.m.

The cost of the event is $225 per player or $800 per foursome. The entry fee includes golf, practice balls before play, lunch, tee prize, free round of golf at Bear's Best and an awards ceremony.

All fees will be donated to local charities including The Muscular Dystrophy Association's Augie's Quest Initiative which is dedicated to finding a cure for Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

"We are thrilled to be able to open our clubs to the community during this exciting event," said Jim Stanfill, general manager at Bear's Best.

Bear's Best was designed by Jack Nicklaus and features 18 select holes from his more than 200 course designs worldwide. Voted "Best Places to Play" by Golf Digest, the facility also features a world class practice facility, golf shop, restaurant, lounge and private event pavilion.

Contact Byron Cone, head golf professional, at byron.cone@ourclub.com for more information.

Long, Fischer win Player of the Year awards

Lake Las Vegas golf professional Travis Long captured the 2007-08 Southern Nevada Chapter of the Southwest Section PGA Player of the Year award.

Long won the Regular Division edging out Patrick Duty of Wynn Country Club. Long finished with 1,186 points to Duty's 1,045.

Spanish Trail professionals Brad Apple and Derrick Hunter finished third and fourth, respectively.

Tom Fischer of Red Rock Country Club rode a wave of consistent play to win the Player of the Year in the Senior Division. He finished with 877.5 points. Mike Buss of Desert Rose finished second with 825 points and Kim Dolan of Siena Golf Club came in third.

Jensen’s golf column appears weekly in the News. He can he reached at jjensen72@cox.net.