THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, April 21, 1996 TAG: 9604210217
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C13 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JIM DUCIBELLA, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 95 lines
Say this for Williamsburg: it's serious about the business of golf and it isn't waiting or asking for anyone's help.
The mail recently brought a slick brochure and folder advertising the establishment of the Williamsburg Area Golf Association. Inside was information about the courses, clubs and hotels that are participating in this venture - and it's enough to make your heart beat a little faster.
The Colonial, Ford's Colony, Williamsburg National, Kingsmill, Golden Horseshoe and a couple of heavyweight newcomers - Stonehouse and Royal New Kent - provide admirable playing venues. Seventeen resorts, lodges, hotels, suites and inns of varying prices are working in conjunction with the courses to give normally Myrtle Beach-bound players good reason to end their migration south in the Colonial Capital.
Stonehouse and Royal New Kent, which open May 15 and June 15, respectively, are Legends Courses, designed by Mike Strantz. He created Stonehouse in the image of a mountain-side course. Strantz designed Royal New Kent in homage to Royal County Down in Northern Ireland, and the course features deep pot bunkers and target rocks to blind fairways.
Golf Digest has sent analysts to look at both locations. Although they can't officially be rated until after they open, Legends golf pro Forest Fezler said he expects both to be ranked in the top 10 of America's newest upscale public courses.
``We've had some great amateurs play the course the last couple of weeks,'' Fezler said. ``They say they can't sleep at night because they've heard so much about us.
``These are special places, more than just a round of golf. It's an event. It's something special you treat yourself to.''
For more information on the Williamsburg Area Golf Association and what its offering, call 1-800-367-4653.
ALL-AROUND TEST: Toyota is sponsoring a competition to find out who has the nation's best all-around skills. The Good Skills Challenge began recently in Arizona, but will make its way eastward as the spring and summer progresses.
The competition is held on nine holes of a golf course, with one skills challenge per hole. Included is long drive, a pitch over a hazard, a greenside bunker shot, a putt, a middle-iron tee shot, short-iron shot and a chip.
Competitors are divided into men, women, seniors (50 and older) and juniors (17 and younger). Entry fee is $25, with sectional winners advancing to the national finals in Phoenix Oct. 5-9.
The closest competition site to Hampton Roads is Philadelphia. Competition there takes place from June 7-9. There are events planned for Boston (Aug. 2-4) and New York/New Jersey (Aug. 9-11). For more information, call 1-800-932-8337.
SPECIAL EVENT: The Pembroke Kiwanis Club is hosting a tournament to benefit the Special Olympics, the March of Dimes and Samaritan House on May 8 at Honey Bee in Virginia Beach. The shotgun tournament begins at noon. The price is $60 per person, but includes all golf fees, lunch and dinner. The Kiwanians also are looking for hole sponsors, at $100 per hole.
For more information, call Beverly Kiernan at 490-1631.
INSIDE THE LEATHER: Attention, parents. The first of the annual deluge of golf school material has reached the office. This one is being held at North Carolina State University in Raleigh. For dates, times and cost, write Chip Watson at 3000 Ballybunion Way, Raleigh, N.C. 27613 or phone Watson at 919-846-1536 or Richard Sykes at 919-365-7512. Depending on the date, the school serves boys and girls from age 6-11 and 12-18. . . . Monarch Memo: Senior Josh Cupp finished tied for third in the recent CAA championships at The Lane Tree GC in Goldsboro, N.C. His three-day total of 217 was five strokes off the lead. Overall, the Monarchs finished third in the conference, while Cupp led the team with a stroke average of 74.2. ODU has placed 10th or better in five of the six tournaments it's played this spring, including a third in the Fripp Island Collegiate in South Carolina. . . . Vikki Valentine-Krick of Virginia Beach is playing the LPGA's Futures Tour. Valentine-Krick, the 1991 Virginia golfer of the year and the '92 women's state amateur champion, is entering the tour after stints as golf coach at William and Mary and an assistant pros job at Wee Burn CC in Darien, Conn. . on which the British Open are played, the LPGA has announced plans for the LPGA Fan Village. It's a 2,500-square foot on-site entertainment and information center. The Village will debut the week of May 6-12 at the McDonald's LPGA Championship on Wilmington, Del. . . . If it were to be played today, the President's Cup at the Robert Trent Jones Club in Northern Virginia would feature Fred Couples, Phil Mickelson, Corey Pavin and Davis Love III on the U.S. team, Greg Norman, Nick Price, Ernie Els, Vijay Singh and Masters champion Nick Faldo on the International roster. . . . If you hack around in cyberspace, you'll soon run into Arnold Palmer. He has signed on with SportsLine USA and will write a monthly golf column, interact with golf fans who e-mail him questions and, of course, offer fans the opportunity to learn about the courses he has designed and the merchandise he sells. The Palmer site can be accessed at http://www.sportsline.com. by CNB