Thompson Tees Off - Subscriber

Graveyard-Brook combination of nines (the Windmill nine was unused) was stretched close to 7300 yards. New back tees were added on Nos. 3, 5 and 7 on Graveyard and Nos. 2, 4 and 9 on Brook. Back then, I quoted Lee as saying he'd like to see the winning score (for the four rounds) to be be- tween four and six-under-par. He was right on. "I liken us hosting the State Amateur in a way to Bethpage Black in New York (a municipal course) hosting the 2002 U.S. Open. This is a massive deal for us and we have done a lot of things to get it right. My hat's off to Director of Golf Dave Smith (now retired) and Johnny Perry (still the course superin- tendent) and the rest of our staff for making this happen," Lee said in 2004. Mickey Smith (no relation to Dave Smith) is now the Director of Golf. I talked to him about this year's State Amateur. "It was our desire to host the State Amateur again. We approached the AGA and asked to do so. We (Smith, Lee and Perry) saw it as a way to highlight the changes and upgrades to the course. What bet- ter way to showcase it than host the biggest ama- teur championship in the state." Some of the work Smith refers to includes rebuilding all 30 greens (27 on the three nines, plus three practice putting greens) over a period of recent years. They used AU Victory, a bent grass (needed to be bent with the name Bent Brook!) on the new putting surfaces and have been thrilled with the results. "The greens are so much more heat tolerant and the root structure is so much deeper and healthier. "Our goal is for the greens to be 12 to 13 on the Stimpmeter. We are confi- dent of such green speeds." Smith noted that the par 3 No. 3 on the Brook nine was signifi- cantly redone and can now play around 230 yards with water in play by the green. This is an ad- dition of at least 60 to 70 yards. He also noted a back tee on No. 7 Graveyard has been enlarged and improved upon, plus a number of other aesthet- ic and cosmetic changes. Par will be 72. A tornado early last year felled over 250 trees and other trees have been subsequently removed to improve air flow and sunlight access. In 2004, the rough was very, very thick after being fertilized, followed by lots of rain making it impossi- ble to cut. Thick rough will not be the case this time around. "We desire for participants to be talking about the quality of our greens, not the thickness of our rough," Smith said. I have long championed Bent Brook and Lee for being a visionary in public golf in the greater Bir- mingham area. Bent Brook opened in 1988, when there were few public access courses. He came before Eagle Point, the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail and many others. He built 27 holes, rather than the usual 18 and this has helped them regards corporate events, general play and variety. Well done to Lee and the AGA for bringing the State Amateur back to Bent Brook. LOOKING AHEAD TO THIS YEAR'S STATE AMATEUR AT BENT BROOK In recognition of the milestone of recently reaching my 200th issue, I'm pleased to offer a special "Lifetime" subscription offer of $100 for 10 years of issues! That's right, this special offer is available now and will mean you won't have to pay $30 annually, but rather a one-time payment of $100 for up to 10 years of issues. This option is available when you click the Subscribe Now! button.

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