Around the Green

21st Texas Shootout Set for Nov. 4-5

Historic Galveston Country Club will be the host site of the 21st Texas Shootout. The two 12-man team competition between top-ranked male amateur golfers from North Texas and South Texas is scheduled for Nov. 4-5.

This will be the eighth TGA championship held at Galveston Country Club, dating back to 1909. The landmark club, which is celebrating its 125th anniversary this year, has hosted two Texas Amateurs, three Women’s Texas Amateurs, a Texas Senior Amateur, and, most recently, the 2021 South Regional Amateur, won by Padden Nelson of Houston.

“We are honored to be returning to Galveston Country Club and to be a part of its storied history,” said Justin Guthrie, TGA Tournament Director. “We are appreciative of the club’s supportive and engaged membership and staff, and we look forward to a great match play contest over this fantastic course.”

Founded in 1898, Galveston Country Club is situated on the shores of Lake Como, between West Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. Originally located in an area called the Denver Resurvey, the club relocated three times in the early 1900s before settling into its present address on Stewart Road in 1946. Texas Golf Hall of Fame member Ralph Plummer designed the 18-hole course, which opened for play in the fall of 1947. The course was razed and rebuilt in 1961 after Hurricane Carla, and Carlton Gipson re-surfaced the greens in 1990. The architectural team of Peter Jacobson and Jim Hardy supervised an extensive course renovation project in 2003.

The creative par-72 layout weaves through a scenic landscape of native grassy areas, marshes, inlets, and stately palm trees. Measuring just over 6,500 yards from the back tees, the course is not long but it packs a punch of a different kind with narrow fairways, lighting-fast greens, numerous bunkers and water hazards, and an ever-present gulf breeze that can make scoring well a difficult task.

“If you were to just go by the yardage on the scorecard you might think the course is easily managed, but that is definitely not the case,” Guthrie said. “It certainly is fun to play but it can be very challenging, especially when the wind gets up, and requires players to be able to control the shape and trajectory of their shots off the tee and into the green.”

First held in 2003, the season-ending Texas Shootout is by invitation only and features the top 12 players (eight mid-amateurs and four seniors) from North Texas squaring off against their counterparts from South Texas in a Ryder Cup-style competition.

Players earn their way onto their respective teams by accumulating performance points for top finishes throughout the year in designated TGA regional and statewide tournaments, as well as USGA national championships. North and South regions are defined as either being above or below the 31’ parallel. (The city of Salado, which is located approximately halfway between Austin and Waco, sits on the dividing line.)

Of the eight mid-amateurs (age 25 and older) selected from each region, four come from the TGA’s Statewide Player of the Year point standings and four from the Regional Player of the Year point standings. The top four North and South senior players (age 55 and older) are chosen based on the Statewide Senior Player of the Year point standings.

The team roster for the 2023 Texas Shootout is listed below. Mike Peck of Irving and Gary Durbin of Houston will serve as playing captains for the North and South sides, respectively.

The format for the competition includes foursome (alternate shot), four-ball and singles matches. A total of 24 matches will be played over the two days. Each match is worth three points – one point each for the front nine, back nine and 18 – making for 72 available points. The first team to accumulate 36.5 points is the winner.

At last year’s Texas Shootout, hosted by Grand Pines Golf Club at Bentwater Yacht & Country Club in Montgomery, the South Texas team fended off a furious rally by the North Texas squad on the final day of singles matches to secure a one-point victory, 36.5-35.5. The South Texas win, its first since 2019, evened up the overall series, 10-10.

Once the action gets underway from the 2023 Texas Shootout at Galveston Country Club, log on to the TGA website for match play pairings, starting times, live scoring updates, and daily recaps.

2023 TEXAS SHOOTOUT TEAMS:

North Texas Team: Gant Bills (Plano), CJ Brock (Rockwall), Anthony Estorga (Dallas), *Chuck Gardner (Texarkana), *Bart Goodwin (Flower Mound), Marcus Jones (Argyle), *Kyle Kelting (Amarillo), Scott Maurer (Dallas), *Mike Peck, Playing Captain (Irving), Rory Smith (Tyler), Matt Sullivan (Lewisville), and Ryan Zamorano (Dallas).

South Texas Team: *Brent Barclay (Santa Fe), *Bobby Baugh (San Antonio), Trey Cassity (Katy), Jed Dirksen (Austin), *Gary Durbin, Playing Captain (Houston), Austen Fulmer (Cedar Park), Andrew Grice (Austin), Broc Haymon (League City), Randy Lance (Spring), Michael Milstead (Houston), Logan Thomason (Montgomery), and *Tray Tyner (Kerrville).

*Indicates senior player representative