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Media Coverage
The Vernon Morning Star, June 20, 2008 Freddy and friends tee off at The Rise Please sroll down for the text of the article
Freddy and friends tee off at The Rise By Roger Knox Fred Couples had some new friends to play golf with in Vernon Wednesday. The PGA star officially opened the course he helped design, the Golf Club at The Rise, off Bella Vista Road, with the help of some current and former NHL stars. After conducting a half-hour clinic for some 200 spectators, Couples teed it up with Calgary Flames captain Jarome Iginla, Boston Bruins forward Chuck Kobasew, and retired NHL stars Brent Gilchrist and Jeff Finley, both of Vernon, dubbed the "Freddy and Friends" day at The Rise. "I'm a hockey nut, this is a fabulous day for me," said Couples, a native of Seattle, who competed Monday and Tuesday in the 2008 Telus World Skins Game at Predator Ridge. Couples hit the ceremonial opening drive at The Rise straight down the middle of the first hole, some 270 yards away. The fivesome ended up playing 14 of The Rise's 18 holes with Couples shooting "almost par." "I had three birdies on the front and a double bogey, and, on the back nine, I bogeyed two of the five holes we played, and I had a birdie. I lost four balls today, too," smiled Couples, who birdied the first hole, at a media conference after the round. Couples chided his design partner, Gene Bates of Florida, for forgetting to "chop down this tall crap (grass) before the opening," drawing laughter from the crowd. Finley, a Vernon minor hockey grad who hooked his opening drive into the tall crap, then hit a laser down the middle, was in awe of the course. "It's fantastic," said Finley, a former New York Islander, Winnipeg Jet and St. Louis Blue, who now serves as an assistant coach with the WHL's Kelowna Rockets. "The views are absolutely amazing. The first tee shot, in front of the large gallery, was not good. I was very nervous. "And playing with Fred, that's the thrill of a lifetime for me." That was a sentiment echoed by Iginla, who shot an 85 and signed as many autographs as Couples. "It was cool to play with a guy like Fred," said Iginla, who has played beside Weir in other charity events. "He's an amazing golfer and the chance to play with a Masters champion is such a thrill. Chuck (Kobasew) was the longest guy (off the tee) out there today, but Fred absolutely kills the ball too." Indeed, Couples wowed the gallery when he arrived late for the scheduled clinic, immediately took out a wedge and started hitting precision shots. After the wedge, he graduated to a five-iron, hitting balls routinely down the middle of the fairway, then finished off the display with a fairway wood, crushing the balls close to the 260-yard flag placed out in the fairway. "I hate to see people take out the driver first, then warm up," said Couples, a two-time PGA player of the year in 1991 and '92 who won the Masters in 1992. "You should warm up with a wedge, eight- or nine-iron. All the better players do that. They get speed and rhythm." Couples, who won the B.C. Junior Men's Championship at the Seymour Club in North Vancouver, and the B.C. Men's Amateur title at Marine Drive in Vancouver, has teamed up with Bates to design and build close to 20 golf courses. This is the first for both in Western Canada. The Rise, situated 1,000 feet above Okanagan Lake, features yardage from 5, 100 yards on the front set of the five tee boxes found on each hole, to 7,000 from the back. It's a par-72 track which includes the signature hole, a 180-yard par 3 with an elevated tee more than 100 feet above the putting surface. The longest hole is the par-5 ninth, which stretches to almost 600 yards, though it has an elevated tee and plays downhill all the way. There are eight water hazards on the course, which opens to the public today. Green fees, which include a golf cart, are between $65 and $115. "It's an amazing piece of property with 18 great holes," said Couples, who listed Augusta National (Masters home), Pebble Beach, Riviera, St. Andrew's and Royal Melbourne (Australia) as his five favourite courses. Joining Couples for the opening dedication was Leona Snider, president of The Rise. "Today's opening is one of many milestones in this, the year of delivering promises," said Snider. "We promised a golf course, it's now open. We promised vineyards, we've delivered on five acres and we're developing in another 12. I've been walking this land for 18 years and now, I'm glad there's a cart path so I can drive the land and not walk it." More than 200 units have been sold at The Rise resort community. Couples was asked by a fan if he was interested in buying a home there. "Maybe if I'd won some more money at the Skins Game," laughed Couples, who pocketed $30,000.
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Reprinted from The Vernon Morning Star |
