Valero Texas Open: Historic Tournament, Awesome Photo Op

Last month we wrote about the quintessentially Texan Valero Open and its impending 90th birthday celebration. Well, the tournament/celebration is now underway.

Matt Every's history-making, course-record was a highlight of round one... which certainly gives him reason to celebrate... along with the stellar weather, awesome ancilary activities and ultra-enthusiastic fans, ensure that the excitement will continue through the upcoming weekend.

One of the things I love most about golf is its unique history, so I'm really enjoying the VTO throwback photos.  They feature, modern day folk... presumably volunteers, staffers and fans... posing in old-time golf apparel with golden age golf equipment. The full gallery is on the Valero Texas Open Facebook page as are other timely updates from the San Antonio tournament, and I reccomend you check it out.

If you love golf and can't make to the Lone Star State, it's the next best thing to being there.

The Valero Texas Open on Facebook and Twitter

Golf Takes the Cake - When a TX Tournament Turns 90

photo: Pinterest/Aundrea Ambeliotis/Mediterra Bakehouse

With Tiger back on track and Yani on fire, golf fans have a lot to be excited about as the major season gets underway  ...and it looks like the sweetness will extend well beyond the fairways and greens this year, thanks to a stellar golf sponsor.

Coming up in mid-April is the unapologetically Texan Valero Texas Open which celebrates its 90th birthday in 2012!  Yes folks, that's Nine-Oh, which clearly calls for a cake, and to that end the tournament has partnered with Pioneer^® Brands.

The oldest family-owned business in Texas... and the oldest continuously operated family-owned milling company in the United States... Pioneer^® Brands produces a wide variety of baking and seasoning mixes, and for the Valero Texas Open they'll be hosting a Celebrity Cake-Off.

Yesterday in a press conference the details were announced : six local celebrity pastry chefs will partner with six pastry students from St. Philips College Culinary School to create a Valero Open birthday cake. The cake must incorporate various elements of the tournament's identity, including its three pillars: music, food and military appreciation. Among myriad awesome prizes, the team with the winning cake will earn a $10,000 donation to the charity of their choice. The remaining team's chosen charities will receive donations ranging from $1,000 to $5,000.

Food Network Star, Duff Goldman will head a panel of celebrity judges, and will also contribute his own version of the VTO birthday cake which will be unveiled following the Cake-Off event on Saturday in the lower lobby of the JW Marriott Resort.

Purchase advance tickets to the Valero Texas Open online at www.valerotexasopen.org or at at participating Valero Corner Store locations. Admission into the Pioneer® Brand Celebrity Cake-Off is free with purchase of Good Any One Day tickets to the tournament.

The event sounds like an awesome way to engage golf fans, their friends and families... and a delicious and creative compliment to the venerable Valero Texas Open.

The Valero Texas Open on Facebook and Twitter

TeeTime - Plucky Texas Terrier Gets Free Golf for Life

Photo: John Dewey

Grapevine is a Texas town with a charming historical district, eclectic art galleries and... not surprisingly... numerous wineries.  It's also home to Grapevine Golf Course.

A recently renovated Byron Nelson and Joe Finger design, Grapevine is one of the most popular courses in an area known for great golf.

Well, a number of years ago a small, scrappy Jack Russel terrier began frequenting the fairways of Grapevine Golf Course.  Players started calling her "TeeTime", and she quickly became fixture; helping keep the course clean by chasing away pesky geese... and accepting offerings of food from golfers and staff in return.  It was a perfect arrangement until a run-in with a coyote, a storm drain and an overzealous Animal Control Authority nearly killed the courageous canine.

Grapevine golfer John Dewey tells her harrowing story at JackRusselLover.com and it's quite an adventure.  Fortunately the ending is upbeat.  So much so that "TeeTime" is now "back on course" and ... has even earned her own Facebook page.