RANDOLPH AIR FOR BASE, Texas –
College students from around Texas teed off as T-38 Talons roared into the humid sky during round three of the 2011 Lone Star Conference Men's Golf Championship, held at Randolph Oaks Golf Course April 18 - 20.
"The Lone Star Conference has held a championship tournament annually since 1941," said Bill Powers, assistant athletic director from Midwestern State University, Wichita Falls, Texas. "For many years, it would rotate among the institutions of the conference, but since the late 1990s, it has been at a neutral site."
He said the games are often played around the Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas, areas, but "the golf coaches wanted to have a site further south to take advantage of the better growing conditions for the course."
This year it was up to the University of the Incarnate Word, in San Antonio, to host the tournament.
Doug Quire, the former golf coach at UIW and current Air Force Services Agency golf specialist, approached Troy Gann, Randolph Oaks Golf Course manager, about the tournament being played on Randolph instead.
"I took the idea to my bosses, it had to go up the chain of command - up the ladder," Mr. Gann said. "Everyone signed off."
He said the tournament was good for community relations and it raised some revenue.
"The staff at Randolph Oaks were great to work with and we are so grateful for their hard work and assistance," Mr. Powers said. "The biggest challenge the conference faced was getting the competitors and the spectators on and off base."
The game had no real problems, which allowed the players, their families and support staff to focus on the game.
"Coordination between the schools, the conference office and the staff at Randolph AFB was the key and there were very few problems," he said.
Mr. Gann said the tournament wouldn't have been possible without the help of the gate guards, who had everyone using only the South Gate but with extended hours.
"The people at the gate supported us and did a good job," he said. "They opened it extra and stayed late."
In addition to Randolph Oaks staff, volunteers from the universities helped with scoring and updating posted information. Some volunteers called in scored from the course as the game was played while others posted numbers or did other jobs.
"It's an old-time tournament. It's been many places, this is the first time in San Antonio I think," said Skip Wagoner, retired former golf coach from Central Oklahoma, while writing numbers with a large felt-tip marker on a large board hanging on the wall.
Mr. Powers, sitting across the room operating a cellular phone, two-way radio and a laptop computer, called out numbers to Mr. Wagoner. Mr. Powers was the link from volunteers at each hole on the course who called in scores as they happened. He was also updating the scores live on a website for fans and players' parents.
"It was an awesome event," Mr. Gann said. "We were proud to host it."
Central Oklahoma, starting the tournament in fourth place, won the annual tournament, shooting 5 under par, which placed them in the top position in division II.