San Antonio, TX August 18th, 2008

For Immediate Release

Jimmy Terry named director of business development
at the PGA TOUR’s TPC San Antonio

Twenty-year golf industry veteran Jimmy Terry has been named director of business development at the PGA TOUR’s TPC San Antonio, a private club now under development in the Texas Hill Country. In his new role, Terry will be responsible for helping to spearhead the opening of the club as well as overseeing membership sales, corporate partnerships and other business opportunities.

A native of Texas, Terry brings with him extensive experience in the management of high-end private, resort and daily fee golf properties. Most recently, Terry was a managing partner for The Club at Waterford in Marble Falls, TX, where he was responsible for the planning, construction, grow-in and maturation of the recently opened property. Previous experience includes serving as general manager at Falconhead Golf Club in Austin, TX; The Club at Comanche Trace in Kerrville, TX; TPC Tampa Bay; and Barton Creek Resort and Country Club in Austin, TX.

A Class A Member of the PGA of America for 20 years, Terry has been active in the Southern Texas PGA Chapter, having served as an officer, vice president, secretary, junior golf committee chairman, tournament chairman and member of the Board of Directors. Terry earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration from Tarleton State University in Stephenville, TX.

Scheduled to open in the spring of 2010, TPC San Antonio will feature 36 holes of golf designed by two of the game’s most innovative architects: Pete Dye and Greg Norman. Champions Tour member Bruce Lietzke collaborated with Dye on the design of the AT&T Canyons Course, while PGA TOUR member Sergio Garcia assisted Norman on the design of the AT&T Oaks Course. Both layouts are being built with the infrastructure to serve as host venues for PGA TOUR tournaments.

TPC San Antonio will be accessible to private club members and guests of the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort and Spa. For membership information, please visit www.tpc.com/sanantonio.

About the PGA TOUR
The PGA TOUR is a tax-exempt membership organization of professional golfers. Its primary purpose is to provide competitive earnings opportunities for past, current and future members of the PGA TOUR, Champions Tour and Nationwide Tour; to protect the integrity of the game; and to help grow the reach of the game in the U.S. and around the world.

In 2008, the three Tours are competing in 108 events for approximately $355 million in prize money. Tournaments are being held in nine countries outside the U.S. and in 37 states. In addition to providing competitive opportunities for its membership, TOUR events also generate significant funds for local charities. In fact, the three Tours have surpassed the $1 billion mark in overall charitable contributions. The PGA TOUR’s web site address is www.pgatour.com and the company is headquartered in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL.

About The TPC Network

Licensed by the PGA TOUR, the TPC Network is comprised of 28 premier private and resort golf properties designed by some of golf’s most elite architects, 17 of which are operated by the PGA TOUR. Each TPC has hosted or has been designed to host TOUR-sponsored golf tournaments.

Since the TPC Sawgrass first opened its world renowned PLAYERS Stadium Course in the fall of 1980, TPCs have provided the PGA TOUR with rent-free venues for tournaments, helping to boost championship golf purses and increasing charitable donations to grass roots non-profit organizations. At the same time, TPCs have provided recreational golfers with the unique opportunity to test their skills on the same layouts where the world’s best golfers compete.

Distinctive in character but consistent in quality, TPCs are known for their outstanding conditioning and amenities, as well as a commitment to environmental excellence. To date, 15 TPCs operated by the PGA TOUR are certified as Audubon International Cooperative Sanctuary Systems. The TPC Network is also distinguished by its unwavering commitment to further the PGA TOUR’s giving back mission through support of charitable and community-based programs. For more information, please visit www.tpc.com.

We've been getting a few web and newspaper mentions lately and here are the links:

Kevin Robbins of the Austin Statesman

More Kevin

Texas Golf Blog

Geoff Shackelford (one of our favorite blogs despite his thoughts on our naming rights deal)

We've also had a few mentions by Richard Oliver of the Express-News but unfortunately the article links have been taken down. 

More info on each of these neighborhoods as well as a master plan can be found at www.CiboloCanyons.com

 
Palacios
Cielos
Campanas

We take safety very seriously around here and have a new safety inspector.  I introduce you to "Safety Dog"...  These photos are courtesy of our Construction Superintendent, Alex Stuedemann.  Now if we could only find a hardhat that fits properly we'll be in great shape.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quick Links:

•  I don't think I'd like to see more than a few of these types of events per year, but the Tavistock Cup is a refreshing break from the typical 72-hole grind we see on TOUR each week.  I enjoyed seeing the Annika/Paula matchup mixed in with the men but would have loved to have seen them in the Opening Day Four-Ball competition as well.  From Golfweek:  Tales From the Tavistock Cup
• The EDS Byron Nelson Championship is on April 24-27 and this year will be hosted on one course, TPC Four Seasons.  All the latest reports indicate the renovation has been incredibly successful, despite the tough season of rain that occured shortly after construction began last year:  Players Rave about Changes to EDS Byron Nelson Championship
  
• "Going Green" is a hot topic of conversation these days and Golf Digest has devoted a good portion of their latest issue to the question "How Green is Golf?"

Yesterday I had the honor of representing the PGA TOUR at the official unveiling and ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Operation Homefront Village. Needless to say, despite the lousy weather it was an incredible experience and one that we were very honored to be part of.

The highlight for me was being able to cut the ribbon on the PGA TOUR apartment. I was able to meet the new tenant, Isaac. 

Below are some photos from the event as well as the official press release. If you are interested in learning more about Operation Homefront and all that they do, visit their site at OperationHomefront.net.

Additionally, Operation Homefront is the same organization that stepped up to assist the Johnson familly that I wrote about a few months ago.   Again we'd like to thank our local partners for their support or this incredibly worthy organization:  Valero Texas Open, AT&T Championship, Forestar Real Estate, Miller Global, and Marriott.

 Link to photos from the event:

Operation Homefront

Official Press Release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Meredith Leyva
March 18, 2008 (757) 410-4926 or meredith@operationhomefront.net

Wounded Warriors and their Families Move into Operation Homefront Village

Two-building complex is first of four to house transitioning wounded warriors while they recover

SAN ANTONIO, TX –Operation Homefront Village officially opened its doors to military families in need.

Click to read more ...

AT&T Oaks and AT&T Canyons Courses to Open with JW Marriott Resort in 2010

SAN ANTONIO, Feb. 4, 2008 — The PGA TOUR and AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) today announced that AT&T will be the naming rights sponsor of the two new TPC golf courses, which are located at the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort and Spa.

The long-term sponsorship agreement will incorporate AT&T into the names of the courses at TPC San Antonio. The courses will be known as the AT&T Oaks Course (designed by Greg Norman, with player consultant Sergio Garcia) and the AT&T Canyons Course (designed by Pete Dye, with player consultant Bruce Lietzke). The golf courses and the adjacent 1,002-room JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort and Spa are schedule to open in early 2010.

“AT&T is pleased to associate our brand with these courses,” said Cathy Coughlin, AT&T Senior Executive Vice President and Global Marketing officer. “We also look forward to working with the PGA TOUR, TPC San Antonio and JW Marriott to assure that the golfers and resort guests enjoy access to the latest AT&T broadband, voice and video services.”

The adjacent residential development, Cibolo Canyons, already is an AT&T Connected Community. Details of specific applications to be made available at the resort and golf facility will be available closer to opening.

“AT&T, a long-standing partner of the PGA TOUR, has been a tremendous supporter of this exciting project and has played an important role in bringing the TOUR and TPC brand into the fold,” said David Pillsbury, President of PGA TOUR Golf Course Properties, which oversees the TOUR’s network of 25 TPCs. “Through its brand and technology, AT&T will very much be at the forefront of creating a unique, world-class golf experience at TPC San Antonio. We’re very excited to work with AT&T at TPC San Antonio.”

Click to read more ...

A quick mention is today's USA Today Money Section. 

Last October, construction began on a new JW Marriott in San Antonio, which plans to attract meetings and conventions with two PGA Tour golf courses. Meetings and group business are expected to generate more than half of the revenue when the 1,002-room resort opens in 2010, says Mike Kass, director of sales and marketing.

Golf course designer Pete Dye and former British Open champion Greg Norman are designing the two adjacent golf courses. They're the newest ones being built by the PGA Tour, which will also manage them.

Original Article Link: Hotels play up golf angle for meetings

 

The Complete JW Marriott virtual tour can be seen here: http://www.jwsanantonio.com/virtual/

I ran across this article a few days back by Katharine Dyson on the Wire, a daily golf newsletter. 

The Meeting Gome is Changing

She questions if golf was still at the core of successful meetings.  Then she goes on to profile properties that are doing great meeting/golf business these days like Pinehurst, Doonbeg, and Princeville.

 For the most part I agree with everything written in the article with the exception that small is big when it comes to venue size.  I believe finding a property that will add a personal touch to your event is the key, and just because a resort is small won't necessarily ensure that. 

One of the key components to JW Marriott San Antonio is that the hotel and the meetings are managed by the crack team from JW Marriott and we (TPC San Antonio) handle the golf side of things, allowing each group to focus on what we do best.  We are already booking groups for 2010 and beyond so contact us today if you would like to bring your organization to San Antonio and Live the PGA TOUR Experience. 

extending a helpful hand when the opportunity presents itself.  It's truly a core value for the TOUR and seems to permeate through every partner that we work with. 

This time it was our Partners that absolutely stepped up and is helping to make a difference in the lives of a Texas family that has encountered more tragedy than any family should ever be asked to endure.  If you aren't familiar with the story of Army Specialist Austin Johnson, the story from the Dallas Morning News is listed below the release.

Candidly, I would be uncomfortable promoting a story like this if it was just the TOUR or TPC San Antonio that was involved, it would seem very self serving on a blog.  But, because OUR partners were part of the group who made the biggest impact with tremendous financial contributions to help the Johnson family I think it makes sense to post it here. 

The amazing thing about this story is that we learned about it Friday afternoon and all of the money was secured by Monday night.  A truly classic story of quick, decisive commitments to helping a family in need without giving it a second thought.  Additionally, no media will be present today at the presentation to the family so it was done without the motivation of being recognized in the local media.

TPC San Antonio locally thanks AT&T, Forestar, Golf San Antonio, Miller Global, San Antonio Marriott Business Council and Valero for their contributions.

Click to read more ...