(This is part one in a three-part series about the City Golf Tournament.)
By CHRISSY SMITH
Slidell sportswriter
SLIDELL — The Greater Slidell Golf Championship is set to tee off on June 22 for a three-day event that gives local golfers a chance to feel like pros.
While Jack Abney has looked like a pro in the past eight years by winning the city tourney, the courses are set to play home to the many local golfers who will play to be named the best in the city of Slidell.
The Greater Slidell Golf Championship will take place over three days, June 22-24, at all three Slidell golf courses — Royal, Pinewood and Oak Harbor.
Royal Golf Club is an 18-hole regulation length golf course in Slidell. This medium-length layout has three sets of teeboxes for a fun, but challenging golfing experience.
Pinewood Country Club is an 18-hole regulation length golf course in Slidell. This medium-length layout has adequate length for a regulation course. Some holes are quite challenging and interesting, but overall it can be somewhat forgiving.
Oak Harbor Golf Club is an 18-hole regulation length golf course in Slidell. Overall this course plays quite difficult, at least from the back tees it does. Trouble surrounds many of the greens, and this typically seems to be the toughest course for golfers to compete upon.
James Leitz, the golf pro at Pinewood golf course, said that although his course is the shortest of the three Slidell golf courses, it is very challenging.
“We are like a park-style course. We’ve got trees, sand and water, and we’re the shortest of the three courses but we’re very challenging,” Leitz said.
The most difficult part of the course is that the back nine has a lot of water on it.
“If people aren’t smart there, it’ll hurt them,” Leitz said. “If they try to overshoot, then they will do poorly.”
The general consensus is that Oak Harbor is the most difficult of the three golf courses in Slidell — and with good reason.
Of the 200 acres that the course covers, there are over 50 acres that are covered in water. According to the pro, the most difficult holes are five through eight.
On hole five, it is a difficult par three with water all to the right of it and not much bail out to the left.
For hole six, it is a perfect example of needing better position than distance.
On hole eight, it is a long par four.
Royal Golf Course golf pro Cliff Laigaist said course management is the key to doing well at his course for the Greater Slidell Golf Championship.
“You have to have course management on the back nine if you want to do well,” Laigaist said. “The placement of the tee shots is key because it’s fairly tight.”
To be eligible for the tournament, participants must be a resident of the Greater Slidell Area, or a member of either Royal G.C., Pinewood C.C., or Oak Harbor G.C.
For more information, call any of the three courses at Royal (985-643-3000), Oak Harbor (985-646-0110) or Pinewood (985-643-6892.)
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