What's up with Oklahoma being so central in Golf ATM?

I'm just curious if anyone has any insight as to why so many college championships in Oklahoma. Also why they have such strong college programs, such as: the tv show "Driven" produced by Rickie Fowler.

I just wonder "Why Oklahoma?" And am curious.

The NCAA championship 2018 are at Karsten Creek. Stillwater, OK.

Also holey moley! Only $50 and you can go every day to see the men's and women's golf championship in person. I'm digging into this topic and just found that out.

https://www.ncaa.com/history/golf-men/d1

Yep. They won. Have any more insight to share?

Does the winner host the championship?

Well...OSU has had tons of championships and is in the hunt every year. They have been a powerhouse since the 70’s. Rickie Fowler went there and he’s producing the show. So there’s that. Not sure what else insight you’re looking for?

Well...OSU has had tons of championships and is in the hunt every year. They have been a powerhouse since the 70s. Rickie Fowler went there and hes producing the show. So theres that. Not sure what else insight youre looking for?

Oh just curious about Oklahoma. I had not realized it is so involved in golf. When I think golf I think Florida, Texas, South Carolina, California.

I am in NC and there are 2 schools from NC in today's women's tourney. Duke and Wake Forest, possibly more.

Well...OSU has had tons of championships and is in the hunt every year. They have been a powerhouse since the 70’s. Rickie Fowler went there and he’s producing the show. So there’s that. Not sure what else insight you’re looking for?

 

Oh just curious about Oklahoma. I had not realized it is so involved in golf. When I think golf I think Florida, Texas, South Carolina, California.

 

I am in NC and there are 2 schools from NC in today's women's tourney. Duke and Wake Forest, possibly more.

They have a top program and recruit well from the places you listed as that is where kids grow up playing the most and where most top tier recruits come from.

https://www.ncaa.com...ory/golf-men/d1

 

Yep. They won. Have any more insight to share?

 

Does the winner host the championship?

Not sure what you are getting at. Since 1897 they have only played the golf National Championship in Oklahoma 4 times. This will be the 5th. That doesn't seem like a lot to me. The venues/host school has to put in a bid to the NCAA to host them.

Well...OSU has had tons of championships and is in the hunt every year. They have been a powerhouse since the 70’s. Rickie Fowler went there and he’s producing the show. So there’s that. Not sure what else insight you’re looking for?

 

Oh just curious about Oklahoma. I had not realized it is so involved in golf. When I think golf I think Florida, Texas, South Carolina, California.

 

I am in NC and there are 2 schools from NC in today's women's tourney. Duke and Wake Forest, possibly more.

Houston has as many National Championships as the entire state of Oklahoma has combined.

there also not far from The DFW area which happens to be the 4th largest metro area and that area is growing fast. A lot of people In DFW went to OU. I would suspect this means that a lot money is flowing into OU and that means they just simply have better things.

You don’t even need a lot big donors either if the average alumni has a few extra bucks and wants to spend it watching his alumni

Suggest you lookup Texas/ou weekend and just see how popular they are in the dfw area.

As for hosting tournaments i am sure they had to do a bid and there after all centrally locates so perhaps that helps

While OSU and OU are certainly known for football, they excel in other team and individual sports, both men and women. Two reasons, coaching and facilities. Dig into the wrestling, baseball, softball, tennis and gymnastics records over the past few years and you'll see consistent top 10 rankings.

Regarding golf and OSU, Karsten Creek is an extraordinary course envisioned by Mike Holder (now AD) and named for Karsten Solheim. The practice/training facilities are equal to the best D1 football programs. The legacy created by Mike Holder is NCAA lore. This attracts the best recruits to a place where Sooner fans call O S Who?

Driven, the TV show, provides most of us an opportunity to see the commitment it takes to excel in golf at the NCAA level. While Ricky, Hunter, Peter Uihlein, Scott Verplank and others catch our attention on Sunday, there are hundreds of men and women who are contributing to our game after honing their playing skills at OSU.

Boomer!

It’s pretty simple. Build the best facilities, and invest in the sport and recruits will come, and championships will follow. Clemson had one of the top women in the country, die hard Tiger fan growing up in SC, but after a few years there she quickly realized that the University doesn’t give a crap about ladies golf. She transferred to Alabama and is doing well.

Sooners can suck it. Redman is gonna smoke them all though.

a bit confused with all the discussion.... not sure OP's written english is top-notch..

oklahoma state is one for best golf programs of all time....... trying to think who are the others. wake forest has done really well for a small school. houston too but both those are more historical than recent.... today, the top teams look to some degree like the top ncaa football teams from states that don't get cold in the winter.

i think op asks a good question: namely, why does ok state recruit so well? well, for one it's historical and that might have been texas players. more recently, it's players from places you wouldn't think like rickie fowler from general los angeles area.

as for university of oklahoma, have they been good recently? not a historically excellent NCAA golf school from what i know. anthony kim though is a notable graduate

Oklahoma is not a great state for golfing. OSU, however, has a great course as mentioned. Great facilities. Lots of wind. And not a single other thing to do in Stillwater. I imagine the players spend the majority of their time on the course.

a bit confused with all the discussion.... not sure OP's written english is top-notch..

 

oklahoma state is one for best golf programs of all time....... trying to think who are the others. wake forest has done really well for a small school. houston too but both those are more historical than recent.... today, the top teams look to some degree like the top ncaa football teams from states that don't get cold in the winter.

 

i think op asks a good question: namely, why does ok state recruit so well? well, for one it's historical and that might have been texas players. more recently, it's players from places you wouldn't think like rickie fowler from general los angeles area.

 

as for university of oklahoma, have they been good recently? not a historically excellent NCAA golf school from what i know. anthony kim though is a notable graduate

OU won the NCAA championship last year...

Oklahoma is not a great state for golfing. OSU, however, has a great course as mentioned. Great facilities. Lots of wind. And not a single other thing to do in Stillwater. I imagine the players spend the majority of their time on the course.

Great Program development would be my guess. It takes a long time... basically spending tons of money/effort to get top ranked kids to play for you. My Alma Matter did this with hockey. The woman's D1 has consistently been #1 ranked in the country lately despite being all the way up north near Canada in the middle of no where. You'd think.... Why the hell would a person want to live in the freezing a** cold with no fun stuff to do in the town, etc. But.. it's because they want to win, they want their names on that trophy, etc. It becomes much less about where the school is and what the school/team can do.

OSU has great Red Dirt Country music. I think this is clearly the biggest draw for recruiting the top golfers to their school.

Oklahoma is not a great state for golfing. OSU, however, has a great course as mentioned. Great facilities. Lots of wind. And not a single other thing to do in Stillwater. I imagine the players spend the majority of their time on the course.

OK has a very rich and old golfing history. Example: OKC muni course Lincoln Park was a PGA tour location back in the late 50's early-mid 60's. It's still a formidable lay out. OSU's Karsten Creek has to be one of the top college facilities in the country. OU's Jimmy Austin's course was the site for a USGA national championship a few years back and was revamped twice at no cost to the school and now it rivals OSU's facility. Both OKC and Tulsa have hosted PGA Majors (Southern Hills / Oak Tree and a senior major at Gaillardia CC). There are / was at least 2 mini tours that ran a tri state area (OK/TX/AR) and still may be operational. One of the casinos in the southern part hosted the National Long Drive a couple of years ago. There's probably more to add, but these are just off the top of my head.

As for Stillwater and nothing to do, depends on what you want to do. There's more than enough watering holes with live entertainment, short drive to OKC to watch NBA, AAA baseball and lots of college sports all year long.

Ha! Y'all don't have to take my word. Go knock yourselves out in Stillwater. It is still over an hour to OKC, which I didn't mention. I've been to just about every city in OK. Not a lot of golf to be had.

You must be looking for the PPT (professional putters tour), sorry but that went belly up years ago........... :cheesy:

Oklahoma State holds its golf team and golf program on a pedestal like no other university. I challenge you to go to ANY other D1 university football game count how many golf team logos the fans are wearing. Go to any oSu game and you will see Swinging Pete everywhere. I wear my Swinging Pete caps all the time in public here in Austin TX and always have people give me the "Go Pokes" shout out. My son played jr golf and when he was very young, he was rummaging through a basket of collegiate ball markers on a proshop counter. He picked up an oSu marker and the Pro behind the counter said "That right there is the best golf school in the country" Without hesitation, my son turned to me and said he wanted that one. I remember other parents asking him in that tournament about the cap ball marker and he told all of them that is where he was going to go to play golf. This was pre-Rickie too. He was fortunate enough to work hard and was a successful jr player and his dream came true when he was offered a scholarship to play for oSu. You ask what is up with golf / Oklahoma? It is pretty simple, go to Karsten Creek, and go in their hall and you will see first hand what is up. University of Houston has 16 natty's but they have not been a relevant factor since the early 80's. oSu Golf has stayed in the mix always. Karsten Creek is owned by the oSu golf team, not the university. They bring in hundreds of thousands of dollars every season through donors that pay for everything for the team. The oSu golf team MAKES the university money and does not cost them a penny. Not many if any other programs can say the same thing. That along with the fraternity of professionals that still come back and stay connected to the university due to the golf team. Oklahoma for a moderate size state has some of the best courses in the country. Oak Tree National, Southern Hills, Karsten Creek to name 3. We live and my son was born here in ATX where UT is everything, yet my son chose to go to Oklahoma and play for oSu. He is staying there in Edmund now and will base out of there as a pro practicing at OTN. ATX is a great place to live, however here, golf is not held in the same regard as it is at oSu and Oklahoma

Pic of my son with his oSu ball marker in 2007

Signing with oSu

Stratton arriving at Karsten the first week and dreaming of getting his photo on the wall

Getting his photo on the wall

How many other golf teams travel like oSu does :)

The fraternity of players all return and stay in touch

oSu Golf is a breed apart from any other golf program in the country and will stay that way. NOBODY with the program knows "Stratton" He is known as "Vern" to all of those with the program thanks to the seniors his freshman year.

GO POKES

Oklahoma is not a great state for golfing. OSU, however, has a great course as mentioned. Great facilities. Lots of wind. And not a single other thing to do in Stillwater. I imagine the players spend the majority of their time on the course.

 

OK has a very rich and old golfing history. Example: OKC muni course Lincoln Park was a PGA tour location back in the late 50's early-mid 60's. It's still a formidable lay out. OSU's Karsten Creek has to be one of the top college facilities in the country. OU's Jimmy Austin's course was the site for a USGA national championship a few years back and was revamped twice at no cost to the school and now it rivals OSU's facility. Both OKC and Tulsa have hosted PGA Majors (Southern Hills / Oak Tree and a senior major at Gaillardia CC). There are / was at least 2 mini tours that ran a tri state area (OK/TX/AR) and still may be operational. One of the casinos in the southern part hosted the National Long Drive a couple of years ago. There's probably more to add, but these are just off the top of my head.

 

As for Stillwater and nothing to do, depends on what you want to do. There's more than enough watering holes with live entertainment, short drive to OKC to watch NBA, AAA baseball and lots of college sports all year long.

They "seemed" to manage having a good time in Stillwater LOL

Thanks for that insight Breck. I want my son to go to OSU too now. I guess I can dream. :to_become_senile:

Ha! Y'all don't have to take my word. Go knock yourselves out in Stillwater. It is still over an hour to OKC, which I didn't mention. I've been to just about every city in OK. Not a lot of golf to be had.

???

I can name 10 very good courses in Tulsa alone. Not counting Southern Hills.

I would hope any city in any state with a population of 400,000+ would have a few courses. But like I said, go knock yourselves out in OK.

Edit to add: I've spent more time in that state due to work than I ever wanted to. I'm not trying to come off as a jerk, this has been a great thread. I personally don't think it's a great state for golf. OKC and Tulsa would be the only places I'd recommend going. Maybe Norman which I don't have as much experience in. I spent a few weeks in Stillwater and was thoroughly disappointed. Bacon fries are great at Eskimo Joes, pretty lame bar scene though to be honest. OSU was a giant let down for a D1 school. Except for the athletic facilities which were already correctly credited to T Boone. To each his own. I do understand love for each ones own state. Peoria Ridge is a fun course in Miami, the Hard Rock course in Tulsa isn't terrible. There are a few Tin Cup style driving ranges spread out throughout the state. Thats personal experience, I'll leave it at that.

I would hope any city in any state with a population of 400,000+ would have a few courses. But like I said, go knock yourselves out in OK.

 

Edit to add: I've spent more time in that state due to work than I ever wanted to. I'm not trying to come off as a jerk, this has been a great thread. I personally don't think it's a great state for golf. OKC and Tulsa would be the only places I'd recommend going. Maybe Norman which I don't have as much experience in. I spent a few weeks in Stillwater and was thoroughly disappointed. Bacon fries are great at Eskimo Joes, pretty lame bar scene though to be honest. OSU was a giant let down for a D1 school. Except for the athletic facilities which were already correctly credited to T Boone. To each his own. I do understand love for each ones own state. Peoria Ridge is a fun course in Miami, the Hard Rock course in Tulsa isn't terrible. There are a few Tin Cup style driving ranges spread out throughout the state. Thats personal experience, I'll leave it at that.

What do you do and where are you from?

Ha! Y'all don't have to take my word. Go knock yourselves out in Stillwater. It is still over an hour to OKC, which I didn't mention. I've been to just about every city in OK. Not a lot of golf to be had.

 

???

 

I can name 10 very good courses in Tulsa alone. Not counting Southern Hills.

The Patriot is a great course and a unbelievable experience.

I would hope any city in any state with a population of 400,000+ would have a few courses. But like I said, go knock yourselves out in OK.

 

Edit to add: I've spent more time in that state due to work than I ever wanted to. I'm not trying to come off as a jerk, this has been a great thread. I personally don't think it's a great state for golf. OKC and Tulsa would be the only places I'd recommend going. Maybe Norman which I don't have as much experience in. I spent a few weeks in Stillwater and was thoroughly disappointed. Bacon fries are great at Eskimo Joes, pretty lame bar scene though to be honest. OSU was a giant let down for a D1 school. Except for the athletic facilities which were already correctly credited to T Boone. To each his own. I do understand love for each ones own state. Peoria Ridge is a fun course in Miami, the Hard Rock course in Tulsa isn't terrible. There are a few Tin Cup style driving ranges spread out throughout the state. Thats personal experience, I'll leave it at that.

It's sad, but you come off as petty and ignorant of the state of Oklahoma. Perhaps you missed the many courses around the state designed by the great Perry Maxwell. Many of which are smaller town courses that are gems that you can walk on and play. If you don't care for Stillwater, that's your choice but I loved EVERY year I spent in college there. I loved the sports, the music, and the many friendships started there. When school is in, there is no lack of things to do. Oklahoma State is a Blue Blood of college golf and oSu was fortunate to have Deerslayer's son along with many other young men who have gone on to the PGA or other professional success. The culture at Oklahoma State in all sports is to build successful men and women first, and athletes second. I'm sorry you have the opinion that you do of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, but I find it uninformed and, as I said, petty. Hope you are enjoying Arkansas.

Ah, to each his own. I think your whole post was petty, and it is sad that some people can't accept opinions. This is a forum where we are supposed to have civil discussions, right? I will look into the Maxwell courses and see if there are any nearby I could go try. I can be persuaded through intelligent discussion, but not belittling comments. To other poster - I at one time handled work for every Walmart parking lot in OK for a few years. If there is a Walmart, I've been to the city. My time in Stillwater was OSU work related.