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14A- RED ROCK NEWS, Sedona, Arizona Wednesday, January 13, 2010
iiiJ
by Hoyt C. Johnson
LARSON NEWSPAPERS COLUMNIST
Though I totally enjoyed a very special,
recent afternoon at Sedona Golf Resort, I have
to admit that it was an eerie, almost spooky
experience - mostly because I hadn't played
the course for several years and a multitude
of precious memories had my head spinning
around and around.
Especially, it was the presence of an old
friend, John Benzel, that ignited the excitement
and fondness related to my experiences during
ever-dreaded "last call."
In 1984, a story authored by Dave Hansen
and published in what then was my Sedona
Magazine reported still another kind of call
- this one from PGA Tour professional Tom
Purtzer and his brother Paul, who was director
of golf at Gainey Ranch Golf Club in Scottsdale,
to an amateur golf partner and budding golf
course architect, Gary Panks.
Subsequently, the Purtzers introduced Panks
to the developers who planned to build Sedona
Golf Kesort, and according to Hansen, Gary
Panks & Associates began drawing plans for
the championship SGR in the spring of 1985.
the early development and consequent matura- Isn't it obvious that anybody who hears "the
tion of this course's unique layout. Also, the call of Sedona" - even a call from Sedona or
inclusion of Pete Hille, a close friend of John's
from Glenwood Springs, Colo who
I previously had played with several
times, and Taylor Koser, a top-rated
amateur golfer from Wisconsin, who
currently is playing for the University
of Texas at San Antonio, enhanced the
camaraderie of our foursome. And the
fact that Taylor's dad, Tom, who has
a vacation home in Sedona, has been
a very close friend and special golf
partner of both John and me for many
years bound our group even closer g0 ]'C.
together. JOHNSON
On this day, as we took our turns on
eeo
the first tee at Sedona Golf Resort, I
couldn't help but think back almost
about Sedona - is a lucky person?
Perhaps the most entertaining "call"
related to this rather bizarre story,
however, is the one I thought about
during the recent golf game I enjoyed
with Benzel, etc. Accordingly, the anec-
dote I have been leading up to is about a
call that stemmed from Benzel's unique
moving experience - from Colorado to
Sedona, of course.
As it happened, when Benzel was in
the process of moving here with his
wife, Lin, and two sons, Brett and Matt,
he and Brett made a quick trip from
Colorado with hope of finding a house
to rent. And as this story goes, when
Brett Benzel discovered a great home,
a quarter-century. That's when Benzel "gave John Benzel advised him that it would be "way
up life as a ski instructor in Colorado to teach too much." Nonetheless, during a brief phone
golf in paradise," according to the words of Bill call, Benzel made an appointment to visit the
Huffmani who was assistant sports editor/go!f i home and talk to the owner, John Peoples.
editor for The Arizona Republic at the time. Upon visiting the home, Benzel couldn't
More specifically, Benzel became the club's
director of golf who generally supervised early
development - and he was an investor in SGR,
too.
Do you suppose Benzel heard "the call of
Sedona"? I think it's probable that he did,
just as so many others of us did - including
Huffman, Who was part of our memorable four-
some in 1989, just before he wrote a story about
SGR in which he issued the following warning:
"Be careful that you don't get caught up taking
shots with your camera instead of your clubs,
or paying too much attention to the red rocks,
which happened to me and I felt that the scenery
cost me at least six shots." However, in jest
and as an old friend, I must add that Huffman
always had an excuse.
As for Benzel, who now is retired, Huffman
quoted him as humorously stating: "Nobody
ever complains about this course - except
a few players each year, and that's because
dither their game left them or the beverage
help but notice a vast collection of intriguing
photographs, which unmistakably were of the
lustful star in "The Outlaw," Jane Russell.
"That's my wife," said Peoples - and after
a brief conversation, he quoted a rent that
was twice what Benzel wanted to pay; Benzel
countered with half the qu6ted price; Peoples
accepted and gave Benzel a key. It was that
simple, and just a day later, Benzel called Lin,
laughed, and said, "You'll never believe it- I'm
sleeping in Jane Russell's bed!"
Later, Benzel laughed again when he told
about sitting at a dining table for 12 people with
just Lin, Brett and Matt.
After nine months of heavy construction and
an ideal, one-year growing period, John opened
what Karsten Solheim, founder of the company
that makes Ping golf equipment, called "one of
the prettiest golf courses in the United States."
This was in October 1988, and soon thereafter,
Peter Jacobson, an established star on the PGA
Tour, echoed Solheim, saying that the course
dart missed them." And even though Benzel was "among the most impressive layouts" he
ras joking, I'll bet that the golfers who were ever played.
)issed by the beverage cart heard a different Oh, if only Jane had heard a "call" from the
ball after completing their round of golf- the golf course!
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