Cow Pasture Open

It's Cow Pasture time again in Hogan's Forgotten Fairways

Bring a golf club and a sense of humor

By Brian Weis

The kindest thing you can say about Cow Pasture golfers is that they are creative. You could also say they are crazy.

For the third year, golfers (good and otherwise) will converge on the old Dublin-DeLeon Golf Links on June 23. Don't be confused: this is NOT a working golf course. It is a working cow pasture, and all that that implies.

But the cause is a good one and the history is amazing.

Back in 1929, when a young fledgling golfer was trying to make his way into professional golf, he returned to his childhood home in Dublin to play - and win - the Dublin-DeLeon golf tournament. It was significant because it was one of his last amateur events before he turned pro. The trophy he won on that hot August day at the age of 17 is now on display at the USGA Museum in Far Hills, N.J.

The course, like many others, closed at the start of World War II and never reopened. Today, the Highway 6 cow pasture is known as Ben Hogan's Forgotten Fairways. Once a year, its current four-legged residents are removed and pin flags are placed at what appears to be the original tee boxes. The result is a 9-hole course which is not for the faint of heart. Affectionately known as putt-putt on steroids, the course is complete with the kind of hazards that result from having cows on the course, as well as some sturdy native grass and weeds and some determined cacti.

Golfers have brought four-wheel drive vehicles, Jeeps, even a team of horses in previous years. Event organizers say don't bring your good clubs but do bring a sense of humor and a spirit of adventure. But don't bring prissy golf carts unless they have heavy-duty tires.
The for mat is four-person scramble and entries will be limited to the first 18 teams so participants will be off the course by the time temperatures get high. The group will then convene at the Ben Hogan Museum in downtown Dublin for a barbecue lunch, trophy presentation, beverages and a chance to visit with the other participants and special guests.

Entry fee is $50 per person and checks should be addressed to the Ben Hogan Museum and mailed to PO Box 104, Dublin TX 76446.

For more information, check out www.benhoganmuseum.org or email benhoganmuseum@gmail.com. You may also call 254 445-1919 for a brochure.

Revised: 03/15/2012 - Article Viewed 30,876 Times

About: Brian Weis

Brian Weis is the mastermind behind GolfTrips.com, a vast network of golf travel and directory sites covering everything from the rolling fairways of Wisconsin to the sunbaked desert layouts of Arizona. If there’s a golf destination worth visiting, chances are, Brian has written about it, played it, or at the very least, found a way to justify a "business trip" there.

As a card-carrying member of the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA), International Network of Golf (ING), Golf Travel Writers of America (GTWA), International Golf Travel Writers Association (IGTWA), and The Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG), Brian has the credentials to prove that talking about golf is his full-time job. In 2016, his peers even handed him The Shaheen Cup, a prestigious award in golf travel writing—essentially the Masters green jacket for guys who don’t hit the range but still know where the best 19th holes are.

Brian’s love for golf goes way back. As a kid, he competed in junior and high school golf, only to realize that his dreams of a college golf scholarship had about the same odds as a 30-handicap making a hole-in-one. Instead, he took the more practical route—working on the West Bend Country Club grounds crew to fund his University of Wisconsin education. Little did he know that mowing greens and fixing divots would one day lead to a career writing about the best courses on the planet.

In 2004, Brian turned his golf passion into a business, launching GolfWisconsin.com. Three years later, he expanded his vision, and GolfTrips.com was born—a one-stop shop for golf travel junkies looking for their next tee time. Today, his empire spans all 50 states, and 20+ international destinations.

On the course, Brian is a weekend warrior who oscillates between a 5 and 9 handicap, depending on how much he's been traveling (or how generous he’s feeling with his scorecard). His signature move" A high, soft fade that his playing partners affectionately (or not-so-affectionately) call "The Weis Slice." But when he catches one clean, his 300+ yard drives remind everyone that while he may write about golf for a living, he can still send a ball into the next zip code with the best of them.

Whether he’s hunting down the best public courses, digging up hidden gems, or simply outdriving his buddies, Brian Weis is living proof that golf is more than a game—it’s a way of life.