Tuesday, Oct. 22, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.
When Cal Olson was charged with designing the Players Island Golf Club in Mesquite, he didn't want to build the toughest golf course in Nevada, just one of the most enjoyable.
He succeeded on both counts.
Coming off his success with the critically acclaimed Coyote Hills Golf Course in Fullerton, Calif., Olson has scored another ace with the Players Island layout. A stiff test from the back tees (7,011 yards), the desert-style course plays relatively straight-forward from the middle tees (6,136 yards).
"We want to be able to challenge the best golfer," Olson said. "You can put the pins in places where they can't break 70 if the cows come home. You can bring Tiger Woods out here and he would have a heck of a time breaking 70 with the wind up and the (tough) pin placements ... well, I'm sure Tiger could do it but nobody else could do it.
"I hope this course is the best in Nevada -- if it isn't I'll be unhappy."
Olson has provided golfers with generous fairways, greens that are well-guarded by sand and grass bunkers and two short par-4 holes that are sure to bedevil players whose egos are bigger than their drives.
The 315-yard par-4 third hole is inviting when played from the middle tees (262 yards). Driveable from that distance, the tee shot must carry a wetlands area to a well-bunkered green. The 280-yard par-4 13th hole (245 from the middle tees) also is driveable, but the tee shot must carry a native desert area to a heavily guarded green.
The real challenge of Players Island Golf Club comes when you reach the greens, many of which are heavily undulated and can be tricky to read.
"You have got to be a good putter," Olson said of the key to mastering Players Island. "I don't care how good you are with your woods and irons, if you're not a good putter you're dead because of the undulations."
Olson said he had more fun designing Players Island than any other of his projects because of the free reign handed him by the resort. He believes he accomplished a layout that is truly unique and playable for golfers of all abilities.
"We have diversity here on this golf course," Olson said. "We have holes that are 460 par-4 and we have holes that are 280 par-4 -- you've got the works out here. We have everything, we've got water, we've got desert and we've got fun.
"When you think about what golf is about, it's about having fun. We took the philosophy that a bogey is relatively easy to accomplish, but we're going to play hell letting you get par. I don't want anybody to par, but I sure as hell want them to bogey it."
Opened to public play less than a year after groundbreaking last November, the Players Island Golf Course's weekday winter rates are $69 per person, but the hotel/casino offers discount packages starting at $79 that includes a round of golf and a hotel room. The course also will offer discounted summer rates. Call 1-888-711-4653 for reservations or additional information.
Chip shots ...
* FRYATT, OSBORN ADVANCE: Former UNLV golfers Edward Fryatt and Darin Osborn survived Stage I PGA Tour Qualifying and moved one step closer to attaining their 1997 PGA Tour cards. Fryatt, a 1994 graduate of UNLV and a former Nevada State Champion at Chaparral High, was the medalist at the Stage I qualifying tournament in McKinney, Texas. Fryatt grabbed the first-round lead with a 6-under-par 66 and followed with rounds of 68, 71 and 68 for a 15-under-par 273 total and a one-shot victory over former Las Vegas Country Club teaching pro J.L. Lewis. Osborn, a 1992 graduate, tied for 13th place at the Stage I qualifier in Dayton, Nev. Osborn finished at 2-over-par 280. Another former Rebel, 1991 NCAA Champion Warren Schutte, was the second alternate out of the Dayton qualifier and Las Vegas resident Bob May was third alternate. Both Schutte and May shot 4-over-par 288 at the qualifier. Stage II qualifying will be held during the month of November. Approximately 190 golfers will advance to the grueling six-round final PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament, to be held Dec. 4-9 in Southern California.
* KENDALL CLINCHES: Another former Rebel golfer, Skip Kendall, earned his 1997 PGA Tour card by finishing ninth on the Nike Tour money list. Kendall earned $10,000 with his seventh-place finish at last weekend's Nike Tour Championship, pushing his season earnings to $107,396. The top 10 money winners on the Nike Tour gain full PGA Tour playing privileges for the following season.
* AROUND THE GREEN: Las Vegas native Robert Gamez secured his PGA Tour exemption for next season with his third-place finish in last weekend's Disney Classic in Orlando. Gamez, who has been battling a hand injury this year, missed the cut at the Las Vegas Invitational earlier this month and was in jeopardy of falling out of the top 125 in earnings. His $81,600 payday Sunday allowed Gamez to jump from 124th to 89th on the money list with $249,227. ... The field has been set for the Wendy's Three-Tour Challenge, to be held Nov. 25-26 at the SouthShore Golf Club at Lake Las Vegas. Representing the Senior PGA Tour will be defending champions Jack Nicklaus, Ray Floyd and Hale Irwin. Representing the PGA Tour will be Fred Couples, Davis Love III and Payne Stewart. The LPGA Tour team will feature Laura Davies, Annika Sorenstam and Patty Sheehan. Tickets for the Wendy's Three-Tour Challenge, priced at $15 for both days, are available through the Las Vegas Founders Club at 382-9083. ... Patricia Cunningham and Blain Claypool of Las Vegas won free passes for a year of golf at the soon-to-be-completed Mt. Charleston Golf Resort. Cunningham and Claypool entered a drawing for the free passes during the Las Vegas Invitational. The Mt. Charleston Golf Resort is scheduled to open in the spring.
* UPCOMING EVENTS: The PGA Tour is conducting its season finale, the $3 million Tour Championship, this week at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla. Billy Mayfair won last year's event. ESPN and ABC will televise. ... The Senior PGA Tour is in Hawaii for the Kaanapali Classic. Bob Charles is the defending champion. ESPN will televise. ... The LPGA Tour this week begins a two-week stint in Japan before returning to the States Nov. 21 for the inaugural ITT LPGA Tour Championship at the Desert Inn Golf Club.
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