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THE GOLF WAR: ClubCorp Clubs, Pinehurst Donate Golf Equipment To Boost Troop Morale In Iraq Contact Patty Jerde DALLAS (July 21, 2003) - Thanks to ClubCorp golf and country clubs in Texas, along with the Pinehurst resort in North Carolina, troops of the U.S. Army's 4th Infantry Division in Tikrit, Iraq, are driving their morale up and their golf handicaps down. Literally - on a golf driving range bulldozed into the Iraqi landscape. This latest effort in supporting U.S. troops in Iraq began when David McCallum and Scott Southern, a member and the manager, respectively, of Las Colinas Country Club in Irving, Texas, learned of the driving range being built by the soldiers from Fort Hood in Texas. The project is spearheaded by Warrant Officer Ben Dempsey, the son of friends of McCallum. After a few e-mails by McCallum and Southern to friends and colleagues, donations of clubs, balls, and range mats came in from clubs and golfers across the state. Pinehurst completed the shipment with 5,760 - 480 dozen - used Pinnacle range balls. The equipment was shipped this week from Fort Hood in Texas and Fort Bragg in North Carolina. "This really is driving for morale," said McCallum, who is vice president and director of marketing for Fidelity National Title Insurance Co. John Beckert, president and COO of ClubCorp, added: "It has been heartwarming to see the response of our members and Employee Partners. And who knows - hopefully we're growing the game of golf in a way we never imagined." About ClubCorp Founded in 1957, Dallas-based ClubCorp has approximately $1.6 billion in assets. Internationally, ClubCorp owns or operates nearly 200 golf courses, country clubs, private business and sports clubs, and resorts. Among the company's nationally recognized golf properties is Pinehurst in the Village of Pinehurst, North Carolina, the world's largest golf resort and home to the 1999 and 2005 U.S. Opens. |