Old Orchard
Golf Club in Texas
set to close Nov. 11

By Mike Bailey,
Correspondent

RICHMOND, Texas (Aug. 8, 2005) - It was the proverbial offer they couldn't refuse, but it doesn't mean Jack Montgomery didn't have any reservations about selling Old Orchard Golf Club. Like it is in many cities, the real estate value of the course far exceeded any future revenue the course could generate, no matter how good it was.

"My wife won't even talk to me about it," said Montgomery, a longtime Houston golf professional and entrepreneur. "I've got more memories than you can say grace over."

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Nonetheless, come late fall, southwest Houston will lose one of the best daily fee golf courses in the state. Old Orchard Golf Club, a 27-hole facility that has hosted numerous special events, championships and qualifiers, will close Nov. 11 if all goes as planned.

The course has 22 owners, which include Montgomery and Champions Tour player Keith Fergus, and is being sold to real estate developers for an undisclosed amount. Though Montgomery wouldn't reveal details, the profit on the land will far exceed revenues and the cost of the course, which opened in 1990.

The closure will leave the Richmond area, which is located about 30 miles southwest of downtown Houston, with a significant void in the daily-fee market. The Houstonian Golf Club, an excellent Rees Jones-design next door to Old Orchard, recently became private and The Houstonian's sister club, Shadow Hawk Golf Club, which is located on the same property, has always been private. That leaves only Greatwood Golf Club as the only viable quality daily fee facility in the immediate area.

Montgomery said the economic realities of the golf industry and escalating realty prices in the area were just too difficult to ignore.

A decade earlier, First Colony Golf Club, also a daily fee course, was razed for development just a few miles closer to town off U.S. Highway 59. It seems it would only be a matter of time before clubs like Old Orchard would fall victim to this kind of "progress."

"It would have been a hard deal to turn down," said Montgomery, whose son, Jackie Montgomery, serves as the club's head professional.

Montgomery has vowed to keep Old Orchard in top-notch playing conditions until the end. The maintenance crew recently fertilized the course, which Montgomery said is in the best shape of its existence.

"We intend to go out on top," he said. "We want people to remember the course for what it is."

Which is reason enough to play it one last time, especially if you haven't been out there lately.

Although Old Orchard has only been around for 15 years, it seemed like more because of its rich, albeit, short history. In the early 1990s, it wasn't uncommon to see Fergus on the course, practicing with the University of Houston golf team, which he coached in the late 1980s and early '90s.

Designed by Fergus, Harry Yewens and the late Carlton Gipson, Old Orchard played host to the 1995 Southwest Conference Championship, which was won by Texas. Since then, it has been the site of six All-American Intercollegiate Championships, a few U.S. Open qualifiers, a U.S. Public Links qualifier and most recently, a U.S. Amateur qualifier.

For a while, it also was the site of the annual Three Amigos event - a charity exhibition featuring the former University of Houston trio of Fred Couples, Jim Nance and Blaine McCallister. The club also played host since 1991 to one of the biggest charity events in the state, the Spindletop International Oilmen's tournament, an event dear to Montgomery's heart.

He recalled one year when thunderstorms rumbled throughout the day, but the course didn't get a drop of rain. "We never lost a minute's play," Montgomery said. "I went home to Sugar Creek that evening and the streets were flooded."

Montgomery brought the Oilmen's event with him from Sugar Creek, which he had hosted for 14 years before opening Old Orchard.

"It took an act of faith to leave the country club and come to Old Orchard," Montgomery recalled of his favorite charity group. "They saw it as a sea of mud when they came out to see it.

"They will probably give close to a million dollars in charity this year," he said, proudly. "And the Spindletop International Oilmen's Tournament is the linchpin of the deal."

The club features three 18-hole combinations. The Stable/Range Course was built within a pecan grove. The Stable/Barn Course offers tight fairways and can be difficult. The Barn/Range Course is more of a links-style design.

Very little dirt was moved on the site of the old Lazy "C" Ranch, considered one of the finest quarter-horse ranches in the world in the early 1950s. The club features hundreds of mature pecan trees and gently rolling land meandering through eight strategically placed lakes, creating water hazards on 17 holes. The course is also very walkable - a rarity for modern Texas courses.

Montgomery said Old Orchard is really a throwback to the 1920s when golf courses were built on prime pieces of land (which it still is, obviously). "It was a gorgeous piece of property," he said.

What's in store for Montgomery now? This summer, he formed a golf management

Old Orchard Golf Club 13134 FM 1464 Richmond, TX Phone: (281) 277-3300

company that runs another 27-hole facility: Gleannloch Farms in Spring, located just northwest of Houston. He plans to open a golf school there with son Jackie at the beginning of the year.

"Jackie really likes the traditional end of the business - teaching and playing," said

Montgomery. "And he's an excellent teacher."

Any opinions expressed above are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of the management. The information in this story was accurate at the time of publication. All contact information, directions and prices should be confirmed directly with the golf course or resort before making reservations and/or travel plans.