Denny Hepler has been around the golf industry for most of his adult life and has seen – and done – quite a bit. He played his collegiate golf at Ball State University before transferring to Florida State University where he was a First Team All-Conference selection, he advanced to three NCAA finals during his college career. Denny turned pro in 1978, obtained his PGA card in 1986, and rose quickly up the world rankings, ultimately reaching No. 158. He was also the first American to win the Malaysian Open in 1982. Denny played on the PGA TOUR and played…
Author: David Theoret
David Theoret
The Golfin’ Guy aka David (or Dave, but never Davey) Theoret grew up in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, where it was naturally assumed he would play hockey. Beginning at the age of 3 and continuing into his late 30's, he did just that. However, after one too many pucks to the head, he realized that golf was a lot easier on the body and took the game up. Whoever said hockey players were slow? Since that time, golf has become his passion – just ask Belinda. From 2003 until 2009, David ran the sales and marketing department of TravelGolf Media and took his team to over $1M in annual advertising revenue. While at TravelGolf, an editor told him he had a flair for writing and the lightbulb came on. He started writing articles about anything golf related: courses, destinations, resorts, shoes, apparel, equipment and training aids and sending them to websites and magazines. At first, his articles were picked up by a few golf websites and magazines, but the number steadily grew – enough that he could call it a career. Most days he’s on a course somewhere, either working or playing. Actually, to him playing IS work. Occasionally you’ll find him on the practice range reinforcing bad habits. David plays to a 12 handicap - unless there is money involved in which case it goes considerably higher. He currently resides in Lakeland, FL with his wife Belinda and their two "kids", Louie and Molly.
Golfers in the Commonwealth of Kentucky need to look no further than their state park system when looking for challenging and affordable golf opportunities. There are three state parks in the southwestern part of the state that could be packaged together as part of a Kentucky State Parks golf outing. Each of these parks has a bevy of lodging and dining options as well as plenty of things to do for the entire family. Lake Barkley State Resort Park Golf Course in Cadiz, Kentucky is not a course you will find by accident but once you get there you’ll be…
There are only a few places in the USA that have a history as rich as that of Woodford County, KY. For starters, Woodford County was established as one of the nine counties that made up what was originally known as the “District of Kentucky.” It was originally part of Virginia and was the last of the nine counties organized when the State of Kentucky was admitted to the Union in 1792. As a county in Virginia, Woodford was considered part of Fayette County, VA. It was named for William Woodford, an American Revolutionary War general from Virginia who was…
Southern Trace Country Club in Shreveport is a club on the rise and their goal is to become the best country club value in the state of Louisiana. What happened this past July signified the beginning of this transformation. Southern Trace Country Club in Shreveport, Louisiana opened in 1988. Since 2000 ClubCorp had owned and managed the property. On July 1st, Southern Trace’s members purchased the club’s assets from ClubCorp. It took the entire membership base of about 800 including golf, tennis, and social members to buy into the plan and accept the changes, and once that happened, the changes…
Timberline Golf Club has been offering golfers of all calibers a challenge since opening its doors in 2002 and now the course has even more to offer. More about that in a minute. The course is not without its share of accolades and has been pegged as one of Alabama’s Top 10 Courses You Can Play by Golf Week Magazine. Timberline is located near Calera, AL in Shelby County. The golf course was designed by PGA TOUR professional Jerry Pate who does a great job of blending the golf course with the natural landscape to create an aesthetic experience that…
Golfers visiting the Crossville, TN area have more courses to choose from than most towns of the same size. After all, Crossville is recognized as The Golf Capital of Tennessee. I think there are 10 courses in the area, with some big-name designers like Ron Garl, Jack Nicklaus, and Joe Lee. One local layout is the Lake Tansi Golf Course, which has been rated one of the Top 10 courses in Tennessee by Golf Advisor and has played host to the Johnny Majors Invitational as well as the TN Section PGA Team Championship. Recently, readers of the Crossville Chronicle awarded…
Golfers in the Nashville area have a plethora of choices when it comes to playing golf and many of them opt to play at the Legacy in Springfield, TN. The Legacy was designed by PGA Hall of Famer Raymond Floyd and opened in 1996. Golf Advisor has ranked The Legacy the #2 Public Course in Tennessee and one round on the course will validate this rating. From the back tees The Legacy plays 6,776-yards; 5 sets of tees provide suitable yardages so that any level of golfer will have a great time. The Legacy is a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary,…
The Breakers Resort in Palm Beach, Florida has a history that dates back to the late 1890s. As industry tycoons and wealthy socialites began flocking to the pristine shores of Palm Beach Henry M. Flagler, one of America’s great industrialists and founder of The Breakers saw the opportunity to purchase land and build grand estate hotels. It was their founder, who started the trend of grand, gorgeous properties on the island. His first was The Royal Poinciana, followed two years later by The Breakers. Twice the latter was destroyed by fire – in 1903 and 1925 – only to reemerge…
Bald Head Island is by no means an easy place to get to; it’s not something you’re going to stumble across by accident, yet it is a special place for a variety of reasons. It’s not far from Wilmington, NC – about a 20-minute ferry ride from Southport, NC actually – so it’s rather secluded. Cars are prohibited on the island, you’ll see yours again when you return via ferry. Once you get to the island the Island Tram will take you and your possessions to your destination, usually a vacation rental. Everything is dog and cat friendly, so long…
Dubois County in Indiana is home to several large businesses: Best Home Furnishings in Ferdinand, Farbest Foods in Huntingburg, and Kimball Electronics and Jasper Engines in Jasper. It is also home to one of the state’s top-ranked golf courses, Sultan’s Run, a true golfing masterpiece. Since the course opened in 1992, Sultan’s Run has received its fair share of accolades including Indiana Golf Course of the year by INGCOA in 2015 and the #6 Course to Play in Indiana by Golfweek, Magazine in 2019. They have also hosted some prestigious golf events including the 2016 Indiana PGA Senior Open, Web.Com…