Time is really slipping forward. March 26th will be here before you know it. It is the deadline for entry registration in the 2012 Las Vegas Classic at The National Golf Club in Las Vegas. This year 
promises to be even more exciting than previous years with the attraction of a strong field playing for increased prize money!
It all gets started on 22 April with a clinic by Classic past champion and Butch Harmon teaching professional, Vic Wilk, followed by a cocktail reception that evening. Competition gets under way the next day on 23 April with professionals and amateurs competing in separate fields.
This is truly a special year with the guaranteed first prize of $10,000 so graciously donated by a Persimmon Tour fan who has elected to remain anonymous. There will be other prizes as well for both professionals and amateurs and media coverage may be in the cards this year due to anticipated participation of names recognizable from the PGA Tours.
The Venue
The National is a classically unique and historic venue, rich in tradition dating back to the 1960s. PGA and LPGA events staged in Las Vegas have a long list of accomplished winners that have hoisted their trophy at The National over the years. It’s where Tiger Woods won his first PGA tournament in
1996. Other winners at The National include Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino, Lanny Wadkins, Al Geiberger, Davis Love III, and Jim Furyk. The Course record 63 was initially set by Arnold Palmer in 1967 during the Tournament of Champions. The record held for 24 years until it was broken in 1991 when Tom Kite shot 62. David Graham has also shot a 62 to tie the course record.
The National has become a landmark over the last 50 years. It was host to the movie “Casino”, starring Robert DeNiro, Sharon Stone and Joe Pesci. Current Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman also had a cameo role. The house used in the movie sits off to the left of the #1 Tee Box between the #1 and #18 fairways.
During the 1960’s, The National played host to the big names of the Strip. The Rat Pack frequently played golf then spent time in the bar. Although all 4 became good players in their own right, it was 
widely known that Dean Martin and Peter Lawford were the ones to beat. Locals tell great stories about late night matches under the glow of the driving range lights. Many nights would have Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Peter Lawford, Joey Bishop and Sammy Davis Jr. around the piano, entertaining their guests with songs and stories, enjoying the cuisine at the National.
The National has a long history in the Las Vegas Valley. Just after completion in 1961, The National, then called the Stardust Country Club, hosted its first professional golf event, the LPGA Championship. From that date forward history was made. The layout, designed by Bert Stamps, is traditional in design and even today is a challenge for the best of players. The National has become a landmark over the last 50 years.
Traditional Tournament Golf
In order for scores and records to mean anything in the history of golf, a level playing field is required. Imagine juicing up the baseball and introducing aluminum bats in Major League Baseball, then hanging current record-breakers next to revered champions of eras past. Not only is it illogical and unfair, it is irreverent. Doing this negates the accomplishments of past and present players.
Golf suffers from this disrespect and inequity, tilting the playing field in favor of marketing objectives of major brand golf equipment and apparel. In order to level the playing field to its natural state, Persimmon Tour offers guidelines and rules for equitable golf competition on our Rules page.
Golf Clubs & Balls
Perhaps the greatest controversy in golf in the past three decades has been the ongoing discourse regarding golf equipment. First touted as game improvement features, such as new steel alloys that allowed perimeter weighting of club heads, the early modifications began pushing the envelope of conforming specifications and offered some advantage to golfers who hit the ball inconsistently all over the club face.
The initial stretching of the conventional concept of a golf club seemed innocent enough in giving the mid to high handicap amateur a helping hand because it didn’t offer tour players any significant advantage at the onset. But in the manner of encroachment and attrition, the gradual erosion of established standards opened the door for equipment manufacturers to proliferate unchecked for the most part.
Liberties taken with orthodox golf club design are only half of the equation. Golf ball design variances over the past three decades have had an equally profound impact on the divergence from the established norm for conventional golf.
For a great discussion of golf clubs and balls be sure to visit the Traditional Golf Society Equipment page.
