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Local Golf Course NewsFuzzy Zoeller Looks For Business Opportunityat Edgewater Golf Club By: JW FarquharJust after participating in the2010 Augusta Masters FuzzyZoeller came to Edgewater GolfClub in Lancaster, South Carolina. Heis considering Edgewater to be one ofhis signature golf communities. Edgewater’shead pro Jeremy Allen introducedme to Fuzzy, and the conversationstarted something like this:JW: Hi Fuzzy. My name is JW FarquharFuzzy: (laugh) What is that nameagain?JW: JW Farquhar (laughing too)Fuzzy: (laugh) Where did you get thathandle from? (laugh) Where have Iheard that Name before?After explanations about JackieGleason’s Gaylord Farquhar, Scotland’sFarquharson Province, and the FarquharsonCastle where Queen Elizabethonce resided, the conversation settleddown to wine, vodka, golf, and the originationof his name “Fuzzy”. Didn’t theword Fuzzy come from many of thefuzzy jokes that he told on the tour?“My name Fuzzy comes from myinitials F.U.Z., which stands for FrankUrban Zoeller”, he responded.Finally one of golfdom’s great mysterieshas been solved.Fuzzy has endeared himself to golftour galleries for putting fun back intoprofessional golf. While at the recentMasters Par Three Contest a loud cheeringcould be heard from downtown Augustato the banks of the SavannahRiver. No it wasn’t Tiger sinking a 50foot putt, or Mickelson’s hole-in-one. Itwas Zoeller. Fuzzy chose four boys fromthe gallery to hit tee shots for his foursomeon the famous par-3 12th hole, andoffered an autographed $100 bill to anywho could hit the green. Only the lastone “Bobby Jones” reached the green,and the crowd went wild.Zoeller is unique in the field of professionalgolf tournament players in thathe breaks the tension and utter seriousnessthat comes with competition on thetour. Like Trevino he is popular for hisrapport with the gallery. He demonstratesthat you can still have fun whenyou enjoy what you do.However, Fuzzy’s outstanding personalityshould not overshadow his talentas a golfer. His professional winstotal 19 with 10 on the PGA Tour and 2on the Champions tour. He won the USOpen in 1984 at Winged Foot Golf Clubby defeating Greg Norman in an 18 holeplayoff by 8 strokes. Fuzzy is most famousfor waving a white flag after Normantied him on the 72nd hole with along putt. Greg Norman returned thejoke by waving the white flag after losingthe playoff.Fuzzy Zoeller is the only rookiewho won the Masters in his first appearance.Of course this does not include thefirst two Masters when Horton Smithand Gene Sarazen won. In 1985 FuzzyZoeller was voted the Bob Jones Award,the highest honor given by the UnitedStates Golf Association to recognize distinguishedsportsmanshipin golf.So what doeswine and vodkahave to do Fuzzy?Zeoller branchedout his businessties again last yearentering the marketplacewith aFuzzy Zoellernew vodka —Fuzzy’s Ultra Premium Vodka. Whilemost vodka is filtered three to five times,Fuzzy’s Ultra Premium Vodka is slowlyfiltered ten times through charcoal andcrushed volcanic rock. The result hasbeen an instant success. The Indiana distributorfor Fuzzy’s Ultra PremiumVodka sold out his entire inventorywithin the first week. When asked whyhe chose vodka instead of a wine productlike Greg Norman, this is what he said.“I don’t drink wine. Vodka is mydrink and I decided to create somethingthat was superior. After checking withmany distillers, I chose one that gave methe smoothest taste. My Ultra PremiumVodka has been awarded the prestigiousgold medal and an unusually high ratingof 94 by Chicago’s International BeverageTesting Institute.”Zoeller is also an accomplishedgolf course architect with 24 golfcourses to his credit. When asked whathe thought about Edgewater, he responded,“It’s a beautiful course”.The Edgewater site is http://www.edgewatergc.com.An 18 hole Edgewatertee-to-green photo tour can be seen athttp://www.golfholes.com/sc/edgewater-golf.htm.Fuzzy Zoeller’s site ishttp://www.fuz.com.JW Farquhar is president of Golfholes.com, andExecutive Board member of the Carolinas GolfReporters Assoc. and a member of InternationalNetwork of Golf.____________________________________________________________________________ CAROLINA GOLF JOURNAL - SUMMER 2010 – 19