The Tower Tee Family Golf and Recreation Complex opened in 1963 in suburban St. Louis. The facility expanded through the years until it now includes an 18-hole par-3 track, a driving range, a short game area, a mammoth putting green, a miniature golf course and batting cages.
Roy Lotz, a carpenter, started Tower Tee. It has stayed in the family and is now considered a St. Louis landmark.
"We have a great little par-3 course," Bob Gaus said. "We usually sneak around once a day with a foursome. You can play it in about 45 minutes, so the money changes hands very quickly."
Gaus is the teaching pro at Tower Tee. He keeps busy giving lessons, when he's not occupied with the 25 or so tournaments that make up the schedule for the Gateway Section of the PGA of America.
"I've been the [Gateway] Player of the Year six times," Gaus said. "I'm leading the points right now, so I have a good shot at No. 7."
Gaus gave up some ground earlier this month with a 78 in the Page & Tuttle Pro Open. This inflated score came at the Far Oaks Golf Club in Caseyville, Ill., where the tees can be stretched to 7,083 yards.
The task is somewhat larger (and longer) for Gaus this week. He is among 20 club pros and instructors who have qualified for this week's PGA Championship at Hazeltine National in Chaska.
"This is my fourth time in this tournament," he said. "My last major was the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines. I thought that was long, but man, this is way over 7,600 yards."
