Kissing Tree Golf Club Bistro

Kissing Tree was named after a famous tree that locals dubbed “the kissing tree.” It was under the shady branches of this San Marcos live oak tree that Sam Houston gave a peck on the cheek to all the ladies who had gifted him a handmade Texas flag. The bistro name, “The Stump” was inspired by the “stump speeches” Sam Houston gave during his campaign for Governor of Texas.

I was brought in to decorate the bistro. The furniture was already in place but they needed some warmth and texture in the room. Because Texas has produced some of the world's greatest golfers, it made sense for us to tell that story on the large blank wall in the space. I gathered old photos, magazines, and relics from the rich history of Texas golf and in that process I discovered something I wasn’t looking for.

Many of the most famous icons of Texas golf had met each other at young ages and their friendships spanned decades. The centerpiece of the installation is a perfect example; a photo of Harvey Penick, perhaps one of the most famous golf instructors in the world, with his pupils and good friends, Ben Crenshaw and Tom Kite, decades after they met by chance at a golf course in Austin.