SALADO - Ralph Harris, director of golf at Mill Creek Golf Club, tells a humorous story.

It was early in May of last year when two-time Masters champion Ben Crenshaw and former Florida governor Jeb Bush, brother of then-President George Bush, stopped in for a round of golf prior to some pre-wedding events for the president’s daughter Jenna.

“There was a kid working in the pro shop who didn’t have that much of a golf background,” he begins. “Well, the kid made Ben Crenshaw pay a green fee. And old Ben’s gracious so he pays, and the kid says, ‘Thank you, Mr. Crenshaw, enjoy your round.’ He didn’t have any idea who he was.

“Then the kid turned to Jeb Bush, who was wearing jeans, and we don’t allow jeans, and he said, ‘Sir, you can’t play. But if you’ll leave your driver’s license or credit card with me, I’m authorized to loan you some rain pants and you can wear them instead.’

“These other guys with them, security guys, were cracking up. So old Jeb pulls out a credit card and leaves it with the pro shop kid. And after the round when Jeb Bush turned in those rain pants, those security guys were still laughing.”

Harris apologized profusely that day to the Texas golfing legend and the president’s younger brother - both of whom took the events in stride.

But the story says something more about Mill Creek, where even fame and prestige take a backseat to the real star of the show - a 27-hole layout designed by world-renowned golf course architect Robert Trent Jones Jr.

edrennan@temple-telegram.com