PLAYING A FEW HOLES TO END A DAY....

--- Adendum: During the Board Meeting of September 19, the topic of "Flip-Flopping" the back nine with the front nine was in the agenda. This is an issue that has been discussed all year long among members, most of whom favor the change, and as I understand, an idea that had been discussed before, but never voted on. This time the Board decided to put it up for vote once and for all, and it was voted that as of October 1st, the nines will be changed, where what is now #1 will be #10, and vice versa.  

"Big Ron" working on a
plugged sprinkler.

--- No, I didn't do a "rain dance" to bring rain (maybe Ed Hughes did), but if I ever had the desire to dance in the rain, it was last Thursday, a day which started and ended with rain.... You can certainly see the difference in the course and the tones of green. Kudos to our maintenance department who has kept the greens in great shape throughout this drought (we've had nothing but compliments about our greens)!

--- The Apache Corporation tournament organizers had a little scare last Thursday, as the rain came right before and during the first nine holes of their annual golf outing. In the end, it was not necessary to delay the tee time or to reschedule the event, as the rain was just enough to help the turf, but not so severe to make it too uncomfortable for the players (many of whom came from as far as 6 hours away), who were eager to get on the course. Kudos to the players, led by Elk City Golf & C.C. members Donny Burson and Jeremy Greene, who made sure everyone treated the course well under the soft conditions. Thank you!

--- The Cary Hall Memorial Tournament scheduled for this coming Saturday (Sep. 24th), is filling up fast. So far there are 13 teams signed up (to check the list of teams, click the temporary link under Cary Hall Memorial on the far right of the page). Entry fee is $450 per team. Bobby Wechsler and Sean Davis are co-chairmen of the event. Organizers have ordered 20 rental carts on top of the 15 rental carts we have at the club, so please let us know how many rental carts will your group need when you sign up.

--- Thank you to Dr. Dave Bank for lending us the book "Golf in Oklahoma". One of the chapters deals with Elk City Golf & C.C. and its origins. If any one of you have any information concerning the club, please pass it on! For those interested in a little history, we will be publishing the history of the golf course at a later date.

--- Congratulations to Alexis Thompson who became the youngest player ever to win an LPGA event. I heard on TV that winning does not qualify her for an exemption in the LPGA Tour and that she still needs to go to LPGA Qualifying school. That is nonsense, she has more than proven herself! One wonders if LPGA Qualifying School is only about money in the LPGA coffins. In all, it is three stages, stages I and II (about 200 girls each), charges $1,500 per girl. Stage III charges $2,500. It does not include accommodations. Many good aspiring professionals cannot afford the fees so they stay out and try to enter tournaments through the Monday qualifying rounds. Unlike the PGA Tour, there is no prize money in any of the qualifying stages. The lack of prize money allows amateurs to enter the qualifying tournament and stay amateur if they do not make it through Stage III. Frankly, the wording of "amateur status" should be changed in the USGA Rule book. Wonder why the LPGA is getting thin in American players and why 50% of LPGA events are now in Asia?

--- On another note, don't forget to cheer blue, red & white this weekend in the Solheim Cup. For those who are not aware, the Solheim Cup was started by Karsten Solheim (if you want to read about a great immigrant inventor turned American, read his story in "Karsten's Way"), founder of Ping Golf. The Solheim Cup is the women's version of the Ryder Cup where 12 players represent the U.S.A. against 12 players from Europe. Currently, U.S.A. holds the Cup and there is no version of the President's Cup (this coming November in Melbourne,m Australia) where the U.S.A. plays against the rest of the world without Europe. The Solheim Cup will be held in Ireland (for TV times and more info, click here).