Rancho Sierra Golf Course

Newsletter for August, 2008

Golf at the Olympics
Juniors Program Finishes Strong
Adult-Junior Alternate Shot Tournament this Saturday
Glowball Tournament a Great Success
Shirley's Corner
Men's Club News
Tips from the Pro
Rules Corner
Superintendent's Corner
Junior Golf Development Program Coming Soon

Hi Everyone,

I'm sure most of you have been watching the Summer Olympics in Beijing for the last week or two. It's been pretty exciting watching Michael Phelps win eight gold metals, the women's gymnastics with Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson win gold and silver in several events, Misty May and Kerri Walsh dominate in Women's Beach Volleyball, the Men's and Women's Basketball Teams, and the list goes on and on.

Golf in the Olympics

What about golf? Did you know that at one time, golf was an Olympic sport? It's been awhile

however. The last time golf was in the Olympics was in 1904 at the Games of the III Olympiad in St. Louis. It was the second and final appearance of the golf at the Olympics. The men's team event was new, replacing the women's individual event of 1900. The men's individual event was switched to a match play tournament rather than the stroke play used four years earlier.

Interestingly, only the U.S. and Canada participated in golf in 1904. The U.S. won the (men's) individual silver (Chandler Egan), and two bronze (tie between Burt McKinnie and Francis Newton) and team gold, silver, and bronze. Canada won the individual gold (George Lyon). I bet you didn't know that Lyon started playing golf at the age of 38 and won the gold metal eight years later at 46.

You may have heard that there is an ongoing movement to get golf back into the Olympics. In fact, Greg Norman is an outspoken advocate of this, as is the current commissioner of the PGA, Tim Finchem. Phil Mickelson, Jim Furyk, Ernie Els and several other professional golfers have come out in favor of Olympic golf. Chicago is the U.S. city in the running to be the host city in 2016, which is the earliest that golf could be added back into the summer games. Chicago has some great golf courses that could serve as the venue. Note that Tiger Woods, who in the past has been lukewarm on the subject, will be 40 in 2016. But hey, George Lyon was 46 when he won the golf gold in 1904. Just think; we could have a Lyon followed by a Tiger as Olympic Golf winners, 112 years apart.

The final decision on Olympic golf will not be made until October, 2009. One complication is the scheduling. Every four years, the Summer Games typically arrive about the same time as the PGA Championship. One writer suggested making the PGA championship and the Men's Olympic golf individual contest the same tournament once every four years. Also, some opponents think golf is not global enough to be an Olympic sport, although its popularity is spreading, particularly in China.

In the past, many other sports have been in the Olympics and then discontinued, including:

Croquet - last held in 1900,
Polo - last held in 1936 (how do they get those horses in the pool?),
Power Boating - last held in 1908,
Rope Climbing - last held in 1932,
Rugby - last held in 1924 (do you believe it; the U.S. won in 1920 and 1924),
Standing Long Jump - last held in 1908 (won by the U.S. in 1908),
Tug of War - last held in 1920, and
Underwater Swimming - last held in 1900.

Baseball and softball will not be part of the 2012 Olympics. They will be replaced by squash and karate.

For more information on Olympic Golf, see wikipedia or topendsports.

Rancho Sierra Juniors Program Finishes Strong

The Junior Program sessions have come to and end. The juniors had a great time and we received some great feedback from the juniors as well as the parents. Because of the overwelming positive reaction from the parents and the kids, and because the instructors had a great time teaching the juniors, we plan to start another junior golf program in the Fall.

But wait. All is not lost! This Saturday Rancho Sierra will hold the big Junior/Adult Tournament. Anyone can register. Please inquire at the pro shop, call 661-946-1080, or email me at john@ranchosierragolf.com. Also see the next section for more information.

John

Adult-Junior Golf Tournament This Saturday

You or your junior don't have be in the the Juniors Program to participate in our 1st Annual

Adult-Junior Golf Tournament scheduled for this Saturday, August 23rd. This will be a great time for both adults and juniors. The tournament has a 9-hole alternate shot format, with a BBQ after golf. This is unique chance to have some quality family golf time with fathers or mothers playing golf with their sons or daughters. Or grandparents and grandkids, Uncles and neices, aunts and nephews. Any adult and junior can form a team, you don't need to be related to your partner. We'll have our new juniors tees on the course so smaller juniors can tee off closer to the green.

This tournament is really for fun - to get juniors and adults together - and to be a learning experience for junior golfers. But we will award prizes to golfers so they can get the flavor of tournament golf (and because it is more fun that way). The staff will do all we can to make everyone's afternoon very enjoyable.

It's not too late to register for the tournament. For more information, click here. By last count we have about 15 two person teams that have promised to play, and the limit is 25, so if you and your junior are interested, don't wait until the last minute. You can always call the golf course at (661) 946-1080 to reserve a spot of your team.

The 5th Annual Rancho Sierra Glowball Tournament

For Fun; For a Good Cause

The 5th Annual Rancho Sierra Glowball Tournament was held Saturday, August 16 under a full moon. Over 50 golfers in 13 teams enjoyed 9 holes under the sun and 9 hole under the moon with a great BBQ in between. In addition to 1st-3rd place team prizes, games ranged from closest to the pin to long drive to beat the pro and in the circle. A partial list of winners is:

1st Place team

Tony ABRAMS
Jacques ARNOLD
Bobby GRIFFEN
Joey CHEWNING

2nd Place Team

Mike DALGLEISH
Terri GALGLEISH
Weston DALGLEISH
Joe LEWIS

In the Circle Winner(s):            Bobby GRIFFEN

Beat the Pro Winners(s):          Mike DALGLEISH
Longest Drive - Women:          Rhonda GARZA
Longest Drive - Men:               Joey CHEWNING

The biggest winner of all was Ronald McDonald Houses of Southern California. Thanks primarily to the generosity of the golfers, the event raised over $500 for this charity. And of course, without donations from the generous individuals and businesses of the Antelope Valley, we couldn't have had a raffle at all. Thank you to the following businesses (I'm very sorry if we missed anyone):

Donors	Donors
A.V. Country Club	All About Me Salon
Barones Pizza	Bed Bath And Beyond
Best Source Nuts and Bolts	Borders Book Store
Cold Stone Creamery	Desert Aire Golf Course
Fashion Flower	Fosters Freeze
Green Tree Golf Club	Harley Davidson
High Desert Broadcasting	John Yates
Kathy McGinn	Linens and Things
Lou Arnold	Mainstreet Candles
Medranos Mexican Restaurant	Mulligan Family Fun Center
Nick’s Pizzeria	Oak Tree Country Club
Olive Garden	RadioShack
Rancho Sierra Golf Course	Reiging Cats & Dogs, Inc
Rite Aid	The Ruiz Family
Sam’s Club	Shirley Pfund
Spudnuts Donuts	Steer N Stein
Steve Whitson	Texas Cattle Company
The Whole Wheatery	Tierra Del Sol Golf Club - Cal City
Tracy Emans

If I missed any donor, my sincerest apologies.

Thank you very much!
We couldn't have such a successful event without your generous support!

Also thanks to employees John, Tracy, Sam V., Sam A. for working extra hard, and volunteers John Y., Tony A. and others who I'm sure I forgot. A special thanks to Shirley, who worked tirelessly to make this event great, including procuring most of the raffle prizes, purchasing the food, glowballs, and performing many other tasks.

Shirley's Corner: News from the Clubhouse

Hi Everyone,

First off I want to thank all of you who signed up for our 5th Annual Glowball Tournament. Wow what a night Saturday turned out to be! A full moon, lots of raffle prizes, yummy food, great golf and great group of golfers. I don’t know about the rest of you who showed up for our glow ball tournament, but I had a great time. It was a lot of work and I want to thank Tim for stepping in and helping out and to the staff. THANK YOU! I couldn’t do it without your help. Each year it gets better and some people are already talking about signing up for the next one.

Whoa Now! I need to recuperate from this one, but there will be a next one. For all of you reading this, tell your friends to sign up on our e-club (feel free to forward them this message) and they can get all our news directly from our web site. We have several more tournaments in the next few months, including our 1st Annual Adult-Junior Golf Tournament on Saturday. Our Halloween Tournament is in October and is always spooky fun. Sign up and come out in costume and win a prize for best costume. Take a look at our picture board along the back wall of the pro shop. We have the past 3 Halloween tournaments framed.

From the Starters Desk: Please try to remember to have your Rancho Sierra Golf Card with you and have our starter slide it every time you purchase green fees, cart, range balls. ANYTHING! You get Rancho Rewards Points for each purchase which are as good as money at Rancho Sierra. If you don’t have a card, ask the starter and they will give you one with information about it and free points to get you started. If you don’t have your card with you, but you do have one, also let us know since we can still put Rancho Rewards Points on your account even without your card. If you have any questions about almost anything (except on where to get a good golf game, because I am still looking), I can be found at the course Saturday thru Wed and most Fridays.

One more thing. We're about to start recarpeting the deck. Including the installation of the plywood subfloor, this project should take less than a week. For a short period of time on one or two days, golfers may have to use the alternate entrance to the clubhouse. We're sorry iin advance for any inconvenience this may cause. The deck should look pretty good by the time the project is complete! I can't wait.

See you soon!

Shirley

Rancho Sierra Men's Club News

We now have Bob Gonzales, Treasurer of the Men's Club, keeping us up-to-date on Men's Club events and happenings. Bob, take it away ...

Hi,

This is Bob Gonzales from the Men's Club. Have you thought about joining the Rancho Sierra Men’s Club? The Sunday Club currently tees off at 7 am every Sunday morning and the Midweek (Tuesday and Thursday) Club tees off at 8 am. For membership registration and information, go to the Events section at www.RanchoSierraGolf.com.

The Men’s Club consists of golfers of various ages (up to 90) and ability. The handicaps range from a low of 5 all the way up to 32 so there’s a place for everyone. You never have to worry about getting your buddies up for a foursome, we’ll pair you with other club members who’ll gladly help the new members.

What are the advantages of joining the Men’s Club? The biggest advantage is that you also become a member of the Southern California Golf Association (SCGA). The SCGA provides you with a membership card, bag tag, and most importantly, establishes your golf handicap. The SCGA also offers discounts to green fees throughout the state and makes you eligible for all SCGA tournaments and events. For more info on the SCGA, go to www.SCGA.org.

Other advantages of Club membership:

Reduced green fees for club events
Friendly and fun competition among golfers of similar ability
Eligibility for monthly and quarterly tournaments
A guaranteed Tee-time every Sunday, Tuesday, or Thursday

In addition to weekly tournaments, upcoming events include the October 2-day tournament. If you would like more information, please come to an event or email us at RSMensGolf@aol.com.

Congratulations to the following Men’s Club winners:

Presidents Cup: Tony Abrams
Runner Up: Richard Smith

Summer Classic Update

The Men’s Club Summer Classic was held on Sunday, August 10^th. Congratulations to the following winners:

Teams

1st Place Paul Burgerner and Bobby Griffen 19 under par
2nd place Tim Garcher and John Yates 17 under par
3rd place Herman Rodriguez and Bob Pfund 15 under par
4th place Ralph Cottell and David Smith 13 under par
4th place Joey Chewning and Donnie Green 13 under par

Individual Low Net

Low Division: 1st Place (tie) Tim Garcher 59
Herman Rodriguez 59

High Division: 1st Place: Bobby Griffith 54
2nd Place Donnie Green 65

Your name could be up here next. We hope to see you at an event soon!

Bob

Tips from the Pro

So, you push your drive off the tee and now you’re stuck under another tree. What should you do?

Take a look at your surroundings. While doing so, think of what shots you have in your arsenal. Are you far enough from the tree to play a fade or draw? Do you have to go to a bit of an extreme and play a hook or slice? Are you close enough to the green and far enough away from the tree to play a flop shot? Or do you have to pull out a 5-iron and play a low punch shot and roll it to the green? Or, do you have to suck it up and play a small punch shot to put you in the middle of the fairway?

There are a lot of shots and different ways to get yourself out of trouble (and sometimes into even more). Golf is a game of recovery shots. I can’t tell how many times I have completely messed up a tee shot and because of my recovery game have been able to save par (or in some cases a bogey). When in a situation like that above, or any trouble situation, play it smart. Think of what is most practical and what shot you KNOW you can make 4 out of 5 times. DO NOT go for the “Hail Mary” between two branches over the water shot (unless you are just goofing around or really want to lose that ball). It is best to suck it up, punch into the fairway and sacrifice a stroke to save two.

John Chopp
Head Teaching Professional
Rancho Sierra Golf Course

Rules Corner

Fun Relief

I was sent an email about this, so I thought I would address it so everyone would know. If your ball comes to rest on cart path, you get full relief of swing and stance. The relief is to the nearest point of relief. That means, if the nearest point of relief is behind a tree…..oh well. There was a situation where Tiger Woods’ ball came to rest on a concrete cart path. The question I was emailed was, “why did Tiger hit off the cart path, doesn’t he get relief?” He DOES get relief however he does not have to take it. He can choose to hit it off the cart path. The nearest point of relief could have put him in a worse position.

I love getting questions. If you have a question, please email me at john@ranchosierragolf.com.

John Chopp
Head Teaching Professional
Rancho Sierra Golf Course

Superintendent's Corner

Hi Everyone,

We have recently finished verticutting all the greens and the putting green. I want to thank you all for your patience as we did this during the morning when some of you had to put up with temporary greens. The greens will take a few weeks to respond to this, but they will improve in the long run. The process of verticutting has two purposes. First, it cuts up the vine-like turf allowing the grass to grow in thicker and stronger. Second, it thatches. This means that it pulls out all of the dead and loose grass trapped beneath the newer healthy grass. This also allows the greens to breathe and grow in thicker and stronger. We pulled out a trailer full of dead and loose grass on each green….wow!! It was in definite need of verticutting. This is why the greens look “bare”. This bareness, however, will quickly grow in.

Verticutting is not nearly as destructive as punching/aerating the greens, which takes cores or plugs out of the turf. While it is very difficult to put on newly aerated greens, greens that have just been verticutted are very playable.

This week (on Thursday, August 21), we are starting to aerate the tee boxes. This isn't very disruptive for playability since most golfers use tees on tee boxes, except for some par 3. Even with par 3 holes, since you can place the ball, you can avoid the aerated spots.

Thanks to Richard Ross, our irrigation specialist, we now have a larger pump to irrigate the fairways and greens during the day. This means that we can further work on the dry areas that are so strongly affected by the strong winds and high heat.

Junior Player Development Program Coming Soon

Due to the positive feedback and the demand for our juniors programs and events, we are going to introduce a Junior Player Development Program in September. All e-club members will receive an email describing our program within the next two weeks.

That's it for this month. Thanks for reading. Have a great time on the golf course.

Sincerely,

Gift Cards Now Available
Gift Cards are now available online and at the club. Gift Cards may be purchased for any amount and are redeemable for golf, merchandise, lessons & dining. Simply stop in the golf shop to purchase your gift card or shop on line.