Rancho Sierra Golf Course

E-Newsletter for July, 2008

Even though mid-summer is typically a slower time of year for Rancho Sierra, we keep busy. Our Juniors Program has just started up, we have had some really nice tournaments in the last month. Also, Shirley is busy planning our annual glowball event, which is the hit of the summer for us.

I really enjoy getting out and playing golf in the summer. Since the course is green and lined with trees, it provides a major contrast to the surrounding desert - kind of an oasis in the desert. In the afternoon, we usually get a welcome breeze at Rancho Sierra. It’s just nice and very relaxing, even kind of therapeutic, to be outdoors and to enjoy the scenery and to hit a golf ball. If you're like me and don’t mind the early afternoon heat, you’ll probably be one of the few players on the course. You certainly can’t say that about the golf courses down in LA.

On June 28, we held the last of our four free Juniors Clinics. We had a great turnout, with approximately 15 juniors. For this last clinic, John, Lloyd, and Sam taught the basics as well as some of the fine points on pitching and chipping, which like putting, is an area of golf that can really make a big difference on your score card.

In these clinics, the kids seemed to have a great time.  Whether it was hitting the red cart on the driving range and winning an ice cream, or participating in the putting contest, we tried to make it both fun and instructional. You can tell these kids really like golf since many of them stuck around after the clinic to hit more golf balls. Also, John, Lloyd, and Sam really enjoyed teaching the kids. The juniors were very good, attentive, polite students. Thank you students. Also, a big thank you to the parents for bringing the juniors out to the course.

Last Saturday was the beginning of our junior program. Lloyd Barrett and I were pleased to have six eager juniors learn the fundamentals of the golf swing. The first session of our six week program started off with the take away, proper rotation, how to properly choose a target line, and correct ball placement. This may sound like a lot of information for an hour and a half session, but the juniors had no trouble learning and applying these fundamentals. In just that short amount of time, we could see a huge improvement in each of their swings.

As a reminder, each junior signed up in the program can hit an unlimited amount of range balls for the duration of the program. They can also come out and play the golf course for free with a paid adult from now until the Adult-Junior Tournament which will be held on August 23^rd (go to www.ranchosierragolf.com, click on Events and choose Juniors Program more information). For those of you enrolled in the Juniors Program, Lloyd and I strongly urge you to bring out your junior golfers to practice what they learned on Saturday.

For this week’s session, we will be covering more on the swing. We will give each student the chance to practice more of the fundamentals. Depending on how the group is doing, we may introduce some short game or even some long iron work.

Thanks for bringing out your juniors to enjoy a morning of golf and hopefully they learned a lot. We look forward to seeing you next Saturday.
 

BTW, if your junior couldn’t make the last session, it’s not too late to enroll. Just come out a little before our 8:30 AM start time on Saturday and sign up. Each session  goes until 10 AM, and juniors are welcome to stay later and hit more golf balls.

Rancho Sierra held its first Golf Equipment Swap Meet on Saturday, June 28. This was set up such that interested people could come and sell clubs or buy clubs. There was no charge for selling or buying.

The event was lightly attended, but those that did participate got to exchange some clubs and other golf stuff, and everyone generally had a good time. 

Thanks to all those people that came out to the event.

On Friday, July 12, the Sheriff Boosters came out and held their tournament at Rancho Sierra Golf Course. There were over 40 people that participated in the event. At one point, a representative from the LA County Sheriff’s Department even flew a helicopter in to join the fun.

Everyone really had a blast, eating grilled steaks, boiled crab legs, eating and drinking various adult drinks, and of course, playing golf. Half the tournament was held in the dark with glowballs.

A big thanks goes out to Marvin Crist, President of the Antelope Valley Sheriffs Boosters and Chuck Francey of High Desert Broadcasting for organizing the event.

Staying on the subject of night golf, we are also busy preparing for our own glowball tournament, which will be held on August 16th. If you have never experienced playing golf in the dark, it is unique. The balls and the targets are illuminated, and we will have a full moon that night. Nighttime in the desert in August is great.

Come on out and see for yourself. The first nine holes are played in the evening before it gets dark. Then we have dinner and dessert, and go out for the second nine, this time in the dark.

We only take 48 golfers, so sign up now. For more information see our web site or call the course at (661) 946-1080. I hope to see you there!

As I mentioned previously, we’ve had some really fun tournaments this spring and summer. However, fall in the Antelope Valley is the best time for golf.

There are great dates available for your event. Whether it is a corporate event, a social organization, a team fundraising activity, or just a bunch of friends, book your tournament now. It can be a competitive event or just a fun outing.  We have standard, gold, or platinum tournament packages that you can choose from, or you can design your own event. Prices start as low as $15.50 per person. Call Rancho Sierra at (661) 946-1080 for more information and to schedule your event.

On a sad note: Steve Whitson, our superintendent, recently resigned. Steve was a huge asset for Rancho Sierra and will be missed greatly. He did a lot of great work for the course. Steve played a major role in transforming a slightly rundown course into the course we have today, a course in very good condition and the recipient of many complements every week.

Steve will continue to help us out when he can. We wish him well in his new position, and we hope to continue to see him at the course often in the future.

We're busy looking for a new superintendent. In the interim, Rick, Pedro, John, Adam, and Sam will pick up the extra work. If you see them outside, stop by and say hello!

Rules Corner: The Provisional 

You’re standing on #9 tee box and you have your driver in your hand (which is a big no-no, see the “Tip” below) and you hook your ball into the tree on the left side rough. Before stepping forward you declare to your buddies, “I’m going to hit a provisional.” You go to your bag, and pull out a 5-iron (what you should have hit in the first place) and smoke it up the middle. You go to your 5-iron shot, 125 yards out, and hit your 9-iron, and put it on the green. You go forward 15 yards and see your first ball in the left rough, just past the 100 yard marker. A big grin develops as you tell your buddies you found the first ball (hit by your driver) and you are going to play that one. IS THIS LEGAL??

Absolutely NOT! Once you hit your provisional past your first ball, you put the provisional into play. You are now laying 4 on the green. It helps to be patient, take your allotted five minutes and look for the first ball. Or you could have just hit the 5-iron the first time and saves yourself all the trouble.

Tips from the Pro: Play the Hole Backwards

Here’s a little tip on course management. Many golfers are set on hitting their driver on every tee box. Players who really want to shave strokes off their score should play the hole backwards! Well, not literally of course. Figure out which club you hit accurately 100-125 yards with a full swing, and hit the ball to that distance from the tee box (or from the fairway if a par 5).

Let me give you an example. I hit my sand wedge roughly 100 yards, accurately. If I was playing hole # 1 at Rancho Sierra, which is 288 yards, I want to hit a club that would put me 100 yards out. For me, that would be a 6-iron. If I tee off with a 6-iron and hit it about 190 yards, that will put me at my ideal distance to attack the pin as accurately as possible. If I were to tee off with my driver, which is just about everyone’s most inaccurate club, I would be 10-20 yards from the green (assuming I don’t hit it O.B., into the lake, or into some other fairway). Since I don’t have a 10-20 yard club, I have to resort to a small “feel” shot with a wedge that I rarely practice. This can result in a multitude of unwanted results. To name a few: the chunk shot, the chili dip, the bladed shot, the thin shot, the shank (sorry to use profanity), over shooting the green, and the whiff. Those kinds of shots can be avoided if you were to “play the hole backwards.” Try this the next time you play, I guarantee you will shave strokes, if not, at least you’ll lose less golf balls.

What’s the saying “If you can’t stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen? “Well if the kitchen or your home is too hot, come out to Rancho Sierra Golf Course where we have plenty of shade trees to keep you cool. Play early in the morning when it is still somewhat in the 70’s or later in the day when we have a slight breeze. Ask the starter for a cold towel or buy one of our recently purchased water bottles with a fan attached for only $7.95. It works great; you get a nice cool mist.

Friday the 11th of this month we hosted a glow ball tournament for the Sheriff’s Booster Club. If you’ve never played or watched one it is a sight to see. The course was lit up with glow sticks covering all areas that are hazardous in the dark such as the lakes, creeks, bridges and steps. Also we light up the flag sticks and tee boxes. Everyone playing had a great time and they are already looking forward to the one next year.

On Saturday July 12^th, we held the Flea Flickers tournament. About twenty players scrambled around the course to try and win first place or closest to the pin on our par 3’s or hit the longest drive. After an exciting 18 holes, the golfers inside the clubhouse for one of our great chili cheese dogs or chili Polish dogs.

Speaking of Glowball our 5th annual glowball tournament is scheduled for Aug 16th and it is filling up fast. Come by the course and pick up a registration sheet or sign up here before it is too late. If you are signed up don’t forget to bring a pull cart if you have one for the back 9 and a flashlight.

Is anyone having a Birthday? You could have your own tournament: The 1^st  Annual <your name here> Birthday Golf Tournament. Or just get your family and friends together for a birthday outing at the golf course, bring a picnic lunch and party in our pavilion area or inside the clubhouse. Of course with it being your birthday your green fee is free. What better way to enjoy your birthday but with free golf.

Keep cool and drink plenty of water, this heat can’t last forever. Before we can say “hole in one” it will be winter and we will be complaining it’s too cold. So enjoy the weather, whatever it may be and get out and golf.

Borrowed from Sand-to-Sea Newsletter, Volume 3, Issue 7, July 2008, pp 18-19 

• Don't buy a putter until you've had a chance to throw it.
• Never try to keep more than 300 separate thoughts in your mind during your swing.
• When your shot has to carry over a water hazard, you can either hit one more club or two more balls.
• If you're afraid a full shot might reach the green while the foursome ahead of you is still putting out, you have two options: you can immediately shank a lay-up or you can wait until the green is clear and top a ball halfway there.
• The less skilled the player, the more likely he is to share his ideas about the golf swing.
• Everyone replaces his divot after a perfect approach shot.
• A golf match is a test of your skill against your opponents' luck.
• It is surprisingly easy to hole a fifty foot putt for a 10.
• Nonchalant putts count the same as chalant putts.
• The shortest distance between any two points on a golf course is a straight line that passes directly through the center of a very large tree.
• There are two kinds of bounces; unfair bounces and bounces just the way you meant to play it.
• You can hit a two acre fairway 10% of the time and a two inch branch 90% of the time.
• If you want to hit a 7 iron as far as Tiger Woods does, simply try to lay up just short of a water hazard.
• There are two things you can learn by stopping your back-swing at the top and checking the position of your hands: how many hands you have, and which one is wearing the glove.
• Hazards attract; fairways repel.
• You can put a draw on the ball, you can put a fade on the ball, but no golfer can put a straight on the ball. 

 In addition to mowing, weed whacking, watering, and cleaning and clearing, we always have projects we are working on. Some are on the golf course, like removing dead trees, installing fencing, creating a new tee box, etc. Others have to do with landscaped front area, the driving range, or the clubhouse.

• Punching some fairways. Our fairways get hard or compacted due to golf cart traffic, and because of the clay soil that is typical to the Antelope Valley. To get water down to the roots of the turfgrass, the surface is aerated or punched. We will be punching some of the more compacted fairways this week. This should not inhibit play at all.
• Fertilization of greens and fairways
• Clubhouse – We will be doing some renovation to the clubhouse. In particular, the deck area will be recarpeted and the outside clubhouse will be washed and repainted.
• A tree near  #8 green fell and needs to be cut up and removed.
• Lake work – cattail removal and algae removal is ongoing
• Bring back sand and see bottles to all tee boxes
• Create Juniors tees for the Adult-Junior Tournament in August