Rancho Sierra Golf Course

In this issue ...

Shirley's Corner - News from the Clubhouse
Men's Club News
Excerpt from Tiger Woods Webcast
Tips from the Pro
Rules Corner
Superintendent's Corner

Hi Everybody,

We're finally into real Spring weather in the AV. I think that's a good thing. And with Memorial Day right around the corner and the course looking great, it's time to get out and have some fun.

Have you ever wondered about the origin of Memorial Day. It goes like this:

"It was 1866 and the United States was recovering from the long and bloody Civil War between the North and the South. Surviving soldiers came home, some with missing limbs, and all with stories to tell. Henry Welles, a drugstore owner in Waterloo, New York, heard the stories and had an idea. He suggested that all the shops in town close for one day to honor the soldiers who were killed in the Civil War and were buried in the Waterloo cemetery. On the morning of May 5, the townspeople placed flowers, wreaths and crosses on the graves of the Northern soldiers in the cemetery. At about the same time, Retired Major General Jonathan A. Logan planned another ceremony, this time for the soldiers who survived the war. He led the veterans through town to the cemetery to decorate their comrades' graves with flags. It was not a happy celebration, but a memorial. The townspeople called it Decoration Day."

In Retired Major General Logan's proclamation of Memorial Day, he declared:

"The 30th of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country and during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village and hamlet churchyard in the land. In this observance no form of ceremony is prescribed, but posts and comrades will in their own way arrange such fitting services and testimonials of respect as circumstances may permit."

In 1882, the name was changed to Memorial Day and soldiers who had died in previous wars were honored as well. In the northern United States, it was designated a public holiday. In 1971, along with other holidays, President Richard Nixon declared Memorial Day a federal holiday on the last Monday in May.

Cities all around the United States hold their own ceremonies on the last Monday in May to pay respect to the men and women who have died in wars or in the service of their country. It is a day of reflection. However, to many Americans the day also signals the beginning of summer with a three-day weekend to spend at the beach, in the mountains, outside enjoying your favorite sport, or at home relaxing.

For more information on Memorial Day click here or here.

Have a great Memorial Day!

Shirley's Corner - News From the Clubhouse

Hi Everyone,

Once again where is the time going!?! Mother’s Day has come and gone. I hope all the women, mother’s, sister’s, and friends who golf out here took advantage of the “Mom’s Play for free with a paid golfer” Friday thru Sunday. This was our modest way of saying thank you for playing here from all of us at Rancho Sierra.

It is starting to get into the 90’s so a good time to golf is early in the morning when it is still cool. Late spring and summer mornings in the desert are beautiful. The mornings can fill up fast, particularly on the weekend, so we advise booking a tee time! Also remember to put on your sun screen before playing especially in the afternoon. If you forget it, no worries. We sell Sport Sunscreen Towelettes.

I will be ordering pull carts from Hippo so if you need one, come on out. Ours will be in by the time this newsletter goes out and we always sell them at a great price!

If there are any summer items that you would like us to carry in the pro shop please let one of the starters know and we will try our best to supply it for you. When it starts getting hotter, we will be giving out cold wet towels to those playing golf and practicing on the driving range.

As some of you know I went with my son who is a Jump Master in the Special Forces to San Diego and went skydiving (Tandem) It is and was totally awesome I loved it, and I would do it again. No I wasn’t scared at all. Well one more item marked off my Bucket List. I only have 8 more to go. I need to travel and start playing some of the courses on my list. Pebble Beach which isn’t too far from here is one of them.

With the weather getting hotter please don’t go out into the fields surrounding the course the snakes love to lay in the weeds and wood piles. If bitten don’t run and don’t put on a tourniquet, apply pressure to the bite and call for help.

Drink plenty of water and try and stay cool. Maybe you play like me. I try and hit into the trees so I can stay cool. Well I don’t really try but that is where the ball ends up!

Have a great golf outing and don’t forget to repair all ball marks and divots. Let us know how we can make your morning or afternoon of golf more enjoyable.

Shirley

Men's Club News

Tee Time Changes

Both the Sunday and Midweek Clubs have changed their tee times. Sunday group is now teeing off at 7 am. The Midweek group is now teeing off a 8 am. Please check in at least 10 minutes prior so that we can organize the groups going out. If you’re running late (or overslept) give the course a call and we’ll get you entered in the tournament for the day.

Points Tournaments

Both the Sunday and the Midweek Clubs will be holding their Mid-year Points Tournaments in the month of June. The Midweek Points Tournament will be held Tuesday, May 9. Check with the Midweek Tournament Director to see if you qualify. Totals are posted on the bulletin board. You still have three weeks to accumulate enough points to qualify.

The Sunday Points Tournament will be on June 14. You need 125 points as of May 31 to qualify. 12 golfers have already qualified and there are a few more who need less than 25 points. The Classic is worth 15 points, each Sunday is worth 5 points each, Partners Best Ball, Sweepers, and GOM are also worth additional points. Totals are posted on the bulletin board or you can email us at RSMensgolf@aol.com to confirm your total.

Upcoming Tournaments

Sundays

Date	Game
May 24	Partners Best Ball - Blind Draw
May 31	Flag Tournament
June 7	Poker Hand (rules to be announced)
June 14	Mid-year Points Tournament - Mens Club Meeting
June 21	Fathers Day - Individual Low Net
June 28	Modified Stableford

Tuesdays

Date	Event/game
May 26	Drop Any Two Holes
June 2	Individual Low Net
June 9	Mid year Points Tournament
June 16	Drop Two Holes - will be drawn
June 23	Partners Best Ball High Low
June 30	Low Net

Thursdays

Date	Event/Game
May 21	No Tournament
May 28	Alternate shots - High-Low
June 4	Best 9 front or back
June 11	Drop same two holes - will be drawn
June 18	Criss Cross High Low
June 25	Alternate Shots High Low

Later this summer to be announced: The Presidents Cup and another Away Tournament. We’re looking into going to Primm Valley Golf Course. Details to be announced as they develop.

Bob Gonzales

Tips from The Pro - Tiger Woods on Improving your Game

This is a excerpt from the recent Tiger Woods webcast:

What do you think the most important thing an amateur player can do to improve?

"The most important thing an amateur player can do … practice, and that’s something that my dad has always said to me – is that, you get out of it what you put into it and obviously, if you work hard, you’re going to get results. If you don’t work hard, you’re not going to get results, but more importantly, you don’t really deserve to have any results. You didn’t really go earn it. And I know that a lot of you guys have jobs, and have families, have things to do. You know, you don’t necessarily always have to physically go hit balls all the time, or chip and putt, you can always think about it. That’s something that I think that I’ve done, and over the course of my career, is what’s enabled me to come back from long layoffs and play well, is that I’m always thinking about my next practice session. What do I have to do to get ready…what do I need to get better.? Have a game plan. So when you go out on the range, you don’t just go out there and hit a whole bunch of balls and see what happens. What is my strategy? Today - say I’m losing balls to my right, hitting a bunch of slices. I’m going to try to hit a couple draws today. Just work on that for a little bit – see if I can pull that off. Or I’ve got a little bit of a half hour – go putt for a little bit… I’ve been three putting a lot – well, three putting is usually caused by bad speed… let me go hit some long lag putts… let’s get my speed organized a little bit better… build confidence that way. Every time you go into a practice session, don’t go there just to do it. Go there with a game plan. A game plan to succeed and a game plan to get better for the next time you go out there and play. And hopefully you’ll enjoy your round a little more because obviously your practice session was more valuable."

For the full archived webcast, click here.

Now go out there and play great golf!

Rules Corner - How Many Clubs Can I Play With?

Maximum Number of Clubs

Let's say I am playing in a USGA-sanctioned tournament. I have been using a new driver, but I like my old one as well. In total, have the following clubs in my bag:

1. Driver (old)
2. Driver (new)
3. 3 Wood
4. 5 Wood
5. 3 Iron
6. 4 Iron
7. 5 Iron
8. 6 Iron
9. 7 Iron
10. 8 Iron
11. 9 Iron
12. Pitching Wedge
13. Gap Wedge
14. Sand Wedge
15. 60 degree wedge
16. Putter

I play the tournament which consists of two 18 hole rounds. Am I OK?

Answer

Not exactly. USGA rules allow a maximum of 14 clubs in a bag. Any number below 14 is fine. Above 14, there are penalties.

Also, those 14 clubs cannot be changed during the any one round. You must finish with the 14 you started with. (There are some exceptions in the case of a club breaking. See the next section for details).

However, if you begin with fewer than 14, you may add clubs during a round as long as no delay is caused and as long as the clubs added are not borrowed from another player.

The penalty for exceeding the 14-club rule in match play is a loss of hole for each hole played in violation of the rule, up to two holes lost.

In stroke play the penalty is two strokes for each hole played in violation of the rules, with a maximum of four strokes.

So if I caught my mistake after the first round, I am penalized the maximum of four strokes. If I didn't catch the mistake until after the second round, the penalty is four strokes for each round, for a total of eight strokes.

Replacement of Clubs During Tournament Play

If one of my clubs broke during tournament play, can I replace it?

Answer

Yes, but it depends how it was broken and how I am able to replace it.

If I got upset and wrapped it around a tree or chucked it in a lake, I can't replace it. If I used it as a walking stick or to clean off my shoes and it broke, I can't replace it. If it broke while actually playing hitting a golf shot, then I can replace it. However, there are some restrictions as to how I can replace it.

I can't borrow a club from a player. I can go and get it from my car or the clubhouse, or get it from my wife who was carrying a few extra clubs for me (nice lady). However, such replacement cannot disrupt play (play must not be unduly delayed).

Also, I can repair it if the process of repairing it does not delay play.

Now go out there and have a great round.

Superintendent's Corner

As you know by now if you have read previous newsletters, our outside staff keeps very busy in order to get the course in great shape for golf. Some of the ongoing recent tasks of the grounds crew include:

Fertilizing the course, including greens, tee boxes, fairways, and the driving range hitting area
Punching the fairways
Golf Cart maintenance
Keep the tumbleweeds off onto the golf course
Cut the cups, since pin placement is getting to be a big thing. Our golfers don't want to see the flags in the same spot for very long and neither do we.
Make sure the cups are in some easy, some medium and some more difficult placements.
Getting the course ready for tournaments by marking all hazards, moving drop zones and just cleaning up the course
Cleaning up fallen tree branches

A Little Bragging

Our staff works extremely hard to keep the course in great shape and give you superior customer service. Take a look at a few of the comments we have received recently.

I want to congratulate you and the entire staff for the wonderful condition of the golf course. In all the time I have been playing there this
is the best shape it's ever been in. Keep up the good work!

TK

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

On April 25th in the A.M, you helped me sponsor 15 players who were family, friends the groom and pastor before the afternoon wedding. You sponsored a gift for hole #4 and frankly made the day a real success as they talked about it all day. I must say a great time was had by all.

I just wanted to say thank you to all of you at the course for making that happen. My goal was to entertain the guys and get some bonding in before the wedding and it worked out great!!

Thank you again for everything.

GM

If you have a comment or suggestion, please email it to taiken@ranchosierragolf.com. Thank you very much, and we hope to see you at Rancho Sierra this Memorial Day weekend. Come on out to spend part of the long weekend with us.