Rancho Sierra Golf Course

In this issue ...

Glowball Tournament Recap
News from the Clubhouse
Men's Club News
Tips from the Pro

Fall is here. It's is the nicest time to be outside here in the Antelope Valley. We've had some warm late summer weather, so it is certainly time for some cooler temperatures.

In this newsletter, Tracy and Adam talk about what is going on around the course, Bob Gonzales reports on the recent Men's Club away trip to Primm Valley, NV. We also have some tips on how to improve your putting.

We have a number of tournments coming up in October and November. All of these tournaments will be fun, but I'd like to mention our Halloween tournament. Every year we put on a Halloween Tournament. Our head starter, Shirley Pfund has been doing a great job with the tournament. This year, she is being helped by Tracy Yates. The tournment is Saturday morning, October 31, at 8 AM. As always, come in costume and your almost assured to win a prize. For more information, call the golf course at 661-946-1080. We'll also have information on the web site in the next few days.

I hope you enjoy the newsletter.

Glowball Tournament Held September 5th

Rancho Sierra's 6th Annual Glowball Tournament was held on September 5th. Although the turnout was lighter than in previous years, everybody had a great time. The participants play nine holes of golf in the afternoon, and then sat down to a BBQ dinner. They followed that up with 9 holes in the the dark with glowballs and glowsticks. It's a little big strange playing golf when you can't see your hands or golf clubs, and if you have never tried it, you've missed a treat.

See some of the pictures to get an idea as to how surreal the experience is. And be sure for join us for the Seventh Annual Glowball Tournament next summer.

News From the Clubhouse

(written by Tracy Yates and Adam Montgomery)

Hi Everybody,

Our weather is about to change. Never can tell around here, but I'd say cooler temperatures are on the way. Some of you are certainly looking forward to this, but no matter, we are avid golfers, come wind or shine! We are going to have several weeks of the nicest weather you could ask for so let's play golf!

Thanks to all for being so patient with our meticulous and lengthy work on the greens. Rick added a little "something special" and the greens are going to be as good and as healthy as can be found anywhere. Once again we should all thank Rick, Pedro, Cliff and Cody for everything they do for us outside. They are awesome!

We also have a new starter inside. Most of you may have already met her. Her name is Megan, and she is going to be a great asset to Rancho Sierra. Please introduce yourselves, if you haven't so that she’ll feel as at home as we all have over the years.

The next six weeks are packed with tournaments on Saturdays, all of which we have posted here on the website and on the "big board" at the course. We also have some great opportunities for you to play while contributing to so some great causes: Cystic Fibrosis, Antelope Valley Special Olympics and more are to come. Ask one of us and we will do our best to get you playing golf while contributing to your community.

Date	Tournament
October 3	American Legion Golf Tournament
October 4	Cowboys/Lions Golf Tournament
October 17	Eagles Golf Tournament
October 24	Living Way Golf Tournament
October 31	Rancho Sierra Halloween Golf Tournament
November 27	High Desert Broadcasting Rock-n-Roll Golf Tournament

We also would love to see all of you, ladies and gentlemen, on any given club day to play along with us. You can always play along as a guest and enjoy our passion for the game. We tee off at 8:00am on Tuesday and Thursday and 7:00am on Sunday for men's club, and the ladies club heads out at 8:00 am Wednesday. Our tee times change with the temperatures, so please be sure to give us a call and check on what's happening.

Last, but not least, we have changed our twilight hours. We are going to a 3:00pm twilight rate starting October 1st. Once again you can get all the details from the website.

Have fun, and we'll see you all soon!!

Tracy, Adam, and the rest of the staff

Men's Club News

The Rancho Sierra Mens Club is now taking new membership applications and renewals for 2010. Join now and get the rest of 2009 included! That’s three months of bonus membership! Membership fee is $45. (Multi-club members are $30.) See the Rancho Sierra starter or one of the Mens Club officers for membership information. Renewal forms are located above the handicap computer. Please help us keep our records current by providing your phone number and email.

Primm Trip Report

On September 19-20, 32 Rancho Sierra golfers headed to Primm for a Golf Getaway weekend. We played two rounds on the Tom Fazio-designed Desert Course. Many golfers brought their wives who enjoyed the casino and outlet mall as well as the Rick Springfield concert on Saturday night. Rumor has it that many of the golfers and their wives were also winners in the casino as well.
Here are some pictures of the event:

We also had a raffle and a 50/50 drawing with the proceeds being donated to Cystic Fibrosis and the American Cancer Society. We look forward to doing another away tournament again possibly going to Palm Springs, Laughlin, or back to Primm.

Primm Tournament Results

**Low Flight**
Player	Place	Score
Grant Drake	1st	63
Tony Abrams	2nd (Tie)	68
Bobby Cornelison	2nd (Tie)	68

**Medium Flight**
Player	Place	Score
Jacques Arnold	1st	64
John Yates	2nd (Tie)	68
Mark Lewandowski	2nd (Tie)	68

**High Flight**
Player	Place	Score
Bob Gonzales	1st	68
Jason Mentry	2nd	70
Dominic Falco	3rd (Tie)	71
Ralph Cotell	3rd (Tie)	71

**Other Contests**
Longest Drive	Steve Drake
Closest to the Pin	Steve Drake
Closest to the Pin	Tony Abrams
Closest to the Pin	Jason Mentry
Closest to the Pin	Bobby Griffith

Tee Time Changes

Now that fall has arrived, the Sunday and the Midweek men’s groups will be changing their tee times. Beginning Sunday, October 11, the Sunday group will tee off at 8 a.m. The Midweek Group will announce their change in October. We will also have a Mens Club meeting on October 11 at 7:30. These times will remain in effect until Spring and Daylight Savings times begin.

Fall Classic Tournament

The Fall Classic will be held on Sunday, November 15. Entry fee is $50 and must be turned in by 5 pm on Friday, November 13. (Yes, that’s Friday the 13th. That should be easy to remember.) This is our quarterly High-Low, Draw-for- Partners, Best Ball Tournament. Lunch will be included and, as always, there will also be side pots for closest to the Pin, Long Drive, Most accurate drive, and Skins games to increase your chances of walking away a winner.

Other upcoming events include the Points Tournament in December, the Midweek 50/50 Tournament in December and the Golfer of the Year Tournament in January.

If you have any questions, ideas or suggestions, you can email us at RSMensgolf@aol.com.

On a personal note ...

I’ve been writing these newsletter articles for the past year. I have written about the reasons and benefits of being a member of the Rancho Sierra Mens Club such as SCGA membership and handicap, guaranteed tee times, guaranteed playing partners, reduced green fees etc. I can now give you another membership benefit that is non-golf related - the friendship of the members and officers.

On August 24, my beloved wife, Jenny, passed away from cancer. Besides my friends and family, the members and officers of the Rancho Sierra Mens Club stepped up. They checked on me every day to see if there was anything they could do for me. They came to the services and paid their respects. Since that day, they have continued to keep in contact with me and have helped me enormously to get through this difficult time. The owners of Rancho Sierra Golf Course, sent their condolences and made a donation to charity in Jenny’s name. The Mens Club used the proceeds in the 50/50 drawing on our Primm trip to make donations to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and the American Cancer Society. I’d like to give a very big personal “Thank you” to Dave, Tony, Jacques, Joey, John and Tracy, Bobby, Shirley, Tim and Michele for being there for me when I needed you. It’s times like this when you find out the true nature of people and I’m proud to say that the Rancho Sierra Mens Club members and officers are of the highest class and quality and I’m proud to contribute to such a wonderful collection of people.

Bob Gonzales

Tips from The Pro - Putting is a Thinking Game

As many of you who read my tips can attest to, I believe in emphasize the mental aspect of golf. I have heard a lot of putting news lately. Tiger Woods helped Sean O'Hair with a putting time that led to a great first round (66) and lead in the just completed Tour Championship (O'Hair couldn't match his first round 66 but did finish third). Phil Mickelson credited his putting to a new putting coach, Dave Stockton, and going back to a technique that felt good.

I belive putting is one of those skills that requires some study, particularly when you're playing a round and get to the greens. But it actually starts when you get to the golf course. Here are a few tips:

1. Before you start a round, it is crucial to take some putts on the course's practice green. If anything it will help prepare you mentally for your real putts, and it also give you real clues on how the course maintains and grooms its greens.

2. Be sure to pay attention and watch when other golfers approach the green. Watch how their balls react when chipping to see how they bounce and what direction they roll in. If others putt before you try to gauge how hard they are striking the ball and how far the ball rolls, and in which direction. If you are in someone else's line, it is the best time to watch what the ball does when they hit it. It is almost like getting a practice putt!

3. When you get to the green, dissect it. Bend down and try to imagine a grid placed over the green. Where are the low points? The high points? What happens to the slope of the green right around the cup? Walk all around the green and analyze the slope from all different perspectives. Try to locate the lowest point on the green, most often the ball will tend to roll down to that point.

4. Make sure your speed is honed; that you have a feel for the green. Again this goes back to the practice green and what kind of condition the greens are in. It's easier to control your speed than it is to control the direction of the ball once it leaves the putter.

5. When putting, if you are farther away than 10 feet, it might be better to imagine you are going for a hole on the green more the size of a basketball. If the putt seems too difficult or you don't have the confidence to get the ball in the cup, you're better off being one or two feet away on your next shot rather than 8 feet past the hole.

Good luck, and have fun!

Have a great month. We hope to see you out at Rancho Sierra soon!