2012 SDHSAA Class “A” Girls’ Golf Championship

Throughout town – from motels to restaurants to convenience stores and more – the impact of hosting a statewide high school event of this magnitude was an overwhelming positive for the local economy.

From the China Buffet, to the All Star Grill & Pub, to Woolly’s Western Grill, all reported increased numbers over the extended weekend.

“Everyone that stayed with us said they felt very callaway diablo edge irons good about being here,” Truth said. “They really liked the course, and said it was a difficult course, but they all seemed to have a good time and enjoyed themselves.”

When the State “A” Girls tournament returned to Hot Springs on May 21 and 22, it brought with it a total of 104 high school girls’ competitors, representing 30 schools from across the state – as well as another couple hundred parents, family members and fans. Most teams arrived over the prior weekend, in time to play practice rounds at the course on Sunday, followed by the 36-hole competition on Monday and Tuesday.

While not normally open on Sunday nights and Mondays, the Wetzels opened up their restaurant especially for the tournament on those two days, for all-you-can-eat buffets both nights for the teams and the community.

He added that the comments he heard from the visitors to Hot Springs were all positive – from the golf course itself - to the gift packets that were given out to all of the competitors which Ping G20 irons featured discounts to local businesses.

Wetzel added that the team and parents from Canton had also rented out the restaurant’s upstairs to host their end-of-the-year celebration over the weekend.

“I think almost every team stopped in at our place over the weekend,” said Phil Wetzel, who, along with his wife Vickie, own and operate Woolly’s Western Grill in Hot Springs. The two also have a close connection to the Hot Springs golf program as their daughter Schuyler was a senior on this year’s team and went on to place third overall in the individual competition.

Scott Haden, executive director of the Hot Springs Area Chamber of Commerce, said he felt the tournament had a huge impact on the community and at a perfect time to help kick off the tourist season the weekend before Memorial Day.

“We’ve been to a lot of other golf tournaments ourselves, thro-ughout the state with our kids, and that’s something you just don’t see other towns doing who host state tournaments,” he said. “And people loved the course; they couldn’t stop talking about it.”

“They said they don’t always receive that at other tournaments,” he said. “They felt very welcome here and liked the fact that there were a lot of other activities to do in Hot Springs too.”

Karen Truth, front desk manager at Stay USA Hotel & Suites, said all 86 of their rooms were booked solid for two days discount golf clubs during the tournament. She added that they are normally filled to only 25 percent this time of year, and can attribute at least 75 percent of their business last week to the state golf tournament.

The positive impact of hosting the statewide event however was not just confined to this past weekend. Many teams – including the eventual state champions from Parkston – traveled to Hot Springs numerous times over the past few months to practice on the course.

denial of a Comprehensive Guide Plan amendment

One opposed the development because of its proximity to significant parkland, while another—Commissioner Dan Piper—voiced concerns about the reduction in recreational space in Eagan. Only one member, Tom Heaney, voted to recommend approval of the amendment change. Commissioner Peter Dugan was absent.

The vote followed nearly two hours of charged testimony from neighbors and community members, who complained about the Ping G20 driver increased traffic the new housing development would bring, the projected drop in nearby home values and the loss of a recreational asset like the golf course. One resident encouraged the city to use eminent domain to purchase and preserve the land, while another claimed the course was home to at least two endangered species and shouldn’t be developed.

“With the closing of Carriage Hills and now potentially Parkview, where are these golfers going to go to learn the important skills and etiquette?” Eastview High School Golf Coach Mark Wanous asked. “It just really concerns me as a golf professional in the business.”

Long-term trends in the golf industry, including over-saturation of the market, rising costs and declining golf participation numbers, have put the course in a difficult financial position, Zackheim said during the meeting.

The denial is a blow to the developer’s controversial plans, but not a complete reversal; the Eagan City Council is expected to consider the request on June 19. If the council chooses to move forward, the request would go to the Metropolitan Council before returning to the Eagan council for final approval.

Despite the commission’s recommendation to deny a guide plan amendment for the housing project, Hunter Emerson Director of Development Kurt Manley wasn’t ready to throw in the towel.

“The golf course is a social gathering ping g15 irons place where older folks mentor younger folks,” Eagan resident Bill Cutter added. “It’s a place where young kids learn responsibility.”

“We’ve been unable to have the course achieve any of our financial goals,” Zackheim said. “As much as we would like to make it work, continuing to run our golf course operation is not viable.”

To address some of the commissioners’ concerns, Manley said they may tweak the development plans to include senior housing units before the June 19 council meeting.

Of the six commission members present at the lengthy meeting, three cast their votes in opposition to the proposal because they felt adding low-density, single-family housing didn’t fit the city’s current housing goals. Those goals include preparing for the city’s rapidly aging demographics by making more senior housing available.

The support demonstrated at the meeting was heartening for Parkview Golf Course co-owner Robert Zackheim. But he said it probably discount golf clubs won’t be enough to change the fate of the club, which may close regardless of whether the city approves a housing development on the site.

Although investors sunk more than $1 million into improving the course since 2001, Parkview has been bleeding money for a number of years, Zackheim said.

nimals of all kinds can be seen at Keene’s Bretwood Golf Course

Bretwood’s 36 golf holes, spread over 300 acres and two championship courses, are nestled among dozens of ponds, streams and the signature covered bridges, and surrounded by thousands of trees, while the Ashuelot River snakes through much of the property.

William “Bill” McKinley, a regular at Bretwood who lives in Houston, Texas, but spends summers in Keene, said his most memorable experience at the course occurred in August.

Tom Barrett, grounds superintendent, said two playful otters have been around all spring. He said he first spotted Titleist 712 AP1 Irons them in the pond adjacent to the green on the 16th hole on the south course, but also saw them at another time in water that fronts the 12th hole on the south course, at the very far end of the golf course property.

McKinley said neither he nor any of his friends knew quite what they were looking at, only that whatever it was, it looked out of place.

McKinley said scoring a hole in one about a week earlier, and then another about a week later couldn’t compare to what he witnessed that day on the course.

“Last year, I was out mowing on the 10th tee,” he said. “I looked up, and there was an enormous bull moose, just standing there, looking around. I’m sitting on the mower, with the engine running, and it didn’t scare him at all.”

“I’ve seen fox, a mink, moose, bear, eagles, just about everything,” said Chuck Shortsleeve, the pro shop manager at the course. “There’s a mockingbird that sits up on the corner of the roof out here. You’d think there were a hundred birds out there.”

A golf-cart cruise around the course last week provided ample views of birds, squirrels darting about, painted turtles lounging on the edges of ponds, and a large snapping turtle weighing perhaps 40 pounds lumbering toward the bank of a stream before eventually falling head over shell into it.

“We walked over there, and when we got about 50 feet from it, it raised up, with tufted ears,” he said. “It was a Canadian lynx. He got up and looked at us, then sort of trotted around us. It Titleist 712 AP2 Irons was a beautiful sight.”

Barrett, who knows the property better than anyone, said a moose was on the course earlier this spring, evidenced by the cloven hoof prints that could be seen on the green on the eighth hole on the north course. “There are no cows around here anymore,” he said, “and a moose is the only other animal with that print.”

Birds of all kinds — including red-winged blackbirds, bluebirds, great blue heron and a typical array of robins, chickadees and blue jays — can be seen on any given day at Bretwood.

“Most of our fungicides go on our greens,” Barrett said, “So (spraying) is not a big factor. The reason we put signs out warning players is in case someone has a certain sensitivity to a pesticide.”

“Because of the fertilized grass and soils, that sometimes means more earthworms,” he said, referring to a favorite food of many birds and other critters. “Geese, ducks, deer, they’re all after the grass. Bear are big grass eaters and grazers. There’s one up on (nearby) Gunn Road right now that’s been seen a few times.”

Barrett said there are no regulations to protect wildlife specifically from chemical spraying that does occur on golf courses, but the Environmental Protection Agency has mandated buffer zones aimed to protect contaminants from draining into waterways. Also, there are discount golf clubs city wells on the south course, and no chemicals are put down in a broad protection zone in that area, he said.

extension will put more homes at risk

In letters addressed to the city of Allen's parks department, residents of the Chase Oaks subdivision said they are worried that the extension of the course's old No. 17 hole (which, after the renovations, will be hole No. 8), would put six homes at risk of being hit by errant golf balls for the very first time. Sixteen additional homes would be exposed to golf balls from different directions than they have in the past, the letters read.

"We built this house 19 years ago. The lot was selected because it was virtually impossible to hit a ball in our yard from the tee box," said Abel in an email to the Star Courier on Thursday. "If the city was really concerned about homeowner safety on this dangerous hole, they would convert it into a par 3. This would resolve safety issues for about 90 percent of the families that live along this hole."

"We had a very nice and back-and-forth. They had their views and I had mine," Chamberlain said about the April 25 Titleist 910 D2 Driver meeting. "The only thing they could tell me is that they needed the new tees because they are trying to make more money on the golf course via the new tees. One of the magic terms in running a golf course is, 'make it as long as possible.'"

The firm handling the renovations is Plano-based Wiebring-Wolford Golf Design, Inc., the same group responsible for last year's renovation of Pecan Hollow Golf Course in Plano.

"We have focused on communicating this in every way we can during planning and now during construction," Wolford said in an email to the Star Courier on Thursday. "The implementation of the design has not varied from the original master plan in regards to Hole No. 8. We have just recently received and are addressing concerns from six homeowners regarding their belief that more golf shots will enter their property than before the redesign. Of course, this is not the intent and we will explore every option to resolve to the satisfaction of all."

Staff members with the Allen parks Taylormade Burner 2.0 irons department have been working with the design firm to see what their options are in terms of the HOA's request, said Allen Parks and Recreation Director Tim Dentler. He added that while certain changes have already been made to address various concerns from neighboring residents, the city also has to make sure this once-in-a-lifetime renovation is built to last.

The firm, along with the City of Allen representatives, has met with focus groups, both golf and non-golf related, numerous times during the planning phase of this project, Steve Wolford said. Wolford said he and his design team have discussed specifics of the redesign with golf-bordering homeowners in person during visits to the site in order to uphold both the aesthetics and safety of the new golf course.

On Thursday, Chamberlain said the Chase Oaks HOA was scheduled to meet today, during which time members would draft a petition to the city of Allen stating it no longer supports the removal of discount golf clubs the tee boxes and now wants the par 4 hole shortened from 485 yards to a par 3 hole at 220 yards. The association also plans on reaching out to Plano Mayor Phil Dyer in order to seek his support and council.

Chamberlain said while trees may provide a buffer zone in the 70-80 yards that stands between the tee boxes and the homes, they won't be beneficial until they are fully grown several years down the road.

"Obviously they prefer to eliminate certain tee boxes, but this is part of a master plan that has been in place for over two years," he said. "We want to be good neighbors, but we also have to maintain and make sure that the final product is going to be beneficial for the player, the community and the viability of the course. All along, we have made safety a high priority in everything we do. Everything we look at, everything we have changed on the course to date we have done to address the concerns that residents have had. Unfortunately, it's a golf course, and it is what it is."

part of a South Side shooting range will be closed

“This is a very difficult case,” said Judge John D. Gabriel about measuring public safety against a family's livelihood.

The Municipal Golf Association-SA first won a temporary restraining order on March 14 after Mission Del Lago golfer Justo Flores was struck in the chest by a stray bullet prompted allegations of unsafe conditions at the shooting range. There has never been any proof that the bullet that struck Flores came from A Place to Shoot.

During those two decades, these are the first reports of unsafe rifle fire involving the golf course.

On the stand, a course employee couldn't say definitively that what he heard was a bullet. No round was found.

Gabriel recognized there was no proof ping g15 driver bullets had escaped the range. Even so, he was swayed by testimony from a forensic firearms expert hired by the MGA-SA — and hammered on cross-examination by the range's attorneys — that rounds could escape.

People are known to go hog hunting in the wooded area near the golf course.

Gabriel's ruling capped four days of sometimes passionate and other times laborious testimony covering the intricacies of the Texas Health and Safety Code, the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, and the National Rifle Association guidelines on construction of shooting ranges.

The rifle section of A Place to Shoot has been closed for 50 days at a loss of about $1,000 per day, according to testimony Thursday.

Attorneys for both groups said they would confer on whether some of the 72 rifle targets could open so the business Titleist 712 MB irons  will not lose as much money. That hearing could happen in about 10 days.

“My client sells golfers cashmere vests, not Kevlar vests,” MGA-SA attorney Bill Ford said during closing arguments.

Two course employees said they heard what they thought was a gunshot then a bullet “whizzing” by their heads.

Flores intervened in the injunction lawsuit and blames both parties for his injuries.

The attorneys for range owner discount golf clubs Robert Wilkerson and his family had no comment, but Wilkerson's wife could be seen shaking her head during the ruling.

Wilkerson has owned the Pleasanton Road business for about one year, but it's been in operation for more than 30 years. Mission Del Lago was built about 20 years ago, according to testimony.

the Northwest can produce great golfers

Record numbers of Northwest players have been on the major golf tours the past couple of years, the University of Washington men's golf team has become a national powerhouse and the UW women's team is re-emerging.

No longer is the Northwest a distant outpost, looked down upon by the golfing world. You can become great playing in the Northwest. Just ask the people who would know.

"I always thought it was a huge advantage to grow up in Seattle," he said.

Ten players from the Northwest have been playing on the PGA Tour the past couple of years. They include Ryan Moore, the Mizuno MP-58 irons Puyallup player who had one of the greatest amateur careers in history before finding success on the PGA Tour, and Jimin Kang, the King's High School of Shoreline graduate who is a two-time winner on the LPGA Tour.

"Ryan had success and now there are others, like Kyle Stanley, who saw that and are now doing great," Mike Moore said. "Success begets success."

"You can still live here and play on the Tour," Bies said. "I don't think it's a disadvantage at all. I don't believe you need to play every day, especially after you develop your game. It's good to get away. Look at Steve Stricker, who lives in Wisconsin. Living in a place where you can't play every day — it gives you a break."

Couples said the conditions he faced at Jefferson Park Golf Course in Seattle served him well.

Tree-lined courses in the area? That made him improve his driving accuracy. It's no wonder that Riviera Country Mizuno MP-68 Irons Club in Los Angeles is one of his favorite courses on the PGA Tour.

Ryan Moore became a superstar at UNLV, forging one of the greatest amateur records in history. Moore said the lessons he learned playing in the Northwest stayed with him.

"I am sure if I had gone to Washington, I would have become the same player," he said.

Tree-lined courses in the area? That made him improve his driving accuracy. It's no wonder that Riviera Country Club discount golf clubs in Los Angeles is one of his favorite courses on the PGA Tour.

"It reminds me of (Seattle's) Broadmoor Country Club," he said.

Ryan Moore became a superstar at UNLV, forging one of the greatest amateur records in history. Moore said the lessons he learned playing in the Northwest stayed with him.

Thurmond said great junior players have always been in the area, but that in the past couple of decades they have traveled out of the area more and have tested themselves against other top players in the nation.

"I don't just follow the Huskies and the Seattle pro teams," Couples said. "I also follow the golfers from the area, and I hope there are more."

history about We-Ko-Pa Golf Club

The second is a monster of a par-five at 588 yards from the tournament tees. The hole bends to the right and finishes left at the green. A big drive over the right corner of the scrub will leave 270-300 yards from pay dirt. After a sensible lay up on the right side of the fairway, you are left with a gentle pitch to a narrow green. Missing left will leave a difficult uphill pitch to a very undulating surface.

The difficulty on the fifth is not just the distance of 207 yards, but the narrow green, which is just 21 feet across and 37 feet deep. Toss in a quartet of bunkers right and long and a steep rise left and this hole adds up to trouble with a capital "T." To further complicate matters, the deep bunker that parallels the green on the right is a disaster waiting to happen.

One of the most picturesque and challenging holes on the course, the eighth awaits those carrying cameras as well as clubs ... and it is long, so let it rip and have the telephoto lens attached. At 605 yards, you're a candidate for frequent flyer mileage, so just pull out the big dog and let it rip. The challenge on this dogleg right is your second shot. The problem here is that you are forced to lay up at the 150-yard spot as the fairway ends as rough and a dry creek bed take over. Yes, John Daly can get home, but us mortal folks need a better area for an approach. The downward slope from tee to green is, in a word, grand, leaving the player with a beautiful vista of the surrounding mountains.

No. 12 is just 390 yards, and features a very wide fairway, although it narrows the further down you try to take it. Your approach shot plays right to a green that features a spine running down the center and a pair of bunkers guarding the entrance. An easy hole, but be careful because, as with most holes at We-Ko-Pa, rugged desert scrub awaits the errant shot.

The 15th is a blast ... literally. Only 327 yards, the back tee is situated 50 yards to the right of the cart path. Your drive is forced to carry 200 yards over desert and scrub to a narrow fairway protected by a pair of bunkers on the right. The other option is to let it rip and try and drive the green. Not only does the fairway open up closer to the green, the putting surface is the largest on the course at 54 yards deep and 36 yards wide - not a bad target. Go for it!

Coore and Crenshaw wasted little time getting the player involved on the Saguaro course, as it opens with a wicked, 469-yard par-four. This dogleg left features a fairly wide landing area, but even with a successful tee ball, you'll still be left with a medium-to-long iron to a decent-sized putting surface. Sand guards the right, while desert looms left. Laying up short of the green is not a bad play, as this will leave a simple pitch and run for par. Make sure you clear the 20-yard desert wash that starts at the 90-yard mark or you'll have a rude awakening to start your round.

The longest hole at We-Ko-Pa, the fourth is a massive, 631-yard par-five that will hardly be reached in two, let alone three by some of us. The tee shot is critical, as fairway bunkers guard the left, as well as the right-center. If successful, fairway metal should be enough to put you in proper position to attach the hole. The green is circular in design and quite small at just 29 paces in depth. Anywhere on this putting surface and you have a shot at birdie.

The closing hole on the outward nine is also the easiest and shortest on the Saguaro course. Just 137 yards from the back tees, so figure a deuce on the card ... right? Well, not so fast. Although it's a short iron, you'll have to negotiate one of the quirkiest greens. Three bunkers guard the putting surface, front and both sides. The front section of the green is quite narrow, so a close pin will be tough to hit. The back portion opens up at bit, so go for it when the flag is deep.

Not much of a respite on the 13th, another lengthy par-four. Another carry over the desert to a fairly wide landing area, but beware of the diabolical bunker in the middle of the zone. Left fairway, although tighter, is the best side to play from. Again, a long iron or hybrid will be required to reach another long putting surface. A front bunker and chipping areas surround this green, making your attempt at par very difficult.