“Golf pros hit the links for ALS” plus 3 more

Golf pros hit the links for ALS
Golf Course Brings In Weed-Eating Goats
Golf Course Brings In Weed-Eating Goats
Golf in Delco: Plenty of places to hit the links

Posted: 04 Jul 2010 07:43 PM PDT

July 2,2010

Ian Jacques/Editor

How many holes can they complete? That's the question for golf pros Jim Pringle and Kirk Nederpelt from the Sunshine Coast Golf and Country Club (SCG&CC) as they hit the links on Wednesday, July 7, in support of the fifth annual PGA British Columbia Golf-a-Thon for the ALS Society of B.C.

It's the first time the event has come to the SCG&CC, and Pringle said they are both looking forward to the challenge.

"We've set our target at 72 holes, four rounds each and 144 holes combined between the two of us," said Pringle. "We both love golf, but maybe this is more than we can handle. We'll just have to see."

The men hope to tee off at 6 a.m. on July 7, and if all goes well, and if they can complete their first round by 9 a.m., Pringle figures four rounds are more than achievable.

"My grandmother was diagnosed at 81 and died from the disease, so this has some special significance for me," Pringle said. "ALS is such a horrible disease, and to watch someone you love go through so much pain is heartbreaking. Playing some golf and helping to raise money for such a worthy cause is the least we can do."

ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease) is a neurodegenerative disorder that affects the motor neurons that carry messages to the muscles, resulting in weakness and wasting in arms, legs, mouth, throat and elsewhere. Typically the person is immobilized or dead within two to five years of the initial diagnosis. ALS is always fatal, and there is yet no known cause or cure.

Donations can be made in several ways: by stopping in at the club pro shop, on-line at www.golfathonforals.com or by calling the ALS Society at 1-800-708-3228.

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Golf Course Brings In Weed-Eating Goats

Posted: 04 Jul 2010 05:47 AM PDT

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Golf Course Brings In Weed-Eating Goats

Posted: 04 Jul 2010 05:46 AM PDT

72 Snakes Found In Apartment

Officials in Albuquerque, N.M., find 72 snakes in a condemned apartment also filled with trash, feces and dead animals.

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Golf in Delco: Plenty of places to hit the links

Posted: 04 Jul 2010 02:13 AM PDT

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By JOHN LOHN
Special to the Times

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MARPLE – In a few years, Merion Golf Club's East Course will be the focus of the golf world as it plays host to its fifth United States Open. This weekend, of course, Aronimink Golf Club is holding the AT&T National, the PGA Tour stop of Tiger Woods. In the past, Llanerch Country Club has been the site of the PGA Championship.

Unquestionably, Delaware County's private golf clubs are highly respected, Merion East and Aronimink ranking as two of the top courses in the country, and others – Concord Country Club, Overbrook Golf Club and Rolling Green Golf Club – rating as tremendous tracks. But what about Delco's public courses, those turned to by golfers without the financial means or connections for a private membership.

As part of the Daily Times' Ben Franklin project, in which this newspaper is reaching out to its readership to gauge its interests, golfers from the county were asked for feedback on the public courses in Delco. More, players were asked to offer questions that could be posed to some of the head professionals.

The county's three most prominent public courses are easy to identify: The Golf Course at Glen Mills, Paxon Hollow Country Club and Springfield Country Club. Sure, Olde Masters in Newtown Square and Clayton Park in Glen Mills are available for play as executive courses, but they don't measure up to their 18-hole brethren, which is where the bulk of the public play in Delaware County takes place.

If there is one primary complaint by golfers at public courses, it surrounds the pace of play, particularly on weekends when action on the fairways and greens – and sometimes the rough – is increased. Very few players want to take part in a five-hour round, where standing on the tee or in the fairway is the norm on every hole.

Rather, golfers want to play in an atmosphere where they can fire away at pins without a wait, and tour the course in just over four hours, a reasonable time. In the past at Springfield, long rounds were a problem, to the point where Philip Sheehan, the head pro, instituted an aggressive policy against slow play.

Upon teeing off, players were timed and needed to reach holes at a designated time. If a group fell behind, it was put on the clock and given two warnings to pick up the pace. The penalty after the warnings ran out? Groups were forced to skip a hole to get back on track. Sheehan said the policy has been effective.

"I just got fed up with the long rounds and having a foursome take five and a half hours to play a round," Sheehan said. "We've seen an improvement and we've heard from players that they like the better pace of play. When players are confident they can come out and play a round in a little more than four hours, they'll come back."

Dan Malley, the Director of Golf Operations at Paxon Hollow, has also recognized the importance of a quick pace of play. A few years ago, Paxon Hollow stretched its tee times between groups from eight minutes to 10, creating more breathing room and fewer backups on the course.

Malley also has his rangers tracking groups by time and not allowing a group to tee off until the preceding group reaches the first green. At Paxon, with the front nine featuring several short par-4s and three par-3s, it is imperative to create that initial room, or risk disgruntled patrons. At least one regular at Paxon likes what he sees.

"We're playing here three out of four Sundays each month," said 72-year-old Jack Curran. "We go other places, but we like coming back here. The course is in good shape and the 18th hole's (a par-5) is an eternal challenge. It moves along. Everything about the course encourages us to come back. They run some deals for seniors, and that counts, too."

While Paxon and Springfield have addressed slow play, Glen Mills hasn't had an issue in that department. The course allows 12 minutes between tee times, creating a sizable gap between groups, and its high-end nature also does not attract as much play as its cheaper counterparts. At one point, Glen Mills was considered among the top-100 new courses in the United States, and its rates run $79 during prime hours on weekdays, and $95 during prime hours on weekends and holidays.

Springfield is $48 with a cart before 1 p.m. on weekdays and $59 on weekends. Paxon checks in with rates of $50 in the morning during weekdays and $60 on the weekend. Memberships are also available at Paxon and Springfield, with reciprocal play a new addition this year, a bonus on days when one of the courses is holding an outing.

In fielding questions to pose to the course heads, players from the area would like to see expanded driving range options. Glen Mills, with a full-service range, does not fall into this category. Springfield, however, does not have a range and does not possess the room to build one. At Paxon Hollow, only irons can be used.

"The facilities (at Paxon) are great," said 36-year-old Matt O'Brien. "You can't beat it. But I would like to hit some drivers while warming up, which you can't do. I'd like to get to a hole and not be hitting it for the first time."

Malley mentioned that Paxon is looking into the possibility of expanding its range, where drivers would be allowed. However, it may not be able to happen in the same location as the current irons-only range.

"It's something we are looking at," Malley said. "We might have to move the range. Over the next few years, we're planning to offer a short-game area and we have some ideas and intentions of what we can do. We'll see what we do."

For the most part, there seems to be a feeling that the three primary public courses in Delco offer a nice mix. Glen Mills is easily the most challenging, not exactly made for the duffer. Paxon and Springfield, while on the shorter side, have their appeal. Springfield's signature, the par-3 14th, features a 20-yard drop from tee to green. At Paxon, the 17th and 18th finish is a nice touch, a sand wedge-to-green par-3 with a massive drop followed by a 500-yard par-5 with water and woods coming into play.

Meanwhile, the dollars and sense also vary.

O'Brien said there's one other thing he'd like to see.

"The beer girl could come around a little more," he said.

Hey, you can't have it all.

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Golf Zone

Monday, July 5, 2010