TWO OLD CROWS VIEWING THEIR NEXT SHOT

Transcription

1 Saddlebrooke Ranch Men s Golf Association July 2016 THE SCORECARD Message from the Membership Chairmen Golf Humor Key to Consistency Golf Course Improvements.8 Mid Season Leader Board Contacts Remember of Sponsors Mark Your Calendar TWO OLD CROWS VIEWING THEIR NEXT SHOT 1

2 Saddlebrooke Men s Golf Association July 2016 MESSAGE FROM the Membership Chairman Tim McCauley Strength in Numbers Our SBRMGA membership stands at one hundred ten members strong as of early July. recall former membership chairman, George Kramer proudly telling me I was the 62nd member when I signed up in December That means we have experienced a 77 per cent membership increase in 3.5 years. That s good, that s great, you might be saying to yourself: But is that really a big deal? Why does it matter? As both a SBRMGA member and a Board member for the last few years, here are some thoughts on that question. One of my favorite professional sports teams is the NBA Golden State Warriors. Their slogan the last two year s has been Strength in Numbers. That concept applies to our association in a number of ways. A vibrant and growing membership benefits not only the current members but our golfing community and our larger SBR community as well. We now routinely have 40sometimes even 50 guys 2

3 Saddlebrooke Ranch Men s Golf Association July 2016 playing each Thursday, and participating in the creative and fun contests that Harley and Jack set up. That s a far cry from the first event that I joined in December 2012 with a frigid 8AM start time that had nine guys and a contest where the winner was the one with the fewest putts. Our strength in numbers has enabled us to move to a shotgun start, rather than staggered tee times. The result: the guys with the later times no longer finish their round and return to a deserted Bistro to turn in their scores. Moreover, we just found out that we can continue our shotgun format in the winter but with a later, 9AM start to mitigate the chilly early morning temperatures. The shotgun format is a boon to the camaraderie many of us desire. Emerging from our growing membership have been new Board members building upon the foundation set by our pioneers. Mark Klicker SBRMGA president, usually accompanied by vice president Sam Rossi and a support team from our membership, has spent countless hours with Club professional Mike Jahaske and Robson executive Mark Gianotti discussing and negotiating course improvements and association issues. Reflect a moment on the positive changes we have seen just this year, and those that have recently been announced: more trees and plantings both around the course and at the tee boxes. The rough and the arroyos are mowed and trimmed. Rerouting of the cart path on the 9 th hole. Upcoming repair and upgrade of most of the bunkers. A bridge crossing the first arroyo on the 10 th hole and another one crossing the arroyo on the 11 th hole. These changes not only make the course more beautiful, but also play better, and will increase the pace of play. It is our strength in numbers and the leadership strength of Ted Weirman, our 3

4 Saddlebrooke Men s Golf Association July 2016 sponsorship chairman, which have resulted in more sponsors and more sponsorship contributions. What has this meant? We no longer pay for range balls on Thursday. We recently enjoyed a $2 Beer and Burger lunch. We are now wearing new $15 SBRMGA golf shirts thanks to the help of sponsorship contribution. Those of us who have been successful in our Special Events such as the Founder s Cup, President s Cup, and Ryder Cup have all had their winnings enhanced by sponsorship contributions. Keep an eye out for upcoming events and social activities. Impressive indeed. Strength in numbers. Want to strengthen SBRMGA even more? How about consider becoming a Board Member? Our nominating committee will soon be soliciting interest and recommendations. Not quite ready for that leap? But still interested in helping out? We routinely have 40 members showing up on Thursday s. If 40 is great, 60 is even better Mike Jahaske recently told us the record at Saddlebrooke is 65 That might be something to shoot for. Join us! Or encourage a member friend who hasn t been regularly playing to come on out in the next few weeks. Or talk with a golfing neighbor or friend about the benefits of becoming a member. Regardless, I m grateful for the opportunity our association provides, and would hope the same for you. See you on the course. Tim McCauley 4

5 Saddlebrooke Ranch Men s Golf Association July 2016 GOLF HUMOR A man and his friend meet at the clubhouse and decide to play a round of golf together. The man has a little dog with him and on the first green, when the man holes out a 20-foot putt, the little dog starts to yip and stands up on its hind legs. The friend is quite amazed at this clever trick and says, That dog is really talented! What does he do if you miss a putt? Somersaults, says the man. Somersaults? says the friend, That s incredible. How many does he do? Hmmm, says the man. That depends on how hard I kick him in the ass. 5

6 Saddlebrooke Men s Golf Association July 2016 My Key To Consistency One thing I always come back to By Tom Watson The golf swing is an arc, and the lowest part of the swing is the bottom of the arc. Much of the work and practice I've done over the years has been geared to producing a consistent bottom of the arc. It's a much misunderstood concept. Johnny Miller believes it's the most important lesson you can learn in developing a good swing. He taught it in a clinic I did with him, Arnie and Jack not long ago Every golfer should be striving for a consistent bottom of the arc on every swing. It's the primary element in a repeatable swing. It applies to almost every iron shot you play off turf (the driver and putter are struck slightly on the upswing). When we hit the ball fat (the divot starts behind the ball) or thin (the club hits too high on the ball), we are not finding a consistent bottom of the arc. 6

7 Saddlebrooke Ranch Men s Golf Association July 2016 This is a major difference between pros and amateurs. The pros make "ball-divot contact," as Eddie Merrins calls it in his teaching. The bottom of the arc is ahead of the ball. A lot of poorer players hit the turf behind the ball or are otherwise inconsistent reaching the bottom of the arc--that's mainly why they're poorer players. Here's how I practice hitting iron shots off the turf. I draw a line out from the middle of my stance. I put a ball down on that line, and I want my divot to start at the front edge of the line (right). The bottom of the arc occurs well in front of the line, not on it and definitely not behind it. The bottom of the arc is ahead of my stance center. I'm using a 5-iron here, with my normal ball position for that club. Your ball position for a particular club might be slightly forward or behind the middle of your stance. I vary my ball position from the middle of my stance for different irons-- slightly forward for the long irons and slightly behind for the short irons--but not more than a couple of inches off center. On the course, you determine the 7

8 Saddlebrooke Men s Golf Association July 2016 bottom of your arc with practice swings. Most people make practice swings they don't repeat with their real swings. And a lot of amateurs make a poor weight transfer and fail to get the club to the ball before they take a divot. The bottom of the arc is behind the ball instead of ahead of it. If you've shifted your weight correctly on the downswing, your right knee should be pointing toward the ball at impact. If you haven't--and you hit off your right foot--the bottom of your arc will be behind the ball. You'll probably hit it to the right. Use these tips to make better contact on all your iron shots. 8

9 Saddlebrooke Ranch Men s Golf Association July 2016 GOLF COURSE IMPROVEMENTS Over the next two months you will be seeing improvements to the course. Beginning at the end of July or early August a contractor hired by Robson will be working on bunkers on many of the holes. The sand will be removed, concrete liners and drains installed, and new sand put in. This summer you can expect to see work on bunkers around 3, 5, 18, 11, 16, 2, 4 and 8. The remaining bunkers will be upgraded over the next two years. Also, there are two new bridges going in. One across the first arroyo on number 10, and one across the arroyo on number 1. Finally, the contract has been awarded for the cart path extension across number 9. Work this summer is expected to take about three to four weeks. You may see some inconveniences, temporary greens and even a closed hole, while the work is being done. MID SEASON LEADER BOARD With the 2016 more than half way through the below leader board shows who is leading in the various categories. Nice going guys TOTAL POINTS AVERAGE GROSS SCORE 1. Greg Byrne Steve Thomson 77 AVERAGE NET SCORE 1. Ed Robertson Brian Kerley Jeff Pharr Jeff Silver John Huard Dave Bott Mick Borm David Hansel Mick Borm Neil Hartman LOW GROSS 1. Robert Christianson Steve Thomson Bruce Deverman Larry Tipton Mark Martin 74 LOW NET 1. Neil Hartman Frank Scianella Steve Mason 63 2.Mark Klicker 63 5.Ken Hull Bruce Deverman Steve Mason Brian Grover Jeff Silver 63 9

10 Saddlebrooke Men s Golf Association July 2016 CONTACTS The Scorecard: at communications@sbrmga.org Membership: Tim McCauley at membership@sbrga.org Webmaster: George Kramer REMEMBER OUR SPONSORS For 2016, we are pleased to have three Platinum sponsors and nine Premier sponsors. The Platinum sponsors are Coyote Golf Cars, Golf Cars of Arizona, and Kim Tucker MD The Premier sponsors are Gerry Hause Long Realty, Community Church at Saddlebrooke, Robson Resort Communities, Oracle Ford, Outdoor Creations, 10

11 Saddlebrooke Ranch Men s Golf Association July 2016 Brakemax, Rebecca Williams Morgan Stanley and DDS Patrick Shaffer MARK YOUR CALENDERS Aug 8 4th Annual Ventana Canyon Golf Outing. 11