Vol. 16, No. 25
540.972.2237
LOWA.org
Rea Hargraves Retires by Dan McFarland, copy editor
LOWA Golf Pro Rea Hargraves retired April 18, after serving nearly three decades as the golf course’s main cheerleader, as well as its manager. Originally from Falls Church, Hargraves attended George Mason High School. His father was a golf coach and took Rea along when he golfed with friends. This started a lifelong love of the game, and a long career as a golf professional and a respected instructor. Following high school, Rea enrolled in Hiwassee Junior College in Madisonville, Tennessee, where he played on the golf team, ranked 10th in the nation among junior colleges, as the only non-scholarship golfer on the five-man team. “Playing with those better players,” he recounts, “I learned a little bit about playing the game.” After graduating from Radford University, he took on a succession of jobs starting at Wintergreen Resort, golfing in the summer and skiing in the winter. After several years there, he was promoted to a management job, with responsibility for the crews that kept the public and conference areas of the resort spotless. His next jobs were at courses in North Carolina, where he would play 18 holes of golf mornings before going to work on the evening shift. “By the end of the summer,” Hargraves recalls, “I could shoot 70, 72 on a regular basis.” After joining the PGA, he decided to return to Virginia, where, on April 1, 1990, he started a job as assistant pro at Lake of the Woods. Six months later, the golf pro left to take a shot at the pro golf tour, and Hargraves became the LOWA pro.
/LOWAssociation
April 19, 2019
Golf here has changed since his arrival, with more competition to attract golfers and tournaments. The Meadows Farms, Fawn Lake and Somerset courses, nearby now, did not exist in the days when, besides Lake of the Woods, the only golf choices were Culpeper to the west and Shannon Green in Fredericksburg, where Central Park now stands. Then, he says, people would buy their golf shirts, hats and golf balls in our pro shop, “because there wasn’t a Walmart or anything else around.” “Since that time, it’s all changed. Now people can buy all that stuff on line. And they don’t care if it has a logo or not. The best price is what they are looking for.” The biggest challenge to the course in the future, Hargraves feels, will be selling merchandise, and attracting outside tournaments. In his early days, a Wednesday Men’s Golf Day would have 120 men doing shotgun starts to use the course, because most LOWA owners were retired. “Since then, the community has changed,” he says. “Now the average homeowner here is a married couple in their forties or fifties, with two or three kids. They both work, and on weekends, one is cutting the grass while the other is doing laundry. That’s what you have to deal with.” The high point of his days at Lake of the Woods, he says, has been “working with the kids! Working with the PGA juniors. And I love the people! That’s what I will miss more than anything.” “I have thoroughly enjoyed working here,” he concludes. “The men’s group, the ladies group, the juniors. I want to thank everybody for letting me work here that whole time. It’s really been great, and I’m going to miss everybody.”
See more photos on p. 5
Stick it or Ticket!
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Just a reminder to all boaters that your decal must be properly affixed to your watercraft by May 1.
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No watercraft shall be placed or operated on the lakes unless it displays current LOWA registration decals. To read Regulation X visit: WWW.LOWA.ORG/GOVERNINGDOCUMENTS
REMINDER: There will be no Lake Currents on May 3. Lake Currents has shifted its publication dates by one week; the next issue will be May 10, and the deadline for that issue is April 29. For more info visit www.LOWA.org/LakeCurrents
Wednesday, May 1 • LOWA Assessment Due • Boat Decal Deadline • LOWA Survey Due: www.LOWA.org/2019Survey Tuesday, April 23 CARC Information Session 6-8 PM, Clubhouse Saturday, April 27 LOW Community Yard Sale 9 AM-2 PM Sweetbriar Park
Agenda 2 President's letter 2 Association News 2-10 CARC Update 3 General Manager's Column 3
Tuesday, April 30 LOWA Board Applications Due by 4 PM Saturday, May 4 LOWA Regular Board Meeting 10 AM, Community Center Sunday, May 5 LOW Realtor’s Open House 11 AM-4 PM, Clubhouse Wednesday, May 15 LOWA Regular Board Meeting 2 PM, Community Center
Board Minutes Calendar Viewpoints Orange County Classifieds
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LOWA Website Links Clubhouse Area Recreation Complex Info LOWA.ORG/CAPITALPROJECTS dwellingLive LOWA.ORG/DWELLINGLIVE See Our
8th Annual Amenities Guide Inside!