FORE
DECEMBER 2018
NEWSLETTER This is golf.
A
place to golf. place to eat & drink. place to socialize.
IN THIS ISSUE FROM THE DESK OF A. BEYEL 3
ON THE COURSE 5
GOLF OUTLOOK 7
VINTAGE in the VUE UGLY SWEATER PARTY 9
DISCO GLAM ROCKIN' NEW YEAR'S EVE 11
MONTH AT A GLANCE 13
COUPLES AROUND THE WORLD TOURNAMENT 15
YOUR TEAM, OUR WORK 16
FROM THE DESK OF A. BEYEL
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FORE is published for its members by Rockledge Country Club.
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NEWS & VIEWS Welcome to the Florida golf season! This is the time of year when the weather is at its best. This is the reason
ON THE COURSE
WITH JERRY YEOMANS
so many flock to these parts in the winter. However, there are some negative consequences that we deal with this time of year, also. The Bermuda grass (which is a warm season grass) slows down its growth as the weather cools. Bermuda likes it hot and muggy as in summer. It goes into semi-hibernation or even full hibernation if cold enough when the temperatures decline. What this means is the grass does not have the recuperative ability to repair itself when problems arise. Many of those problems are generated by us (the golfers) as we play our rounds of golf.
Golf cart traffic is a major problem as too many people have decided to drive straight to their ball while riding single in a golf cart. Yes, this is more convenient for the player, but more detrimental to the condition of the course. The repetitive wear and tear around green complexes and tee complexes eventually creates thin and bare areas that are aesthetically unpleasing as well as difficult to play from. We need to use the cart paths where they are provided around the greens and tee boxes. In addition, all 4 wheels should be on the path. What is the point of pulling off the path to stop as I see so many people do. It defeats the purpose of the path. We will be monitoring and enforcing the cart rules going forward. I am not sure how many understand how important this is to the condition of the course. To those of you who are already compliant (you know if you are), we could certainly use your help with those in your group who may not be compliant. Afterall, they are unnecessarily creating a negative impact on the course! We are posting the cart driving rules in this newsletter in another section. Please take the time to review them as they are the rules we need to follow to protect our turf and help it during this period of slow growth.
Yours in Turf, Jerry Yeomans
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Putt When You Can, Chip if You Can’t Putt, & Pitch Only if You Have To.
GOLF OUTLOOK
Hello Fellow Players, Learning to score in golf, is often about playing the percentages.
WITH JEFF TURNER
Putting is the easiest of the three, with the least downside for poor execution. When you’re on the fringe or the closely-mown approach just short of the green, putting is usually your best option. First, hitting from those areas with your putter means you won’t be lofting the ball in the air lowering the intended trajectory of the shot, and the smaller the swing you need to make. This also means there will be virtually no spin on the ball once you hit it, making the roll-out predictable. And finally, using a putting stroke all but assures you are going to hit the ball first with little to no turf interfering with the solidness of contact either. Chipping is next in line. If you’re anywhere around the green and have more green between your ball and the hole than rough, you definitely want to chip it. Before I explain why it’s important to know the difference between a chip and a pitch because these two shots are confused. A chip is a shot that spends more time on the ground and a pitch spends the majority of its short life in the air. Chips, for reasons similar to putts, are easier shots to execute than pitches because the requisite swing isn’t terribly big and has little wrist or hand action, while the motion combined with the typically lower lofted clubs used when chipping impart less spin on the ball, making roll-out easier to predict. Pitching is the hardest, with the biggest downside for failure. But despite my misgivings, there are unfortunately just some occasions where we can’t get around having to pitch the ball. And really, who wouldn’t want to be able to pitch it up in the air high and soft and land it near the pin like the proverbial butterfly with sore feet, check it a bit, or even spin it back like the pros? There’s just a tiny little problem with that sexy looking lob, though, the high reward comes with high risk, and the consequences for poor execution are shots as colorfully named as The Chunk, The Duff, The Skull, and The Chili-Dip. Unless your foursome is conditioned to hear the even more colorful language that often accompanies those vain attempts to execute one of golf’s most difficult shots, we should keep those pitch shots in the closet as much as possible, trotting them out in only the most extreme situations. In the end, it’s important to be at least somewhat proficient at all the short game shots, but learning to score is learning to play the percentages, and when it comes to getting the ball close consistently the odds are stacked in favor of putting first, chipping second, and pitching third. It’s not the good shots we’re worried about, it’s your misses, and I promise that your misses when you putt first, chip if you can’t putt, and pitch only if you have to, will be more of what I like to call livable misses. And when we learn to choose shots whose worst results can still be worked with, we’ll start to score better even if we’re not hitting the ball any better.
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HOLIDAY-MIX-OLOGY
The Abominable Snowman INGREDIENTS 1 1/2-2 OUNCES RUMCHATA 1 BOTTLE BLUE CREAM SODA SPARKLING SANDING SUGAR FOR THE RIM OPTIONAL SLIGHTLY DAMPEN RIM OF GLASS AND DIP IN SUGAR. FILL A HIGHBALL GLASS WITH ICE. POUR THE RUMCHATA OVER THE ICE. SLOWLY POUR THE BLUE CREAM SODA IN TO FILL THE GLASS. SERVE IMMEDIATELY .ENJOY
The Grinch INGREDIENTS 4 OZ PEACH SCHNAPPS 4 OZ BACARDI RUM 12 OZ ORANGE JUICE 4 OZ LEMON-LIME POP (7UP OR SPRITE) 4 OZ BLUE CURACAO LIQUOR MARASCHINO CHERRIES & ORANGE SLICES FOR GARNISH OPTIONAL MAKE THIS IN INDIVIDUAL GLASSES (4) OR MAKE A PITCHER. ADD ALL INGREDIENTS TOGETHER, STIR, ADD GARNISH IF DESIRED, ENJOY
YOUR TEAM
Andrea Beyel, General Manager Jerry Yeomans, Golf Operations Director Jeff Turner, Head Golf Pro
Andrea
Lauryn Countryman, Membership Director Vanessa Lackland, Events & Catering Director Jeffrey Cosat, Food & Beverage Manager Michelle Martin, Bookkeeping
Jerry
BUSINESS HOURS BUSINESS OFFICE Tuesday – Friday: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
GOLF & PRO SHOP
Jeff
Tuesday – Sunday: 7:00 am – 5:00 pm
RANGE HOURS Tuesday – Saturday: 7:30 am -5:30 pm Sunday: 7:30 am - 4:00 pm
Lauryn
GOLF SNACK BAR Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday: 8:30 am – 3:30 pm Hours subject to change due to weather
VUE 18 RESTAURANT AND BAR Monday: closed Tuesday: 11 am - 9 pm
Vanessa
Wednesday: 11 am – 6 pm* Thursday: 11 am – 6 pm* Friday: 11 am – 9 pm Saturday: 11 am – 6 pm* Sunday: 11 am – 6 pm*
Jeffrey
* Restaurant closes at 4 pm, bar remains open until 6 pm on Wed., Thur., Sat. and Sun. HAPPY HOUR: Tuesday - Friday: 4 pm - 6 pm