MARCH-APRIL 2013 - VOLUME 24, NO. 2
CHIP SHOTS
TOPICS NEWSLETTER
NEW APPRENTICES
The South Florida PGA would like to welcome the following new apprentices to the Section: Christopher Cravotta B-1 Martin Downs Golf Club Drake Kelso B-8 Indian Spring Country Club Jason Kirk B-8 Boca Raton Resort & Club Garrett McCready B-8 Redstick Golf Club Evan Mortensen B-8 Willoughby Golf Club Jason Loomis B-8 Ocean Reef Club Christopher Allen B-8 Naples Grande Golf Club
PROS ON THE GO
PROFESSIONAL TO FROM Mike Dopslaff, PGA A-1 – Bentley Village, Naples A-8 – Eastwood CC, Fort Myers Cory J. Titensor B-4 – Ft Myers Bch Golf Club B-8 – The Sanctuary GC Sanibel Joseph Canny, PGA Nebraska Section A-11- PGA of America Maximilliano Alverio B-20- Sports Group B-1 – Palmas Del Mar, Puerto Rico James “Ed” Lockard A-9 – Sanibel Island GC, Sanibel A-4 – The Sanctuary GC, Sanibel
The South Florida PGA Congratulates Bob on his lifelong achievements in the golf industry, and his worthy recognition in the 2012 PGA Golf Professional Hall of Fame.
SOUTH FLORIDA SECTION 186 Atlantis Boulevard Atlantis, FL / 33462 PHONE / FAX 561-729-0544 / 561-729-0914 EMAIL sflorida@pgahq.com WEBSITE www.sfpgagolf.com PRESIDENT Brian Peaper, PGA VICE PRESIDENT Warren Bottke, PGA
BOB TOSKI, PGA INITIATED INTO THE PGA OF AMERICA HALL OF FAME, CLASS OF 2012 Celebrated instructor and member of the South Florida PGA Hall of Fame Class of 2007, Bob Toski of Boca Raton, whose more than six decades of service to the game has inspired players of all abilities, is one of eight inductees enshrined in the 2012 PGA Golf Professional Hall of Fame. Toski, 86, was honored Tuesday, March 12, at the PGA Education Center at PGA Village in Port St. LuPGA of America President, Ted Bishop, and cie, where his name will be Bob Toski, PGA inscribed in granite on the back portico of the adjoining PGA Museum of Golf.
CONTACT US
SECRETARY Mark VanDyck, PGA IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT Steve Cox, PGA SOUTHERN CHAPTER PRESIDENT Dick McNeill, PGA
When: May 6th, 2013 1:00-4:00 PM Where: Bonaventure Resort & Spa 250 Racquet Club Rd Weston, FL 33326 What: Education Seminar 8:30- 11:30 AM Annual Meeting of the Membership 1:00-4:00 PM Complimentary Cocktail Hour Hosted By: PGA National and Keiser University *Immediately following meeting
SOUTHEAST CHAPTER PRESIDENT Neil Lockie, PGA SOUTHWEST CHAPTER PRESIDENT Ben Bryant Jr., PGA ISLAND CHAPTER PRESIDENT Aaron West, PGA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Geoff Lofstead ADVISORY BOARD Paul Anderson Rick Bayliss Steve Sponder Ken Kennerly Matt Lambert Peter Lund
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CHIP SHOTS
CHAD KURMEL, PGA COMPETES AT PUERTO RICO OPEN
Head PGA Professional at Boca Grove Golf and Tennis Club, Chad Kurmel, represented the South Florida PGA in the Puerto Rico Open persented by seepuertorico.com, on March 4-10 at Trump International Golf Club in Rio Grande. Chad qualified for his position in this event by winning the 2012 South Florida PGA Professional Championship/Section Championship in August. The SFPGA congratulates Chad on his performance at the Puerto Rico Open, competing with a strong field of professionals from around the world.
TOPICS NEWSLETTER
LEE RINKER FINISHES TOP 30 AT THE ALLIANZ CHAMPIONSHIP IN BOCA RATON
BEAR’S CLUB ASSISTANT PROFESSIONAL, PAUL SCALETTA, PGA COMPETES AT HONDA CLASSIC Assistant at The
Rinker finished tied 27th in a field of 81. Rinker shot an impressive 7 under par 64 to beat out fellow-competitor Henry Skinner of Sylvester, GA by one stroke during the Monday Qualifier held on February 4th, earning him a position in the field of past senior champions. To see the full, final results from the event, CLICK HERE.
The SFPGA congratulates Paul for his performance at this prestigous PGA Tour event and his admirable represenation of the South Florida PGA.
Congratulations to SFPGA Professional Lee Rinker on his finish at the Allianz Championship, April 4-10th.
Bear’s Club, Paul Scaletta represented the SFPGA in the 2013 Honda Classic this year, February 28-March 3 in Palm Beach Gardens at PGA National Resort and Spa. Paul earned his exemption into this event by recieving the 2012 Player of the Year honors last season.
52 SFPGA PROFESSIONALS WALK WITH THE PROS AT HONDA CLASSIC PRO AM
On Wednesday, February 27th fifty-two South Florida PGA Members and Apprentices walked in The Honda Classic Kenny G Gold Pro-Am presented by Tire Kingdom, serving as pace of play ambassadors with each group. For the past seven years the South Florida PGA and The Honda Classic have provided this unique opportunity to South Florida PGA Professionals and amateurs participating in the Pro-Am. All those participating in the Pro-Am thoroughly enjoyed the day, especially the PGA Professionals, who have an opportunity to interact with the PGA Tour Professionals along with the local amateurs. In return for the support of the Pro-Am, The Honda Classic annually supports The South Florida PGA Foundation and serves as the presenting partner of The South Florida PGA Junior Championship and Challenge Tours.
Tiger Woods and Warren Bottke, PGA
Special thanks to South Florida PGA Professionals: Judy Alvarez, Guy Ashley, Bill Balash, Kevin Battersby, Dana Bennett, Tom Bishop, Warren Bottke, Michael Broad, Steve Clawson, Tim Collins, Bob Coman, David Comstock, Chris Czaja, Chris David, Craig Davis, Tommy Durick, Chris Fletcher, Rafael Floriani, Randy Fluhrer, Bill Freiesing, Greg Gardner, Jeff Hall, Dan Halverson, Chris Hayes, Bill Hensel, Jay Higgins, Mark Iwinski, Mike Jonges, Gerry Knebels, Michael Landry, Robert Lane, Don Law, Todd Leckrone, Dick LeConche, Steve Madsen, Mark Mayette, Dustin McCabe, Thomas McGuirk, Mike McLellan, Bela Nagy, Chet Nowak, Des Pal, Bobby Petelinkar, Trent Reeves, Rick Saunders, Trent Stewart, Mark Thomas, Duncan Tinling, Peter Tyree, Mike Walsh, Craig Watson, and Chris Whitney.
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JUNIOR GOLF NEWS
TOPICS NEWSLETTER
GABRIELE AND KAY CLINCH OVERALL CHAMPIONSHIP TITLES AT PGA NATIONAL
The South Florida PGA Junior Tour presented by the Honda Classic hosted its second Junior Championship Tour Event of the 2013 season this weekend. A full field of 84 juniors from all over South Florida competed in brutally windy conditions on the newly renovated Fazio Course at PGA National Resort and Spa in Palm Beach Gardens on March 23-24.
PRESENTED PRESENTEDBY BY
Anthony Gabriele of Wellington claimed the Boys overall championship with a two-day total 149, a one-stroke lead over Tyler Segal of Boca Raton. Gabriele and Segal competed side-by-side in the final pairing on Sunday in wind gusts of over 35 mph. In the Girls Overall division, Marissa Kay of Delray Beach, claimed her first overall title with a twoday score of 154. She finished four-strokes ahead of Kuriko Tsukiyama of Port St. Lucie. Andrew Kozan, local resident of Palm Beach Gardens, claimed the Boys 13-15 title by shooting a Marissa Kay and Anthony Gabriele two-day total of 154 and clearing the field with a six-stroke advantage. Finishing in second place was Jake Holt of Jupiter shooting a two-round total of 160. In third place was Johnny Newcomm of Tequesta finishing with 162. In the Boys 16-18 year old division, Tyler Segal took home first place honors with a two-day total of 150, finishing just one stroke out of the championship title, but clinching the 16-18 year old division by four strokes. Coming in second in the 16-18 year old division was Palm Beach Gardens local, Zachary Smith, shooting a two-day 154. Finishing in third place was Jackson Shoenfelt of Boynton Beach with a two-day total of 155. In the Girls 13-15 division, Kaley Krayeski of Wellington claimed her first division victory with a two-day total of 165. Emma Bradley of Naples finished in a close second with a two-day 167, and Zora Gittens of Parkland shot a two-day 169 to earn her third place in the 13-15 age division. Kuriko Tsukiyama of Port St. Lucie clinched her second title of the season in the Girls 16-18 division with a two-day total of 158. Jamie Freedman of Miami finished in second place with a two-day 161, and Carolina Garrett, also of Miami won a scorecard playoff against Mary Janiga of Wellington to earn her the third place trophy. Both girls fired two-day totals of 164. Congratulations to all the juniors who competed admirably in tough conditions this weekend, and many thanks go to Jane Broderick, PGA and PGA National for hosting such a spectacular event. The next South Florida PGA Junior Championship Tour event will be held April 6-7 at Indian Springs Country Club in Boynton Beach.
SFPGA JUNIOR TOUR ALUMNI, GREEN, WINS ON LPGA SUNCOAST SERIES TOUR
We are pleased to share that Jaye Marie Green, 2009 SFPGA Junior Tour Alumni, has won the very first LPGA Suncoast Series event of the season held on February 12-13 at the LPGA Legends Course in Daytona Beach. She overcame a very competitive field and performed extremely well shooting 67-70-75 for a three-round total, 4-under-par, 212, and beating out Hee Kyung Bae of Seoul, South Korea by three strokes. We at the South Florida PGA congratulate Jaye Marie on her recent success and wish her the best of luck in her upcoming professional events!
SFPGA JUNIOR TOUR ALUMNI, PEAPER, FINISHES TOP 15
South Florida PGA Junior Tour Alumni, Brant Peaper, son of South Florida PGA President, Brian Peaper, finished in a tie for 11th at the Bayou City Collegiate Championship in Humble, Texas this past month. Peaper was one-under-par going into his final round and carded an even-par 72 on the final day to secure a spot in the top 15. Peaper continued to lead his time through his steady play, recording 14 pars, two birdies, and two bogey’s in his final round. His three round total of 215 (72-71-72, -1) landed him his 10th career Top 15 finish in his collegiate history. Peaper was also named Big Ten Player of the Week on March 20th for his performance in the Mission Inn Spring Spectacular tournament after carding a 3-round total of 3-under-par to finish in second place. We congratulate Brant on his excellent finish in the Bayou City Collegiate Championship and impressive collegiate career.
SUPPORTED BY
FOUNDATION NEWS
TOPICS NEWSLETTER
JOIN IN THE CAUSE, HAVE FUN, GIVE BACK!
A great way to support the South florida PGA Foundation and our involvement in the community is to register online today at pgagolfday.com with the South Florida Section and encourage family and friends to pledge on your behalf. Your mission will be to play 100 holes of continuous golf in one day. For each hole you play, you may ask family, friends and other sponsors to donate $1 or more, which will go directly back to the SFPGA Foundation, and the charity of your choosing. * PGA Professionals do much more than play golf...but this spring/summer playing golf is a way to give back! * The estimated time to play is between 11 and 14 hours with no breaks along the way. * A portion of proceeds raised will go to support other charities that you can choose! * Most who participate will commit to play 100 holes of golf or more, all in one day, one ball, and one hole at a time. However, we encourage people to use their imagination to Join these SFPGA Professionals who have al- come up with new ideas to promote the game of golf through ready made a committment to dedicate their these events. After all, the goal is to raise money for the talents to raising money for SFPGA Founda- Foundation and all the wonderful charities are participants support. tino and the charity of their choosing: * Use this opportunity to connect with your members on a whole different level. Engage with members; give a portion Larry Gantzer, PGA - Grey Oaks CC of proceeds to a charity they support; become more than a Tom Yeager, PGA - Hobe Sound GC golf professional by becoming a local hero. Jeff Hall, PGA - Westchester G&CC
EARN MSR CREDITS - GROW THE GAME - BE A ROLE MODEL
The perfect way to give back to your section, while earning your MSR service credits is to volunteer one or two days out of your summer season to help the South Florida PGA Junior Tour. The SFPGA Junior Championship and Challenge Tour Events cannot run smoothly without the help of your knowledge and expertise on both the rules of golf and pace of play procedures. You will earn 1 MSR credit for each hour volunteered at a Junior Tour Event to be seen as a role model to juniors and a standout to your SFPGA staff. If you have interest in volutneering your time to help encourage our young talent in South Florida, please contact JoAnna Smith at the section office (561-729-0544 or jsmith@pgahq.com).
UPCOMING OPPORTUNITIES
DATE FACILITY LOCATION JUNIOR TOUR April 6-7 Indian Springs CC Boynton Beach Championship Tour April 13-14 Winston Trails GC Lake Worth Challenge Tour April 20-21 Indian Springs CC Boynton Beach Challenge Tour
HABITAT FOR HUMANITY KICK-OFF DATE SET FOR APRIL 19TH
The offiicial groundbreaking ceremony for the 2013 Habitat for Humanity Build will be held on April 19th at the Habitat location at the Kennedy Estates II in Jupiter. The address of the home is 17170 Foundation Way, in Jupiter, FL 33458. Volunteers will be needed for in mid to late May for our build dates. Look for more information via email on how you can help the SFPGA Foundation and give back to the community for this great cause!
FOUNDATION PRO-AM
Save the date, Thursday, May 2nd as the South Florida PGA will be conducting the fourth annual South Florida PGA Foundation Tire Kingdom Charity Pro-Am at Lost Tree Club. This event serves as one of the primary fundraisers for foundation activities annually, and with the extreme growth the Foundation has seen over the last nine years and is a vital comonent of the Foundation’s involvement in the South Florida Community. If you would like to participate in this event please CLICK HERE for complete event details.
SFPGA FOUDATION DONOR, THE HONDA CLASSIC, CELEBRATES ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL EVENT
SFPGA Foundation Donor and Presenting Partner of the SFPGA Junior Championship and Challenge Tours, The Honda Classic, celebrated another successful event at PGA National Resort and Spa February 28th-March 3rd. A very competitive field attracted many local and non-local spectators who watched as Michael Thompson finished the event with an inpressive fourday total of 9-under-par to claim his first win on the PGA Tour. We congratulate Ken Kennerly, SFPGA Advisory Board member, on another successful year as Executive Director of The Honda Classic.
FOUNDATION NEWS
TOPICS NEWSLETTER
SMILING FORE LIFE PROGRAM MAKES A LASTING IMPACT
UPCOMING EVENTS
n April 2010, the South Florida PGA Foundation created Smiling Fore Life, a program encouraging SFPGA Professionals to visit local children’s hospitals weekly. These visits help bring golf into the lives of children who may be experiencing hardship, and it allows them an opportunity to forget about their challenges and enjoy a pleasurable new activity. Now in its third year, the Smiling Fore Life program has seen numerous successes. The program has expanded to five locations throughout the section, impacting countless families. For most children who participate in the program, it offers a wonderful distraction from their hospital stay. Golf gives them something to look forward to every week, as well as an activity to focus on that they have control over in an otherwise uncontrollable situation. An example of this success comes from our original location: Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital in Hollywood. While there, a young man had become a regular in the weekly program, always excited when it was golf time. After the SFPGA Foundation installed a putting green at the hospital last fall, this young man received a putter as a gift and could often be found practicing his putting, even during non-golf times. After being absent from golf for a few weeks, Dave Cunliffe, a PGA Professional involved in the program, inquired where the young man was, as he was a regular in the group. Dave learned that the boy had undergone a heart transplant and was not able to participate for a little while. Dave understood that when he was able to, the youngster would be back at golf, and wanted to do something that would cheer him up and help him to get excited and ready to play. Working for the Don Law Golf Academy, Dave came across some donated clubs and put together a set of clubs for the young man. After a few weeks, while he still wasn’t healthy enough to participate in the class, the youngster did come to watch his friends participate, just to be around the game he was learning to love. While presenting the boy with his new set of clubs, Dave was able to speak with him about PGA Tour member Erik Compton, who has successfully undergone 2 heart transplants, and is succeeding in the professional golf arena. Because of the South Florida PGA Foundation’s Smiling Fore Life program, this boy has found a new sport that has given him something to look forward to during his treatments. For that hour every week, he is a golfer, not a patient in the hospital. Because of his new clubs, it will be easier for him to continue with the game once he returns home, and regains his strength. Through this program, he has also found a new role model and tour pro, who has been through similar health struggles and has enjoyed success as a professional athlete. The Smiling Fore Life program has been able to impact juniors and their families, while giving them an enjoyable experience to look forward to every week. For more information on the program, please visit our website here. If you would like to be involved with or make a contribution to the Smiling Fore Life program, please contact Meredith Schechter at mschechter@ pgahq.com.
PARTNER NEWS
As always the South Florida PGA has been hard at work in solidifying partnership support to assist in conducting Section and Foundation events throughout the year in addition to providing our membership with more benefits. This year we have received support from over 45 companies and organizations throughout South Florida. As they support the Section, we in turn ask for your help in supporting them when making purchases at your facility. Of the over 45 companies, please note the following partners that are new in 2013:
AMJ CAMPBELL/ATLAS * BUSHNELL * CHIQUITA * CLEVELAND/SRIXON * CLUB GLOVE * COBRA PUMA GOLF * FAIRWAY & GREENE * JFK EMERGENCY CARE CENTER * JOHN WEBSTER GOLF ACADEMY * OGIO * YAMAHA
PLAYERS ABILITY TEST April 1 Dorado del Mar SOUTHWEST CHAPTER TOURNAMENT OF CHARITIES April 1 Pelican Preserve Golf Club SOUTHERN CHAPTER SPRING MEETING/PRO-SPONSOR April 1 Stoneybrook GC of Estero ISLAND CHAPTER - PRO-AM #1 April 3 Rio Mar SOUTHWEST CHAPTER - PRO-AM April 5 Royal Palm Country Club JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP TOUR #3 April 6-7 Indian Springs CC PLAYING ABILITY TEST April 8 Country Club of Coral Springs SOUTHWEST CHAPTER - PRO-AM April 12 Highland Woods G & CC JUNIOR CHALLENGE TOUR #2 April 13-14 Winston Trails Golf Club ISLAND CHAPTER BRIDGESTONE PLAYER’S SERIES #1 April 17 Trump International GC PRO-OFFICIAL April 18 Wildcat Run Golf & CC JUNIOR CHALLENGE TOUR #3 April 20-21 Indian Springs CC NELSON CUP MATCHES April 22 Country Club of Coral Springs JUNIOR SENIOR April 24 The Links at Boynton Beach SOUTHWEST CHAPTER - PRO-AM April 26 Worthington Country Club PLAYERS ABILITY TEST April 29 Stoneybrook GC of Estero SOUTHERN CHAPTER - PRO-ONLY #1 April 29 TBD
RULES WITH DREW
MAN VS NATURE
Last summer I wrote an article on Mother Nature causing havoc at the AT&T National event at Congressional Golf Club outside of Washington DC where mid-summer storms blew through the area knocking down trees and bleachers, leaving all kinds of debris in her wake. Well, if you’ve been able to tune into any PGA Tour action thus far this year you know that Mother Nature has reared her ugly head again. The Tour has had to deal with high winds in Hawaii, fog in California and most recently, snow in Arizona. Just as I did last June, I took those situations and related them to the Rules of Golf for this month’s segment of Rules with Drew. The Hyundai Championship, contested the first week of January had extremely high wind gusts forcing the Tour to suspend and even cancel rounds. For instance, the first pairing of the Championship, Ricky Fowler and Jason Dufner made it through eight holes before the round was cancelled. Later that week the Tour tried again to start round one and did so but eventually had to suspend play and ultimately cancel the round again when conditions went from bad to worse. Rule 33-2d gives the committee the authority to cancel a round. It states, “If the Committee or its authorized representative considers that for any reason the course is not in a playable condition or that there are circumstances that render the proper playing of the game impossible, it may, in match play or stroke play, order a temporary suspension of play or, in stroke play, declare play null and void and cancel all scores for the round in question. When a round is canceled, all penalties incurred in that round are canceled.” 2012 US Open winner, Webb Simpson, who was playing behind Fowler and Dufner was sitting at 3 under par through eight holes. Unfortunately for Webb, his score was wiped out when the round was cancelled. There was only one other player under par at the time the round was cancelled. Rule 33-2d gives the Committee the authority to cancel a round and void all scores but are there any guidelines for when a round should be cancelled? Decision
RULE 33-2d Hyundai Championship Photo courtesy of PGATour.com Stan Badz
33-2d/1 states, “There is no hard-and-fast rule (when to cancel a round). The proper action depends on the circumstances in each case and must be left to the judgment of the Committee. Generally, a round should be canceled only in a case where it would be grossly unfair not to cancel it. For example, if some competitors begin a round under extremely adverse weather conditions, conditions subsequently worsen and further play that day is impossible, it would be unfair to the competitors who started not to cancel the round.” Decision 33-2d/1 perfectly sums up the situation at the Hyundai. The first round began under high winds. As the round progressed the winds got worse ultimately leading to golf balls being blown off the greens by the high gusts. As the forecast called for those sustained gusts the rest of the day, the Tour was forced to cancel the round. Last month at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship in Arizona the Tour had to deal with another curve ball tossed by Mother Nature, snow. Just three hours and 42 minutes into the first round matches, play was suspended by the committee when rain and sleet turned to snow. The end result was two inches of snow blanketing the entire course. The Rules of Golf define snow as either casual water or a loose impediment at the option of the player. Given that snow falls under two different categorizes, the player, depending on the circumstance, can proceed under Rule 23 or 25, depending on which Rule would be more advantageous for him/her. For instance, let’s assume that a player’s ball lies in a bunker
on a small pile of accumulated snow. If the snow was treated as a loose impediment, the player would not be permitted to touch the snow (Rule 13-4) and the only relief available would cost him/her a stroke under Rule 28. On the other hand, if the snow is treated as casual water, the player may take free relief under Rule 25-1bii(a). The player would also be permitted to play the ball as it lies and even touch the snow in the bunker with his club prior to making a stroke (Decision 13-4/7). How would you rule if there was a small accumulation of snow on the putting green between your ball and the hole and your ball was on the putting green? If the snow is treated as a loose impediment, the player is permitted to remove the snow without restriction provided s/he doesn’t push any of it down. If the snow is treated as casual water, the player may take free relief under Rule 25-1biii. However, if the player treats the snow as casual water, s/he must not try to remove any of the snow as doing so would be a breach of Rule 16-1a for which the penalty is two strokes (Decision 16-1a/1). The status of the snow dictates what we can and cannot do under the Rules which could either hurt or hinder the player. WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship Photo courtesy of Denverpost.com
Hopefully you never have to deal with either of the two issues the Tour dealt with earlier this year, especially snow given our geographic location. However, if you are presented with an issue requiring you to cancel a round, just try to do what you feel is the most equitable for the entire field keeping in mind Decision 33-2d/1.
MEMBER BENEFITS
PGA OF AMERICA
PGA of AmericA member benefits
As a PGA Professional there are a wide range of benefits, services and resources available to you and your facility. We encourage you to visit the PGA benefits section on PGALinks.com, as new offerings are added frequently.
| Official card • American express uses a single base merchant discount rate, which is perceived to be higher than competitors. review your merchant statements because competitors have incremental fees in addition to what is perceived as their aggregated rate. • Golf retirement Plustm incentives • incentive funding supports your PGA section’s programs. • American express/PGA friend of a cardmember generates new business. • to become an American express merchant, call (888) 879-2639.
| Official Vehicle • executive Allowance bonus (eAb) Program with purchase or lease savings incentives up to $4,000 • e Ab is incremental to most local and national promotions. • to receive the incentive, visit www.fleet.mbusa.com/pgaa and complete the enrollment form using corporate Account number 017909. • complete details can be found on the mercedes-benz page on PGALinks.com – benefits
| Official TiMeKeePer • 20% off the retail price of a timepiece • offer is only valid through an omeGA boutique or by calling 212-207-3333. • one timepiece per calendar year per PGA member and excludes special limited editions.