2012 October Topics Newsletter

VOLUME 22 NO. 7 - OCTOBER 2012

TOPICS NEWSLETTER

SENIOR SECTION CHAMPIONSHIP GLOBAL GOLF SALES CUP JUNIOR TOUR NEWS 2012 SFPGA AWARD WINNERS & MORE...

CHIP SHOTS NEW APPRENTICES

The South Florida PGA would like to welcome the following new apprentices to the Section: Michael Kauffmann B-8 Royal Palm CC Jimmy Rios B-8 Heron Bay Golf Club Gary Shea B-8 Foxfire Country Club Alvyz Alvarez B-8 Indian Spring CC

QUARTER CENTURY CLUB

CONTACT SOUTH FLORIDA SECTION

186 Atlantis Boulevard Congratulations to PGA members Douglas Reed, Jeff Raimer, Bob Hunter, and Atlantis, FL / 33462 Tim Fredeen who were all elected to the Quarter Century Club of the PGA of America, an elite group of members who have served the PGA with honor and pride PHONE / FAX for 25 years.

561-729-0544 / 561-729-0914

HALF CENTURY CLUB

Congratulations to PGA members Craig Shankland and Joseph Lopez who were EMAIL all elected to the Quarter Century Club of the PGA of America, an elite group of sflorida@pgahq.com members who have served the PGA with honor and pride for 50 years.

2012 SFPGA AWARD WINNERS HONORED AT 34TH ANNUAL SFPGA AWARDS DINNER NOVEMBER 12TH

WEBSITE

www.sfpgagolf.com

This year’s annual Hall of Fame dinner will be held on November 12th, 2012 at The PRESIDENT Country Club at Mirasol where the two 2012 South Florida PGA Hall of Fame nominees, Joe Steranka and Tim Rosaforte, will be honored along with the 11 SFPGA Brian Peaper, PGA Annual Award recipients. This year’s SFPGA Annual Award recipients are:

Golf Professional of the Year Karl Bublitz, PGA of Grey Oaks Country Club Teacher of the Year Andy Scott, PGA of the Andy Scott School of Golf at Kelly Greens Golf and Country Club Junior Golf Leader Craig Watson, PGA of The First Tee of the Palm Beaches Assistant of the Year Dan Terlescki, PGA of the Everglades Club Bill Strausbaugh Award Pat Gorman, PGA of Bend Pine Golf Club Horton Smith Award Bill Davis, PGA of the Jupiter Hills Club Player Development Award Jeff Nixon, PGA of Stoneybrook Golf Club Merchandiser of the Year in a Private Facility Christy Hedrick, PGA of Fiddlesticks Country Club Merchandiser of the Year in a Public Facility John Miller, PGA of the Country Club of Miami Merchandiser of the Year in a Resort Facility Bob Coman, PGA of Turnberry Isle Salesperson of the Year Bill Bishop with Taylormade Adidas Ashworth.

VICE PRESIDENT Warren Bottke, PGA

SECRETARY

Mark VanDyck, PGA

IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT Steve Cox, PGA

SOUTHERN CHAPTER PRESIDENT Dick McNeill, PGA

SOUTHEAST CHAPTER PRESIDENT Neil Lockie, PGA

SOUTHWEST CHAPTER PRESIDENT Ben Bryant Jr., PGA

ISLAND CHAPTER PRESIDENT Brian Shaver, PGA

The SFPGA Hall of Fame was established in 2002 and now honors 29 individuals who EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR have been invaluable to the legacy of golf in South Florida. Both Joe Steranka, CEO Geoff Lofstead of the PGA of America, and Tim Rosaforte, famed sports writer and personality, have done just that.

ADVISORY BOARD

Paul Anderson Rick Bayliss Steve Sponder Ken Kennerly Matt Lambert “Golf and the PGA have taken me places I never could have dreamed of, from green- Peter Lund side perspectives for thrilling PGA Championships to the Oval Office and around the world from lunch with the Duke of York to meetings with the China Ministry of Sport,” Steranka said. “Along the way I have met the most inspirational people whose passion for the game brought out the best in me. These people are not celebrities but grassroots PGA members. They love golf, they protect and grow the game and they enjoy making people happy when they come to their courses and ranges.”

Steranka announced his retirement earlier this year after seven years as chief executive officer of the PGA of America, headquartered in Palm Beach Gardens. He joined the Association in 1988 as director of communications after serving in marketing, sales and public relations positions with the NBA’s Washington Bullets and Cleveland Cavaliers, then with ProServe, a player representative firm.

CHIP SHOTS From 1980 through 1994, Rosaforte was an awards winning golf writer for daily newspapers in St. Petersburg, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. Since then he has worked for Sports Illustrated, Golf World/Golf Digest, the PGA Tour, NBC, USA Network and Golf Channel. He is a past president of the Golf Writers Association of America and has written five books. The SFPGA is honored to have these two invaluable additions to the Hall of Fame.

GOLF INDUSTRY SEMINAR TO FEATURE JACK NICKLAUS, JOE STERANKA AND DONNA ORENDER

Save the date now for Friday, October 5th! The South Florida PGA in cooperation with the Florida Club Managers Association of America will conduct a golf industry seminar featuring Jack Nicklaus, Joe Steranka, Donna Orender, and Nicklaus Companies. Topics to be discussed include: Golf 2.0, retaining and attracting women to the game, state of the game/industry, course set up to help the beginner golfer, golf course design, and sustainability.

All attendees are encouraged to bring any and all club officials. The seminar will begin at 9:30 AM and go until 2:30 PM at PGA National Resort and Spa in Palm Beach Gardens. Cost to attend is $75/person. To register online, CLICK HERE.

SFPGA JUNIORS COME IN 4TH AT FIRST EVER PGA JUNIOR LEAGUE GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPS IN CHICAGO SFPGA Junior Tour Juniors travelled to Chicago to compete at Cog Hill Golf and Country Club in the first ever PGA Junior League Golf Championship. The Florida AllStar team had representation from the SFPGA Junior Tour, including: Michael Checo, Justin Cao, Matthew Glenn, Sarah Noonan, and Griffin Thompson.

“We offer congratulations to not only the team from California but to all of the teams,” said PGA of America President Allen Wronowski. “The PGA of America is proud to bring this recreational youth sports team concept to golf. This was an incredible finale to a great first year, and we look forward to engaging many more young golfers next year.”

QUOTE OF THE MONTH DO NOT FOLLOW WHERE THE PATH MAY LEAD. GO INSTEAD WHERE THERE IS NO PATH, AND LEAVE A TRAIL. - HAROLD R. McALINDON

Coordinated by The PGA of America and LEJ Sports, PGA Junior League Golf (www.

PGAJrLeagueGolf.com) is a new team concept for aspiring young golfers, ages 7-13, similar to “Little League Baseball.” More than 1,800 children competed on more than 120 teams from 22 markets in league play this summer. Five Regional champions, plus the Illinois team (host market), advanced to the championship.

Each team played three head-to-head matches with the Championship decided by the team with the best overall record: Champion: California (San Francisco) 3-0, Captain Andy Nisbet, PGA, 29 Points 2nd: Georgia (Atlanta) 2-1, Captain Chuck Scoggins, PGA, 23 Points 3rd: Texas (Houston) 2-1, Captain Aurora Kirchner-McClain, PGA, 18 Points 4th: Florida (Boca Raton) 1-2, Captain Roger Van Dyke, PGA, 19.5 Points 5th: Illinois (Chicago) 1-2, Captain Dennis Johnsen, PGA, 11.5 Points 6th: New Jersey 0-3, Captain Bill Fox, PGA, 7 Points The concept brings players together to learn the game among their peers under the direction of PGA/LPGA Professionals (team captains). Parents play an active role, making the program a family activity to create another generation of players to enjoy the game. No previous playing experience is required and players of varied skill levels filled out the teams. Matches are coed, two-person scrambles, reinforcing the team concept and limiting the pressure on any one player. Much like other league sports, participants play in team uniforms with jersey numbers. The program will be available nationally in 2013.

PROS ON THE GO PROFESSIONAL

TO FROM

David Weiss, PGA Duncan Tinling, PGA David Feightner, PGA Joshua Hershoff, PGA

A-1 – Forest Glen CC, Naples unattached A-1 – Club at Mediterra, Naples A-1 – Wilderness CC, Naples

A-1 A-1 A-1 A-8

Verandah Golf Club, Ft. Myers – Links at Fisher Isl, Miami Bch – Ocean Reef Club, Key Largo – Illinois Section

BEST PRACTICES

FORT LAUDERDALE CC NINE AND WINE What better way to wind down after a long Wednesday than to have some girl time on the course and enjoy good company, great golf instruction, and a little vino? As part of the Golf 2.0 initiative of engaging women in the game, The Fort Lauderdale Country Club Ladies “Nine and Wine” has become quite a success for Fort Lauderdale Country Club. Adopting a similar format as the “Chip and Sip” program run by Warren Bottke, PGA at Abacoa Golf Club, Mark VanDyck, PGA, Director of Golf at Fort Lauderdale Country Club was able to begin a nine hole league for women which has not only become a huge success among members, but has brought new members to his facility through the program.

Beginning ladies (and others with a wider range of ability) get together every Wednesday night at 5:00pm. They meet at the putting green where they get a short, 15 minute clinic from one of the PGA professionals at Fort Lauderdale CC, then head on out on the course at 5:45pm for a nine hole event. To keep the pace of play moving and to encourage the ladies not to get frustrated if they are having a rough hole, the staff has created a pace of play of one hour and 48 minutes under the following guidelines:

Par 3’s: Par 4’s: Par 5’s:

10 minutes 12 minutes 14 minutes

If they fail to complete the hole in the alotted time, they pick up and head back to the cart for a sip of wine when time expires.

After golf, they head upstairs in the clubhouse for a glass of wine and some dinner which have increased sales in the food and beverage department of the facility as well.

Some of the lady members who regularly participate in Wine and Nine bring out a guest (typically a non-golfer) to enjoy a Wednesday afternoon stroll on the golf course and a great evening in the clubhouse. Fort Lauderdale Country Club has been able to recruit new members through this program, both growing their membership and growing the game!

GOLF 2.0 TIP OF THE MONTH

Do you have young children participating in community recreational leagues? Do you find yourself spending free nights and weekends watching games and tournaments at the fields at your local park? Why not bring out a set of SNAG golf equipment and set up a small SNAG course to draw the attention of those young siblings who might not be old enough to play on the team yet, or the children who are waiting to take the field for their own game? Maybe you catch the attention of a parent or guardian of a child who is interested in learning golf and would like to take lessons, but hasn’t had the opportunity to get out to a course. Seeking untraditional methods to grow your client base of new golfers can yield positive growth for you, your facility, and your merchandise and equipment sales.

TOURNAMENT NEWS

ST. ANDREWS CC SENIOR SECTION CHAMPIONSHIP BOCA RATON, Fla. John Lee of Naples, playing in his fourth seniors tournament

SUPPORTED BY since turning 50 in February, won for the first time against vet set competition

Friday, capturing the 30th annual South Florida PGA Section Seniors Championship at St. Andrews Country Club.

The head professional at Imperial Country Club since 1993, Lee birdied four straight holes midway through the final round for 65-134 to win by two strokes.

In scoring the low number of the tournament, he did not make a bogey the final round but had a marvelous par-save at the par-4 seventh hole to ignite his rally.

“I thought for sure the ball was headed for the lake after it hit a tree on the right side of the fairway,” Lee said. “But it pin-balled around up in the tree, then dropped straight down on the edge of the fairway. I had about 105 yards to the hole, hit it to five feet and made the par. That was huge.”

John Lee, PGA and Paul Clivio, PGA

Lee followed with birdies at 8, 9, 10 and 11. He also birdied the second hole “to give me a good start,” he said, the fourth and 13th. Lee earned $1,557 from the $13,250 purse.

Earlier this summer, he was second in the senior division of the South Florida Open, tied for sixth in the SFPGA Senior Open and tied for eighth in the Florida Senior Open. Those three were worth a combined $1,665.

Ken Martin, a teaching professional at Village Golf Club in Royal Palm Beach, eagled the par-5 18th hole to snag second here on 69-136. Roger Kennedy Sr. of Stuart made 18 straight pars to win the 65-over age group by a shot with a pair of 72s for 144. Bryan Abbott of Jupiter was second with 74-71-145.

Lee also leads SFPGA qualifiers into the Senior PGA Professional National Championship Oct. 11-14 on two courses in Virginia.

Others were Lee Rinker, Frank Dobbs, Jerry Tucker, Jim Karr, Gary Knapp, Gene Fieger, John Nelson and Michael Brooks. John Calabria will be the first alternate after losing on the third extra hole in a playoff at 142 with Knapp, Fieger, Nelson and Brooks. Exempt from qualifying were Martin, the runner-up last year, and former champions Pete Oakley, Mike San Filippo and Ed Sabo.

OLD MARSHGLOBAL GOLF CLUB GOLF SALES CUP Huge thanks to Paul Clivio, PGA Director of Golf at St. Andrews Country Club and his staff for hosting this great event.

PRESENTED BY Mike Kostelnik of the Lost Tree Club and Andrew Zullo of Bay Colony Golf Club finished tied for 1st in the

inaugural Global Golf Sales Cup with scores of +11 each taking home $3,345.29 from the total purse payout of $39,150.00. The event was hosted at Old Marsh Golf Club in Palm Beach Gardens.

The Global Golf Sales Cup was a stableford event with each player being assigned a point quota. The players point quota was determined by their stroke average from the 2012 playing season. The number of stableford points accumulated for the round was subtracted from the point quota leaving the player with either positive or negative score for the event.

Kostelnik accumulated 47 stableford points with a point quota of 36. Zullo made 46 stableford points and had a quota of 35.

Coming in third place with a score of +9 was Brian Peaper, also of the Lost Tree Club. All players, 48 in all, who reached or exceeded their point quota collected a purse check.

Prior the event, many South Florida PGA Professionals made donations to the Quantum House in the form of kitchen and laundry room items as well as gift cards. Quantum House is a caring and supportive home for families whose children are receiving treatment in Palm Beach Country for a serious medical condition. Thank you to everyone who supported this cause.

In addition to supporting the event, Steve Sponder of Global Golf Sales contested six Closest-to-the-Hole contests throughout the summer. The winners and runners-up from those contests competed in a shootout format before today’s round for a chance to win a cruise for two to the Bahamas. Nine players each took a swing from 159 yards with Mark Ledom of the Jim McLean Golf School winning the trip after his shot finished 10’-5” from the hole.

Special thanks to Steve Sponder of Global Golf Sales for his continued support of Section activities and the tremendous success of this inaugural season ending event. Additional thanks to Tom Dyer, PGA Director of Golf from Old Marsh Golf Club and his staff and superintendent Al Clements who went above and beyond expectations in helping to administer the event and in getting the golf course ready for competition.

JUNIOR TOUR NEWS JUNIOR TOUR #13 WYCLIFFE GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB PRESENTED BY

SUPPORTED BY

ATLANTIS, FL – The South Florida PGA Junior Tour presented by the Honda Classic hosted Event #13 on the West course at Wycliffe Golf and Country Club in Lake Worth on September 15-16.

Kritsarin Oukosavanna of Boca Raton claimed his first Overall Title in the Boys 14-18 division after defeating Zachary Smith of Palm Beach Gardens on the third playoff hole. Both players had a two day score of 147. Smith took home first place in the Bys 16-18 division. Tying for second place with a 148 were: Tim Cahill of Royal Palm Beach and Ryan Lynch of Boynton Beach.

In the Boys 14-15 division, Harry Brenner of Boca Raton came in first with a 152. Finishing second with a 157 from Pembroke Pines, was Ryan Stenmark. Coming in third from Stuart with a 161, was Tim Graham.

Shyanne Lovan, Head PGA Professional Ray Nalbandian, and Kritsarin Oukosavanna

Shyanne Lovan of Wellington claimed her first Overall Title in the Girls 14-18 division with a two-day score of 153. Finishing first in the Girls 16-18 division with a 159, was Radi Sauro of Lake Worth. Katelin Glass of Lake Worth finished second with a 163. Coming in third with a 165, was Janelle Johnson of Royal Palm Beach.

In the Girls 14-15 division, Mary Janiga of Wellington finished first with a 156. Kaely Krayeski of Wellington came in second with a 157. Finishing third with a 172 was Gabriela Ferre of Weston.

In the Boys 12-13 division, Alberto Martinez of Weston claimed his fifth title of the season with a 10 stroke victory. Martinez shot a 2-under, 142 total score for the two days. Anthony Muttillo of Boca Raton finished second with a 152. Tying for third place with a score of 158: Jonathon Cachon of Weston, Evan Hoppenstein of Boca Raton, and Reece Kornfeld of Jupiter.

In the Girls 12-13 division, Valeria Sophia of Hallendale Beach won her fifth event with a 12 shot lead. Sophia finished with a two-day total score of 157. Georgette Garcia of Davie finished second with a 166. Coming in third with a 167, was Paige Lee Garris of West Palm Beach.

Thank you to Ray Nalbandian, PGA and the staff at Wycliffe Golf & Country Club for hosting this event.

PRO-JUNIOR THE POLO CLUB OF BOCA RATON PRESENTED BY

Alan Morin of The Falls Country Club with junior partner, Andrew Chambers, won the South Florida PGA Pro-Junior presented by SNAG Golf, Saturday at The Polo Club of Boca Raton.

With a 12-under round of 60, Morin and Chambers claimed a 3-stroke victory over the 39 other teams competing in the event.

The 2012 event was the first time the event has been hosted by the section in 8 years. One professional was paired with one junior for a team competing in a 18 hole event; 9-hole scramble and 9-hole better ball format.

Big thanks to Director of Golf, Mary Beth Corrigan and Head PGA Professional Sherry Zimet along with the rest of their professional staff for hosting this event.

Kelly McCammon, SNAG Golf, Don Law, PGA, Andrew Chambers, Alan Morin, PGA, Dylon Miller, PGA

About SNAG Golf: Over the past 10 years, SNAG® Golf has built a premier learning system recognized by industry leaders around the world as the superior method to teach golf fundamentals in a fun and easy way. SNAG® Golf provides cutting edge learning techniques never before seen in the world of golf. http://www.snaggolf.com

RULES WITH DREW RULE 6 & RULE 25 TO PLAY OR NOT TO PLAY?

Last month the Section administered a Pre-Qualifying stage of PGA Tour Q-School at Bear Lakes Country Club. As is usually the case in South Florida in the summer time, we had our challenges with the weather. Usually you don’t have to worry about rain or thunderstorms until the early afternoon, but that certainly was not the case this particular week.

During the first two days of this 54-hole event we had to deal with significant rain early and often which lead to some interesting rules situations. Below are two of my encounters.

Pace of play is always going to be at the forefront of issues when administering any of the stages of PGA Tour Qualifying School.

And when you add rain, wind and umbrellas to the equation, you can bet the pace suffers.

During the second round of the event, we had a good size rain cloud move in which was dumping a fair amount of rain. We continued to play given that there was no electricity in the area, the players were in no danger and the course remained playable.

On a side note, I’ve noticed a direct correlation between how hard the rain is falling and the pace of play. It seems the harder the rain is falling, the slower the play. With that being said, I was watching a group in the middle of the second fairway. All three players were standing near their tee shots and no one was preparing to play. I watched for a few more minutes and still no one made a stroke. So I decided to drive over to them to see if they needed any help. Once I arrived I asked one of the players if they needed a ruling. He said, “No, we’re fine.” So I said, “Why aren’t you playing?” He responded, “Because we see puddles of water developing on the green. Doesn’t that make the course unplayable?” I said, “No, the course is not currently unplayable and Rule 25 covers us in the case of casual water on the putting green. So, you need to continue playing and if we need to take relief from casual water on the putting green we will do so when your ball is on the green.” I was taken aback by his reply when he said, “What if we don’t continue playing.” I waited a few seconds to respond to see if he was joking but after a few moments I could tell he was serious. So I said, “At this time the committee has determined that the course is playable and if you don’t continue playing you will be in breach of Rule 6-8 for which the penalty is disqualification.” Rule 6-8 says that the player must not discontinue play unless: the committee has suspended play; he believes there is danger from lightning; he is seeking a decision from the committee on a doubtful or disputed point; or there is some other good reason such as sudden illness.

Bad weather is not of itself a good reason for discontinuing play. Some might think that Rule 6-7 which states, “The player must play without undue delay,” would apply in this situation. But Rule 6-8 is the one that applies because the players had not delayed play but had in fact discontinued play. The difference is significant because a breach of Rule 6-7 results in a 2 stroke penalty, not disqualification.

After the exchange with the player in the second fairway, I noticed a group of players on the sixth green waiving me over for a ruling. I got in my cart and drove over to assist them all the while hoping the player took my suggestion/advice to heart and continued playing. As I walked up on the green I could tell the player was looking for casual water relief. I asked how I could help and the player said, “I think I have casual water on my line of putt.” I took a look and really didn’t see any.

While I was examining the green, the players caddie walked parallel to the line of putt and pushed down hard on the green with his foot and said, “See, we’ve got casual water.” I explained to the caddie that yes, there was water around his foot, but the rules do not permit him to press down hard to try to create casual water. Decision 25/4 states, “In a wet area, casual water is not visible before or after the player takes his normal stance. However, by pressing down hard with one foot, the player causes water to appear around the sole of his shoe. Is the player entitled to relief under Rule 25-1b? No. Water visible through undue effort with the feet is not casual water.” I further explained that unless the casual water was visible before or after the player took his stance, he was not entitled to relief. Decision 25/5 states, “A player’s ball lies on a putting green. Casual water is not visible on the green.

However, when the player walks beside his line of putt, casual water is visible around the player’s feet. Is the player entitled to relief? Not unless there is casual water visible around the player’s feet when he takes his stance.” The player thanked me for my time and knocked in his five footer without hesitation.

No matter what stage of PGA Tour Qualifying School is being contested, it can be stressful for both players and officials. After all these guys are playing for their livelihoods. A bad week or even a bad day could result in them not qualifying for the next stage which correlates with the playing opportunities that will be available to them in the coming year. As an official, I don’t take it personally when a player challenges me on a ruling as I can appreciate how important each and every stroke is to the player.