Golf Guide-May 24, 2020

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THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

MAY 24, 2020

GOLF

AREA COURSE GUIDE Avondale GC: Hayden Lake, Idaho, (208) 7725963. 18-hole greens fees: weekends/weekdays, $61.50, except Mondays at $47. 9-hole weekends/ weekdays, $33. 18-hole seniors (60+), $55. 18-hole juniors, $47. 18-hole cart fee: $35; 9-hole: $19. Tee times: no deadlines. (avondalegolfcourse.com) Bryden Canyon GC: Lewiston, Idaho, (208) 746-0863. 18-hole greens fees: weekends $29; weekdays, $25. 9-hole: daily, $18. Junior rate, free with adult round. College rate, $18 with ID, $6 for LCSC student/faculty. 18-hole cart fee: $20 per rider; 9-hole: $15 per rider. Replay rate, $10. Tee times: no deadlines. (brydencanyongolf.com) Chewelah G&CC: (509) 935-6807. Course Open-September 30 weekend/weekday (includes cart): 27 holes $75/$70; 18 holes $60/$55. Every day after 2 p.m. (includes cart): 18-hole, $40; 9-hole, $27.

Seniors 9 holes $17, 18 holes $42/$32, 27 holes $52/ $42; juniors free on 9 holes with paying adult, 18 holes $38/$24, 27 holes $43/$27. Walking rates all season weekend/weekday: 9 holes $24, 18 holes $42/$37, 27 holes $52/$47. Tee times: up to 14 days in advance. (chewelahgolf.com) Circling Raven GC: Worley, Idaho, (800) 5232464. 18-hole greens fees (with golf cart, GPS, and use of practice range): May 1-May 21: Monday-Thursday: $89; Friday-Sunday: $99; May 22-October 4: Monday-Thursday: $99, Friday-Sunday: $109. Oct. 5-Season End: Monday-Thursday: $89, Friday-Sunday $99. Tee times: up to 30 days in advance. (cdacasino.com/golf) Coeur d'Alene GC: (208) 765-0218. 18-hole greens fees: weekends/weekdays, $34, $30 for seniors, $15 for juniors. 9-hole: weekends/weekdays, $19, $17 for seniors, $10 for juniors. 18-hole cart fee: $30; 9-hole fees: $21, $19 for seniors, $10 for juniors.

Single person 18-hole cart fee: $30; 9-hole $18. Tee times: Friday-Sunday and holidays, call after prior Tuesday at 7 a.m.; Mon-Thurs, after prior Thursday at 7 a.m. (cdagolfclub.com) Coeur d'Alene Resort: (208) 667-4653. 18hole greens fees: weekdays/weekends, May: $170 (twilight $95) June: $195, twilight $130; July/August: $250, twilight $165; September: $195, twilight $130; October: $150, twilight $75. Resort rate without stay and play package varies on availability. Fees include cart, range balls and forecaddie (gratuity not included), sports massage and complimentary bag tag. Tee times: no deadline, 48-hour cancellation notice. (cdaresort.com/play/golf) Colfax GC: (509) 397-2122. 18-hole greens fees, $25. 9-hole: $18. 18-hole cart fee: $30; 9-hole: $20.

Tee times: weekends, call one day in advance; weekdays, no deadlines. (colfaxgolf.com/) Dominion Meadows GC: Colville, Washington, (509) 684-5508. 18-hole greens fees: weekends/weekdays $32/28; Senior 18-hole: $28/$26.

College $28/$26, 9-hole fee: weekends/weekdays $22/$20; Senior 9-hole: $20/$18. 18-hole cart fee: $30; 9-hole: $15. Tee times: no deadlines. (colvillegolf.com) Deer Park G&CC: (509) 276-5912. 18-hole greens fees: $33 ($15 for sunset rate, times vary); $28 for seniors, $16 for juniors. 9-hole: $22, $20 for seniors, $12 for juniors. Afternoon special (after 1:30 p.m.): 18-hole adults, seniors: $25, juniors: $12; 9-hole adults, seniors: $20, juniors; $8. 18-hole cart fee: $17; 9-hole: $9. Tee times: up to one week in advance.

(deerparkgolf.com) Downriver GC: Spokane, Washington, (509) 327-5269. 18-hole green fees: $45; 9-hole: $27. Sunset rate $20. Juniors 9 or 18-hole $15. Tee times: seven days in advance at 2 p.m. (my.spokanecity.org/ downriver) Esmeralda GC: Spokane, Washington, (509) 487-6291. 18-hole green fees: $45; 9-hole: $27. Sunset rate $20. Juniors 9 or 18-hole $15. Tee times: seven days in advance at 2 p.m. (my.spokanecity.org/ esmeralda) The Fairways GC: Cheney, Washington, (509) 747-8418. 18-hole: Monday-Thursday greens fees $34; weekends $38, seniors: $23, juniors: $14. 9-hole $22. Tee times: no deadline, dynamic pricing all the time at (golfthefairways.com) Hangman Valley GC: Spokane, Washington, (509) 448-1212. 18-hole greens fees: weekdays (Monday-Friday, after 3 p.m., weekends), $39, weekend before 3 p.m. $42; rate for pre-book, weekdays $44, weekends $46; Seniors rate M-F $39, weekend $42. 9-holes weekdays and after 3 p.m. weekends, $27; weekends $30. Juniors 9- and 18-hole $12. College (with ID) 18-hole before 3 p.m. $42, after 3p.m. $26. Twilight 9-hole $19. 18-hole single cart fee per golfer: $18; 9-hole: $9. Tee times: up to nine days in advance. (spokanecounty.org/1141/ Hangman-Valley) Harrington G&CC: (509) 253-4308. 18-hole greens fees: Wednesday-Friday $22, $20 for seniors and military; $16 for juniors. 9-hole: $18, $14 for seniors and military; $12 for juniors. Monday-Tuesday 18-hole $14; 9-hole $14. 18-hole cart fee: $26; 9-hole: $16. Tee times: no deadlines. (harringtonbiz.com/ golf) Highlands GC: Post Falls, Idaho, (208) 7733673. 18-hole greens fees: $40, seniors $30, $40 weekends, juniors, $18. 9-hole: $23, seniors $20, juniors $18. 18-hole cart fee: $17 per seat; 9-hole: $8 per seat. Twilight time is after 2 p.m. and is $26 to walk.

Tee times: weekends/weekdays, up to one week in advance. (thehighlandsgc.com) Idaho Club: Sandpoint, Idaho, (208) 265-2345.

18-hole greens fees (all fees include range and cart): weekdays (Mon.-Thur.): 7-10:30 a.m. private members only, 10:30 a.m.-2 p.m. $95, 2-7 p.m. $65. Weekends (Fri.-Sun.): 7-10:30 a.m. private members only, 10:30 a.m.-2 p.m. $120, 2-7 p.m. $85. Juniors, 10:30 a.m.-7 p.m. (all days) $33. Tee times required. (theidahoclub.com/Nicklaus-signature-course/) Indian Canyon GC: Spokane, Washington, (509) 747-5353. 18-hole green fees: $45; 9-hole: $29. Sunset rate $20. Juniors 9 or 18-hole $15. Tee times: seven days in advance at 2 p.m. (my.spokanecity.org/Indian-canyon) Liberty Lake GC: (509) 255-6233. 18-hole greens fees: weekdays (Monday-Friday, after 3 p.m., weekends), $39, weekend before 3 p.m. $42; rate for pre-book, weekdays $44, weekends $46; Seniors rate M-F $39, weekend $42. 9-holes weekdays and after 3 p.m. weekends, $27; weekends $30.

Juniors 9- and 18-hole $12. College (with ID) 18-hole before 3 p.m. $42, after 3p.m. $26. Twilight 9-hole $19. 18-hole single cart fee per golfer: $18; 9-hole: $9.

Tee times: up to nine days in advance. (spokanecounty.org/1210/Liberty-Lake) The Links GC: Post Falls, Idaho, (208) 777-7611.

18-hole greens fees: Friday-Sunday $39; Mon., Wed., Thur. $35; 9-hole Friday-Sunday $25; Mon., Wed., Thur. $22; Tight-Wad-Tuesday: 18-hole: $27 with bucket of range balls. Seniors/Military (MondayThursday): $30 for 18 holes, $16 for 9 holes. Juniors: $15. 18-hole cart fee: $16 per seat; 9-hole: $11 per seat.

Tee times: no deadlines. (golfthelinks.net) MeadowWood GC: Liberty Lake, Washington, (509) 255-9539. 18-hole greens fees: weekdays

(Monday-Friday, after 3 p.m., weekends), $39, weekend before 3 p.m. $42; rate for pre-book, weekdays $44, weekends $46; Seniors rate M-F $39, weekend $42. 9-holes weekdays and after 3 p.m. weekends, $27; weekends $30. Juniors 9- and 18-hole $12. College (with ID) 18-hole before 3 p.m. $42, after 3p.m. $26. Twilight 9-hole $19. 18-hole single cart fee per golfer: $18; 9-hole: $9. Tee times: up to nine days in advance. Tee times up to nine days in advance. (spokanecounty.org/1234/MeadowWood) Mirror Lake GC: Bonners Ferry, Idaho, (208) 267-5314. 18-hole: weekdays $27, weekends and holidays $29, juniors $10. 9-hole greens fees: weekdays $19, weekends and holidays $21, juniors $5. Cart fee: 18-hole $25, 9-hole $15. Cart trail fee: $5. (bonnersferry.id.gov/mirror-lake-golf-course) Palouse Ridge GC: Pullman, Washington, (509) 335-4342. 18-hole greens fees for residents (live within 40-mile radius): $61. Nonresidents: $109.

Seniors (60+)/Faculty and Staff: $51. Students: $42 (Monday-Thursday $35). Juniors: $20. Twilight: $49. 9-hole greens fees: $49. WSUAA member: $59.

Cart fees: all rates include cart. (palouseridge.com) Pine Acres: Spokane, Washington, (509) 4669984. 9-hole: weekdays $10, seniors $9, juniors $9.

All players $10 on weekends. Range bucket prices: 135 balls for $14.50, 90 balls for $10.50, 60 balls for $9. (https://bit.ly/3fXDi7J) Pinehurst GC: Pinehurst, Idaho, (208) 6822013. 18-hole greens fees: weekday and weekend $26, 9-hole $16. Play all day Monday and Thursday for $16, $26 w/cart. 18-cart fees: $22; 9-cart fees: $12.

18-scooter: $30; 9-scooter: $20.

Pomeroy GC: (509) 843-1197. 18-hole greens fees: weekends/weekdays $20. 9-hole: $10. Cart path fee: $5. Tee times: none.

Ponderosa Springs: Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, (208) 664-1101. 9-hole: weekends/weekdays $13, $7 for the back 9. Weekdays: seniors (55 and over) $11, juniors (17 and under) $11. Ten-play passes: $100. Pull carts only: $4. Club rentals: $3. Tee times: none. No dress code. (ponderosaspringsgolf.com) Prairie Falls GC: Post Falls, Idaho, (208) 4570210. 18-hole greens fees: $37. 9-hole: $25. Range balls: small bucket (38-42 balls) $5, large bucket (72-76 balls) $8, jumbo bucket (165-170 balls) $15. (pfgolf.com) Priest Lake GC: (208) 443-2525. Greens fees: Opening-June 16 weekdays: 18-holes $32, 9-holes $20; weekend 18-holes $36, 9-holes $25. June 17Sept. 8 weekdays: 18-holes $45, 9-holes $25; weekend 18-holes $56, 9-holes $35. Sept. 9-Closing weekdays: 18-holes $35, 9-holes $22; weekend 18holes $44, 9-holes $22. Twilight after 2 p.m.: $35 (with cart) all you can play in off-season, $40 in peak season. Senior/military/student discount is 10 percent. Tee times: no deadline, but time availability varies. (plgolfcourse.com) Quail Ridge GC: Clarkston, Washington, (509) 758-8501. 18-hole greens fees: $30. 9-hole greens fees: $20. 18-hole w/cart: $45; 9-hole: $30. Tee times: up to two weeks in advance. (golfquailridge.com/) The Creek at Qualchan GC: Spokane, Washington, (509) 448-9317. 18-hole greens fees: $45; 9hole: $29; sunset rate $20. Juniors, 9- and 18-hole $15. Tee times: seven days in advance at 2 p.m. (my.spokanecity.org/qualchan) Ranch Club GC: Priest River, Idaho, (208) 4481731. Weekends/weekdays $24. 9-hole: weekends/ weekdays $18. Twilight (after 4 p.m.) $15. 18-hole cart fee: $14; 9-hole: $10. Tee times: Holidays and weekends. (ranchclubgolfcourse.com) Ritzville GC: (509) 659-9868. 18-hole greens fees: weekdays $20; weekends $25; senior (Mon-

day-Thursday) $17. 9-hole: $15, senior (MondayThursday) $12. Unlimited rounds (Monday) $10, students $5. 18-hole cart fee $20, 9-hole $10. Tee times: no deadlines.

Sandpoint Elks GC: (208) 263-4321. 18-hole greens fees: weekends/weekdays $30 ($24 members). 9-hole: weekends/weekdays $22 ($17 members). 18-hole cart fee: $24 ($22 members); 9-hole: $18 ($16 members). Pull cart: $7. League nights: Mon., Wed. and Thurs. at 5 p.m. Tee times: before 3 p.m. on league nights. (sandpointelks.com) Shoshone G&TC: Kellogg, Idaho, (208) 7840161. 18-hole greens fees: weekends/weekdays $27, senior (65+) $22, junior $19 (18 & under). 9-hole: weekends/weekdays $16, senior $13, junior $10.

Thursdays (except holidays), all day $30 including cart. Veterans 18-hole $21, 9-hole $13 every day. 18hole cart fee: $27; 9-hole: $14. Tee times: call/online for tee times. (shoshonegolf.com) St. John G&CC: (509) 648-3259. All-day greens fees: weekends/weekdays $18. Pull cart $3.

Motorized cart $25.

St. Maries GC: (208) 245-3842. 18-hole greens fees: weekends $26; weekdays $22; juniors $12. 9hole: weekends $17; weekdays $15; juniors $8. 18hole cart fee: $26; 9-hole: $13. Wednesdays are senior days: 18-hole $12; 9-hole $8. Tee times: no deadline. * Stoneridge GC: Blanchard, Idaho, (800) 9522948. 18-holes: $30-$95. $35-$100 w/cart. 9-holes: $25-$80. $30-$85 w/cart. Tee times: month-plus. (stoneridgeidaho.com) Tekoa GC: (509) 284-5607. Greens fees: 18-hole $25, 9-hole $15. Cart rental: $20. Tee times: none. (tekoagolfcourse.net/) Twin Lakes Village GC: Rathdrum, Idaho, (208) 687-1311. 18-hole greens fees: $37 ($53 w/ cart); seniors (Monday-Friday) $28.50 ($44.50 w/ cart); juniors (under 18) $19 ($31.50 w/ cart). 9-hole, Monday-Friday and weekends before 8 a.m. and after 3 p.m.: $23.50 ($31.50 w/ cart); seniors (MondayFriday) $19 ($27 w/ cart); juniors $12.50 ($19 w/ cart).

Twilight rate after 2 p.m.: $29.50 ($45.50 w/ cart).

Tee times: call in advance. (golftwinlakes.com) University of Idaho GC: Moscow, Idaho, (208) 885-6171. 18-hole greens fees: public $29 ($24 after 2 p.m.); students $20 ($15 after 2 p.m.); seniors/ faculty $25 ($20 after 3:30 p.m.); juniors $10 (10 and under play free). 9-hole fees: public $19; students $16 ($12 after 2 p.m.); seniors $17 ($12 after 2 p.m.). 18hole cart fee: $14 ($18 per extra seat); 9-hole: $10 ($12 per extra seat). Tee times: accepted one week in advance. (uidaho.edu/golfcourse) Trailhead GC: Liberty Lake, Washington, (509) 928-3484. 9-hole greens fees: adult $20, seniors $17, juniors $10, services $17, twilight (5 p.m.-1 hour before dark) $17. Second-round fees: adult $9, seniors $8, juniors $5, services $8. Season passes for unlimited play: adult $675, seniors/services $575, juniors $175. Pull cart $5. Club rental $12. Power cart: 9-hole $16; 18-hole $32. Trail fee $8. Range balls: small $6, medium $8, large $10. (libertylakewa.gov/golf) Wandermere GC: Spokane, Washington, (509) 466-8023. 18-hole greens fees: weekdays $32, weekend until 3 p.m. $36, $20 after 3 p.m.; seniors $28, junior $18. 9-hole: weekdays $24; seniors $22, juniors $10. 18-hole cart fee: $30; 9-hole: $15. Tee times: weekends, call one week in advance; weekdays, call one day in advance. (wandermere.com) On the web: The preceding is a directory of area golf courses. For more information on area courses, go online at spokesman.com/golf * Rates may vary based on course condition.

Contact course for daily rates.

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THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

MAY 24, 2020

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KATHY PLONKA/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

Playing his own private Idaho Crossing state lines for some outlaw golf I have a confession to make. I’m a golf scofflaw.

I’m not talking about giving my friends a gimme putt during a casual round or that I play 25-year-old Ping Eye-2 irons with GENE non-conforming WARNICK square grooves (figure I should be SPOKESMAN grandfathered in on COLUMNIST that one, considering I’ve had them since before the U.S. Golf Association banned ’em).

No, the golf gestapo isn’t after me.

It’s the real coppers I’ve been on the run from.

GENE WARNICK/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

TOP: Jason Morrell of Green Bluff hits March 18 at the driving range at Links Golf Club in Post Falls. ABOVE: A sign informing golfers of Idaho’s in-state rule sits in the parking lot at the Coeur d’Alene Public Golf Club.

Get your golf handicap

During the age of coronavirus, with Washington’s courses closed until recently by Gov. Jay Inslee’s “Stay Home, Stay Healthy,” order, I repeatedly skipped across the border into Idaho, hitting the links from Coeur d’Alene to Worley.

And I went to elaborate lengths to remain undetected.

I had an accomplice from the Gem State (in the spirit of “Reservoir Dogs,” we’ll call him Mr. Green). We’d either meet at his house or at a prearranged location near whatever course we happened to be playing. One day it was in front of a physical-fitness center that was closed by the pandemic. I’d load my clubs into the back of Mr. Green’s car and he’d drive the rest of the way, just in case the Kootenai County Sheriff happened to cruise through the course’s parking lot that day to ticket those with out-of-state license plates (don’t laugh, they were doing it).

I’d keep my head down as I passed the “Idaho residents only” signs posted at the See IDAHO, 8

G LFING

It’s easier than you think!

1

Sign up for a GHIN number with WA Golf and download the app

2

Play a round, post a round

3

Congrats! Check the app for your official USGA GHIN Handicap

14 Courses in Grant County, Washington

(You only need three 18-hole rounds, six 9-hole rounds, or a combination to get a handicap!)

Vic Meyers Golf Course at Sun Lakes

18.0

Why USGA GHIN? Because it’s widely trusted and accepted by golfers and competitive events locally and worldwide.

Plus you get all the benefits of a WA Golf membership with your handicap—like golf savings and access to championships and events.

Coulee City, WA l 509.632.5738

Legacy Golf Resort at Frenchman Hills

Banks Lake Golf & Country Club Electric City, WA l 509.633.0163

Moses Lake Golf Club

Moses Lake, WA l 509.765.5049

Moses Pointe Golf Resort

Moses Lake, WA l 509.764.2275

Othello, WA l 509.346.9491

Colockum Ridge Golf Course Quincy, WA l 509.787.6206

Desert Aire Golf Course

Mattawa, WA l 509.932.4439

Lakeview Golf Course & Country Club Soap Lake, WA l 509.246.0336

Sage Hills Golf Club

Warden, WA l 509.349.2603

9 HOLES

Sign up today! join.wagolf.org/ghin

Oasis RV Park Golf Course

Sunserra At Crescent Bar

Crescent Bar Recreation Area Golf Course

Royal City, WA l 509.346.2052

Ephrata, WA l 509.754.5102

Quincy, WA l 509.787.1511

Quincy, WA l 509.787.4156

Royal Golf Course

Lava Links Desert Golf

Soap Lake, WA l 509.632.5738

For more information about Grant County Accommodations, RV Parks and Campgrounds:

Grant County Tourism Commission

Washington Golf is USGA-approved provider of GHIN Handicap Index and administrator of its computational services.

P.O. Box 37, Ephrata, WA 98823 800.992.6234

www.TourGrantCounty.com

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THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

MAY 24, 2020

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TRICK UP HIS SLEEVE

Russell Grove is coach at North Idaho College and a pro golfer; his trick shots are a treat

By Jim Meehan

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THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

he picturesque No. 11 at Pacific Dunes measured just 131 yards, complicated by a howling sidewind off the Pacific Ocean framing the left edge of the hole.

Challenging conditions for most, but inspirational for North Idaho College golf coach Russell Grove, who is known to dabble in creative trick shots.

“You have to have the right conditions,” Grove recalled thinking on the tee box.

Grove choked down on a driver and aimed so far left that the edge of the tee box, ocean waves and grey skyline were the only things visible in an iPhone video. He teed the ball up on a pencil – pro tip: removing the eraser keeps the ball in place – and hit a soaring, massive cut.

The ball boomeranged over the ocean, rode the wind, landed softly on the back side of the green and trickled down 20 feet from the hole. Two earlier attempts U-turned over the big water hazard and narrowly missed the green left.

How far did the shot actually travel from Point A to Point B with the detour over the Pacific? Longer than the hole itself? Maybe 75 yards over the ocean before venturing back to the putting surface?

“Don’t know,” Grove admitted. “It was almost like it was coming backward toward the end. It would be interesting to see it on shottracer.”

That parabolic shot joined 20 trick shots posted on Grove’s Instagram page with the caption: “Just a heads up on #11 at Pacific Dunes from the green tees (131 yards), full driver is the play.”

A few of Grove’s trick shots have been shown on Golf Channel or reposted by Golf Digest. They are essentially a hobby for Grove, who has stayed busy despite the cor-

onavirus pandemic largely applying the brakes to competitive golf.

He’s an accomplished player with three consecutive PGA Pacific Northwest Section player of the year awards. The 34-year-old believes he’s getting better and hasn’t given up on his dream of playing on the PGA Tour.

He’s an accomplished coach, guiding NIC’s men to the past three NWAC titles and the women to the 2016 crown. He’s also a budding real estate agent after earning his license last winter.

Grove remembers watching the 1999 Nike commercial featuring Tiger Woods juggling the ball with a wedge – slow, fast, behind his back, etc. – before smacking the ball out of midair.

“That was probably where it all started,” said Grove, a Coeur d’Alene High and University of Idaho product. “In high school we all started doing that once it was a thing.”

Grove enjoys trick shots because they serve as a study break – something to fend off the monotony after 25 consecutive practice chips from the same spot – and require him to think outside the box and manufacture an imaginative shot.

One of his recent trick shots probably has the oldest roots, dating back to his days as a youngster scooping up range balls at Avondale. The goal: With a 64-degree wedge, send the ball over a pole perhaps 50 to 60 feet high from six feet away.

“I remember as range kids we used to try to do it,” he said. “I just thought maybe try it, because I can swing the club a lot faster now.”

Playing the ball off his front foot, Grove shifted most of his weight on his back foot, took a mighty swing and the ball soared virtually straight up, clearing the pole.

See GROVE, 6

PHOTOS BY LIBBY KAMROWSKI THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

‘‘

KATHY PLONKA THE S-R

TOP: Russell Grove juggles with a wedge, hitting a ball out of the air at The Highlands Golf Course & Country Club in Post Falls on May 18. Grove has a lengthy list of accolades as both a player and in his role as head coach at North Idaho College.

RIGHT: Grove hits a shot during the 2017 Rosauers Open at Indian Canyon in Spokane.

BOTTOM: Grove hits two balls with a single chip at The Highlands Golf Course & Country Club.

LEFT: An Instagram screenshot shows Grove hitting a flop shot over a tall driving range net in Coeur d’Alene.

I guess when I’m sick and tired of hitting the same chip shot, I’ll think of something and try to do it. You can literally hit any different shot a million different ways: high, low, left, right.

That’s probably one of the reasons I love golf and I’m not tired of it. There’s so much to it. You’re not just shooting the same basketball into the same hoop over and over.”

Russell Grove

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MAY 24, 2020

THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

MAY 24, 2020

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SPECIAL 5

GOLF

TRICK UP HIS SLEEVE

Russell Grove is coach at North Idaho College and a pro golfer; his trick shots are a treat

By Jim Meehan

T

THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

he picturesque No. 11 at Pacific Dunes measured just 131 yards, complicated by a howling sidewind off the Pacific Ocean framing the left edge of the hole.

Challenging conditions for most, but inspirational for North Idaho College golf coach Russell Grove, who is known to dabble in creative trick shots.

“You have to have the right conditions,” Grove recalled thinking on the tee box.

Grove choked down on a driver and aimed so far left that the edge of the tee box, ocean waves and grey skyline were the only things visible in an iPhone video. He teed the ball up on a pencil – pro tip: removing the eraser keeps the ball in place – and hit a soaring, massive cut.

The ball boomeranged over the ocean, rode the wind, landed softly on the back side of the green and trickled down 20 feet from the hole. Two earlier attempts U-turned over the big water hazard and narrowly missed the green left.

How far did the shot actually travel from Point A to Point B with the detour over the Pacific? Longer than the hole itself? Maybe 75 yards over the ocean before venturing back to the putting surface?

“Don’t know,” Grove admitted. “It was almost like it was coming backward toward the end. It would be interesting to see it on shottracer.”

That parabolic shot joined 20 trick shots posted on Grove’s Instagram page with the caption: “Just a heads up on #11 at Pacific Dunes from the green tees (131 yards), full driver is the play.”

A few of Grove’s trick shots have been shown on Golf Channel or reposted by Golf Digest. They are essentially a hobby for Grove, who has stayed busy despite the cor-

onavirus pandemic largely applying the brakes to competitive golf.

He’s an accomplished player with three consecutive PGA Pacific Northwest Section player of the year awards. The 34-year-old believes he’s getting better and hasn’t given up on his dream of playing on the PGA Tour.

He’s an accomplished coach, guiding NIC’s men to the past three NWAC titles and the women to the 2016 crown. He’s also a budding real estate agent after earning his license last winter.

Grove remembers watching the 1999 Nike commercial featuring Tiger Woods juggling the ball with a wedge – slow, fast, behind his back, etc. – before smacking the ball out of midair.

“That was probably where it all started,” said Grove, a Coeur d’Alene High and University of Idaho product. “In high school we all started doing that once it was a thing.”

Grove enjoys trick shots because they serve as a study break – something to fend off the monotony after 25 consecutive practice chips from the same spot – and require him to think outside the box and manufacture an imaginative shot.

One of his recent trick shots probably has the oldest roots, dating back to his days as a youngster scooping up range balls at Avondale. The goal: With a 64-degree wedge, send the ball over a pole perhaps 50 to 60 feet high from six feet away.

“I remember as range kids we used to try to do it,” he said. “I just thought maybe try it, because I can swing the club a lot faster now.”

Playing the ball off his front foot, Grove shifted most of his weight on his back foot, took a mighty swing and the ball soared virtually straight up, clearing the pole.

See GROVE, 6

PHOTOS BY LIBBY KAMROWSKI THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

‘‘

KATHY PLONKA THE S-R

TOP: Russell Grove juggles with a wedge, hitting a ball out of the air at The Highlands Golf Course & Country Club in Post Falls on May 18. Grove has a lengthy list of accolades as both a player and in his role as head coach at North Idaho College.

RIGHT: Grove hits a shot during the 2017 Rosauers Open at Indian Canyon in Spokane.

BOTTOM: Grove hits two balls with a single chip at The Highlands Golf Course & Country Club.

LEFT: An Instagram screenshot shows Grove hitting a flop shot over a tall driving range net in Coeur d’Alene.

I guess when I’m sick and tired of hitting the same chip shot, I’ll think of something and try to do it. You can literally hit any different shot a million different ways: high, low, left, right.

That’s probably one of the reasons I love golf and I’m not tired of it. There’s so much to it. You’re not just shooting the same basketball into the same hoop over and over.”

Russell Grove

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PHOTOS BY LIBBY KAMROWSKI/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

Russell Grove aims for the red target with a stinger shot, which is a type of drive that has a straight, low trajectory rather than a high-arcing one.

GROVE Continued from 4 He tagged Phil Mickelson in the post but didn’t hear back from the wedge maestro. Mickelson has famously attempted backward shots from severe uphill lies in competition and a British Open practice round.

“I’m catching it on the upswing, ball up in the grass, and I’m leaning so far back and flipping so hard with my hands,” he said. “There’s no way you could hit it that high hitting down on it.”

Ideas pop into his head when he’s standing over a shot that could be executed dozens of ways, or to clear his mind during a practice session. Hence, the double chip-in that required 30 to 40 takes during the first week of quarantine.

Grove stacked two balls on top of each other – not a gimme in its own right – chipped the bottom ball toward the hole, and with a second swing did the same to the top ball just before it descended to the ground. The bottom ball dropped into the cup, with the top ball following suit a second or two later.

Grove found out later somebody had posted something similar, showing how hard it can be to generate unique ideas.

“I guess when I’m sick and tired of hitting the same chip shot, I’ll think of something and try to do it,” said Grove, whose first tournament this summer is expected to be the Washington Open in late June. “You can literally hit any different shot a million different ways: high, low, left, right.

“That’s probably one of the reasons I love golf and I’m not tired of it. There’s so much to it. You’re not just shooting the same basketball into the same hoop over and over.”

No, his target often is quite a bit smaller: a 4.25-inch diameter cup or his cellphone camera. The latter was the objective at Hayden Lake with a low 5-iron from 50 yards that sent the ball skipping across the water – think of a skipping rock – before rattling his phone, protected by a metal block with a camera cutout.

Sans the skipping, Grove doubled the distance for a scenic shot across the Coeur d’Alene River.

He lined a 4-iron stinger angled over the river at his phone roughly 100 yards away.

The setup alone took a while, and he fired numerous failed attempts before pulling it off. If you’re thinking he lost a bunch of

Grove drives during an afternoon at The Highlands Golf Course & Country Club in Post Falls. balls in the outtakes, you’d be wrong. The misfires landed strategically in a large dirt mound behind the target.

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Grove takes precautions to keep his clubs and phone safe and to limit the number of lost balls.

He broke a backup driver at Twin

Lakes before pulling off a shot he captioned “Pretending to forget a tee.” Grove walked onto the tee box, casually popped the ball off

the front of his shoe, bounced it off the top of a driver and belted it out of midair down the fairway.

Grove said his most enjoyable trick shots involve friends or family. There’s one on a Hawaiian beach where he juggles the ball somewhat erratically with a wedge, building up spin on the ball and popping the cap off his father’s beer. (The cap had been unsealed and lightly reattached, because shattering a bottle isn’t recommended).

Even the family’s golden retriever, Macy, gets into the act. In a cleverly edited Instagram video, Macy hops into a golf cart, appears to drive to the store and comes back with a package of toilet paper on day seven of quarantine.

Grove hasn’t attempted a trick shot in competition “per se, but you’ve got to be creative. One that comes to mind was at Wine Valley (in Walla Walla) and instead of hitting a traditional chip, I played it off a back slope and had it run back down.”

Several of Grove’s earliest trick shots came in Arizona when visiting friends Taylor Robert and Mike Damm. Both are competitive dirt-bike racers – Robert has won X Games gold – and collaborated with Grove on elaborate trick shots, including a few staged on Damm’s backyard track and obstacle course.

Grove hits two stacked balls off a practice mat, sending one forward and the other about 25 feet in the air. Just after impact, Robert nose-wheelies his motorcycle to a near stop in front of Grove, who pulls a club from Robert’s backpack and clobbers the second ball with a baseball swing as Robert rides off.

Grove considers it probably his toughest trick shot. It was made tougher by Grove having to shuffle several steps backward before launching the second shot.

His favorite trick shot? The open-faced driver on the par-3 at Pacific Dunes on the Oregon Coast. He demonstrated he can work the ball right-to-left, too, on a par 3 at Kapalua with a 7-iron that sent the ball toward a watery grave in the ocean before making a left turn and landing on the green.

Grove has a few more trick shots in mind, but usually it’s the setting and conditions sparking the visualization that leads to an innovative shot.

“Eventually I’m sure I could,” Grove said of possibly making money from producing trick shots.

“That’s not really my goal. I just do it for fun.”

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PGA Tour plans constant testing Once a week for players, caddies, key personnel

By Doug Ferguson ASSOCIATED PRESS

COLIN MULVANY/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

Dick Leander chips the ball onto the 9th green at Esmeralda Golf Course on May 5.

Local golf courses have reopened after being closed because of COVID-19.

BACK ON COURSE, BUT NOT QUITE IN FULL SWING City and county links reopen with new rules

By Jim Meehan THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

It’s not business as usual for Spokane area golf courses, but it’s moving in the right direction.

Spokane city and county courses reopened May 5 after a six-week shutdown due to the coronavirus outbreak. Gov. Jay Inslee earlier this week eased restrictions on foursomes and gave pros the go-ahead to provide lessons/instruction.

“If the weather is good, we’re really busy,” Esmeralda pro Rob Sanders said. “If we had weather like we did in April when we were closed, it would have been fantastic.

“We can put out probably 20% more (golfers with foursomes, compared to mostly twosomes under Inslee’s original directive). On a nice day, our max would be around 320; with twosomes it was more like 260. It makes a big difference.”

“We’re still no rakes, no touching the flag,” Qualchan pro Mark Gardner said, “but for golf we’re halfway there.”

And still no leagues, tournaments or sitdown meals at course restaurants, but there’s optimism on the horizon. The first Inland Empire Chapter pro-am is scheduled for June 1 at Avondale. Qualchan hopes to offer league play in early June.

Restaurants can open at 50% of seating capacity in Phase 2 of Inslee’s reopening plan.

“Golf is such a social thing,” MeadowWood pro Bob Scott said. “The speed of play (with twosomes) was off the charts.

The first group that went off as a twosome played in 2 1⁄2 hours. The average time was 3:10, 3:20. It was a lot more manageable for speed of play, but with twosomes there’s not a lot of socializing, and that’s what pe-

ople missed.”

Golfers appreciated returning to the links, including two regulars at Esmeralda who haven’t missed a day, rain or shine, since the reopening, Sanders said. “The one thing that’s kind of cool that I don’t get a ton of in my position, I have people, at least a dozen times a day, just thanking me for being open.”

Courses that were offering tee times at 5-to-7-minute intervals with twosomes are back to customary 8-to-10-minute splits with four-player groups. The resumption of foursomes should make it easier on marshals.

“People were pretty excited the first couple days and their patience started to deteriorate, and they started to join up (with another twosome),” Gardner said.

“It created some issues for us, marshaling.”

Social-distancing rules and cleaning protocols remain in place, along with carts limited to a single rider under most circumstances. The single-rider requirement stressed cart inventory, but courses were able to avoid customers having to wait for a cart.

“We never did have a problem,” said Scott, who rented extra carts to reach 80 available carts. “Our outside service kids are working a lot more, because they’re disinfecting everything as soon as that cart comes back.”

Pros and assistant pros can give lessons to individuals or groups, provided safety precautions are followed.

“The last couple years we’ve tailored lessons to groups,” Sanders said. “Unless you’re a real serious golfer, a group lesson is more social, and people have more fun and sometimes get more out of it than an individual lesson.

“It’s a big deal, especially for assistant pros. At a lot of places it’s almost half their income, if they really work at it and promote it.”

Players, caddies and key personnel will be tested once a week at tournaments and have their temperatures taken every day as part of a PGA Tour plan to limit the risk of the new coronavirus when golf resumes next month in Texas.

The plan offers a glimpse into significant changes for golf’s return, from the elimination of pro-ams to designated hotels to the availability of charter planes that get players and their caddies from one tournament to the next.

The first trial is scheduled for the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial in Fort Worth on June 11-14.

The key components are testing, social distancing on and off the golf course and creating what the tour referred to as a “bubble” of essential people that will be tested at tournaments.

“We’re not going to play if we can’t do it in a safe and healthy environment for all our constituents,” said Tyler Dennis, the tour’s chief of operations.

He also said the tour will not go forward with its testing if it takes away from resources in the city where it plays.

Players and caddies will be sent pre-travel tests, and they will be given the RT-PCR test for COVID-19 when they arrive at tournaments. The test, authorized last month by the Food and Drug Administration, involves a nasal swab. Results typically take a couple of days, and the tour is hopeful of using local labs for a quicker turnaround.

Anyone who tests positive will have to withdraw from the tournament and self-isolate for 10 days, provided there are no

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods shake hands after the first round of the Players Championship in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., in May 2018.

“We’re not going to play if we can’t do it in a safe and healthy environment for all our constituents.”

Tyler Dennis PGA Tour chief of operations

further symptoms and they get two negative tests 24 hours apart.

The tour said it would give players and caddies a stipend to pay for the selfisolation. Andy Levinson, the senior vice president for tournament administration, said the tour would pay for all testing material.

Beyond testing, the tour is recommending players stay in a designated hotel and practice social distancing as if they were still at home by avoiding eating at restaurants or meeting at bars.

On the golf course, players are to handle their own clubs and let their caddies rake bunkers and remove the pins, wiping down both after they’re done with them.

Another change: No shaking hands after the round.

Along with no fans for at least the first four tournaments, the tour is not allowing family members and only limited support staff, such as trainers and instructors. All would be subject to the same level of testing – a health ques-

tionnaire and thermal screening every day.

Levinson estimates key personnel – players, caddies, officials, clubhouse staff – amounts to 400 people.

For the charter flights, all passengers must take a viral test 24 hours before leaving, and then be tested again when they arrive at the next event.

The tour said about 25 players remain overseas and recommended they arrive at least two weeks ahead of the tournament to meet the federal 14-day quarantine requirement.

A player hotel will be designated, although players would be allowed to stay in RVs if they have them, rental homes the tour approves and their own homes if they live in the area.

Four tournaments without fans will be Colonial, the RBC Heritage at Hilton Head, the Travelers Championship in Connecticut and the Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit.

The tour said it will decide after that whether it’s safe for a limited number of fans.

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er hand. Raise the club over your head and rest the shaft across your neck and shoulders. Turn your shoulders to the right. Hold this position for a few seconds. You should feel a lot of torque along your left side. Then turn your shoulders back and face forward.

Relax and repeat. (americangolf.com)

hen the novel coronavirus hit the United States earlier this year, golf courses fell into the same category as many other businesses: non-essential.

The several-week shutdown in Eastern Washington meant golfers either had to jump the border to Idaho, put their clubs in storage, or get a little creative to make sure their swings weren’t set back to square one.

From short-game drills to mental strengthening, here are some of the internet’s best tips and tricks to keep your golf game in top shape from home.

Equipment

Chippo: Once you feel comfortable enough to have some friends or family over to your house, Chippo Golf is a fantastic way to get some practice in while socializing (responsibly, of course). The game is essentially cornhole, but instead of bean bags, players chip balls into one of three holes. ($189.95 on chippogolf.com) Tour Striker PlaneMate: Any golfer who has opened Instagram in the past year has seen this new tool at least once. Players fasten a belt around their waist, with a cord attached to their hip. The other end of the cord attaches to the shaft of a club. The tension on the cord during the swing promotes a better swing plane. Golfers can even hit balls while using the tool. ($162.99 on tourstriker.com) Rukket 3-piece Golf Net Bundle: No tip or drill can truly replace the ability to hit a full shot. Rukket’s setup allows players to do just that. Included is a large hitting net (10 feet wide x 7 feet high), Tri-Turf Golf Mat with tee, fairway and rough textures and a carry bag to transport your golf game anywhere you are. ($179.99 on amazon.com)

Drills

Putting distance control: Try setting a golf ball on top of a coin and putt a second ball toward the first ball so they touch. Just make sure this doesn't knock the first ball off of the penny. This is a very challenging exercise, but the idea is to try it from various distances in order to improve distance control. (americangolf.com) Putting stroke: Drop two phone books on the floor. Position them far enough apart so that your putter head barely squeezes through them. Place a golf ball between the books, assume your putting posture and make your stroke.

Use the books as a visual guide to match the lengths of your backstroke and forward stroke. Matching the lengths ensures a smooth stroke with perfect tempo. (golf-information.info) Chipping: Place a towel folded to 1-foot by 1-foot about 5 feet away from you.

Then chip golf balls at the towel, trying to land on it to practice carrying your chip shots 5 feet, which is a needed skill if you're just in the rough and need to land the ball a few feet onto the green.

Work your way back, moving the towel to 10 feet, 15 feet, and so on to get good at distance control. (nickfoygolf.com) Driving: Many golfers turn their hips and shoulders simultaneously when swinging a club. Too much lower body rotation eliminates torque between the upper and lower body. Adding more backswing torque to your swing generates distance.

Sit down in a chair. Spread your feet out wide and keep them flat on the ground. Hold a 7 or 8 iron out in front of you. Hold the clubhead with one hand and the end of the grip in the oth-

Mental

VECTEEZY ILLUSTRATIONS

World Golf Tour game: Played on your computer browser or iOS/Android device, get your competitive juices flowing again by taking on some of the world’s best courses. From St. Andrews in Scotland to Washington’s own Chambers Bay, this golf game will help you plot out course management, read greens and remind you how frustrating golf can be.

Masters final-round replays on YouTube: The next best thing to playing golf? Taking a seat in your recliner with an Arnold Palmer in hand and watching The Masters. Luckily, every televised final round of the year’s first major (well, most years) can be found at youtube.com/themasters. From Tiger Woods’ 2019 win to Jack Nicklaus’ 1986 triumph, there are more than enough classic Augusta National moments to get ready for this year’s event in November.

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The ninth hole at The Highlands Golf & Country Club on April 13, a sunny Monday.

IDAHO Continued from 3 entrance to the parking lot and the clubhouse, and paid cash so they couldn’t track my credit card to my Spokane address. If they asked me to sign in for the golf cart, I was prepared to list a bogus address.

With first-tee handshakes a thing of the past and one rider per cart, it wasn’t hard to keep a social distance and avoid the chit-chat that normally involves divulging where you’re from. Although one day at the Coeur d’Alene “Muni,” Mr. Green let it slip to the rest of our foursome that one of us shouldn’t be playing there that day.

“Oh, you’re from Washington, huh?” one of the others asked. I nodded sheepishly, but they assured me that my secret was safe with them.

In case I got pulled over on the highway on the way to the course, I had a story prepared that I was merely going to help my Aunt Farley with her grocery shopping, since she recently had taken a fall (no, I don’t have an Aunt Farley).

Never mind that there wouldn’t have been any room for the groceries in back, with my collection of golf shoes, gloves, towels, umbrellas, clubs and other assorted necessities. The pros get a locker in the swanky clubhouse; I have the back of my Ford C-Max Energi hybrid.

The Idaho courses went to great lengths to make sure the players were kept safe. They put up a port-a-potty or two, plus some hand-sanitizing stations, to keep anyone from having to enter the clubhouse. You generally checked in at the front door, although at one course you walked halfway up the ramp behind the clubhouse before reaching up through the back window to hand them your greens fee.

On the course, they allowed only one rider per golf cart and wiped them down after each round (the cart, not the rider).

All ball washers and trash cans had been removed, as well as the rakes in the bunkers. Some courses had signs on the flagsticks reminding players not to touch them.

One of the most interesting variables was the cup on each green.

At one course, the cups were raised out of the hole, so all you had to do to make a putt was to “tink” the ball off the metal base. Most courses made use of cut-up pieces of foam swimming pool noodles in some way. At the Highlands in Post Falls, the noodles extended from the bottom of the hole to about 3 inches above the level of the green, with any putt touching the foam considered holed. This was of great benefit to me, a 13.7 handicap, as it eliminated the possibility of any lip-outs.

(Heck, I lipped out twice on one hole last week: first on the chip shot, then on the 6-foot putt coming back.)

Other courses encircled the flagstick with a short portion of the foam noodles and placed them inside the cup so the ball would only drop into the hole an inch or two (leaving open the possibility of the dreaded lip-out).

I’m not proud of what I’ve done, making these illicit Idaho trips. But in a time of such uncertainty, it provided a bit of normalcy. Four hours spent in the outdoors, a chance to put some of your worries aside.

Now that Washington’s courses have reopened, I’m back to playing closer to home at the Spokane city and county courses. But I’ll always have my time on the links in my own private Idaho.

CONTACT THE WRITER:

(509) 459-5412 eugenew@spokesman.com

Tickets available at North Idaho Super 1 Foods, Stein’s Family Foods, and Yoke’s Fresh Market. For information call 208-769-3271 or visit www.nic.edu/rbr.

All proceeds support student and program needs at North Idaho College

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Padraig Harrington of Ireland, this year’s Ryder Cup European captain, talks during a press conference at the Malaysia Golf Championship in Kuala Lumpur in March 2019.

Harrington on ‘diminished’ event RYDER CUP

European captain will miss the crowds

By Steve Douglas ASSOCIATED PRESS

Padraig Harrington was planning to bring a 150-strong traveling party with him to the Ryder Cup, giving the people closest to the European captain something of an inside experience of one of the great events in golf.

“I’m now down to four, something like that,” Harrington said, rather dolefully, as he assessed the wreckage of a tournament that is still scheduled to be played Sept. 2527 at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin.

The coronavirus pandemic has ripped up the sporting calendar, but the Ryder Cup survives. So far.

And in a form Harrington knows will be unappetizing to many golf enthusiasts and people beyond the sport who are attracted to the boisterous biennial contest between the United States and Europe.

Rory McIlroy and Brooks Koepka, two of the biggest names in golf, have been

among a growing group of players to have asked out loud: What’s the point in a Ryder Cup without fans?

“My friends who don’t play golf are into the Ryder Cup because of the buzz, the atmosphere, the excitement. That’s why the players enjoy it and play it. It’s going to be missed,” Harrington said in a phone interview with The Associated Press.

“If it’s on, it’s without fans. Or without a semblance of fans, because there won’t be the ones coming from Europe. If you only have home fans, there’s nothing to cheer for and against. That’s it, at the end of the day.”

Harrington accepts, therefore, that the 2020 edition of the Ryder Cup will be a “diminished” product.

But in the big picture, can it still have wider value?

“The question is, do they take one for sport?” he asked. “Do people sitting at home want the Ryder Cup in a diminished format just so they have sport on TV? “There is a much bigger thing going on,” Harrington added. “Put it in context of what’s going on in the world. But this is why we are actually talking about the Ryder Cup going ahead. Because, in its current form, it certainly would only go on because sport may need – and people may need – a bit of an uplift.”

TV production does its part in golf’s limited return Shooting at Seminole presented challenges

By Doug Ferguson ASSOCIATED PRESS

Pressure wasn’t limited to a closest-to-the-pin contest for six skins worth $1.1 million that Rory McIlroy won to wrap up the TaylorMade Driving Relief exhibition last Sunday.

Imagine trying to produce the first live golf on TV in two months with only six cameras on the course, using a bonded cellular network to send images 250 miles

away, instead of radio frequency to a truck stationed right there at Seminole Golf Club in Juno Beach, Florida.

And if that wasn’t enough, the plane providing overhead shots had to leave at the end because it was low on fuel.

“It was vastly different from any PGA Tour broadcast on network TV,” said Greg Hopfe, executive producer of PGA Tour Entertainment. “And we did this without a single TV truck.”

It could be maddening at times.

Using bonded cellular meant a second-and-a-half delay for the play-by-play announcer (Rich

All the popular Irishman can do is prepare, mentally, as if the Ryder Cup is going ahead in 4 1⁄2 months, when Europe will be defending the trophy. He is excited by the imminent resumption of the PGA Tour, which will allow him to assess the play of some of Europe’s more experienced golfers who might not make the 12-man team via the European and world points lists.

Harrington said he needs at least six weeks of play, “just so I can judge form.”

The qualifying criteria is up in the air because of the shutdown of golf since March, and the Europeans are looking over “a number of different models” which are being gradually whittled down, he said.

“None of them involve me having 12 picks, I can tell you that,” said Harrington, who has three wild-card captain selections as it stands. “I still have no interest in having a lot of picks, I don’t see the reason for that.

“At the end of the day, you’re only going to agonize over the last two, really. Maybe three people for two spots, or four for three spots. The last pick is the important one.”

The Ryder Cup is a vast money maker, but Harrington dismissed the notion that this year’s event is currently only going ahead for financial reasons.

The European Tour, he added, could easily cope if the upcoming Ryder Cup was

Lerner) and the NBC analysts (Paul Azinger and Gary Koch) to see the video in St. Augustine, Florida. The Top Tracer technology made it impossible to sync, which is why the click of contact was heard when players were at the top of their swings.

TV trucks in the compound have a person who can shade the camera, making it easier to pick up the ball in flight.

“This technology doesn’t allow for it,” Hopfe said. “We were hoping for a blue sky the entire day.

When it goes up to a white sky, we struggled to keep it in the frame.

That was a big challenge. We lost some golf balls. The good things is we had the plane up there.”

Except at the end.

The plane provided the magnificent overhead shots of Seminole, the fifth star of the match.

“We got to 18, there’s a carryover and we’re about to go to a

We’re with you every step of the way.

N

pushed back a year and the next Europeanbased edition – scheduled for Italy in 2022 – was delayed until 2023.

That despite there being no sign of any regular events taking place on the European Tour until July at the earliest, which is severely denting its revenues.

“The European Tour is sitting on one of the biggest assets in sport. They are not going anywhere,” Harrington said. “When you look at the financial side of it, it’s not for financial reasons to have it this year.

Nobody needs it for that reason. Financially, it’d probably be better to have it next year. But just for the good of sport, to get something out there.”

For now, the Ryder Cup remains at the mercy of the coronavirus pandemic as the United States battles to stifle a disease that has killed close to 100,000 people nationwide and more than 330,000 worldwide.

Experts say the actual numbers are likely far higher.

The event was last postponed – by a year – in 2001 shortly after the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.

“Of course there are massive doubts about this,” Harrington said. “There’s nobody arguing that there isn’t doubt about the Ryder Cup,” he said. “The best thing you can do is prepare as is. But no matter what, it will be a very different Ryder Cup.”

playoff,” Hopfe said. “I look over at the monitor of the plane and it’s in color bars. It’s running out of fuel. It’s done for the day. I get on the radio and said,G̀et a second camera to 17 green.’ We hustled back and got there before the players.”

The telecast ended at 6:33 p.m., unusually late for any brand of golf at Seminole. That, too, was related to the production. With so few cameras – a typical PGA Tour event on network TV has about 20 cameras – players at times were held in place to allow the cameras to get in position.

It all was done with a conservative return to golf, following Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines and keeping contact minimal. There were no caddies, only two rules officials and no fans.

All 51 people who worked the event – 28 at Seminole, 23 at PGA

Tour Entertainment offices in St. Augustine – were tested for the new coronavirus. They chose not to build scaffolding, which would have allowed the holes to be seen more easily on putts, because the construction crew would have required tests, too.

“We wanted to keep the footprint as small as possible,” Hopfe said.

The biggest challenge was using bonded cellular, and perhaps the tour has Steph Curry to thank for that.

The tour first tried it out in 2018, the second time the Golden State Warriors guard played a Korn Ferry Tour event outside San Francisco.

The tour later used bonded cellular, which costs less money to operate, for “PGA Tour Live” at six fall events last year and a Korn Ferry Tour event in the Bahamas at the start of this year.

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