Castle Creek #4 Ranked Course In San Diego County

>>Calendar

The Circle R Round-Up - May 2008

CREAKERS BECOME PAHRUMPEANS

Creakers Photo

Our Roaming Reporter, Barbara Bell, reports on the golf holiday of over 40 Castle Creek MEMBERS
Sixty miles northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada lies one of the fastest growing micro cities in the US. That is the city of Pahrump. This was the site of the Creakers getaway from Monday April 28th to Thursday, May 1st. What an amazing hotel with casino/2 rounds of golf/dining package. The cost too good to believe for the amount of fun that was had by all. What was exceptionally outstanding was the dinner at the “At the Winery Symphony’s” Restaurant on Tuesday evening. The atmosphere was one of casual, elegant dining. The Creakers had the entire restaurant reserved for the night. There was free wine tasting during dinner. If you did purchase wine, they provided free personalized wine labels. We had a choice of 3 dinner entrees - Filet Mignon, Chicken Tuscany or Alaskan Halibut. We started with a wonderful coconut crusted shrimp appetizer, a salad with spring greens, and a cup of Lobster Bisque soup that truly was “to-die-for”. Whatever dinner entrée you had was truly superb. For example, the Filet Mignon plate was a generous portion and ever so tender. Everyone appreciated this dining experience and some even went back the next night. We enjoyed two days of golf. The first day we played at the beautiful Mountain Falls GC. Aside from gale force winds, we managed to have a good time. Day two found us at the Willow Creek GC. No wind that day and this time playing a fun Shamble. Back at the Saddle West Casino that evening, ring/cheerleaders Jim Brown, Cookie Johnson, Ernie Garcia kept the action alive and loud for all to hear, (Jim’s booming voice of course!), at the dice table. They got Mara Lee Ashworth in on the action by having her roll the dice, who else better for that job! Kat Goode was given the ins and outs on how to play the game. Unfortunately, no one came away a big winner. Still, a rousing good time was had by that motley group. Finally, the Creekers presented John and Yvonne Buerfeind, the coordinators, as well as Jan Salisbury, the tournament director, a nice thank you gift for all the hard work, time and energy each put into ensuring that all had a good time and fun golfing experience. The thank you gifts came from the Winery Restaurant. A wine bottle holder made of a metal sculpture with a golfing motif. This is a getaway destination I think many would sign up for again! (Photo by Cookie)

RATTLESNAKE ALERT!

As the weather warms the rattlesnake commences to move about searching for a mate or, if you venture into his domain, he may take a liking to your ankle. A few years ago that is exactly what happened to Castle Creek member Big Al Bayly. An angry rattler sank his fangs into Al's ankle. By the next day Al's leg had turned black and twice it's normal size. That is one reason among several that the Management requests that all golfers remain clear of the Habitat Protected hazards. Be aware at all times, and especially this time of the year!

MANAGER'S REPORT

It has been always amazing to me the amount of ball marks and unfilled divots I find when playing. What amazes me even more is the fact that every golfer I have ever talked to will say something to effect that “it’s not me, it’s someone else”. I have played with many, many golfers throughout my 40 years of golf and can tell you that everyone forgets to repair a ball mark or divot during a round. If you consider that we average 160 golfers per day, it only takes 1 out of 10 golfers, or 16 mistakes per hole to create this problem. My point in all of this is to say that no amount of signage or warnings will eliminate ball marks or unfilled divots- we are simply human and forget from time to time. However, I do have a two-step solution. First of all, we now have full-time employees to do nothing but repair ball marks and divots every afternoon. This will go a long way to reduce the amount of marks and divots. The second portion comes from you, our member! I would like to ask every member to adopt a hole to take care of and “watch over”. Members will be assigned holes by last name by alphabet: #1A, 2B, 3C, 4D, 5E, 6F, 7G, 8H, 9IJ, 10KL, 11M, 12N, 13OP, 14QR, 15S, 16T, 17UV, and 18 XYZ. When playing your “hole”, you would spend extra time with not only divots and ball marks, but with sand traps, tee markers, trash, etc. This sense of ownership and responsibility will add greatly to pride in our course. I even hope that this will result in a rivalry between last names as to who has the best-kept hole! Please accept my challenge to help make our great course the best it can be. Larry Taylor - General Manager

NOTICE

Aaron is updating the Hole in One Plaque, which is displayed on the Restaurant entrance wall. If you have had a hole-in-one since January 2006, Please check with Aaron to make sure he has the proper information.

Jerry Erwin Aced #8 on 4/23 with an 8 Iron - his first, witnessed by Dave Kuzmich. That week he also learned that he was a grandfather for the first time. Not a bad week. Good going Jerry!

OH'S TEE SHOTS

I am excited to tell you that we have indeed purchased a new greens roller machine, and it’s working beautifully. The roller not only smoothes out the putting surface, but adds at least a foot or two to the green speed. You’ll see us rolling the greens 2-3 times per week - more than that will create unwanted compaction. We’ll try to coincide the roiling with all of the major tournaments.
Occasionally you’ll see us spraying the greens with a dark green substance. We are applying proxy and primo, two agents that inhibit the seed sprouting of the Poa Annua grass. The reason for the dark color is so the applicator can spray evenly. This process goes a long way to keeping the greens smooth late into the day. Tee Oh-Superintendent

IN MEMORIAM

Our dear friend and fellow golfer, "Del" Delbon passed away a few weeks ago. "Del", one of the "greatest generation", was a Liberator pilot during WWII and carried his intrepid style of daring-do onto the golf course. He will be missed by all in many ways.

MEN’S CLUB NEWS

The month of May will be a busy one. The first day of our Club Championship will be held on Wednesday the 14th followed by the second 18 holes on Monday the 19th. On the 21st, the third round will be held with a shotgun start and all contenders teeing off in low gross order. During the lunch to follow we should be able to celebrate our new Club Champion.
The Women’s Club, Men’s Club mixer sign up sheets should be available in the Club Room by the middle of the month. All Men’s Club members are invited to play. The mixer will be held on Tuesday, the 3rd of June with the Women’s Club hosting. Special Events Chairman, Dan Albee, is the Men’s Club representative who will provide us with the details.

TRAVEL TEAM NEWS

A team comprised of Vanetsky, Helfand, Barnes, Hughes, McCollum and Newcomb played Balboa Park April 1st. They put up a good fight but were bested by the score of 11 to 7. Our first team of Vanetsky and Helfand managed to win their match by a score of 6 to 0 but the second team only collected 1 point and the third team of McCollum and Newcomb were shut out 0 to 6. The re-match here on the following Thursday was a little closer but we still lost 10 to 8. This time our third team scored a win by the score of 6 to 0 and our first team managed to come away with another 2 points. Myron Vanetsky shot a very nice net 69 in a losing effort and was accorded an "At A Boy" and special mention in the newspaper article. Another group of Vanetsky, Shimazaki, Helfand, Nelson, Harlow, and Betonte drove down to Miramar for a match there on April 18th. They lost 10 to 8 but it was very close. Both the second and third teams won their matches by a score of 4 to 2. We had no "At A Boys" and two of our members unfortunately shot in the low 80's net. The re-match here on April 24th was a great deal better - the team won that match 112 to 6 and 4 of the team shot scores in the middle 60's. The 1st team won 6 points, the second team won 6 and the 3rd team got shut out but it was very close. The following men all won "At A Boys" for their outstanding performances: Shimazaki net 65 - Helfand net 65 - Nelson net 65 and Vanetsky net 68. Ken Smith, Travel Team Captain

SENIOR’S CLUB NEWS

The first 18 holes of the Senior Men’s Club Championship will be held on Monday the 5th of May followed by the final 18 on the 12th. Jack Lakin, last year’s winner has returned the “brown jug” trophy (It is reported that Peggy is very happy she doesn’t have to look at that ugly thing anymore!).

RULES

Rules Picture 1 Rules Picture 2

Karl is about to hit his second shot onto the eighth green. He is standing in the bunker but his ball is outside the bunker. Karl hits his ball over the green into the front bunker of #8 and then rakes the bunker. Karl has just incurred a two-stroke penalty for testing the condition of the sand (see rule 13-4). If Karl's ball was in the bunker or if he did not extricate his ball on the next shot, he could have raked the bunker without incurring a penalty. In other words we should all continue to rake the sand in a bunker after we have played from it (ball in bunker) even if the ball is not extricated but remains in the same bunker or even if the ball carries into another bunker on the same hole. Just be very careful not to do anything to influence your next stroke, stance, or swing. There was recently a situation involving Stewart Cink in a PGA golf tournament, which was covered by National television. This has caused a lot of confusion in our membership. Cink was penalized for "testing the sand in a bunker". Here are the facts of the case and the Rules covering his situation: Cink had to stand in a bunker to play a shot. His ball was NOT in the bunker but he had to stand in the bunker in taking his stance. He hit the ball into another bunker on the same hole. As he walked to the other bunker, his caddy raked the sand in the bunker Cink had just played from. Cink then played his next shot from the second bunker. The USGA ruled that when Cink's caddy raked the first bunker, Cink was testing the condition of the sand and was in violation of Rule 13-4a. Rule 13-4a states very clearly "Before making a stroke at a ball which is in a hazard (whether a bunker or water hazard), the player must not test the condition of the bunker or any similar hazard". It is important to note that this rule covers a ball, which is IN a bunker. Cink's ball was NOT in the bunker, he was. Therefore when he hit his ball into a bunker and raked the first bunker before playing his next stroke from the second bunker, he was in violation of Rule 13-4 Ball In Hazard - Prohibited Actions - a. Testing the condition of the bunker. If his ball had been in the bunker, and not just his stance, he would not have been penalized. Exception #2 and #3 to Rule 13-4 provides relief from the prohibitions under Rule 13-4 when a player's ball is still in the same bunker or when he hits his ball into another bunker on the same hole, provided he doesn't do anything to influence his next stroke.
Ken Smith, Rules Chairman

WOMEN'S CLUB NEWS

As we head into the summer months, Castle Creek Women's Golf Club has an abundance of special events scheduled. At the May 6th luncheon/meeting, Honorary Lifetime Members will be recognized. Joining this elite group of women who have retired from active golf while members of CCWGC or made an outstanding contribution to women's golf. Irene Bickler will be awarded a certificate of Honorary Life Membership. Members Of Merit, also known as Mom’s, will also be recognized. These special ladies are always ready to contribute their time, talent, and energy to CCWGC activities. Member/Guest Day is May 13th. Cookie Johnson has selected Casino as this year's theme. Organizing the tournament takes a tremendous amount of work. Contact Cookie to volunteer to help with whatever jobs need to be done! The sign up sheet is posted for the June 3rd Mixer. There are a lot of men available to play. All our ladies are encouraged to play in this friendly competition! The sign up sheet for the Club Championship will be posted soon. The dates for 3-week tournament are 6/10, 6/17, and 6/24. Mary O’Brien will be Sweeps Chairman beginning May 1st. She can be contacted by phone at 749-4793 or email obriencpa@pacbell.net. Jeannie Fredenburg

RED AND BLUE TOURNAMENT

Blue Team Captain Red Team Captain

Week one of the 2008 match play consisted of seven teams per side. However, due to player shortage, team 6 and 7 of the red team found themselves competing solo, as did team seven of the blue team. It’s amazing that the total scores only differed by 3.5 strokes in favor of the blue team. Week two consisted of 6 complete teams on both sides. It turned out to be a strong red team making up the 3.5 stroke deficit from the first week. At least that’s how it appeared as each team finished and brought in their scorecards. It was shaping up to be a close race. But, WHO KNEW!!! Never before in the history of the Red & Blue competition has this ever happened. The tournament ended in a TIE! 117 points each. Now, all that is left is to determine which kind of victory cake shall we enjoy? After all, given the outcome, 2008 is going to be Dutch treat on that victory cake, so we all have a vote on the flavor. At any rate, the two weeks was a lot of fun, not to mention, good practice for future match play competition. Barbara Bell

ACES FOR THE MONTH OF APRIL

April Aces of the month

"Golf is very much like a love affair: if you don't take it seriously, it's no fun; if you do, it breaks your heart. Don't break your heart, but flirt with the possibility."
Louise Suggs