Castle Creek #4 Ranked Course In San Diego County

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The Circle R Round-Up - Apr 2008

WHICH WAY DID MY BALL GO?

Which Way Did My Ball Go?

We all know that golf can be a challenge at good golf courses in San Diego County. When you are playing at one of the best and near the coast there will be additional challenges such as the one experienced by Jack Lakin pictured here. You can expect to see scenes such as this with greater frequency as we move through April and into June “Gloom” when we can expect periods of early morning fog and low clouds on a daily basis. Also, rain showers are usual during April and sometimes there will be a downpour. Some of you who may remember, in April 1927 over three inches of rain fell in a 24-hour period - one of the heaviest ever recorded. April is also the time for renovating our greens. The reason why we over seed and aerate now is because it is the unique time of the year when both ground and air temperature tend to be the same. The temperature environment creates enough ground heat for the seed to germinate and just the right ambient temperature for the seedling to thrive. From late spring through the start of fall, the temperatures become too excessive for this unique balance. When we approach the end of September and early October, we once again reach that perfect balance. That is why we aerate and over seed a second time. Once the colder weather of November arrives, the temperatures again become too excessive until the end of March and early April. The over seeding of Bent Grass is crucial to our summer turf health as the weaker Poa Annua will “check out” when temperatures climb into the 90’s.
When we punch the green and insert the bent grass seeds, we take the opportunity to add sand to help break down the sticky and hard base of the clay soil. That is why we layer the green with sand after aeration. The larger the holes punched, the better the turf quality (and the worse it is for our golfers)!

MANAGER'S REPORT

Our new chef David has been well received by both members and guests. I thank you for your wonderful comments and e-mails. We will continue to try to improve your restaurant experience to be on the same level as your golf experience.
We are considering an idea to create a memorial program where a member can dedicate a tree to a loved one, or to celebrate a hole in one. This is a result of many requests we received from the surviving families of Castle Creek members. If adopted, we’ll introduce the program and details in the near future. Larry Taylor, General Manager

OH'S TEE SHOTS

Some observations and comments for your information and review:
Every time we aerate, we take out 3% of the green surface. A square inch of Poa Annua grass contains over 4,000 seeds! (that*s why it’s virtually impossible to eradicate). The light feathery growths you see on the fairways this time of year are the seed heads of Kikuyu grass. The sod laid on #3 fairway is Kikuyu sod designed to take over the entire fairway. As you know, #3 takes a lot of abuse from short iron divots- and the current Bermuda/ Rye base has a tough time recovering from this assault. The Kikuyu / Bermuda base will dramatically improve the recovery rate. Because Kikuyu grows aggressively, our hope is that it will create a noticeable difference by the end of summer. Please keep rakes in the bunkers- not out. Place them at natural entryways, usually in the lowest spot. Thx!

Aerating the fairways stimulate the wakening Bermuda and help reduce compaction from golf carts. Each fairway averages over 80 carts per day. You can imagine what your front lawn would look like if you had 80 carts going over it each and every day (not to mention the 300 plus divots)!

We will be “demoing” a new greens roller this month to see if we can improve our greens. The roller is a subject of controversy in the golf industry because while it greatly improves roll, it can severely compact the turf. In addition, it is a significant expense. We’ll be experimenting with it to see how our greens react. I’ll be back next month to give you a full report.
Tee Oh-Superintendent

MIXER TIME!

The Ladies of the Castle Creek Women’s Golf Club are hosting a Women’s Club vs. Men's Club mixer on June 3rd. Ladies will play from the green tees, with June handicaps adjusted accordingly; best ball net. Assignment of the pairings will be based first on Board positions, then handicaps. Lunch will consist of hamburgers, hotdogs, potato salad, coleslaw, cookies, & sherbet. Further details regarding the game to be played, entry fee, and price of the lunch will be published in the May Roundup. Look for the sign-up sheets in the Clubroom.

IN MEMORIAM

It is with great sadness that we received the news that everybody's good friend and golfing companion Leon Petrel passed away early March. Leon will be well remembered as the easy going unflappable gentleman who made life interesting for all including the golf course marshals. We shall miss Leon.

MEN’S CLUB NEWS

Mens Club B flight

With the Club Championship scheduled for the middle of May, April is the month to hone your golf skills. The Presidents Cup has been rescheduled for the 16th and the 23rd. Please be aware that we may have to work around the sanding of the greens on the first day of the tournament. Any special rules required for that day will be posted. Congratulations to the winners of the Memorial. “A” flight winners and low net over the field were the team of Hartman and Stewart with a 193. Martin and Santospirito followed in “B” Flight with a 194 and Harlow and Geirmann took “C” Flight, also with a 194.

SENIOR MEN’S CLUB

Senior Mens Club

BLACK WINS GOLD

Tim Black used the luck of the Irish to wedge his ball just 8 feet, 6 inches from the pin on #17. His shot from the green tees made him the winner of the St. Patrick's Day "pot of gold". The pot contained 17 golden nuggets worth 17 dollars.

SENIOR MEN'S CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP

The senior men's club championship date has been moved from the last two Mondays in April to the first two Mondays in May. This change will give our greens and fairways a chance to heal after the recent landscape improvements. Also, those seniors playing in Pahrump on April 28th will have a chance to compete in the senior championship. Thanks for your support.
George Steiner, President

TRAVELING TEAM

The Travel Team played San Vicente on March 7th. They were bested by a score of 14 to 4. The A team of George Steiner and Ken Smith managed to eek out the only 4 points won. Others on this team were Art Lynch, Charles Newcomb, Tom Hughes, Clell Ward, and (playing for Steiner in the re-match) Fred Holtermann. They played very well here at home and realized a win by the score of 11 to 7. Our team played Fallbrook on March 21st and played their hearts out but was sent home with their tails between their legs. Fallbrook defeated us 18 to 0 and none of our players scored below a net 72. The re-match here on March 27 came out much better. Our local boys won by a score of 12 to 6. This team consisted of: Myron Vanetsky, George Steiner, Hal Helfand, David McCollum, Dan Albee, and John Lizotte.
The Spring Sweeps will be held at San Vicente on May 5th. Any team members interested in participating in this outstanding activity should contact Ken Smith. Ken Smith, Team Captain

WE HAVE A NEW LOCAL RULE #14 - IMMOVABLE OBSTRUCTIONS

The saw cut tree logs of various sizes and dimensions standing on end and lining the edge of the lateral water hazard to the left of the 14th hole, have been defined as “Immovable Obstructions” by the Castle Creek Men’s Club. (All other saw cut tree logs anywhere else on the golf course shall be played as Loose Impediments). When interference by the logs on hole #14 occurs with the player’s stance or the area of his intended swing, relief is permitted under Rule 24-2 Immovable Obstructions: and 24-2b Relief. Penalty for breach of rule: Match Play - Loss of Hole; Stroke Play - Two Strokes Relief is provided in every instance EXCEPT for a ball in a water hazard (including a lateral water hazard). Therefore, a ball in the lateral water hazard (left of the logs) is NOT eligible for relief under this rule. But a ball lying to the right of the logs will be eligible for relief which will mean relief from the interference (the logs) plus a free drop of one club length, not nearer the hole.

WOMEN'S CLUB NEWS

Spring is busy for Castle Creek Women’s Golf Club. As soon as we finished the two-week Partner’s Eclectic, the captains of the Red and Blue tournament were busy recruiting players for the team competition. Barbara Bell, red captain, and Jan Salisbury, blue captain, will notify members after the April handicaps are available which color to wear for competition on April 8 and 15.
The annual Member/Guest tournament on May 13 is being organized by Cookie Johnson. The theme will be based on casinos so you may be seeing roulette wheels and blackjacks as well as golf balls. It’s time to invite your guests for one of the most enjoyable events of the year.
Nancy Bassett and Pam Estes are working on the Women’s Club and Men’s Mixer which has been rescheduled for June 3, 2008. Try to keep the date clear so we can have all of our women play with and against the Men’s Club.

April Sweeps will be handled by Vao Scanlon who can be contacted at rvaoscan@hotmail.com or 760-747-0390. In May we will welcome back Mary O’Brien who will take over sweeps for the rest of the year. She will be assisted by Lola Fleck starting in June. All members appreciate the work done by the volunteers.
Joyce Brown, President

March Aces

MOST IMPROVED

Most Improved

For the month of March, the most improved player for CCWGC is Cookie Johnson. Her handicap improved by 3.7% from a 25 to a 24! Nice golfing, Cookie.

PARTNER'S ECLECTIC TOURNAMENT

Partners Eclectic Tournament

The two-day Partners' Eclectic Tournament was played on March 11 and 18.Twenty four ladies eagerly looked forward to the two-day better ball format. With high expectations, each team hoped to achieve the lowest net score on the first day of competition. Most ladies turned in net scores in the 60's and 70's. However, at the end of the first day, the extraordinary play of partners Dee Dowling and Thelma Koda gave them a leading score of net 54. By the close of the second day all scores had improved but none of the two person teams could overtake the runaway leaders. The overall low net winners were the dynamic duo of Dee Dowling and Thelma Koda with a net 52. Flight 1 winners are: 1st place, Vao Scanlon and Cookie Johnson with a net 58; 2nd place, Pam Estes and Jan Salisbury with a net 60; 3rd place, Dawn Jessee and Lynne Cardarelli with a net 62. Flight 2 winners are: 1st place, Dorothy Berger and Jeannie Fredenburg with a net 56; 2nd place, Barbara Bell and Joyce Brown with a net 58; 3rd place, Anitra Gehrke and Marg Hicks with a 62. Flight 3 winners are: 1st place: (tie) Shirley Ekstrom and Jane Knowles with a net 68; Karen Georgens and Mary Allen with a net 68. A huge thanks you to all the competitors.