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The Circle R Round-Up - Nov 2007

FIRESTORM 2007 - CASTLE CREEK THREATENED

Fire to the South Fire to the West

Moosa Valley escapes again!. Just as happened once before in the firestorm of 2003 the area of Castle Creek/Circle R was surrounded by fire but never seriously threatened. By Monday morning, which started out as a day of golf for many members, the smoke from fires on three sides of the golf course began to appear in the sky. Unbeknown to most of us, the fire south in Rancho Bernardo had already destroyed many houses. The fire to the north in Fallbrook was just beginning and the fire to the west in San Marcos appeared to be the most threatening but was moving away from us pushed by the Santa Ana winds. The area to the east of us, which would have been more of a threat to our golf course homes, was clear. But not for long! Another fire had started in the Pauma Valley area early Tuesday morning and was threatening all of Valley Center including the Moosa Valley area. As early as 4 am Tuesday morning, some of us began receiving calls to evacuate. There was a steady stream of cars, trucks, and trailers, bumper-to-bumper, heading down Old Castle road and Circle R Drive. By noon most of us were told by phone or loudspeaker from a fire truck or police car to get out, which most did. As we each scattered to separate places of refuge heavy ash began to settle everywhere. Fortunately, by noon on Wednesday, the Santa Ana conditions had lessened and a light breeze appeared out of the West which slowed the firestorm enough to allow some of us on the Western edge of Valley Center to return to our homes. Our superintendent, Tee Oh, had run the sprinkler system throughout the golf course to settle the ash and by Thursday the groundskeepers were hard at work clearing the debris created by the strong Santa Ana winds. By Friday all things were back to normal with the exception of smoke filled skies. We were very fortunate, much more than some others in San Diego County. However, we are warned not to become complacent - the hills to the east of us have not burned since 1969! As member Kathryn Nelson succinctly put it "The good news is that the fire didn't reach us this time and the bad news is that the fire didn't reach us this time".

THE RALLY TOURNAMENT NETS DOLLARS FOR A GOOD CAUSE

Rally Tournament

Rally For A Cure In a flurry of pink, thirty-two members of the Castle Creek Women's Club participated in the annual "Rally For A Cure" on Tuesday October 2. October is breast cancer awareness month. Each member paid a $20 entry fee to participate. In addition, members were given the opportunity to sponsor a hole for $25. Betty Witty who made it possible for our club to donate an additional $475 managed this latter event. Teams were made up by member choice and a game of one best ball shamble was enjoyed by all. The Rally event, however, was a closest to the pin opportunity on hole #5. Although many came close, surprisingly, only six players managed to hit the elusive #5. Waiting to greet them was Marv Berger to measure the distance to the pin for the lucky ones, resident photographer Harry Carter, to take pictures of each team along with Chris Peterson with a sweet reward for each player. Out of the six players who hit the green, the closest at 38 inches was Hanalei Sun who will receive a gift of her choice and the other five received a "Pink Bow" logo golf ball at the meeting following the game.

Rally Flight 1 Rally Flight 2

There were two flights. Flight 1 first place - Cookie Johnson, Mary O'Brien, Lynne Cardarelli and Pam Estes. Flight 1 second place - Nancy Bassett, Fumie Shimazaki, Joyce Brown, and Barbara Bell. Flight 2 first place were Hanalei Sun, Teri Petrell, Mara Lee Ashworth, and Jeannie Fredenburg. Flight 2 second place were Dorothy Berger, Thelma Koda, Lola Fleck, and Mary Allen. A happy and worthy time was had by all. Out congratulations to Hanalei Sun and her committee of Betty Witty, Thelma Koda, Dorothy Berger, Mara Lee Ashworth, Teri Petrell, Jeannie Fredenburg, and Sue Ellen Tankersley. Dorothy Berger, Publicity

MANAGER'S REPORT

Due to circumstances beyond my control, Castle Creek has decided to postpone the new steakhouse menu until further notice. The club will, however, continue to strive to improve both the selection and quality of our dinner fare. Our hours will remain the same through the fall and winter, with dinner being served Thursday through Saturday, from 5:00 to 9:00. We look forward to having you be our guest at the View Restaurant!
Larry Taylor- General Manager

HIGH TECH GREENSKEEPING HAS ARRIVED AT CASTLE CREEK
It wasn't always this easy

High Tech Greens Keeping

Our Greenskeepers are hard at work performing a periodic aeration of the greens. It takes know-how, teamwork and the latest in technology to keep the greens healthy, green and smooth so you, the golfer, can make that crucial putt on a perfect surface. It also takes a savvy Superintendent to keep that perfect surface throughout our hot and sometimes humid months and the winter frosts and freezes. The team you see here started at the first green after the last group of Senior Club players had finished play on that green on a Monday morning. By noon they had already completed six greens. In contrast, thirty years ago the Superintendent at that time related how it took him and a Greenskeeper four days using a hand-held foot-driven tool to complete aeration of just one hole.

OH'S TEE SHOTS

Our October green aerification has now come and gone without much disruption to our golfers. The result has been gratifying. We’ve had strong turf growth so strong that we have already verticut to reduce the thatch associated with healthy greens. We also fertilized our fairways to stimulate continued Bermuda growth as we head into the cooler months. As the days become shorter and cooler, the Bermuda must be fortified to discourage hibernation. We’ll soon be over seeding our tees and collars with Winter Rye to ensure green, consistent grass around our greens and on our tees. Tee Oh – Superintendent

HEADS UP MEMBERS

New Instructor

We have a new golf instructor with us now at Castle Creek. Brett Foulds recently signed on as the new teaching pro at our country club. Brett came to us by way of Meadow Lake Golf Club where he worked as the clubs teaching pro. Brett has been playing and teaching professionally for the past five years and has shown great knowledge of the golf swing and how to play. He has played on the Golden State Tour and Pepsi Golf Tour since turning professional in November of 2002 where he finished 2nd on the money list for three straight years. He holds several course records and has already set the new course record from the black tees with a 64. Brett will be running a special rate for the members during the months of November and December starting November 1st. Sign up at the pro shop as soon as possible for afternoon lessons. Welcome aboard Brett!!!

MEN’S CLUB NEWS

On October 4th your Board along with the Senior’s, Women’s, and Advisory board members were treated to an interesting and enjoyable “Ryder Cup” tournament hosted by the Castle Creek Country Club management. The open bar followed by a steak dinner was very much appreciated by all. It isn’t often that we, as Men’s Club and Seniors Club Board members, are afforded the opportunity to play in a tournament with our General Manager, Larry Taylor, and the Women of the Castle Creek membership. It was a great day for all of us, and our thanks go out to Mr. Han and Larry for their generosity in providing us with the pleasure of participating in this festive membership event.

TRAVELING TEAM

A team comprised of Warren Tankersley, Hal Helfand, George Steiner, Hideki Shimazaki, Charles Newcomb and Ray Miller played Encinitas Ranch there on Thursday, Sept. 27th and our players were treated rudely by the hosts who won the match by a merciless score of 13 to 5. George Steiner posted the team best of a net 69 and was accorded an "At A Boy". The re-match held at Castle Creek on the following Thursday proved to be a closer match but the homeboys came away with another loss 8 to 10. Warren Tankersley was the low net with a nice 66 and was the only "At A Boy" awarded.
The team has only one match remaining in the current schedule, against the Escondido "Hawks" late in October. At this writing, the team is one point away from last place in the League, and 5 points behind the team one step above them. Even if the team should win the 4 points available for the last match, they will not be able to move up so they will finish either last or next to last out of the 20 teams participating.
Although the team has not done well this year, the competition has been fun and the other team members have all been gentlemen and good sports. Ken Smith, the team captain has announced sign-ups for the 2008 team are being taken now. Any Men' Club member, 55 years of age or older, who may be interested should contact Ken at 760-749-7940.
Ken Smith, Team Captain Castle Creek Golf Club

RULES IN PICTURES

Rules in Pictures - before Rules in Pictures - After

Dan has found his ball in the fairway near the row of tree logs marking the boundary of the hazard on the left side of hole number 14. Dan cannot make a full swing in the direction of the green because the tree logs obstruct his back swing (photo on the left). What are Dan’s options? Since Dan’s ball is in the fairway, he can play it as it lies, or, he may take a one stroke penalty and drop away from the impediment, or, he may elect to move the logs (loose impediments) that interfere with his back swing (photo on the right) and, of course, replace them after completing his shot. If Dan’s ball was in the hazard, he would not get relief from the tree logs. His only options then would be to play the ball as it lies or proceed under Rule 26 - Water Hazards.

WOMEN’S’ CLUB NEWS

The Ladies’ club would like to thank Castle Creek Country Club and Larry Taylor for the day of golf, followed by an open bar and a complimentary steak dinner that took place on Thurs., Oct. 4th. This generous day was designed to thank the women’s and men’s board members for all the work done throughout the year. We appreciate the effort and energy Larry put forth to make the event enjoyable. All in all it was a day of fun and fellowship.
Please note that Nov. 6th there will be a general meeting/luncheon for the purpose of nominating the 2008 executive board members. The nominees are: Joyce Brown for President, Jeannie Fredenburg for Vice President, Cookie Johnson for Treasurer and Mary Allen for Secretary. On Nov. 13th we will hold the annual Turkey Shoot with a Thanksgiving luncheon to follow. Please sign up your 4some ASAP. Also, please note that in December we will have the general meeting/luncheon on Dec 4th to hold Installation. The following week, Dec 11th we will celebrate our Christmas party with golf and a holiday lunch. As you can see, the ladies club is indeed busy from now until the end of the year.
Reminder: The Viejas day trip fee of $10 per person is payable to Cookie. If you have your club card, the only info needed is your full name and card number. If you don*t have a card, please provide your full name, complete address, and date of birth. Each bus must have a minimum of 35 passengers, with each bus holding a max of 56 people. Nov 15th is right around the corner. Get signed up and paid now for this fun time! Barbara Bell, President

SANTA MARGARITA TEAM PLAY

On October 1 the team played at Pendleton against Pendleton Women’s Golf Club. Once again they were close with them at 67 1/2 and us at 58 1/2 points. However, decisive wins were made by the first place team of Barbara Bell and Joyce Brown and second place team of Cookie Johnson and Sue Ellen Tankersley. The following Monday October 8 they ventured to Meadowlake to play the team from El Camino. On a cooler but clear day, they once again tried their best to hold their position by scoring with them at 65 and us at 61. The very strong team of Anitra Gehrke and Shirley Ekstrom came in as first place winners and the equally strong team of Jan Salisbury and Hanalei Sun came in as second place winners. Because of byes, the total results were elusive until all teams had played the same number of games. The final results placed our team at 7th place and looking forward to next year. Once again congratulations to all members who represented our club and team captains Monita Patry and Jan Salisbury for all their efforts to represent us all, so well. We are proud of you. Dorothy Berger, Publicity

BEAT THE PRO

Beat the Pro

Pros Aaron Kelsey and Brett Foulds, playing from the black tees played best ball of the two scratch golf. The ladies played individual low net. The pros played six holes with each foursome and received many compliments on their amazing long fairway and tee shots. While the pros made some unbelievable shots, they faced some stiff competition from the ladies. Five of our women's club members beat or tied the pros! The pros had 2 birdies and 16 pars to give them a game score of 70. Dorothy Berger came in with the lowest net score of 59. Jane Mullen was second lowest with a net 62. Rounding out the group of winners, Marg Hicks and Jeannie Fredenburg shot a net of 68, and Monita Patry tied the pros with a net 70. Congratulations to all the winners! Jeannie Fredenburg, Sweeps