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WHAT’S INSIDE:
Foundation Scholarship Receipients
July TournamentsPatriot Golf Day
...and more!
TOPICS NEWSLETTERVOLUME 21, NO. 6 - AUGUST 2011
contact informationSOUTH FLORIDA SECTION, PGA OF AMERICA186 Atlantis BoulevardAtlantis, FL / 33462
PHONE / FAX561-729-0544 / 561-729-0914
WEBSITEwww.sfpgagolf.com
PRESIDENTBrian Peaper, PGA
VICE PRESIDENTWarren Bottke, PGA
SECRETARYMark VanDyck, PGA
IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENTSteve Cox, PGA
SOUTHERN CHAPTER PRESIDENTDick McNeill, PGA
SOUTHEAST CHAPTER PRESIDENTRick Heard, PGA
SOUTHWEST CHAPTER PRESIDENTBen Bryant Jr., PGA
ISLAND CHAPTER PRESIDENTBrian Shaver, PGA
EXECUTIVE DIRECTORGeoff Lofstead
ADVISORY BOARDPaul Anderson Rick BaylissSteve SponderKen KennerlyJim O’Connor
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NEW MEMBERSThe South Florida PGA would like to welcome the following new members to the Section:
Christopher Brady, PGA A-8 St Andrews CCJulie Carse, PGA A-8 La Gorce Country ClubAndrew Dodson, PGA A-8 Coral Ridge Country ClubBrian Fedish, PGA A-8 The Polo Club of Boca RatonLee Stroever, PGA A-1 North Palm Beach Country ClubChris Trout, PGA A-8 Cypress Lake Country Club
NEW APPRENTICESThe South Florida PGA would like to welcome the following new apprentices to the Section: Michael Bronkema B-8 Indian Spring Country ClubDeclan Glynn B-8 McArthur Golf ClubCarl Hays B-8 Woodfield Country ClubHiroshi Matsuo B-6 The Dye PreserveMatthew Symons B-8 Royal Poinciana Golf ClubJason Freistat B-8 Royal Palm Yacht and C.C.Charisse Doles B-8 The Polo Club of Boca Raton APPRENTICE LEVELS PASSED Mark Beaulieu B-8 The Florida Club R1David Carse B-8 La Gorce CC R1Charisse Doles B-8 The Polo Club N-0Jeffrey Sullivan B-8 Frenchman’s Creek CC R1Matthew Symons B-8 Royal Poinciana GC N-0Richard Terga B-6 John Webster GA R3
QUARTER CENTURY CLUBCongratulations to PGA member Bill May, who were elected to the Quarter Century Club of the PGA of America, an elite group of members who have served the PGA with honor and pride for 25 years.
HALF CENTURY CLUBCongratulations to PGA member John Rock Jr, who were elected to the Quarter Century Club of the PGA of America, an elite group of members who have served the PGA with honor and pride for 50 years.
IN MEMORY OFDelmar Starks, PGA passed away July 4, 2011 at the age of 67. Delmar is survived by his wife Donna Starks. The South Florida PGA also sends its sincere condolences to PGA Profession-al Bruce Zabriski and his family for the recent loss of their daughter Clara Zabriski. Clara passed away Saturday, July 16th at the young age of 10. The South Florida PGA sends its condo-lences to the Starks and Zabriski family. OCEAN REEF DIRECTOR OF GOLF WEL-COMES NEW ADDITIONScott Kirkwood, PGA Director of Golf at Ocean Reef Club and Sally Kirk-wood are delighted to announce the birth of Hannah Olivia Kirkwood.Hannah arrived at 2.54am July 28th, weighing a healthy 7 pounds 5 ounces. Congratulations Kirkwood family from the South Florida PGA! NEED A RENTAL CAR WHEN TRAVELING?The PGA of America recently announced National Car Rental as the official rental car of the PGA of America. National Car Rental is providing all PGA Members with an exclusive com-plimentary membership, and flat rates on rental cars when traveling. For more details on this agreements and the benefits to you as a member CLICK HERE. JUNIOR TOUR NEEDS YOUR HELPThe South Florida PGA Junior Tour is half way through the season and still in need of volunteers to help with Pace of Play/Rules during their upcoming events. The next three events are sched-uled for August 4-5 at Hunter’s Run in Boynton Beach, August 13-14 at the Polo Club of Boca Raton, and August 19-20 at Doral Golf Resort & Spa on the Jim McLean Signature Course. If you are available to help and would like to get a jump start on your MSR credits please contact Meredith Schechter at [email protected] or call 561-729-0544.
contact information
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MARLINS GOLF DAY AT SUN LIFE STADIUMOn August 7th the Florida Marlins will conduct the 3rd Annual Golf Day at Sun Life Stadium during a game against the St. Louis Cardinals. PGA Professionals will be on hand providing free 10 minute golf lessons to anyone attending the game. Along with the free lessons, the Mar-lins will be collecting new/used golf balls, clubs and equipment to send to our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan through Bunkers for Baghdad. Special ticket offers are available for anyone who would like to attend the game. CLICK HERE for complete details, or contact Meredith Schechter at 561-729-0544 or [email protected] if you would like to volunteer or make a donation.
TURTLE CREEK CLUB TO HOST SE-NIOR SECTION CHAMPIONSHIPThe Turtle Creek Club in Tequesta will be hosting this year’s Senior Sec-tion Championship August 11th and 12th. Age division and tee separa-tions will be as follows: 50-64, 65-74 and 75+. Each age division will play from a different set of tees. In addition to golf, a player luncheon will be served following round one. Please CLICK HERE to register online before the deadline of Sunday, August 7th.
PATRIOT GOLF DAY 2011This year marks the 4th An-nual Patriot Golf Day and already 3,188 facilities across the country have signed up to participate. While ahead of last year’s pace, we still have a way to go to pass the 4,007 host total facilities from 2010. Already, 164 facilities have registered in the South Florida Section.
We encourage your facility to participate this year. Patriot
Golf Day 2011 will again be held during the Labor Day weekend. If you are interested in joining the mission to empower the lives of deserving military families with educational opportunities, then please become a participating facility in 2011!
PGA Professionals who host an event and submit funds to the Folds of Honor Foundation will receive TWO MSR Credits. The 2011 Patriot Golf Day kits will be mailed to all registered facilities. Kit contents include a poster, flyer, tent cards, suggested guidelines for hosting the event as well as Best Practices. Registration is available through Patri-otGolfDay.com, or contact Joe Canny, PGA in the Player Development Department at 561-630-1705.
WELCOME NEW PARTNER BIONIC GLOVES
The South Florida PGA is excited to announce its newest Section Part-ner, Bionic Gloves. Offering gloves based on scientific backing, Bionic Gloves are designed by a leading orthopedic hand surgeon. The differ-ence is found in the design based on the anatomy of the hand and the science of ergonomics Bionic Gloves just participated in their first Sec-tion Tournament, the Pro-Scratch July 22nd. Please visit their website at www.bionicgloves.com or see the Section website for contact informa-tion.
“In golf as in life, it’s the follow-through
that makes the difference.”
quote of the month
KIDS FITNESS FESTIVALOver 6,000 South Florida youth par-ticipated in this year’s Kids Fit-ness Festival at the West Palm Beach Convention Cen-ter July 13th and 14th. This festival is supported by the Palm Beach Sports Commis-sion and annually provides South Florida youth with an opportunity to experience and develop skills in over 40 different sports. This is the second year the South Florida PGA has participated in this event, providing putting and full swing lessons to kids in attendance. Thanks go to SFPGA Professionals Frank Clark, Jeff Hall, Mack McConaha, and Jim Simon for their assistance.
Above: Jeff Hall, PGA Assistant Professional at the Polo Club of Boca Raton volunteer-ing at the Kids Fitness
Festival
Left: Mack McConaha, PGA Assistant Pro-fessional a thte Polo Club of Boca Raton giving a putting lesson
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chip shotsDonna White, PGA Head Professional at Okeeheelee Golf Course, has been conducting "Pro-gressive Clinics" for the physically challenged for the past 13 years. It is a program she started in conjunc-tion with St. Mary's Rehab and Palm Beach County Therapeutic Recreation department.
It is a 4 week one hour program. Fiona Kiomsly, Di-rector of the OT department from St. Mary's and RT's from other physical therapy rehab centers vol-unteer as well as RT's from the TR department.
"Our goal is use Golf to get them back into life once again after whatever trauma they may have encoun-tered ( whether that be hip replacements, brain in-jury, stroke etc.)"
Offering a fall session and a spring session, they also conduct free clinics for "Stand Down House": fami-lies of veterans. For more information, please con-tact Donna by CLICKING HERE.
Progressive Golf Clinics, headed up by SFPGA Professional
Donna White
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foundationDon Beattie Scholarship Winner
The South Florida PGA is proud to announce Brianna Scerenscko of Palm City as this year’s recipient of The Don E. Beattie Scholarship. Scerenscko is a recent graduate of South Fork High School in Stuart, and this fall will begin her first year of studies at Flager College in St. Augustine, Florida.
Since birth Scerenscko has led a life far different from many individuals. Scerenscko was born blind, and throughout her life learned to read Braille and travel independently using a white cane for assistance and other adaptive technology.
Over the past four years attending South Fork High School, Scerenscko has been actively involved in the school’s choral and drama departments, serving as the Soprano Section Leader and Social Coordinator. Along with her love for music, Scerenscko has accumulated over 700 community service hours at various organizations including the Humane Society, and recently participated in Disability Awareness Week at South Fork High School, where she was a guest speaker educating her peers on people with disabilities.
The South Florida PGA Foundation awards one Palm Beach County resident annually with the Don E. Beattie Scholarship, a $2,500 grant assisting a student with his/her college education. The Don E. Beattie Scholarship was established in 2006 in memorial of PGA Professional Don E. Beattie for his service to the South Florida PGA Section as a Past President and for his support of the game of golf.
FGCU PGM Scholarship Receipient The South Florida PGA is proud to announce that Michael Vanover native of St. John, Indiana, is the recipient of the 2011 South Florida PGA Golf Management University(PGM) Scholarship at Florida Gulf Coast University. This scholarship is a $2,500 grant annually awarded to one student enrolled in the PGA Golf Management Program at Florida Gulf Coast University and meeting all eligibility requirements. This fall will be Vanover’s final semester at Florida Gulf Coast University, with anticipation of his graduation in December with a Bachelor of Science in Resort and Hospitality Management. Over the past four years Vanover has completed various internships at facilities throughout the country including, Disney’s Palm & Magnolia Courses, Panther Run Golf Club, Medinah Coun-try Club, and Grey Oaks Country Club. This summer Vanover is working at Hazeltine Golf Club in Minneapolis, the site of the 2009 PGA Championship. During each internship, Vanover gained valuable knowledge regarding all operations of running a golf facility. The internship that stood out most for Vanover was the time he spent working at Medinah Country Club in Chicago. While working at Medinah, Vanover volunteered time, out-side of his assigned task to help instruct children with disabilities, including those with autism and other various handicaps. He taught them the basic fundamentals of the game, and took great pride in doing so. Along with his work experience, Vanover has been an active member of the PGA Golf Management community, serving as President of the FGCU PGA Golf Management Club, speaking to high school students about the PGA Golf Management Program, and manning the booth for the FCGU PGA Golf Management Program at the PGA Merchandise Show held every January in Orlando.
FGCU PGM Scholarship Receipient The South Florida PGA proudly announces the 2011 Bobby Goodman Scholarship recipi-ent: Katherine Boocock. The Bobby Goodman Scholarship is a $2,500 grant annually given to a high school senior or college student entering into his/her freshman or sophomore year of undergraduate studies whose parents or grandparents either work in or are retired from the golf industry. This scholarship is named after PGA Professional Bobby Goodman, a man well known to the South Florida PGA record books. Bobby is recognized for his nu-merous contributions to the game of golf at all levels. The Bobby Goodman Scholarship Fund was created in 1988 by the South Florida PGA Senior Committee in tribute to the late Bobby Goodman.
Katherine Boocock is the daughter of Kevin Boocock, Florida Sales Manager for E-Z-GO Textron Corporation. As a sales manager Kevin has worked closely with the South Florida PGA as a partner of Section events, along with working one-on-one with PGA Profession-als at golf facilities in Southwest Florida.
Katherine recently graduated from Ft. Myers Senior High School, where she was ranked in the top 1% of her class academically, and achieved high honors graduating Summa Cum Laude. Katherine was also a member of the Nationals Honors Society, Mu Alpha Theta and
Rho Kappa. When Katherine was a freshman she received the third place award in the LCTE Writing Contest.
tournament newsPro - Pro Presented by PoloAfter rain washed out play on Thursday July 7th, 138 South Florida PGA Profes-sionals (69 teams) re-turned to The Ocean Reef Club on Friday July 8th and played 36-holes to wrap up the Pro-Pro Champi-onship presented by Polo Ralph Lauren and sup-ported by Golf Buddy, Titleist, Foot Joy, Global Golf Sales, Golf Pride and the Ocean Reef Club.
Coming out on top was the team of South Flori-da PGA Life Members, Jerry Impellittiere and Pete Oakley who shot a combined two round total of 19 under par, 123. Finishing just one stroke back and in second place was the team of Ed Sabo, SFPGA Life Member and John Wade of Gateway Golf & Country Club. Three other teams were tied for third just two strokes off the lead with totals of 125.
The 36-hole Pro-Pro Championship was played at The Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo, Florida on both the Dolphin and Hammock Courses. Special thanks to PGA Professionals Scott Kirkwood, David Feightner, Matthew Eckert, David Vi-hlen and Apprentice Eric Woodward.
L to R: Pete Oakley, PGA Life Member, Alison Hyman from Polo Ralph Lauren and Jerry Impellittiere, PGA Life Member
L to R: Harry Parker, PGA and Roger Kennedy, PGA
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Senior Super Senior38 South Florida PGA Professionals com-prising of 19 teams competed July 18th at Indian Spring Country Club in the 4th Annual Senior-Super Senior Event. Tak-ing home first place honors was the team of Roger Kennedy of Stuart and Harry Parker of Lighthouse Point. They card-ed at total of 10 birdies, en route to a ten under par score of 61 and a winners check of $800.
Finishing just one stroke back and in second place was the team of Gary Lockie of Fort Pierce and Ed Humenik of Palm City. Lockie and Humenik were also able to card 10 birdies, however the one and only blemish on their card keeping them out of a tie for first place was a bogey on the par 4 fifteenth hole. Four other teams were tied for third with scores of 63.
The Senior-Super Senior Event is an 18 hole competi-tion in which 9 holes were played in a scramble format and the other 9 holes were played in a four-ball stroke play format. Teams were comprised of two South Flor-ida PGA Professionals, one between the ages of 50-64 and other 65 or older. The event was supported by the PGA Tour
tournament newsPro - Scratch presented by Powerchute
Amateur Jeffrey Walker and SFPGA Professional David Kent
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Amateur Jeffrey Walker eagled the first hole Friday, July 22 as he teamed with head professional David Kent of the Club at Renaissance in Fort Myers to win the 32nd annual South Florida PGA pro-scratch presented by Powerchute and supported by Bionic Gloves and Mobile Pro Shop. The event was held at the Old Course at the Broken Sound Club, Friday, July 22nd. Last off the tee at 12:36 p.m., they also made 10 birdies for a 12 under par 60 in the four-ball stroke play format to win by two strokes. Together they earned $3,798.89 in cash and merchandise prizes, including the victory and the $1,700 for the only skin of the day, the eagle at the first hole. They birdied Nos. 3, 4, 7, 8, 10, 11, 14, 15, 17 and 18.
PAT PASSERS
Congratulations to the following players who passed the P.A.T. at Plantation Preserve Country Club on July 11, 2011
Les MatthewsGarrett TrimasJarret Zwilling
Chris DennisAdam Everitt
Brett Graf
PRO’S ON THE GO
PRO TO FROM Paul Taggart A-4 – Del Tura Country Club A-13 – New Jersey SectionAndrew Pease B-13 –Spanish Wells CC B-8 – Spanish Wells CC, Bon Sprgs
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9
Junior Tour #6 and #15 presented by The Honda ClassicPresented by:
Supported by:
The South Florida PGA Junior Tour is proudly presented by The Honda Classic & supported by
Allianz Championship, Club Med Golf Academy, Don Law Golf Academy, Palm Beach County Sports Commission, The Men’s
Fun Group at Mirasol, Oakley and Titleist.
junior newsLeft: Overall Winners Derron Peyton and An-nie Dulman with Scott
Fox, PGA
The South Florida PGA Junior Tour presented by the Honda Classic hosted Event #6 at Cor-al Ridge Country Club in Fort Lauderdale July 5-6th. The event fea-tured 104 golfers play-ing 36 holes over the
course of two days.
Right: Overall Winner Alexan-dra Perez with Mark VanDyck,
PGA
The South Florida PGA Junior Tour presented by the Honda Classic hosted Event #15 at Fort Lauderdale Country Club in Fort Lauderdale July 13-14th. The event featured 46 golfers playing 36 holes over
the course of two days.
Alexandra Perez of Miami claimed her 1st victory of the season in a playoff with Ash-ley Burke of Boynton Beach. Both girls finished with a two day score of 151. Coming in 3rd was Juliana Herrera of Planta-
tion, with a 75-79 154.
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Junior Tour #7 and #16 presented by the Honda ClassicPresented by:
Supported by:
junior news
The South Florida PGA Junior Tour is proudly presented by The Honda Classic & supported by
Allianz Championship, Club Med Golf Academy, Don Law Golf Academy, Palm Beach County Sports Commission, The Men’s Fun
Group at Mirasol, Oakley and Titleist.
Left: Overall Boy Champion Irvin Matutina with Scott
Richardson, PGA
The South Florida PGA Ju-nior Tour presented by the Honda Classic hosted Event #7 at LaPlaya Golf Club this week in Naples. 104 Juniors filled the field at the 2nd Naples stop of the season.
The Boys Overall Title was claimed by Irvin Matutina of Miami on the 2nd playoff hole with Boynton Beach’s Derron Peyton. Peyton had won his last 4 SFPGA Junior Tour events. In the Girls Overall division, Alex-andra Papell of Boca Raton claimed her 3rd title of the
season with a 153.
Below: Overall Winner Nicolas Cavero with Jason Brown, PGA
The South Florida PGA Junior Tour presented by the Honda Classic hosted Event #16 at Atlantis Golf Club in Atlantis July 28-29. The event featured sixty-eight boys 14-18
years old, playing 36 holes.
Nicolas Cavero of Doral, won his 2nd Overall Title for the year with a 2 stroke lead over
his competitors.
Cavero finished with a 68-72 for a
140 total score.
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education
SFPGA TOURNAMENT DIRECTOR ANDREW MILLER
rules with drew
Who - Who
Earlier this month I was running a Player Ability Test at Planta-tion Preserve Golf Course and I encountered something that re-ally peaked my interest. On the third hole there is a parliament of burrowing owls living the fair-way bunker. According to the head professional they originally
were living at the base of a tree, but for whatever reason decided to pack it up and move into a bunker. I guess the sand in the bunker makes for a better burrow or maybe they just wanted to be closer to the action. I wonder if the owls realize that being closer to the action puts them in the line of fire? All kidding aside, as I was sitting in my cart watch-ing the owls move in and out of the burrow, I couldn’t help but think about the potential rulings that could develop from this habitation. I jotted down some notes and before I knew my column was written.
As I was sitting in my cart I made note that aside from the sign stating as such, these owls were burrowing animals. They are classified as such not so much by their name but by the definition in the Rules of Golf which states, “A bur-rowing animal is an animal (other than a worm insect or the like) that makes a hole for habitation or shelter, such as a rabbit, mole, groundhog, gopher or salamander.” Even though the owl does not appear in the examples given by the definition, they clearly are using the hole for habita-tion. Thus they fall under the category of a burrowing ani-mal. Now that I’ve classified what I’m looking at, I wanted to know what relief is available to the player should his ball come in contact with this area. The answer to that ques-tion lies in a second definition, the definition of abnormal ground condition. The Rules of Golf defines an abnormal ground condition as, “any casual water, ground under repair or hole, cast or runway on the course made by a burrow-ing animal, a reptile or a bird.” Now that I know I’m deal-ing with an abnormal ground condition I can go directly
to Rule 25-1 and find all the relief options available to the player. On a side note, I really can’t express enough how important knowing of the definitions in the Rules of Golf is when making rulings. They are the key ingredient and starting place for answering all rules questions. In fact, I once had a colleague tell me that if you have a basic rules knowledge and have memorized the definitions then you can answer 80% of the rules inquiries.
The longer I sat in my cart watching the owls the more situations popped in my head allowing me to rehearse po-tential rulings. For instance, if the player’s ball was lying outside the bunker, through the green, and his stance had him within the abnormal area, the player would be per-mitted to lift his ball and drop it, without penalty, within one club-length of and not nearer the hole than his near-est point of relief. Or what if the ball lay in the bunker and the abnormal area interfered with his area of intended swing or lie of the ball? He would be permitted to lift his ball and drop it without penalty, within one club length of and not nearer the hole than his nearest point of re-lief, however the ball must be dropped in the bunker. Or, the player could drop his ball outside the bunker, under penalty of one stroke, keeping the point where the ball lay directly between the hole and the spot on which the ball is dropped, with no limit to how far behind the bunker the ball may be dropped. What would be the ruling if the players ball lay in the bunker and the burrow interfered with the lie of his ball but instead of risking a fried egg lie after dropping the taking relief the player decided to play the ball as it lie and during his back swing he touched part of the burrow? Is the burrow considered ground in the bunker? According the Decision 13-4/5, a mound made by a burrowing animal is ground in the hazard and the player would be penalized two strokes under Rule 13-4.
As I was sitting there continuing to rehearse rulings in my head I got to thinking, I wonder how close I can get to the nest before the owls fly away? As I inched closer to the burrow my presence quickly caught the attention of one of the larger owls, presumably the adult male. He started making noises and bobbing his head up and down. As this was clearly not an invitation to come any closer I slowly re-treated. This display indicated that apparently these owls are extremely territorial and should a player’s ball come to rest near the nest the likelihood of the owls permitting a player to play his ball are slim. What would the player’s options be then? Decision 1-4/9 and 1-4/10 has this situa-tion covered. It states, “If the ball lay through the green, the player may, without penalty, drop a ball within one
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upcoming eventsAugust 4 - 5Junior Tour #8Presented by The Honda ClassicSupported by Titleist, Don Law Golf Acad-emy, Club Med Golf Academy, Palm Beach Sports Commission, Allianz Championship and The Fun Group at Mirasolat Hunters Run Golf Club
August 4Pro - SuperintendentSupported by E-Z-GO, Global Golf Sales & Adam’s Golfat Golf Club at Mirasol - Sunrise
August 11 - 12Senior Section ChampionshipSupported by The PGA TOUR & South-winds Homesat Turtle Creek Club
August 20 - 21Junior Tour #9Presented by The Honda ClassicSupported by Titleist, Don Law Golf Acad-emy, Club Med Golf Academy, Palm Beach Sports Commission, Allianz Championship and The Fun Group at Mirasolat Doral - Jim McLean Signature
August 22Global Golf Sales Series #3Presented by Global Golf Salesat Wyndemere Country Club
August 23 - 25Section ChampionshipPresented by Taylormade adidasSupported by Taylormade adidas, Box-Groove & The PGA TOURat The Hideout / Wyndemere Country Club
September 4 - 10Travel Pro - Amin Spain
club-length of and not nearer the hole than the nearest spot not nearer the hole that is not dan-gerous and that is not in a hazard and not on a put-
ting green. If the ball lay in a hazard, the player may drop a ball, without penalty, within one club-length of and not nearer the hole than the nearest spot not nearer the hole that is not danger-ous. If possible, the ball must be dropped in the same hazard and, if not possible, in a similar nearby hazard, but in either case not nearer the hole. If it is not possible for the player to drop the ball in a hazard, he may drop it, under penalty of one stroke, outside the hazard, keeping the point where the original ball lay between the hole and the spot on which the ball is dropped.”
As I started to pull away one more thought flashed in my head, what if the player’s ball goes into the burrow and is not found. Free relief has to be available under that circumstance, right? Rules 25-1c informs us that in order to declare a ball lost in an abnormal ground condition it must be known or virtually certain the ball came to rest in the abnormal condition. In the absence of such certainty, the player must proceed under Rule 27-1. If it is known or virtually certain that a ball that has not been found is in an abnormal ground condition, the player may take relief under this Rule. If he elects to do so, the spot where the ball last crossed the outermost limits of the abnormal ground condition must be determined and, for the purpose of applying this Rule, the ball is deemed to lie at this spot.” Once the player has determined the spot, he can than take relief as prescribed in Rule 25-1b.
In closing I would like to quickly reiterate the importance of the definitions section in the Rules of Golf. As it relates to the game of golf, I like to think of the definitions section as the short game. The short game and the definitions are both the foundations for which a good golf game and a solid rules knowledge are built. You know what they say, if you only have a few minutes to prepare for a round, work on your short game. Same goes for the Rules of Golf. If you only have a few minutes, look over the definitions section.
Lastly, I did some research on my burrowing owl friends and found out some interesting facts that I thought I would share just in case your golf course encounters similar guests. First, in the state of Florida, the borrowing owl falls under the species of concern list. The species of concern list is the third behind endangered and threatened. Secondly, I learned that burrowing owls are “surprisingly bold and approachable” despite the greet-ing I received. However, I went on to find out that the small area around the nest burrow is aggressively defended against intru-sion and when alarmed the younger owls will make a hissing call that sounds like a rattlesnake. I bet when you started reading this article you didn’t think there would be a biology lesson involved. Hope you enjoyed it and I’ll see you on the tournament trail.
