NEWMEMBERS: Dale and Marianna Dhillon
PRESIDENT'SMESSAGE
Written by Jim Walker
Welcome to the latter half of summer Although summer in Hilton Head is always hot and humid, in 2024, it has proven to be particularly so! Unfortunately, this summer has also been extremely dry, which is putting us near drought conditions.
Port Royal Golf & Racquet Club does not have its own water supply to feed the golf course sprinklers; therefore, it must rely on Hilton Head PSD To avoid straining the PSD system, there have been some recent (and temporary) changes to the way the courses are watered, such as running the sprinklers only on the tees and greens for par 3 ’ s, and the like. While some recent rain events have helped, you might notice some areas have begun to brown out due to lack of hydration Hopefully, everyone can remain patient through this challenging stretch Speaking of hydration – PLEASE remember to take precautions against the effects of heat and humidity when playing golf and/or tennis. Drink plenty of water (starting well ahead of beginning play), and don’t forget about replacing those electrolytes! Sports drinks, such as PowerAde or Gatorade, help, or alternatively, numerous powders (e g , Nuun, LMNT, etc ) can be added to your own water Look out for signs of dehydration, which include muscle cramps, fatigue, lightheadedness, and increased heart rate and/or breathing. Finally, if you are interested in a more entertaining form of “hydration” – you might want to sample some of the recent additions to the Robbers Row Grille drinks menu Keresha has, once again, come up with a dazzling array of summer cocktails that are sure to refresh (try a Skinny Margarita, my personal favorite on a hot day).
In addition, several new beers are now available from Wibby Brewing – founded and operated by the son of two of our very own members, Chuck and Phyllis Wibby I can personally attest to their outstanding quality and believe I’ve sampled them all (which will surprise no one who knows me)
In short – DRINK UP! See you around the clubhouse!
FUN
Written
Our August events kick off with our Monthly Members Social returning to the first Monday of the month, August 5th at 5 PM At just $10 per person, it continues to be a wonderful way to socialize with your fellow club members while indulging in happy hour priced drinks and great food. Out-of-town guests? No problem! They are welcome to join the fun. Just be sure to let the club know you are planning to attend by using the portal registration
RSVP HERE
August fun continues with the monthly NINE AND DINE event on Thursday, August 15 Play nine holes of golf and then join us for dinner Registration is in the pro shop and your $25(golf members) fee includes nine holes of golf, your cart, and dinner. Non-golf members pay $35. If you are a new member of the club, we will be happy to pair you up with another golfing couple so please don’t hesitate to sign up. The event begins at 4:00 PM with a shotgun start.
SIGN UP in the Sports Shop
We head back indoors on Monday, August 19 for our final DJ TRIVIA of 2024. Where else can you go to have great food and this much fun for $28 00 pp? Our meal before trivia night will be BBQ chicken and pork, potato salad, veggie tray, with chops and cornbread Build your trivia brain trust now but remember…only teams of 8! We will be strictly adhering to the registration cut-off date for this event And don’t forget to NAME your team when you register
PLEASE NOTE: Each participant on a team must register themselves through the portal This ensures you are on the attendance list Remember to note your team name and the others of your team so the club staff can cross reference the names and bill our members correctly. It will also make the check-in process easier
RSVP HERE
While we won’t have a “big event” planned for September due to the Heritage Member/Guest event, plan ahead now and mark your calendar for Monday, September 9 for our Monthly Member Social and the NINE AND DINE held on Thursday, September 12 at 4:00 PM
And now a short PSA…
If you don’t register for an event till the very last moment, we don’t know you are planning to attend and can put an event at risk of canceling due to low registrations. Please register in a timely manner to ensure we can hold all the scheduled fun and have enough food for all
PICNIC IN JULY
GOLFREPORT
Written by Bud Henry
Summer is here and golf course maintenance is in full swing Barony was aerated for the second time in early July, but due to uncooperative weather, the tees and fairways were not addressed.
The 6th green on Barony was slightly expanded, and the back sand bunker was filled in and sodded While the sod has grown well, the area where the green was expanded is taking some time to fill in. The maintenance staff is reviewing the green to see if additional actions are needed. Robbers Row was fully aerated the third week of July including greens, tees and fairways These areas should all be back to normal in early August The Barony fairways and tees are planned to be aerated shortly, based on weather and contractor availability The cart path on Robbers Row 18 is being repaved to remove the humps and bumps from tree roots. The Plantation is also repairing the shared path between Robbers #1 and #2, as well as the walking path along Robbers #3 The construction on Robbers #3 should not affect play unless one pull hooks the ball as I occasionally do The cart path to the driving range and part of the cart parking area have been repaved, improving that area as well Speaking of the driving range, the new mats have allowed the range to remain open during wet weather, and the grass on the rest of the range looks much improved as its usage is reduced due to the mats. Other cart path improvements are planned and will be scheduled as weather and budgets allow
As you can read in the Ladies and Men’s golf reports, there are a lot of activities happening in July and August With the heat index reaching 100 degrees most days, please remember to stay hydrated The new ice and water machine in the Robber Row Outpost can be accessed after finishing Barony #14, Robbers #5, and of course after Robbers #8. If you have not used it yet, it is located between the two restrooms and the key code is the same as the restrooms.
Planning for the Heritage Invitation (member/guest) is progressing with invitations expected to be sent in the next couple of weeks. The goal is to try to keep costs in the same range as last year, and we will use a format similar to the last few years Expect to hear more details soon The couples mixed league has just finished after seven weeks of play on Thursday evenings Congratulations to newer members Tess and Eric Hegedus for capturing the coveted winner’s Trophy
LADIES GOLF COMMITTEE
Written by Linda Gorski
First Annual Hot Chix with Stix Tournament is in the books!
Thanks to everyone who played in or supported the first annual Hot Chix with Stix tournament on Friday, July 26th. As predicted, it was a wicked HOT day but the 24 ladies who participated went the distance Two teams posted a score of 63 and the winner in the scorecard playoff was the team of Karen Simpson, Sue Walker, Tricia Higgins, and Cheri Bailey beating out the second-place team of Linda Gorski, Linda Muehlberger, Mary Beth Strasburger, and Judi Chmielowiec by one stroke! Way to go ladies! Thanks to Rhonda Heuple, Tournament Chairman for the Ladies Golf Committee, for putting on this great tournament and to the Port Royal staff for all their help!
The tournament was an 18-hole scramble format with challenges and obstacles on several holes On Hole 1 players had to putt through a forest of HOT summer signs and plastic flamingos. On Hole 4 players were required to hit into a plastic swimming pool placed in front of the green before they could chip onto the green and putt out On Hole 10 players hit a water balloon with their driver off the tee resulting in a welcome explosion of cold water on a HOT day before hitting their real drives. On Hole 14 each player teed off while wearing a snake-shaped inner tube On Hole 17 players putted through a maze of stress balls distributed around the green. Each team was also given a "special" ball which was to be played by different players on every hole If the team kept the ball for the whole round and turned it in at the end of the round, they received extra points Oh – and players were required to take photos of their teams at the various challenges earning extra points and providing us with these wonderful action shots for this article! Following the tournament, the ladies enjoyed a lunch of HOT dogs, HOT French fries, and yummy brownies prepared by Jim Henington and his staff while receiving prizes chosen by Rhonda including neck coolers, fans, ice rollers, and more cool prizes for a HOT day
Winners – Karen, Sue, Tricia, Cheri
2nd place – Linda G, Linda M, Mary Beth, Judi
Due to popular demand, the Ladies Golf Committee will be sponsoring more of these tournaments, which are open to ALL lady golfers at Port Royal throughout the year. Our next tournament will be our quarterly Wonder Woman's Day on Friday, August 16th Wear your red white and blue!!! If you have any que b L d G lf P R al, please email me at lindagorski@cscom or call/text me
Tess Hegedus tees off with exploding
Marianne Tillman hits with a snake shaped inner tube wrapped around her body!
Judi Chmielowiec managed to chip into the pool on #4 in one stroke!
Winning team, Karen, Sue, Tricia, and Cheri in a squirt gun fight!
Showing our summer fun!!! Heather Garmston, Shari Box, Carroll Lindseth and Rhonda Heuple
Terri Johnson, Kathy McGown, Karen Elrod and Marianne Tillman with flamingos!
Kathy Jacobson, Tess Hegedus, Lisa Adamsky, and Nene Dreyer in their summer colors!
Mary Grace Tabb giving last-minute instructions before we hit the course! Thanks for your support, MG
Rhonda Heuple, Ladies Golf Committee Tournament Chair and our #1 Hot Chick, did a fabulous job!
Please join us for our next Ladies Golf Committee Tournament - Wonder Woman’s Day on Friday, August 16th Wear your colors!!!!
18 HOLE LADIES GOLF
Written by Gay Halleman
The golf experience at Port Royal consists of many elements Probably the most important is the friends made over years of playing together, whether in the same cart or foursome
We should take a moment to think about how nice it is to arrive, go to your assigned cart, and find your bag sitting there waiting for you If you bring your clubs each time you play, very speedy young men whisk your clubs to the group you are playing with, and "presto" they are on a cart. We have an exceptional group of attendants who take care of us, always with a smile and a cheery "good morning "
Many of them greet you by name which is quite an accomplishment since they are balancing these duties with caring for the guests who are also arriving. Regrettably, I missed getting a photo of Alex who is always right there and terrific, but pictured below are Wright, Carson, BT and Nick We appreciate you!
Over the years we have lost some great people for various reasons but "Cheers" to some of our very favorites; Jeremy, Vinnie, Craig, Bobby, and the recently departed Austin. We miss you!
9 HOLE LADIES GOLF
Written by Karen Simpson
First, let me thank Linda Gorski for writing last month's amazing article while John and I were on the West Coast for a few weeks
A shoutout to Kathy McGown for being my Director of the Month (DOM). We did not have a formal game on July 4 due to the ladies having friends and family in town On July 11 we did play and all of us wore red, white, and blue to celebrate our great country
Now for the important info…who won the Red, White, and Blue on July 11th? We had 10 ladies who were brave enough to face the heat and humidity on that day. After a series of advanced mathematical calculations (SERIOUSLY?) the winner was determined – using a tiebreaker on the first two holes. The winning team was: Sue Walker, Nancy Sheehan, and Julie DeLaurence This group was led by Sue Walker with a TOTAL score of 47 – and a NET of 29! Way to go Sue!! May your Blue Heron spirit bird be with you! She also had a great deal of support from her teammates
Girls Night Out was a lot of fun at Okko’s Hibachi table We also celebrated Linda Gorski’s birthday
It was a wonderful evening with great food and service it will need to be repeated soon
Sake drinking birthday girl!
Well, July is almost over and last week’s game results are finally in Seven ladies braved the heat and humidity on Thursday and the winner of the Throw Out Worst Two Holes was drum roll, please...Sue Walker! She burned up the course with a TOTAL score of 46 which included 3 pars!! When the worst two holes were thrown out and her net was calculated she came in with a scorching 18! Way to go Sue!! In second place was Karen Simpson with a searing net of 21! Blazing scores for some hot ladies!
These 3 lovely ladies were fortunate enough to play in a 9-hole exchange at Wexford on July 24th. It was a Paris-themed event with wonderful food and not a blade of grass out of place
MEN'SGOLF
Written by John Strasburger
July Super Men’s Day: 8 teams (32 players) sweated it out on Barony Greens were still recovering from aeration; however, the fairways were in great shape.
We played the Packers Green & Gold Shamble / Scramble Format: the best two balls on the front nine with a basic scramble on the back nine Each team selected a hole of their choice to play from one green tee and one gold tee on the front 9 as well as the back 9 With a score of 84 (24 under par), the team of Jeff Clary, Ernie Marsico, Ron Tucker & Tim Aller blistered the field For their picture, I said to the guys: “ you can have your picture taken anywhere you desire” . . so, we all jammed into Ernie’s yellow golf cart, and off to the beach we went
SMD Closest to the Pin winner:
Hole #2 Barony
Bill Whalen, 12 ’ 5”
Hole #16 Barony
Bill Doney, 13 inches
Shooting a net 72 on Port Royal’s Robber’s Row, Don Muehlberger & Keith Swinehart shared the 2024 Open Sweeps Honors Both of these Super Seniors wisely picked Xander Schauffele as their Pro of choice in the 4th round of The (British) Open championship. Xander’s 65 made for a combined winning score of 137, edging out early bird Dave Donnelly & Sungjae Im Hey guys, I’m sure Xander wants his jug back.
Next Up:
Super Men’s Day: Wednesday, August 14th
RACQUET'S UP!
Written by Angelo Verde
We completed a very successful Member/Member Tournament June 2829. Friday night’s taco bar and social was enjoyed by all and the tournament play was very competitive. It was a very hot morning and the players appreciated Dale providing us with wet towels to keep cool
Congratulations to the winners and having their names engraved on the Annual Member/ Member trophy
Men’s 4.0 winners -Dave Johnson and Matt Sweeney
Men’s 3.5 winners- Jamie Patterson and Gary Ciardiello
Woman’s 3.5 winners- Lisa Sisko and Peggy Partin
Have you thought about how to improve your doubles play? The following strategies were sourced from “thetennistribe.com”
1 Take Over The Net This puts pressure on your opponents forces low percentage shots and gives you better angles for hitting winners
2 Move Side to Side at the Net Moving laterally when your opponent is about to hit can cause unforced errors Also faking a move may get an easy volley
3 Hit the Ball to the Net Players Feet By hitting topspin on your groundstrokes or a soft volley that stays low over the net you increase your chances of a missed shot or a popup ball that is easily returned for a put-away.
4 Hit Groundstrokes Deep in the Court. Hitting a deep ball keeps your opponent back and allows you to charge forward for the next shot.
5 Attack the Middle of the Court This is a great doubles strategy especially if both opponents are at the net It forces the other team to communicate with each other potentially causing confusion as well as taking angles away from their next shot
6 Hit to the Weaker Player’s backhand Volley Almost every doubles player has a weaker backhand volley than a forehand volley Hitting a hard or low shot to the backhand gives the best probability of a positive outcome.
Reminder with the weather becoming warmer court time will be at a premium for early morning times. On most days there is group play, clinics, and lessons all happening between 8 AM and 1 PM
Court Maintenance
Outstanding items are the rehab of tennis benches and continued monitoring of the court five playing surface If you see an issue that needs to be addressed please let our Pro Dale know
Other committee news:
The new date for the Member Round Robin will be September 5th. Please mark your calendars and stay tuned for details on sign-ups and start times We hope to have a grill courtside to promote meeting new members and enjoying time together Monday afternoon round robin has been dropped due to lack of participation but Wednesday afternoon 3-5 will still be offered
Please use the recycle container outside the pro shop near court #1
Key Dates remaining for 2024:
Member Round Robin September 5th Thursday evening October 18-19th Member/Guest tournamentNovember 13- Closing Dinner – Beach House
Dale’s Corner
Sometimes you need to make your opponent beat you. Stop going for winners. Instead, work the ball down the middle of the court. You lose 100% of the points that you hit the ball into the net Give yourself some margin and let your opponent make the mistakes
Don’t forget to sign yourself and visiting guests up for Dale’s weekly clinics and round-robin play. Check the site and the pro shop for dates and times.
Follow Dale on Instagram and Facebook @tenniswith dale
The warm temperatures have returned! Remember to dress appropriately for summer play, lather on the sunscreen, bring plenty of appropriate hydration drinks, and add a cool towel and rosin bag in your tennis bag. Also, stretch and warm up properly. As always we hope your racquet play is improving, your member experience is at a high level and you are enjoying your time with friends and or the competitive play!
Above all HAVE FUN!
Port Royal Dining Nights
Trivia Night
Terry Herron in Concert
