Tee It Up

A PATRIOTIC DAY AT RCC TO BENEFIT THE FOLDS OF HONOR JUNE 1, 2021

The day started way before dawn, around 5:30am, on a lonely highway east of Rolesville, NC, as a black SUV cost me valuable minutes on my way to Raleigh Country Club (RCC). Why, do you ask? Whoever was driving the vehicle didn’t use their turn signal. I balked, froze up and didn’t know whether to “gas it up” or sit there like a scared chicken. I chose to sit at the stop sign and wonder when I could make my next move. As the vehicle turned abruptly left, I realized it was RCC’s Head Golf Professional, Thomas Walker, and the games had begun. Now, it was a drag race to 400 Donald Ross Drive. However, we both had to make one stop. He needed a Diet Coke and a scratch-off lottery ticket, and I needed eight biscuits from Bojangles to feed our team.

Once we arrived at RCC, we had a team building moment – which means the trash talking started amongst everyone participating in the golf marathon. We all had a goal to play 72 holes each, but decided to surpass the goal just like our members did with their donations. We then opted to play 100 holes each. It’s a new day, so we set a new goal.

More importantly, we had to wait for our Golf Course Superintendent, Billy Cole, and his hardworking staff to plan their course of action. I cannot thank his team enough for their tireless work, each and every day, to make our Donald Ross design the best it can possibly be. Don’t worry, Billy didn’t take it easy on us with the hole locations! Now let’s get to the action!

My first tee shot off No. 16 found Billy’s nursery green which is a ‘free

drop. ’ I promptly found one of Kyle Franz’

false fronts, only to putt up and make the par putt on a dew-covered green that was rolling about 7.5 on the stimpmeter device. I wondered why I never see anyone practice putting off the green on our practice facility. If you are not doing this, please contact me on how to shave 4-5 strokes off every round.

One of the first team texts to come through that morning was from Boomer [Brian Kittler] at 8:18am. He had recorded the first eagle with a third shot hole on No. 8! No one cared that his third shot came from No. 6... He started on No. 10 at 7:00am. However, 12 birdies and one eagle on the day isn’t bad but the pace of play had been set! It was certainly nice to see his wife and son come out later in the afternoon to cheer him on.

For those of you who take lessons from Davis Bateman, be sure to get him to teach you “How to hit the ball high and stop it on a dime. ” The guy is unbelievable with his iron play into our greens. Most of it is luck, combined with a little talent. We all know he didn’t learn that in a classroom. Recording the fastest 18-hole round at 1 hour and 9 minutes with a score of 72, “Spalding, you’ll get nothing and like it. ”

For our rookie Assistant Professional, Josh Guy, it was all about playing fast. I asked him around noon how many holes he had played. His reply was, “I would have played more if you all would get out of my way!” That’s what I’m talking about, even though there were only six people playing on the golf course. He played 117 holes – a team best!

As a Rule of Golf Life: Fast pay makes fast friends, fast play makes lifelong friends.

Thank goodness we have lighter rakes now at RCC or our Locker Room Attendant, Nick Geisinger, would be at Dr. Hage’s office like I was a few weeks ago. Nick did a tremendous job on all of our golf shoes after play. I recommend that everyone give him a shot. He is there for you and does a fantastic job! He is also available for bunker raking lessons with loads of free knowledge.

There is not a staff member I had more fun watching and playing a few holes with other than our Assistant Outside Services Manager, Chris Wilson. He tries his best on every single shot and gives each and every one of them 100 percent. I admire his grit and determination to beat Nick. He is a firm believer of “Playing it Forward. ” This is mainly because his putter has a sweet spot worn out in the center of the face – not because they all go in, but because he putts a lot… and putts a lot on each green.

Now, onto my No Turn Signal User,

“ ” Thomas Walker. I’m pretty sure he hit driver off every tee he played, including most Par 3s. I roasted him for not hitting the 17th green from 103 yards (black tees), then I proceeded to hosel rocket one toward the 13th tee box. It was an epic fail. We laughed all the way down the 3rd tee about this performance. Later on in the afternoon, when I was about to give up at Hole 94, I was playing with Thomas and he said, “Oh no, you are going to get to 100 holes and I’m going with you!” Ironically, this happened on No. 17 and I hit the green, only to roll off the front. Small successes. Another putt from off the green and a tap in Par – I had a wingman.

Looking at my scorecard hole tally after the 17th and with 100 holes now under my belt, Thomas said, “We have to play 18, pro!” I said, “Yes we do, because we are able to. ” That’s when the moment, and the cause, hit me square in the face. It was all I could do to tee the ball up, knowing that our team mission would be accomplished if I completed one more hole.

No matter how hurt, how tired or how much we wanted to go home

–we did this today because someone was hurt, tired and didn’t make it home. Thank you to those who gave more time, desire, loyalty, dedication and sacrifice to our country than we did in this golf marathon. Also, thank you everyone who donated to Folds of Honor this year. Whether you are an RCC member, friend, family member or stranger, we appreciate your support in giving back to such a great cause.

God Bless the USA.

PD

Aiden Huckabee and Greyson Boyd Carter Hildreth

Edwin Evans and Elliot Stevens Cooper Smith

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR RCC JUNIORS!!!

SAVE THE DATE

8 WEEK FALL SEMESTER I SEPTEMBER 7 – NOVEMBER 3

Operation 36 is the most effective program to teach our beginning golfers and our established junior players who enjoy competition and personal game growth. It is a clear blueprint to go from complete novice to par golfer. The lessons are based on playing on the course right away and moving up in divisions. Lastly, the technology that they provide in the app is cutting-edge. Each semester is an 8 week program that has weekly classes for an hour and four 9 hole playing sessions.

AMATEUR GOLF CAMP

JULY 13-15 I 9:00AM - 12:00PM $175 PER WEEK I AGES 6-9

We have developed the Amateur Golf Camp for juniors that are interested in learning the game. Camp will teach juniors the basic fundamentals of the game. We will cover putting, chipping, pitching, bunker, full swing, rules and demonstrate the importance of etiquette during on course play days.

PROFESSIONAL GOLF CAMP

JULY 27-29 I 9:00AM -12:00PM (HALF DAY) 9:00AM – 3:00PM (FULL DAY)

(Includes lunch and 9 holes of golf each day)

$175 – HALF DAY I $300 – FULL DAY I AGES 10 & UP

The Professional Golf Camp is for juniors, who have advanced through Raleigh Country Club's junior golf camps in previous years and have the ability to play 9 holes. At this level we will provide advanced instruction to juniors using video analysis. Areas of instruction will include putting, chipping, pitching, bunker, full swing, rules and etiquette

Congratulations to all who participated in RCC's Parent Child Championship! The Treyburn Flight Gross Champions are David, Lindsay, and Washy Johnson and Net Champions are Jim, Jimbo, Avery and Camden Barnes. In the Sedgefield Flight there was a tie for Gross Champions, Brian and Charlie Clemency with Jeremy and Ford Hooks. The Net Champions are Ryan and Hayes Oxendine.