Golf June 2012 Black

The TBDGA 2012 Tournament Calendar Note: Some of the dates or courses are subject to change 2012 Member Club and TBDGA Tournaments JUNE June 16-17 Mallon’s Play It Again Sports Better Ball Chapples Golf Course Fort William C.C. June 19 Marathon Senior Men’s Open Peninsula Golf Course June 22 Kenogamisis Mens Senior Invitational Kenogamisis Golf Course June 23 North Shore Invitational (27 holes) North Shore Golf Course June 29 Municipal 2 man Scramble Municipal Golf Course JULY June 30-July 1 The Keg District Open Strathcona Golf Club Whitewater Golf Club July 7-8

Chapples Invitational (3 man scramble) Chapples Golf Course July 12 Steve “O” Senior Invitational Thunder Bay Country Club July 14-15 Strathcona Club Championship Strathcona Golf Club July 20 North Shore Senior 2 Man North Shore Golf Course July 21-22 Whitewater GC Club Championship Whitewater Golf Club July 28-29 Aguasabon 4 Man Masters Agusabon Golf Course July 28-29 Fort William CC Club Championship Fort William Country Club AUGUST August 3-6 Strathcona Invitational Strathcona Golf Course August 4-5 Stanley Thompson Memorial 2 Man Kenogamisis Golf Course August 10-12 Fort William Country Club Invitational Fort William Country Club August 11-12 Marathon Men's Open

Peninsula Golf Course August 11-12 Chapples Club Championship Chapples Golf Course August 18-19 The Bergstrom Kenogamisis Golf Course August 18-19 Municipal Club Championship Municipal Golf Course August 18-19 Thunder Bay CC Club Championship Thunder Bay Country Club August 23-24 TBDGA District Junior Championship TBA\ August 25-26 Centennial Club Championship Centennial Golf Course August 25-26 Aguasabon Men's Open Aguasabon Golf Course August 25-26 Dragon Hills Club Championship Dragon Hills Golf Course SEPTEMBER September 1-3 Canadian Tire District Amateur Strathcona Golf Course Chapples Golf Course Whitewater Golf Club September 1-2 Marathon Club Championship Peninsula Golf Course September 1-2 Geraldton Club Championship

Send Us Your Golf Event Results!

We’d Love To Publish Them.

You Can Also Include a Picture or Two Email to Scott Sumner nspinc@tbaytel.net www.golfingnews.ca

Kenogamisis Golf Course September 8 North Shore Two Man Best Ball North Shore Golf Course September 9 Municipal Invitational Municipal Golf Course September 8-9 Emerald Greens Club Championship Emerald Greens Golf Course September 15 District Mid Am Qualifying TBA OCTOBER October 6 Dragon Hills Open 4 Man Scramble Dragon Hills Golf Course October 7 Stokaluk Shoot-Out Municipal Golf Course

The Thunder Bay District Golf Association is a non-profit organization responsible for coordinating and promoting golf activities and championship tournaments with member clubs in the Thunder Bay District.

The TBDGA held is annual meeting on Sunday February 19, 2012. The new executive is as follows:

President - Laurence Tulloch Vice-President - Andrew Scavarelli Secretary - Scott Adams Treasurer - Peter Campner Past President - Barry Caland Members at Large: Walter Keating Jr. Ed Atwill Curtis Hildebrandt Tony Stokaluk Matt Taylor Dustin Wilson remains as the Junior Chairman Barry Caland has stepped down after eight years as the President.

Laurence Tulloch takes over as President after being acclaimed.

There has been a change to the Equitable Stroke Control (ESC) System for entering scores for handicapping purposes. Please refer to the following link for Golf Canada's explanation.

2012 ESC Rules

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JUNE 2012

www.golfingnews.ca My Golf Game with a 6 Time PGA Tour Winner- Steve Pate

BY SCOTT A. SUMNER

NW Ontario Golfing News

On a recent trip to the famed La Costa resort near San Diego,California I was looking forward to playing the recently renovated and reopened Champions course. The Champions had been host to 37 PGA Tour events over the years won by such famous golfers as Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods.

During breakfast a nicely dressed man in Calloway garb came up to me and said, I have your clubs on the cart and am going over to the range. Little had I known I would get to play that day with 50-year- old Steve Pate, winner of 6 PGA Tours events including at this very

course and now a regular Champions Tour player. As an avid golfer and someone who watches PGA Tour events regularly on TV and in person it was going to be a fun day!

I’m not a great warm up person before golf but watching Steve Pate hit balls and practice putting to right before our tee time made me realize I might have to start. He liked practicing Steve told me and that day was tinkering with putters before gong up to the Calloway facility some 10 minutes away from La Costa tomorrow.

Just before we began play I saw a familiar face from TV walking towards usDeepak Chopra whose world headquarters are at La Costa and is where he holds many of his retreat events for people from all over the world. Deepak was friendly and it was fun to get two famous people in conversation and a picture!

Our fore some started our game with Art, another golf writer form Dallas and Ed of the PR firm based in Pebble Beach which handles La Costa. Our starter told us it would be cart path only, words I don’t like to hear with a leg injury, but this was going to be a good day anyway.

Steve Pate played on the PGA Tour from 1988 to 1999 and won his last event in 1998. Times have changed since then when his first win gave him a winning purse of $72,000 and last win around $ 270,000. “ The winner of the Valero Texas Open last week made more in prize money than all my 6 wins combined " smiled Steve Pate who now plays the Champions Tour on a regular basis and loves it. " I like the 3 day events with no cut" stated Steve Pate who has always looked at the tee shot as something you get out of the way until you go and have fun. Steve went to UCLA just up the road form La Costa for his college golf and is now partners with Damian Pascuzzo doing golf course design including the renovation of this course, Champions and the second South Course on the property soon. Before reaching the age of 50 Steve played many events and won on the Nationwide Tour to keep his game sharp.

After playing with Steve I remembered his nickname “ Volcano" because of his intensity on the course. Today Steve is much more relaxed on the Champions Tour and still enjoys the competition. He lives in the area, as he has all his life, and it seems to me his life has been a pretty good one. It will be fun to watch Steve play a full schedule on the Champions Tour where he has won some pretty good cheques already!

JUNE 2012

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US College Player Evan Littlefield Wins Inaugural Whitewater Invitational presented by Boston Pizza.

By Scott A. Sumner

Core Golf Academy students and Whitewater members. We are very happy with the condition of the golf course this year, it is fabulous.”?smiles Simmons.

The first ever Whitewater Invitational presented by Boston Pizza was held at the Whitewater Golf Club over the May long weekend. The 4-day match play event started with a stroke play game to determine the championship flight rankings and the other flights to make up the field of 48 players. The final championship match on Monday afternoon featured two local residents who both attend US universities on golf scholarships, Evan Littlefield and Jeff Hunter. Evan won the back and forth

“ It feels good to win. They were hard matches each one of them. I just played to what I could do out there and got it done when I?had to,”?said Evan Littlefield, age 20, who had matches against Myles Peterson. Barry Caland, Evan Degrazia and then Jeff Hunter in the final. “ We went back and forth all day and it just seemed I came out on top at the end but it was tough out there. The conditions were tough but the course is in great shape right now. The greens are beautiful. It is really nice for

Eric Peterson, age 95 grandfather Evan Littlefield and Frank Littlefield, father

match on the 18th hole on a beautiful sunny day at Whitewater. “ It has been a awesome event. We have

working with Sean Foley, Jeff Hay and Tom Jackson,”?smiled Evan. “ It was amazing having my grandfather out here

reason.”

watching who turned 95 today. I was playing for him, every shot I hit was for him, and it feels good.”

Academy program in Orlando. “ It was a great experience. I leaned a lot about golf and met a bunch of cool people so I wouldn’t change it for the world,”?smiles Hunter who had I had a couple top 10s this year

May long weekend.”

Evan Littlefield is 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighs 130 pounds and can hit the ball

Jeff Hunter of Thunder Bay was in the

been looking to do an invitational event for a long period of time. The Whitewater golf course sets up very well for a match play event. It gave us the opportunity to try multiple tee decks and mix it up each and very day play with the pin placements. It has been a fun event and well accepted by the players,”?said Matt Simmons Director of Golf Whitewater Golf Club, Thunder Bay, Ontario. “ We chose the top 10 on the TBDGA list and if they weren't already on the list, the top ten on the player of the decade. The junior district champion and any other major winners of 2011 were also given invitations for a total of 15 invitations. We had 12 come and play in our event from there. Part of the invitations went to the Whitewater members and we had quite a few of them play.” “ Evan Littlefield and Jeff Hunter was an exciting final championship flight match to watch. Both play US college golf; both are

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Hunter has also attended the Core Golf

a long way. Last year he was a freshman at Western New Mexico in New Mexico. “ It was a great experience playing college golf with guys from all over America and seeing what that is like. It was tough. We played in 6 events. There are a lot of good players in my division from California.

There are lot of good players here in Thunder Bay as well,”?noted Littlefield. “ I am planning on playing all the local events and try and come to the course every day and play 18 or practice. I haven’t decided on what my course specialty is yet, right now I am taking golf.”

Evan Littlefield spent two years at the Core Golf Academy in Orlando before starting his college golf career. “ It was amazing at Core Academy. The coaching there got my mental game improved drastically. They just helped me plot my way through the golf course. I?spent my senior year in high school and post graduate year

championship match and enjoyed the competition. “ I?was good fairway to green but not very good off the tee box and it kind of killed me. I?was hitting the driver well coming into this event, but not at the event.

The 3 wood went well so I should have kept the driver in the bag a little bit more I think,” said Jeff Hunter who attends Southeastern Oklahoma University located 1 1/2 hours north of Dallas and is a the 4.0 student taking accounting. “ This was my second year in the US. It went well. I made the all conference team playing 10 events.

School is easier for me than golf for some

and a second last year in college golf. “ I?like playing golf although it is a tough game and it is hard to get better.

Sometimes it just clicks for some people. I have two years left at school to figure out what to next. I would like to play golf full time but that goes for everybody in this tournament I think. There is a long way to go before that for sure. It was good to do well at this event.”

JUNE 2012

Precision Clubfitting Leader Henry-Griffitts Introduces New PRAXIS HY Hybrid closed to 3° open 28° closed to 3° open

MAUMEE, OH - Henry-Griffitts - a pioneer in precision clubfitting and the originator of the clubfitting cart - is proud to introduce the new PRAXIS HY Hybrid.

PRAXIS HY Hybrids have the traditional "hybrid look," but are the most adjustable hybrid clubs on the market. The face angle can be changed from 3° closed to 3° open, and the lie angle from 3° flat to 3° upright.

Teachers will now have the ability to fit their customers and students with H-G Hybrids, exactly as they can do with all HG clubs. The cosmetics of the new PRAXIS HY Hybrids match the great look of the PRAXIS PI Drivers and the PRAXIS Fairway Woods. Players who have hit this new hybrid report greater ball speed and excellent control. We are sure that all golfers who try them will love the look and feel of these new Hybrids.

"When we create a golf club," says Randall Henry, president of HenryGriffitts, "we make sure we do it right.

That's exactly what we've done with this new PRAXIS HY Hybrid model. When you combine the best technology with the best teachers and the best factory, you have a mix that can't be beat.

"It is uniquely designed to be adjustable for weight, face angle, and lie angle so it will match exactly with the player's fit. We don't pre-determine what 'your' set makeup is. You do, together with your Certified Teacher, during your H-G Fitting Experience. There may be a multitude of combinations in one person's PRAXIS HY Hybrids that are different from another person's. That's why our hybrids are

60.5°

3°

Left-hand availability for the Praxis HY:

Loft Face angle 19° closed to 3° open 22° closed to 3° open 25° closed to 3° open

uniquely designed so we can make your PRAXIS HY Hybrids unique to your swing with loft, lie, weight, and face angle - and this is just the head. Then our fitters look at the rest of the aspects of the fit to design your unique hybrid. The PRAXIS HY Hybrids give you the classic look of a hybrid along with Henry-Griffitts' unique stylistic touch."

Right-hand availability for the Praxis HY:

Loft Face angle 19° closed to 3° open 22° closed to 3° open 25°

Lie 59° 59.5° 60°

3° 3° 3°

Lie 59° 59.5° 60°

3° 3° 3°

"We really hit a home run with these hybrids," says Henry. "Our Certified Teachers get really excited as soon as they get a look at them, and their performance is like nothing we have seen before.

They're just so easy to hit. I put them in my bag and can't believe the distance I'm getting. And they still land so softly."

About Henry-Griffitts Henry-Griffitts is the pioneer of dynamic clubfitting and originator of the lie board, interchangeable heads and dynamic fitting, as well as the clubfitting cart. Dedicated to the symbiotic relationship between swing and equipment, Henry-Griffitts custom fits clubs through its national network of H-G Certified Teachers and then hand-assembles those clubs to the tightest industry specifications. Henry-Griffitts was founded in 1983 by Randy Henry and Jim Griffitts,

a pair of golf professionals who recognized that custom-fit golf clubs consistently enhance golfer performance.

About aboutGolf aboutGolf is a world leader in golf simulator and golf performance technology. The more than 20-year-old, Ohio-based company is committed to developing and applying innovative, state-of-the-art technology to enhance and improve the game for golfers at every level. Its products, including PGA TOUR Simulators, aG Studio and Henry-Griffitts Precision Fit Golf Clubs, enable substantive learning and improvement in the game of golf. Learn more atwww.aboutgolf.com.

This is second issue of the 2012 Golf Season. As usual it will be fun writing about golf. I anticipate a busy season playing golf in places around the world and look forward to telling you about these golf destinations. Always visit:

www.golfingnews.ca for further up to date articles and videos!

See You On The Course!

Scott Sumner Contact me at nspinc@tbaytel.net JUNE 2012

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