Golf Southwest June 2014 Digital Edition

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Volume 2 Issue 6 | June 2014

Wildhorse Golf Club

A Favorite in the Vegas Valley

Arroyo Golf Club

A Wonderful Palmer-Design

PURPLE SAGE

Great Golf & Much More

Fossil Island

Unique And Challenging

Nibley Park

Utah’s Original ‘Public’ Course

Mike Malaska:

Curing Golf Shot Dependency

pg. 18

Experience one of the finest public golf courses that Las Vegas has to offer at the Arroyo Golf Club at Red Rock.

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Rules of Golf

G O L F

Rules of Golf Quiz for june 2014 G

S O U T OLF SOUTHWEST’s Rules of Golf Quiz is designed to bring to light rules questions that may just come up during your next round of golf, courtesy of H the United States Golf Association. After you check out these questions, go to our website at www.golf-southwest.com and check out the answers and W while you are there, register for our digital copy of GOLF SOUTHWEST and a chance to win some great merchandise or maybe even a round of golf at E one of your favorite courses.

S T

1. Which is correct regarding the player cleaning his ball?

— J u n e

A. He may not clean the ball when lifting it from casual water.

B. He may not remove cut grass adhering to the ball lying through the green.

C. He may clean the ball when it has been lifted because it interferes with play.

2 0 1 4 2. A rub of the green occurs when a ball in motion is

accidentally deflected or stopped by any outside agency.

A. True B. False 3. Which one of the following is the player entitled to do without penalty?

A. Step down behind his ball to eliminate an irregularity of surface on the teeing ground.

B. Step down behind his ball to eliminate an irregularity of surface on the fairway.

C. Remove a boundary stake when it interferes with his area of intended stance.

D. Remove casual water from his line of putt.

4. A stake, wall or fence defining out of bounds is an obstruction.

A. True B. False 5. Which is correct regarding a player searching for a ball?

A. He may not direct his caddie to delay search for his ball until he can assist.

B. If he moves his ball while searching for it in ground under repair, he is not penalized for having caused it to move C. He may not search for his lost ball after he puts another ball into play, even if play is not unduly delayed.

Go to

Golf-Southwest.com To Check Your Answers

3

INSIDE

2 3 Publisher’s Notes 4 Wildhorse Golf Club Callaway Big Bertha 7

8 Arroyo Golf Club 11 Tournament Schedule 12 Dining: Chada Thai & Wine 14 Purple Sage Golf Course 17 Golf Tips: Turn To Set 18 Mike Malaska: Curing Shot Dependency 20 Fossil Island Golf Club 22 Titleist Vokey Wedgeworks 24 The U.S. Open 28 Nibley Park Golf Course Rules of the Game

PO Box 910038 St. George, UT 84791 (435) 865-1680

www.golf-southwest.com

Publisher Kent Danjanovich (801) 231-9838 kdanjanovich@golf-Southwest.com Nevada Sales Manager John Wooge (702) 373-7437 jwooge@golf-Southwest.com Utah Sales Manager Collin Dalley (435) 862-7441 cdalley@golf-southwest.com Nevada Sales Steve Mayer (702) 596-3926 smayer@golf-southwest.com Managing Editor Dan Kidder (435) 868-8919 dkidder@golf-Southwest.com Jim Rayburn Staff Writer (801) 372-7980 info@golf-Southwest.com Art Director/Distribution Lisa Deming (435) 865-1681 ldeming@golf-Southwest.com Randy Danjanovich Golf Course Specialist Steve Latimer Golf Course Specialist

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CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Steve Mayer Scott Ehlers Mike Malaska

Publisher’s Notes

By Kent Danjanovich Well, summer is in full swing and so are plenty of golfing opportunities, whether it be near our homes or across the country. Tons of local tournaments are also available for golfers of all skill levels, so make sure you get involved in some of the great events at your local courses.

There are also some great Tour events every week as well, as you all know and one of the biggest of the year is quickly headed our way. The second leg of the men’s major season will be happening the week of June 12-15 at the storied Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina.

But this year, the Men’s Open will be followed the very next week by the Women’s Open and yes, on the same golf course! June 19-22 Pinehurst’s famed No. 2 will host the backto-back Open’s for the first time in history and when the tournaments are completed, Pinehurst will also become the only site to have hosted all five USGA Championships!

And making these Championships even more exciting is the fact that the fields are even more wide open than ever before, with 23 different winners (since last October) in the 28 tournaments through the Byron Nelson Championship on the men’s side and no multiple winners on the women’s side since the first of the year.

Every year, it seems like a great story comes along to capture our hearts and this just may be the one for 2014. Most 11-year-old kids are simply concerned with finishing their pre-algebra homework on time or mom stocking the freezer with pizza rolls. Lucy Li, however, will be teeing it up at the U.S. Women’s Open instead. Morgan Pressel and Lexi Thompson both qualified for the U.S. Open at the age of twelve (2001 and 2007, respectively), but Li one-upped them on May 19th, becoming the youngest ever to book a spot in the tournament. Keep an eye on her to see if she just might have a chance to be the next upcoming star.

But, as with most majors, these great golf courses always bring the cream to the top and I wouldn’t be surprised to see very familiar names on the leader board at the end of both weeks. Check out the special U.S. Open Preview in this issue of GOLF SOUTHWEST for some extra in-site on what the players will be up against.

Lastly, you will find some great reviews on Arroyo and Wildhorse Golf Clubs in southern Nevada, Utah’s beautiful Nibley Park GC and southwestern Wyoming’s Purple Sage GC and Fossil Island Golf Club in this issue. All of us here at GOLF SOUTHWEST hope that you enjoy the great golfing information that we are able to bring you each month and if you have any suggestions or requests, never hesitate to give us a call.

P.S. Make sure you check out our website at www.golf-southwest.com for the winner of the two rounds of golf w/cart at Green Spring Golf Course for a lucky subscriber to our digital edition. All you have to do is register to receive the digital edition of GOLF SOUTHWEST and it will be delivered to your ‘In-box’ each month and you will automatically be enter to win the monthly prize. For June, we will be giving the lucky winner two rounds of golf at Falcon Ridge Golf Course in Mesquite.

Hope to see you on the green soon! KD

G O L F S O U T H W E S T — J u n e 2 0 1 4

4 G O L F S O U T H W E S T — J u n e 2 0 1 4

Surrounded by desert, yet lush with ample trees and undulating greens, Wildhorse Golf Club offers a great variety of holes on its Par-70 championship layout.

O

Wildhorse Golf Club

ne of the oldest courses in the Las Vegas area, Wildhorse Golf Club has a special place in the hearts of Vegas golfers and continues to attract visiting players after a makeover by golf architects Brian Curley and Lee Schmidt in 2004. The Henderson golf course, once a stop on the PGA Tour hosting the “Sahara Invitational”, remains one of the most popular in the valley with several shimmering lakes and trees scattered throughout, which not only provide lovely vistas, but add to a challenging and enjoyable round of golf.

Wildhorse Golf Club was originally developed by media mogul, Hank Greenspun and opened for play in 1959. The course was then purchased by Howard Hughes in 1968. The course was known back then as Paradise Valley Country Club and in the following years as The Showboat Country Club, Los Verdes, Indian Wells and Royal Kenfield. The course was re-named and branded the “Wildhorse Golf Club” in 1994. It is owned today by the municipality of the City of Henderson and is managed by Par 4 Golf Management.

The course looks very different today than it did in its past. The course is now surrounded by homes and is now officially recognized as an Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary by Audubon International - one of only three courses in the region to achieve this honor.

Surrounded by desert, yet lush with ample trees and undulating greens, Wildhorse offers a great

variety of holes on its Par-70 championship layout. Accuracy and patience is key when it comes to several of Wildhorse’s greens, which are often flanked by strategic bunkering and water hazards. The greens are spacious and the Bermuda fairways wide, however and four tee options make the course playable for golfers of multiple skill levels.

Your round at Wildhorse starts out with great scoring opportunities at holes #1 and two. The first is a short, doglegging left Par 4. At only 316 yards from the back tees, the driver will probably stay in the bag for most.

Since it is the best club in the bag for me, I was able to thread the needle and left myself with a 50 yard flop shot to the sloping back-to-front green – birdie!

The second plays at 156 yards and again the green slopes back-to-front, giving you a dartboard to receive your short iron tee shot. A well struck 8-iron spun back to about five feet below the hole and I quickly found myself at two under par!

The third, a 403 yard Par 4, then offers one of the tougher tests on the course as it doglegs right to left around a pond. You are confronted with about a 180 yard carry, but either a slight draw or a little fade from the tee can put you in good position for your approach.

The green is guarded by a bunker left front and grassed moguls surround the green that slopes left to right, making it a little tough to get up and down if you miss the putting surface.

As you walk to the fourth, hopefully under par, you are faced with one of your most demanding shots of the day, one that offers you not much room for error. This great Par 3 stretches out to 205 yards from the back tees with a total carry over water to the green. Sunrise Mountain is your backdrop in the distance and two bunkers frame the back of the green, both left and right. The green is slightly elevated and wide, while sloping back-to-front and fortunately is quite receptive to incoming shots.

5 The seventh offers an interesting design. This 380 yard Par 4 sets up as a dogleg right, but your tee shot from the back tees requires you to hit a little draw to work it around a big tree about 80 yards from the tee on the left.

Trees and desert line the fairway on the right as the hole plays a little uphill, making it play a little longer than it reads on the scorecard. The long, narrow green again receives shots quite well as it banks back to front at its rear.

When we were briefed by the starter at the first tee, one of the holes that he warned us of was the Par 4 ninth, considered by many to be one of the best and toughest holes in southern Nevada. The hole is set up as a dogleg right, with water right at the turn at about the 200 yard mark, water then left (290 yards from the tee) and in front as it starts your approach to the green and then again at the rear of the green. A solid and accurate 3-wood from the tee left me with a soft 9-iron to the green, resulting in a five foot birdie putt. As we stopped into the clubhouse at the turn, the starter noticed us and asked how we liked No. 9. My playing partner, John Wooge and I both beamed that we knocked it close and had great birdie opportunities. He just shook his head and said with a chuckle, “Believe me, that’s not the norm”!

The back nine starts with a straightaway Par 4 and then a cute little 132 yard Par 3. Your tee shot is from elevated tees and your shot is received by a big green, again slightly elevated with subtle slopes throughout.

Another great birdie opportunity, depending on the pin placement.

Hole #13 starts a very good four hole stretch. Playing as the second longest Par 4 on the course at 441 yards, the thirteenth offers plenty of trouble. Water starts on the right side at about 210 yards from the tee and desert terrain keeps you honest on the left. The fairway is one of the narrowest on the entire course from start to finish, measuring only a scant 18 yards wide at the 250 yard mark. With the hole playing slightly uphill, many will be faced with a long iron into the large, undulating green.

G O L F S O U T H W E S T — J u n e 2 0 1 4

Wildhorse looks very different today than it did in its past. The course is now surrounded by homes and is now officially recognized as an Audubon Coop­erative Sanctuary by Audubon International - one of only three courses in the region to achieve this honor.

A big tree guards the right-side approach about 40 yards short of the green and then a greenside bunker makes it tough to get it close on a pin placement anywhere on the right side. A par here can definitely be tough to come by.

Next you are faced with one of the most demanding Par 3’s you may ever play. Not only does it play at 252 yards from the back tees, but the right side is lined by a pond basically the full length of the hole, so you better hit it straight or you will definitely be adding a few

As you walk to the fourth, hopefully under par, you are faced with one of your most demanding shots of the day, one that offers you not much room for error. This great Par 3 stretches out to 205 yards from the back tees with a total carry over water to the green.

strokes to your score. There is some room on the left to bail out to, but really not a lot. It’s rare to have to give a fairway wood all you’ve got on a Par 3 to get it to the putting surface, but Wildhorse’s fourteenth is one of them and can definitely serve up some nightmare scores.

The fifteenth continues the great stretch of holes as length and accuracy again come to the forefront. The 434 yard Par 4 plays to a dogleg right, with a bunker on the right side that you need to keep it out of at the turn. Desert terrain line both the left and right sides of the hole all the way to the green. The hole also plays slightly uphill its full length. The large green is guarded on the right side by a greenside bunker as it offers subtle slopes throughout. Another of the holes on the course that brings a smile to your face and a sigh of relief if you can walk away with a par.

So let’s see – I thought this course measured out at only slightly over 6500 yards from the back tees. The thirteenth plays 441 yards, the Par 3 fourteenth at 252 yards, #15 at 434 yards and now the fourth hole in this exceptional stretch of holes at 603 yards – Oh My! The sixteenth is a true monster, not only because of length, but also from its design characteristics right from the start. Your tee shot from the isolated back tees requires you to ‘thread the needle’ between tall trees both right and left about 80 yards from the tee, with the hole gently doglegging from right to left. I did manage to hit the gap off of the tee and then pounded a 3-wood to about 100 yards from the green. A small pond greenside right keeps you honest on your apcontinued on page 6

6 WILDHORSE

G O continued from page 5 L F proach to the long, narrow green that angles left S O U T H W E S T — J u n e 2 0 1 4

to right while forming a slight tier to the right rear.

Now if you make it through this impressive stretch of holes, the seventeenth and eighteenth don’t let up much as No. 17 stretches out to 509 yards from the back tees and then #18 offers up another very good finishing hole. The eighteenth is a 371 yard Par 4 that plays uphill, tee to green as it doglegs right to left around a series of waste bunkers that start about 200 yards from the tee. The long and narrow green is then elevated and requires an accurate approach to keep it on the putting surface. A good finishing hole to an exceptional back nine.

Wildhorse features a very nice clubhouse with a fully stocked pro shop with all of the biggest names in golf available. The pro shop is also available for regripping, re-shafting and custom fitting your clubs, with many of these services done while you wait.

Also, Wildhorse is a participant in the PGA Trade-In Program. This program allows you to trade in your old clubs for merchandise credit at the course.

A very large natural turf practice range, putting green, chipping and pitching area, along with a sand bunker are also available adjacent to the clubhouse.

The practice area is great for working on every shot that you may see on the course. The Wildhorse Golf Academy is available also with private lessons, group

lessons or private schools to improve your game. In addition, the First Tee program is available for junior golfers between the ages of 6 and 18. This program allows its members to participate in clinics, educational seminars, tournaments and special events throughout the year with a strong life skills component that includes community service and mentoring opportunities being a strong part of the curriculum.

Wildhorse Golf Club also has a grand ballroom that can accommodate up to 218 guests for meetings and events, with a private balcony that overlooks the golf course. There is also a wonderful garden area setting for that perfect wedding available adjacent to the clubhouse. All of these facilities can be used for meetings, banquets, weddings or other special events.

The professional staff can also help with your corporate outing, fundraiser or charity event and of course golf tournaments, to ensure your occasion is a memorable one.

With all of the amenities you will need and with some of the best rates in town, Wildhorse Golf Club is one of the best values you will find in the Las Vegas area. A great

deal of hard work has gone into reshaping Wildhorse into a top quality golf course with its redesign and amenities.

Make sure you stop by this jewel, close to the Strip, on your next visit.

Wildhorse Golf Course 2100 Warm Springs Rd. Henderson, NV 89014 800-698-5957 702-434-9009 www.golfwildhorse.com

Wildhorse Golf Club features a very nice clubhouse with a fully stocked pro shop, a beautiful grand ballroom and meeting areas, all adjacent to excellent practice facilities and a very enjoyable golf course.

7

Callaway Big Bertha T he year was 1991. The company was Callaway Golf. The visionaries were Ely Callaway, Callaway Golf’s late founder and inspirational leader and Richard Helmstetter, the brand’s visionary club designer. The product was the original Big Bertha, a 190 cc (not a misprint) oversized, hosel-less steel driver that changed the golf equipment paradigm forever.

Named after a World War I German cannon, it became one of the 20th century’s defining golf products.

Metal heads grew larger and larger throughout the 1990s and into the following decade, leading the U.S. Golf Association in 2004 to limit the size of driver heads to 460 cubic centimeters. Now, almost 23 years after the debut of Big Bertha, Callaway is resurrecting the name in the most ambitious driver project ever launched. Yes, Big Bertha is back - And she’s meaner than ever!

“Clearly it’s a big deal to put a name like Big Bertha on a product,” says Alan Hocknell, senior vice president of research and development for Callaway.

“So we had to make sure that the product we were working on would stand up to the name. To respect the name, but also to take it forward. We’re not putting the name on the driver out of some sense of nostalgia, but more to demonstrate the values that Big Bertha represented in the past and bring them into the modern day.”

The Callaway Big Bertha is a Total Performance Driver that debuts their Adjustable Perimeter Weighting - an innovative sliding weight that can be moved around the perimeter of the driver head to help individuals produce longer, straighter drives. Much longer. Much straighter.

More than worthy of its legendary name, Big Bertha isn’t just long, it’s Bertha Long.

Key Features: Adjustable Perimeter Weighting Allows golfers to precisely locate an 8g sliding weight at any location on an approximately 5-inch track to help optimize shot shape and control dispersion. The placement of the APW along the perimeter of the head is critical in giving Big Bertha its high MOI, which helps retain ball speed and accuracy on off-center impacts, an essential element of a Total Performance Driver.

Hyper Speed Face Hyper Speed Face technology is predicated on a deep understanding of the probability of where players’ impact locations will be across a driver face and uses an optimization code based on huge amounts of impact data to help determine the thickness profile of the face. The result is an extremely lightweight and robust face that helps deliver more ball speed where players need it most.

Advanced Adjustable Hosel Big Bertha enables golfers to independently adjust loft and lie angle to help translate the added ball speed into more distance. Golfers can chose from four different lofts (from -1 to +2) to optimize launch angle and backspin and two different lies, denoted by ‘D’ for Draw and ‘N’ for Neutral, to optimize the directional bias. Together, these provide eight unique combinations that help golfers optimize their distance and dispersion. Callaway’s proprietary hosel technology is also the only adjustable hosel to achieve changes in loft and/or lie without having to rotate the shaft (and graphics) on its axis between settings.

Forged Composite A critical competitive advantage for Callaway, Big Bertha’s crown is made of this high strength, lightweight composite material. This enables Callaway to offer multiple forms of adjustability while keeping the head weight under 200g and the swing weight at D2, which makes the Big Bertha driver extremely easy to swing.

What is a Total Performance Driver?

A Total Performance Driver provides a balance of speed and control and is designed for the broadest segment of the player population, including highly skilled amateurs as well as golfers that are new to the game. Callaway drivers designed for this segment put a great emphasis on forgiveness and performance on off center impacts while also providing advanced adjustability to help optimize trajectory and shot shape for a wide range of abilities.

• Loft offerings: 9-degrees, 10.5-degrees and 13.5HT • Stock shaft offering: Fubuki Z Shaft • Udesign options: Multiple body colors and paint fill options, plus custom laser engravings on the sole.

G O L F S O U T H W E S T — J u n e 2 0 1 4

8 G O L F S O U T H W E S T

Arroyo Golf Club at Red Rock Country Club E

— J u n e 2 0 1 4

Set in the planned community of Summerlin, this Ar­nold Palmer gem provides a tranquil environment to escape from a busy lifestyle.

xperience one of the finest public golf courses that Las Vegas has to offer at the Arroyo Golf Club at Red Rock. The course is nestled alongside the breathtaking Red Rock Canyon and runs throughout the master planned community of Summerlin.

Take in the scenic beauty as you enjoy a golfing experience like no other. Not all Las Vegas public golf courses can offer you what Arroyo can and that is the opportunity to play on a course designed

by Arnold Palmer himself.

Combined with the private Red Rock Country Club, the Arnold Palmer-designed Arroyo Golf Club at Red Rock gives off its own private feel. Palmer originally designed a 27-hole run before adding nine holes to provide a daily-fee option. The original 27-holes meshed with the new nine and then split into two 18-hole entities.

The result? The play at Arroyo Golf Club is pure Palmer class.

Strategically placed bunkers combine with water hazards and a challenging design that will please golfers of all levels.

One of the valley’s premier private golf communities has dipped into Sin City’s public market. Red Rock Country Club, a 738-acre private community located on the southwestern edge of the Summerlin master-plan, debuted its Arnold Palmer-designed Arroyo Course in the fall of 2003. Like its exclusive sibling, Arroyo is set in the shadows of Red Rock Canyon at the base of the towering Spring Mountains and virtually the entire property is a photo op.

This dramatic atmosphere makes it nearly impossible for the actual course layout to keep up.

Unlike a true resort track, however, the ornate homes and wellmanicured backyards of Red Rock are constantly on display. In terms of overall flavor, Arroyo is a “resort meets residential” concoction that seems to work, especially given its enviable location.

The course features wide fairways providing wide landing areas from the tee. The course is wonderfully landscaped throughout.

The tee boxes and fairways are beautifully manicured with the difficulty of the course coming from the 68 well placed bunkers that come into play on almost every hole.

Right out of the chute, Arroyo offers one of its best holes, a 580 yard Par 5 that offers a modest forced carry with plenty of room in the landing area. Fairway bunkers are found both left and right at about the 260 mark from the back tees. My tee shot of 275 yards still left me with over 300 yard to the green. A solid 3-wood left me with a 50 yard flop, sand wedge to the wide but shallow green guarded by bunkers in front, left and right. A mound on the front part of the green behind the right bunker adds another level of difficulty in getting it close for birdie.

The fourth hole requires some of your best shot making capabilities from tee to green. Your tee shot again must carry the 180 yards of desert in front of you and then two bunkers that can be carried guard the right side and another large one lurks to the left 260 from the tee. You are then faced with something in the 175 yard range into a green (some 45 paces deep) that is surrounded by four bunkers. And believe me, it is awfully tough to get it up and down from any of those sand boxes!

Arroyo ribbons seamlessly through rugged terrain and is nestled between the spectacular landscapes of Red Rock Canyon, one of Las Vegas’ most revered natural landmarks. Panoramic views of the Las Vegas cityscape are stunning from the Arroyo’s hole #7, another of the great Par 3’s. Elevated seemingly 60 feet above the green, this 215 yard Par 3 is bordered by a shimmering lake to its right and a large bunker to the left. It is almost all carry from the

9 tees, with the fairway picking up about 30 yards short of the green, again one of the deepest on the course.

Somewhat of a daunting shot from the tees, but I actually managed to knock it about 12 feet for birdie with my 4-hybrid.

The ninth plays as one of the shortest Par 4’s on the course at 368 yards, but by no means guarantees birdie.

The hole runs parallel with the eighth, heading back slightly uphill toward the canyon to the west, which means usually a little bit of a headwind. The desert surroundings come into play both left and right at about the 100 yard mark to the green. Greenside bunkers are present on the left front and side as well as middle right.

The putting surface is one of the largest on the course and gently slopes back to front and receives incoming short irons quite well.

The back nine continues to give you that definite desert feel, but a little bit more green stuff to hit it too than most target courses. All of the desert-scapes throughout the course are very well maintained. I really liked the putting surface designs that offer plenty of size, with subtle ridges that filter to low spots. They are a little on the quick side of the scale, but roll true.

The eleventh is the shortest Par 5 on the course at just under 500 yards. Again, the tees are isolated in the desert, but not really much of a carry is required. The first of three fairway bunkers lurks on the right at 210 yards from the back tees and then the other two at 160 and 90 yards, respectively to the green. A small pot bunker is also located on the left at 240 with a larger one the 150 yard mark to the green. If the wind is coming out of the southwest, you may have a little bit more trouble reaching the green in two. Three more bunkers guard greenside, as the putting surface is deep and angles slightly left to right, but also offers plenty of room to run it up for a possible birdie or eagle attempt.

G O L F S O U T H W E S T — J u n e

Arroyo ribbons seamlessly through rugged terrain and is nestled between the spectacular landscapes of Red Rock Canyon and amidst beautifully created water features.

Now for a little change of pace. The Par 3, 14th is a pretty little hole measuring only 159 yards from the back tees. The tees are slightly elevated and your target is again one of the largest on the course. If you managed to keep it out of the bunkers left and right greenside, you are then faced with landing your tee shot in the right quadrant as the green slopes right to left and back to front. The back right tier offers a tough pin placement and can have you shaking your head as you make your way to the next tee.

The finishing stretch was greatly enhanced a few years

As you approach the 16th tee, you just might think you have reached an oasis in the desert. A beauti­ful pond starts adjacent to the tee on the right and makes you keep it left for about the first 230 yards from the tee.

ago and offers a good opportunity to finish strong.

As you approach the 16th tee, you just might think you have reached an oasis in the desert. A beautiful pond starts adjacent to the tee on the right and makes you keep it left for about the first 230 yards from the tee. Two bunkers are positioned on each side of the fairway at about the 300 yard mark. Now for most playing from the back tees, your second shot will probably be a go at the green. But if you do find trouble off the tee, the second piece of fairway (desert cuts the main body of the fairway into three sections) may be your target. With the hole normally playing downwind, avoid the bunker right front and the two to the rear of the green and you should be in good shape for something sub-par.

Length is not always needed to make a hole great, as is the case with the 370 yard Par 4 seventeenth.

Although the fairway is long enough for most to hit driver, accuracy is key to scoring here. A solid fairway wood is usually enough to leave you with a short iron to its well-guarded green surrounded by five bunkers. The large, deep green is tiered at its rear, making this seemingly shortish Par 4 a little tougher than it looks.

Arroyo’s finishing hole is very typical of a Palmer design, with risk/reward written all over it! The 18th plays as a 401 yard Par 4, lined on both sides of the fairway by beautiful homes. Water is present on the right from the tee, but really doesn’t come into play. The fairway bunker on the right definitely does though and you must keep your tee shot away from it to score low. The green is nestled slightly elevated with bunkers left front and back as it slopes from right to left and back to front. A good finishing hole that will reward two good shots. continued on page 10

2 0 1 4

10 ARROYO GOLF CLUB

G O continued from page 9 L F The Arroyo Clubhouse caters to the public guests S O U T H W E S T — J u n e 2 0 1 4

and members and provides a full service golf shop, men’s and women’s locker rooms, as well a bar and the Arroyo Grille with terrace dining. An expansive patio is also available and gives amazing views of Red Rock Canyon and the entire city.

Arroyo Golf Club and Red Rock Country Club have three clubhouses all on the same property. The Arroyo Clubhouse is for the daily fee player as well as members, while the Main Clubhouse and Sports Clubhouse cater specifically to the members of the country club. The Main Clubhouse typically has a full social calendar throughout the year, hosting several events, receptions and banquets. The Arroyo Room boasts a gourmet cuisine and elegant and romantic dining, while more casual fare can be enjoyed at the Oasis Grill and the Palmer Lounge.

The Sports Clubhouse at Red Rock Country Club is terrific for an afternoon of tennis, yoga and exercise classes, relaxation at the pool, weight training in the gym, massage therapy, as well as steam rooms being available, all under one roof.

The community surrounding the two courses is built on 738 acres of beautifully maintained land. The community is guard-gated with wellmaintained and stunning homes throughout. These homes feature luxury as well as privacy.

Whether you’re visiting with an opportunity to play the public Arroyo Course or the exclusive Mountain Course, Arroyo Golf Club and Red Rock Country Club will welcome you with the best of personal service and will help to assure you a terrific golf experience.

Red Rock has sparkled not just for its well-manicured fairways and greens and stellar service, but also because it gives daily-fee golfers a chance to live in style and experience a day in a private club atmosphere. Add to that a spectacular design by golfing legend, Arnold Palmer and you can see why so many have the Arroyo Golf Club at Red Rock high on their list of places to play.

Set in the planned community of Summerlin, this Arnold Palmer course provides a tranquil environment to escape from a busy lifestyle. At the same time, it’s close enough that you can still go and enjoy the entertainments of the city. With such a perfect balance of both tranquility and city life, this Las Vegas golf club is truly the best of both worlds.

In the end, Arroyo presents players with spectacular vistas and a fair yet challenging round of golf. So if you’re looking for a day on the course where you’ll be treated like a member of an exclusive country club, Arroyo Golf Club at Red Rock is for you.

Arroyo Golf Club at Red Rock Greg Brockelman – PGA Head Golf Professional 2250 C. Red Springs Dr. Las Vegas, NV 89135 702-258-2300

Arroyo’s finishing hole is very typical of a Palmer design, with risk/reward written all over it!

The 18th plays as a 401 yard Par 4, lined on both sides of the fairway by beautiful homes.

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE UGA/PGA Tournament Schedule for June 2014 June 2

• Hidden Valley Pro-Am, Hidden Valley CC • Nibley 2-Woman Scramble, Nibley Park GC • The First Tee Classic, The Country Club

June 2-3

• Rainbow/Peppermill/Montego Bay Senior 4-Man Scramble, Toana Vista GC

Jun 3-4

• Utah State Am Qualifying, Glendale GC

June 5

• Sun Hills 1 st Annual Ladies 4-Ball, Sun Hills GC • Spanish Oaks Senior Am, Spanish Oaks GC

June 6

• BHI Golf Classic Pro-Am, Dinaland GC • Sunset View Senior Amateur (Men & Women), Sunset View GC • Logan River Senior Am, Logan River GC

June 7 • • • • • • • •

BHI Golf Classic Open, Dinaland GC Paradise Ladies Invitational, Paradise GC Memorial 4-Person Scramble, Canyon Hills GC St. George Summer Am, St. George GC Ben Lomond Am, Ben Lomond GC Kanab Am, Coral Cliffs GC Overlake Am, The Links at Overlake Gladstan Am, Gladstan GC

June 7-8

• Dinaland Couples, Dinaland GC • Arch & Horsehead 2-Man, The Hideout GC, Moab GC

June 8

• Wingpoint Am, Wingpoint GC

June 9

• Riverside Pro-Am, Riverside CC • Canyon Breeze Senior (Men & Women), Canyon Breeze GC • Fox Hollow Friday’s Kids Scramble, Fox Hollow GC

June 11

• Utah Section PGA Playing Ability Test 3, Glendale GC • Davis Park Ladies Invitational, Davis Park GC • Karl Tucker Am, East Bay GC • Utah State Am Qualifying, Bountiful Ridge GC

June 11-12

• UGA Women’s 4-Ball, Mountain Dell GC, Rose Park GC

June 12

• Hobble Creek Ladies Invitational, Hobble Creek GC

June 12-14

• Provo Open, East Bay GC

June 13 • • • •

Utah State Am Qualifying, Fox Hollow GC Leavitt Cedar City Am, Cedar Ridge GC Birch Creek Senior Am, Birch Creek GC 2-Person Scramble Tip-N-Tuck, Eagle Mountain GC

June 14

• White Pine Couples, White Pine GC • Skyway Mixed Couples, Skyway GC • Black Clover Father/Son Alternate Shot, Eagle Lake GC • West Bountiful Am, Lakeside GC

June 14-15

• Michelob Mixed Best Ball, Carbon CC

June 16

• Amateur Public Links Qualifying, Glen Eagle GC • Palisade Senior Am, Palisade State Park GC

June 16-17

• Utah Section PGA Junior Championship Qualifier, Soldier Hollow GC • Rainbow/Peppermill/Montego Bay 2-Woman Scramble, Toana Vista GC

June 17

• Utah State Am Qualifying, Crater Springs GC

June 18

• Mountain Dell Classic 2-Person Scramble, Mountain Dell GC

June 19

• PGA Pee Wee Junior (12 & under), Forest Dale GC • PGA 100, Soldier Hollow GC • Utah State Am Qualifying, Wingpoint GC

June 20

• Father/Son 2-Man Scramble, Canyon Hill GC • El Monte Senior Am, El Monte GC • Logan River 2-Man Best Ball, Logan River GC

June 20-22

• Vernal Classic, Dinaland GC

June 21

• Cedar Ridge Ladies Invitational, Cedar Ridge GC • Hill AFB Am, Hubbard GC • Father/Son Scramble, Green River State Park GC

June 21-22

• Desert Rock Classic, Millsite GC • Art City Am, Hobble Creek GC

June 26

• Utah State Am Qualifying, Dinaland GC

June 26-27

• Toana Vista Casino/Open, Toana Vista GC

Bountiful Ridge Mixed Pro-Am, Bountiful Ridge GC Utah State Am Qualifying, Alpine CC Utah State Am Qualifying, Logan G & CC Cove View Senior Am, Cove View GC US Junior Boys Qualifying, TalonsCove GC Fox Hollow Ladies, Fox Hollow GC

June 24

• U S J u n i o r G i r l s Qualifying, Hidden Valley CC • Ladies Coca Cola Classic, The Barn GC • Utah State Am Qualifying, Entrada at Snow Canyon CC

June 25

• ToanaVista/CasinoProAm, Toana Vista GC • Oquirrh Hills Ladies Memorial, Oquirrh Hills GC

G O L F

S O • Birch Creek Am, Birch Creek GC U June 27-28 T • Mary Lou Baker Open, Spanish Oaks GC H W June 28 • Sunset View 2-Man Best Ball, Sunset View GC E S • Glendale Am, Glendale GC T

June 27

June 28-29

• Ladies Pin-Seeker, Roosevelt City GC • Four Corners Indian Am, The Hideout GC

June 30 Highland Classic, The Ridge GC

Southern Nevada Schedule (SNGA) June 7-8

• Southern Nevada Am, Angel Park GC

June 9-10

• Southern Nevada Senior Am, Angel Park GC

June 17-18

• US Amateur Public Links Qualifier, Paiute Golf Resort

June 21-22

• SNGA Match Play Championship, Boulder Creek GC

June 23

• US Girls Junior Qualifier, Las Vegas CC

June 23-24

• US Junior Am Qualifier, Las Vegas CC

June 27

• SNGA Tour – 2-Person Scramble, Coyote Springs GC

June 23 • • • • • •

11

For Full Schedule See

www.Golf-Southwest.com

— J u n e 2 0 1 4

12 G O L F

DINING

Chada Thai & Wine

S O U T H W E S T — J u n e 2 0 1 4

By Steve Mayer

Y

ou must try Chada Thai & Wine. These words of wisdom were told to me and I pass them on to you. You must try the dining experience at Chada Thai & Wine. Do not be put off by the humble exterior in a strip center off of Jones and Spring Mountain in the China Town area of Las Vegas. Open the door and dive in to a truly special place. The brainchild of Aime Wanmaneesiri and Bank Atcharawan is indeed a treat. They both have a love of food and have roots in the famed Lotus of Siam Thai restaurant across town, Aime was a hostess and Bank the manager/ sommelier. They wanted a place of their own for people to come after work and have some great food, a boutique selection of wine and beer to pair with it, and to socialize. Chada Thai & Wine was born. Although neither has been formally trained, their talent is evident and their years of family training have really paid off. Aime’s mother even came out from her native Phuket to specially adapt her family recipes for the menu. Their unique collaboration of California Thai fusion, Thai street fare, traditional and family recipes from central and southern Thai style is sure to please every palate. The emphasis is on smaller plates and sampling a variety of items paired with the wine that Bank has carefully picked to compliment the food. Bank has developed quite an extensive wine list and a diverse selection of beer and sake.

Since they opened in October of 2012 the accolades have been roiling in. Bon Appetit rated Chada in the top 50 new restaurants, and Food and Wine designated Bank as sommelier of the year in 2013.

They are open every night for dinner from 5:00 until 3:00 in the morning. The smaller portion size and the eclectic menu encourages sampling several dishes, and the impressive array of wine and beer, has really pulled in the “foodies”. Local chefs and industry people frequent Chada to unwind after work and enjoy some late night “Thai Tapas” and refreshment. The restaurant is not large but tastefully decorated with dim lighting and a huge rack of wine dominating the back wall. There is seating for about 40 people so reservations are highly encouraged in this intimate setting.

Ordering Thai food can be somewhat imposing as the Lo-Ba Thai names are undecipher-

Bank and Aime show off some of the boutique wines available at Chada. Bank was named sommelier of the year in 2013 by Food & Wine magazine.

13 able by most westerners. The descriptions help, but the best method is to let your server know what type of food you would like to try and let them help you with the selections.

We started in on the fresh Oysters, an item you usually don’t see in Thai restaurants, but an example of the new ground they are breaking at Chada. The raw blue point oysters were served on the half shell in a sea of crushed ice garnished with roasted chili, lime, and cilantro. They were topped with crispy roasted garlic that added a very satisfying crunch, and was perfect with the house Riesling, a Reusher-Haart from Mosel, Germany.

Next up was the Yum Kai Nok Kata (see what I mean).

This dish consists of 5 fried quail eggs topped with small dried shrimp, sliced onion, radish sprouts, and cilantro with a spicy lime dressing. The eggs were prepared sunny side up, and cooked perfectly. The small chewy dried shrimp and snappy onion slivers were a perfect complement to the richness of the eggs.

I was intrigued by the Lo-Ba. This is Thai street food at its best. The strips of pigs’ ear, tongue, and heart are braised and lightly fried. These delectable bits are served with sliced cucumber and a special red chili sauce. Think of Andrew Zimmern of the hit Travel Channel show Bizarre Foods…”if it looks good, eat it!” It sounds strange, but there is a certain perverse satisfaction in sampling these non-traditional foods and finding them to be very good indeed.

The soup we tried appeared to be a special that night. It was a silky, spicy coconut broth with shrimp, mushrooms, and scallions. The balance and use of

ingredients rocketed this dish into the stratosphere, simply sublime.

Aime suggested we try one of her hometown specialties, the Sen Mee Kang Pou. This is a spicy crabmeat curry served with thin rice noodles garnished with toasted sesame seeds. Aime explained that in Phuket this was traditionally a breakfast dish. The spicy homemade curry is exceptional and really exemplifies the freshness of the food and ingredients.

The Moo Hong, or braised pork belly with black soy sauce, palm sugar, and black pepper is also a favorite.

Most of the “Small plate’ specialties are reasonably priced from $6 to $12 so you can really explore the menu without breaking the bank.

The Seafood Menu features a variety of preparations of sea bass, tilapia, and salmon. There are also dishes with crab, soft-shelled crab, shrimp, squid, mussels, and lobster.

The Meat and Poultry section delves into crispy roasted duck, chicken, and preserved egg on the poultry end of things. There is pork belly, stir-fried ground pork, charbroiled pork, braised pork rib, and rib-eye beef steak. All these main ingredients are harmoniously blended with home-made sauces and fresh vegetables to exemplify the Thai meal with a blend of sweet, sour, salty, and spicy overtones.

Noodles and rice are predominant in Thai cuisine and yes they do serve Pad Thai, but I would be remiss not to mention the Pad Kee Mao or “Drunken Noodle”. This dish of flat rice noodles, hot chili, garlic and basil, can be ordered with chicken, beef, pork, steak, crispy duck, sea bass, or lobster. The above meats can also be ordered with Thai style fried rice or steamed rice. There are also vegetarian options, and they will kick up the spice if asked. Be careful what you ask for!

We were way too full to sample the dessert menu, but Aime did recommend the Honey Toast with Vanilla ice cream. There is also another Thai street food staple the Thai Sundae. This is a unique dish meant to be eaten on the go. Instead of an ice cream cone there is a hot dog bun filled with coconut sorbet, palm seed, grass jelly, and peanuts.

Stop by after a round of golf to cool off with a refreshing glass of wine, beer or cup of tea, and enjoy some appetizers. Make it a date or treat some friends to some truly exotic taste experiences. Swing by late at night and see the party in full swing. There is something new for everyone to try at Chada.

This is truly unique, special Thai cuisine of the highest quality. Peruse the menu on-line, study the wine list, and then head down for one of a kind experience in food and wine.

Chada Thai & Wine is located at 3400 S. Jones Blvd, #11A, Las Vegas, NV. 702-6411345 www.chadavegas.com Hours Daily 5pm till 3am.

G O L F S O U T H W E S T — J u n e 2 0 1 4

14 G O L F S O U T H W E S T — J u n e 2 0 1 4

Purple Sage Golf Course T his month we venture a little to the northeastern borders of Utah to the town of Evanston, Wyoming for a visit to Purple Sage Golf Course, owned and operated by the City of Evanston. Now many of you probably are thinking a little bit more about hunting and fishing when you talk about venturing to this part of the country, but plenty of golfing opportunities are also available along the way. First, let’s fill you in on a little history of golf in Evanston, Wyoming.

Construction on the original nine was started in 1956 by a small group of devoted local golfers. Much of the shaping for the golf course was done by these club members and consisted of laying out the original nine holes, picking rocks and seeding fairways and greens. The greens were originally sand, but were converted to bent grass in 1961. The original water system was a well located on the golf course and moveable pipe was used to irrigate the fairways and greens. The well eventually failed and the Golf Club updated the irrigation system by applying for a loan from the Land and Water Conservation Department in 1965. In order to qualify for a loan, the property had to be a City Recre-

ation Area. The recreation area consisted of a golf course, a horse shoe pit and a picnic area.

The Golf Club deeded the course to the City of Evanston and the City then leased it back to the Golf Club for $1 a year. The original Pro Shop/ Club House was a converted turkey coop. The second club house was constructed in 1960.

With the donation of the property for the back nine by Union Pacific and the raw water line and the funding from the City of Evanston, eventually the second nine began to take shape. The planning and construction for the new facility started around 1999 and the 18-hole course opened for play in 2001.

When you come play the Purple Sage Golf Course, you may just be a little bit surprised how good the golf really is. Whether you are hoping to improve your game or simply indulge in a relaxing day of recreational golf, Purple Sage is guaranteed to accommodate. Its scenic setting will let you step away from life for a little while and focus on your golf passion. So, let’s jump right in for a little hole-by-hole account of the challenging Purple Sage layout.

The first tee is situated adjacent to the clubhouse and offers a good view of the front nine.

Your first tee shot of the day is from elevated tees to a fairway below that quickly slopes back up to

The Purple Sage Golf Course in Evanston, Wyoming offers travelers a great day on the course and unique sage and long waving grassed views of the Old West.

the green. There is a pond left off of the tee, but really doesn’t come into play. Your second shot is blind to the green because of the rising fairway as usually only the top of the flag stick can be seen.

All the while, you are playing this 408 yard Par 4 quartering into the prevailing west/southwest wind. Once to the green, you will find it guarded on the right by a sliver of a bunker.

Hole No. 3, a shortish Par 4 at 360 yards from the back tees, again starts with elevated tees. But the big defense of this hole are the three bunkers starting at about 250 yards from the tees dead in line with the green. You will usually have a tail wind helping, but for most, all that does is temp you to hit driver, which will be a big mistake.

If you manage to hit it in one of those bunkers, you will be faced with an uphill, long explosion shot and we all know how those usually end up!

The best play is a mid to long iron from the tee, leaving you with a short iron approach to one of the largest greens on the course. The green has quite a bit of slope back to front while forming a slight tier at its rear. The third offers a good birdie opportunity, but you will have to hit two good shots for the chance.

As most of you know not all, but most golf courses across the country are laid out with a two Par 3, five Par 4 and two Par 5 format. Purple

15 Sage has incorporated a unique Par 5-3-5-3-5 finishing stretch of holes to the front nine, offering great scoring opportunities, but also some obstacles along the way. The fifth is a relatively short doglegging left Par 5 that plays downhill, but usually into the wind. The Par 3 sixth turns back away from the clubhouse and offers a stiff challenge at 202 yards. With the wind helping, but also crossing a bit from right to left, you will need to hit one of your better shots of the day to get it on the putting surface. The green is one of the largest on the course and is guarded on the right by a greenside bunker. The slope of the green is back to front and slightly left to right with tricky little angles throughout.

The ninth is a great Par 5 finish to the front nine.

Not only is it plenty long at 585 yards, it also requires you to make a few critical choices along the way. The fairway splits with an upper and lower route, with water awaiting at the end of each. If you take the lower route to the right, the water is closer from the tee, but you will have a little bit more room to work with on your second shot because of the angle. If you take the upper route, you end up with a little bit more room from the tee, but your second shot is over water and if you draw the ball a little bit too much in hopes of getting it close to the green in two, you just might end up in the large pond to the left of the large, sloping green.

Also, a bunker guards your approach in the tricky, 40 yards from the green area and then bunkers also lurk both front left and back right. The green is one of the largest and slopes right to left, with a ridge in its center that then slopes down, creating a lower tier next to the pond. A great hole that will play a little bit different every time you tee it up!

G O L F S O U T H W E S T — J u n e

The ninth is a great Par 5 finish to the front nine. Not only is it plenty long at 585 yards, it also re­quires you to make a few critical choices along the way.

The back nine offers a totally different, links style layout that I really enjoyed. There are a lot of elevation changes that come into play and the holes that play on top can really be influenced by the prevailing winds. The 11th is the first such hole as this 153 yard Par 3 may be the shortest hole on the course, but by far not the easiest.

Your tee shot will almost always have either a crosswind or a head wind to negotiate and three bunkers line up in front of the green, making club

The back nine offers a totally different, links style layout that I really enjoyed. There are a lot of elevation changes that come into play and the holes that play on top can really be influenced by the prevailing winds as at #11.

selection and accuracy paramount. Another factor is the green is quite wide, but shallow and gently slopes down to the left, behind the bunkers to form a lower tier similar to the ninth green. If the wind catches your tee shot and you wander a little to the right, a big slope drops off from the green and into sagebrush surroundings.

Next, the first of two monster Par 5’s awaits you. The 12th measures 614 yards from the back tees, but you are helped dramatically by the 100 foot drop in elevation to the fairway below as well as that prevailing westerly wind at your back. Holes 12 and 13 share a fairway, divided in the middle by a large mound and grass bunkers, your target from the tee. Your second shot then plays slightly uphill, with the green perched up and angling left to right with gentle little slopes throughout. In reality, the 12th played easier for me than the thirteenth, even though the scorecard reads 200 yards less.

No. 13, although rated the fifth toughest on the course, to me is by far Purple Sage’s toughest. The hole plays slightly downhill to the landing area, but even though you have a little protection because of the plateau behind the green, the wind still is a big factor as you bore through its teeth. I hit a good drive and was still faced with a #4 hybrid second shot.

The fairway continues its downward slope to its end, as the green sits some 40 feet above, making for an almost impossible up and down, especially if the pin is placed on the small tier back right. continued on page 16

2 0 1 4

16 PURPLE SAGE

G O continued from page 15 L The great holes just keep coming with the F S O U T H W E S T — J u n e 2 0 1 4

418 yard Par 4 fourteenth and 233 yard Par 3 fifteenth. The sixteenth backs off a little at 408 yards from the tips, but again plays into that prevailing wind, while guarded down the right side by water and along the left by sage outcroppings all the way to the green. The green is then slightly elevated, as many are throughout the course and is guarded by both sand and grass bunkers both left and right.

Your round then culminates with two more excellent golf holes, the 608 yard Par 5 seventeenth and the 382 yard Par 4 finishing hole. No. 17 is a long, sweeping right dogleg with water in front of the tee and continuing down the right side of the fairway. Since the wind will be helping as you head north, your biggest decision will be just how much you want to cut the corner of the pond. If you are successful is clearing its end, you will find yourself in great position for a go at the green in two. Unfortunately, your line of sight to the green is partially blind, but still offers the chance of knocking it on it two or leaving you with a good chance of getting up and down for birdie if you can keep it out of the two large bunkers on the left, greenside.

The last at Purple Sage plays as a 382 yard, dogleg left Par 4. The toughest part of this hole is your alignment from the tee. With the wind hitting you from right to left, it is easy to find yourself looking for your ball on the desert plateau to the left. If you really catch one, you can find yourself in the long waste bunker that runs down the right side starting about 100 short of the green. Another bunker awaits greenside right as the green is slightly raised as it angles left to right. Lots of subtle slopes require you to take an extra look or two at your line. All-in-all, a great finish to a very good layout.

Before, during and after your round the Gateway Grille can take care of all of your needs. Whether you are looking for some quick refreshments at the turn or a tasty

The last at Purple Sage plays as a 382 yard, dogleg left Par 4, a great finish to a very good layout. dinner entrée in the evening, the Gateway Grille in the clubhouse at Purple Sage Golf Course is ready to please. They can also take care of catering your company tournament or any sized corporate outing.

PGA Professional, Scott Ehlers and his staff offer first class instruction for young and old alike. Full range facilities are located adjacent to the clubhouse, as well as two practice putting and chipping greens. And you can be sure that your day will be full of that “small town welcomed feeling” from the minute you arrive in the parking lot.

Evanston anchors the southwestern corner of Wyoming and is the southwestern border town between Utah and Wyoming along the I-80 corridor. Evanston, however, sits at the crossroads of several popular roadways that access popular recreational havens around Wyoming, including the Jackson H o l e / Te t o n / Ye l l o w stone Area, the Pine-

dale/Wind River Area and the Flaming Gorge/ High Uinta Wilderness areas. As a direct result of its proximity to popular access roads, Evanston does a healthy business with the tourist set and has a variety of accommodations, dining options and markets to stock up on supplies for whatever adventure is next on your itinerary.

Hunting, fishing exploring and yes, ‘Golf ’ await you in this unique and beautiful part of the west.

Do yourself a favor and make it a point to put Purple Sage Golf Course on your list of places to visit soon.

Purple Sage Golf Course Scott Ehlers – PGA Golf Professional 401 Kindler Dr. Evanston, Wyoming 82930 307-789-2383 www.purplesagegolf.com

GOLF TIPS

17 G O L F

Turn to Set T

By Scott Ehlers

hink of your backswing as one moving part instead of a series of moving parts. I like the phrase “turn to set”.

Every golfer wants to have a full golf s w i n g . N u m e ro u s quick and effective exercise drills can help you get one, by improving both your golf-specific strength and flexibility. I’m a huge p ro p o n e n t o f g o l f drills to achieve a full golf swing. You can do them quickly and easily in the convenience of your home and see maximum benefit.

To achieve a full golf swing, you have to focus on the rotary aspect of the swing. Since the golf swing is simply a turn (rotate) back and a turn (rotate) through movement, you need to perform golf swing drills that incorporate core rotational movements.

The term “shoulder turn” can be somewhat misleading. You can easily make what looks like a full turn by pushing your left shoulder under your chin and lifting your right shoulder behind your head. That’s a full shoulder turn, right?

Well, maybe, but it’s far from what you need to make a good golf swing. Pulling your shoulders out of posture this way might make it feel like you are getting plenty of coil, but you are really “disconnecting” your arms from the powerful muscles in your core, making it impossible to efficiently transfer energy through the golf club.

This will force you to try and “muscle” the golf club with your upper body. The result will be a weak, mostly arms golf swing that lacks power and consistency.

Another very misleading concept that is taught by some is “turning your shoulders perpendicular to your spine”. Well, your spine isn’t straight, even when you are in the perfect “straight back” posture, in fact, far from it.

Your spine has several curves in it and these curves must be positioned correctly to provide the required mobility for a stable, efficient and powerful turn. Using the spine correctly is crucial for a great golf swing, but it’s rarely, if ever, taught.

An easy drill to feel the turn instead of moving parts is to get a curtain rod or a piece of

S O U T H W E S T — J u n e 2 0 1 4

PVC pipe that is approximately five feet long.

Make sure you hold the curtain rod or piece of PVC like a golf club so its end is touching your left side. As you turn, make sure the rod or the PVC continues to touch your side half way through your backswing. Once you’ve gone half w a y, g o a h e a d a n d hinge your wrists and keep turning for a full backswing. The nice thing about this drill is that you can even practice while you are watching television!

You will be surprised how easy this drill is and you will notice right away that you are starting to hit the ball farther.

Golf doesn’t have to be a complicated game. Although flexibility and ease of movement can be a big help, just about everyone can develop the fundamentals to be able to take part in the great game of golf. Do yourself a favor and give your local golf professional a call to set up one or a series of lessons that will be a great help to your game. You’ll be glad you did.

About the Author Scott Ehlers has been at the Purple Sage Golf Course in Evanston, Wyoming since 1981. He became the Head Golf Professional in 1996 and was elected to the PGA of America in 2002. In 2008, he was awarded the Utah Section PGA Junior Leader Award.

18 G O L F

Curing Golf Shot Dependency

The Importance of Footwork in the Golf Swing

— J u n e 2 0 1 4

ery. Now granted, it may only be the second hole

By Mike Malaska – Nicklaus – and it’s a little tough to beAcademies’ joyful where you’re ten over par on the second, so many more to World-Wide Director ofwith Instruction

S O U T H W E S T

of great friends, I have ruined many rounds when a shot made me so mad, I forgot where I was – for one dark moment – that I hated this beautiful game.

I can feel your pain. Trust me. So let’s discuss how our mind is often dependent on how we are playing that day. We can call this issue ‘Shot Dependency’.

go – but even so, mood-dependency in our golf game is a serious issue.

Are you seriously thinking you’ll only be happy when everything goes right? And certainly, there are times you’ll three-putt when a birdie was possible.

The problem with mood-dependency is no one hits good shots all the way around. You tap one in for an easy par and you regret not making a birdie.

You go for ‘more’ on the next hole, then you make a double bogey and now you’re thinking that golf is a lonely game. You get mad. You want to break your clubs. But that’s OK, right? It’s OK to hate this game. Everyone does it.

Step 3: Let The Ball Go Where It May Every successful golfer needs to learn to let the little ball go where it may. There are good bounces and bad bounces.

Golf catches the universe in a bottle. To be part of it has to be enough. Find the strength to hit that ball Step 1: Create A Post-Shot Routine Mike Malaska and learn from the outcome. Once you’ve found There’s plenty of insight into pre-shot routines, that strength, consider your options and pick the but there’s a lack of consideration for where your et’s talk about everyone’s favorite subject: best one for you. Then commit to the shot, hit the mind goes after hitting a shot – good or bad. One getting mad (And sometimes it’s really, reball and let it fly where it may. reason for this is you’re dreaming. You see a perfect ally mad).

If you learn one thing about the mental game, it round of golf ahead of you and when the dream is To make this work and approach the level of a should be that where the ball lands can no longer dashed, you become instantly desperate. You bash lifelong lesson, you’ll need to imagine you’re on affect your mood. Shot dependency means you’ve the ground and call it “letting off steam” – but in the first tee, setting up for a much anticipated round let one bad shot ruin the round. Now you’re not reality, you have no reaction management. where you just know you’re going to play well. having any fun and you are playing worse as a When the good players hit a bad shot, it doesn’t Images courtesy of the Nicklaus Academy at DragonRidge www.nicklausacademylasvegas.com Today, you’re going low. You just know it. result of it – and playing worse because of it. affect their confidence. Inside, they may feel disapYou put on your best outfit, your best pair of shoes Try creating a post-shot routine. Break your moodpointed, but they quickly take on the idea that after any players do not realize the student can feeldependency how their weight should and a brand new glove right out of the wrapper. and let the ball go where it may. This a bad shot, they’re due for a good one. move during the golf swing. importance that their feet play You breeze off the range to the first tee. You stand is the beginning of reaction management.

This reminds me of a Japanese phrase, “Sodom golf swing.

Your are Take your regular stance. As you up there, tee it up, take ain fewthe practice swishes and oh ki kata,feet ochidu” – which means, even monkeys whack one high, archingpoint and beautiful and straight with fall out of trees.

Unless the monkey falling out the only of –contact the ground beginis your back swing, bring your left out of bounds! of the tree on a consistent basis, the monkey and provide the platform from which foot backwon’t so it is next to the right. Just You agree golf is a mental game, a game of managstart to question its climbing ability. So, to love the fundamentally swing isyou built as how you the top of your backswing, ing youraemotions.

All this is fine, butsound where many game, must start to control youreach react. step forward to begin the downswing.

Golf onlyto a few ‘ball and players from. fail so many timesisis one in theirof inability manage stick their reactions.

When so many outcomes Step 2You Mood-Dependent?

Complete your swing with your normal sports’ (baseball, softball &Are tennis are in play, why do we ruin all the rounds where it There is a concept in psychology calledNotice moodfor example) where the athlete does not stance. how difficult it is to ‘spinjust doesn’t go our way? dependency, where your mood can be changed by step their As with these other out of the shot’ with a proper weight For your soul into and your sanity swing.

– not to mention the whims of the day. If your boss smiles, you’re sports, it is critical that your feetif your are boss in frowns, you’re shift. you clubs – let me offer a cure for the maddening happy, sad.Use the Step Into It Drill during moments when thewith game ruins your body day.

This is true as well in golf, wherepractice the player sessions, and in time, a your synch your throughout the Do You Have Shot Dependency? under par is the man talking his head off and the proper weight shift that is in synch will entire swing for a proper weight shift.

I freely admit that I have been shot dependent. I player shooting ten shots over is walking drearily, I use the Step Into It Drill so that the become second nature. admit that on the sunniest of days, in the company head down, skulking around in the beautiful scen-

L

M

About the author: PGA Professional Mike Malaska is #24 on Golf Digest’s ranking of instructors and is one of Golf Magazine’s Top 100. To arrange a personal session with Mike, call 602.799.7099 or visit www.nicklausacademies.com

19 G O L F S O U T H W E S T

NOW HIRING

—

Golf Southwest is expanding its sales force. Openings in

J u n e

the Salt Lake City and Las Vegas areas. Ideal candidates will have a strong sales background and high energy.

Must be a self-starter and enjoy the game of golf. Will

2 0 1 4

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We will provide a base salary and aggressive commission structure with expenses for the right candidate.

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20 G O L F

Fossil Island Golf CLUB

S O U T H W E S T — J u n e 2 0 1 4

I

have always enjoyed visiting small towns and stopping in to see about their golfing opportunities. When I told a friend that I was going to do a review on the Purple Sage Golf Course in Evanston for our June issue of GOLF SOUTHWEST, he said, “Why not stop over in Kemmerer and play our 9-hole course while you are in the neighborhood”. Well, come to find out, Fossil Island’s PGA Professional, Nick Harding just happened to be having a fundraiser for their local high school golf teams, so it would give me an opportunity to not only play the course, but also help out one of my favorite causes.

First, here is a little side note about my ties to the area:

The little town of Kemmerer first sported a golf course back in 1920, designed by Dick Phelps. The former Kemmerer Field Club is now known as Fossil Island Golf Club and is a challenging 9-hole layout, nestled in a beautiful valley in southwestern Wyoming.

Back in my younger days I used to make the trek north from the Salt Lake Valley with my dad and brothers to partake of the great fishing available in the Kemmerer area – Naughton, Fontenelle and Big Piney reservoirs were and still are great waters to visit if you want to catch some exceptional brown and rainbow trout and back in the day, Big Piney was home to plenty of feisty lake trout as well. And if there are lakes that are full of great fish, you know that the many streams and tributaries that run throughout the area have to be just as good. In fact, Kemmerer is smack dab in the middle of Fossil Basin, considered the “Fossil Fish Capitol of the World”.

You know, if you think about it, fishing and golf really go pretty hand in hand. Golf courses have

water, golfers like fishing, fishermen like golfing – most of you know what I mean. I can’t even begin to tell you about the list of Golf Professionals from the PGA Tour and from around the world that love to fish and many of them can be found passing some time in their hotel rooms, between rounds, tying up a few of their favorite fly patterns in hopes of trying them out when visiting one of their favorite tournament venues, especially in the west.

Okay, let’s get back to the golfing side of things.

The little town of Kemmerer first sported a golf course back in 1920, designed by Dick Phelps. The former Kemmerer Field Club is now known as Fossil Island Golf Club and is a challenging 9-hole layout, nestled in a sagebrush covered valley, dis-

21 sected by the Hams Fork River, with its start high in the mountains to the north of town and believe me, you will always be reminded that you are in the wilds of the west, as deer, antelope, moose, elk and may other visitors can been seen on many occasions wandering along the boundaries of the course.

Nick Harding is the resident Golf Professional, the first PGA Pro that the course has had, arriving some seven years ago and when you ask him how he likes it, he will quickly tell you he can’t imagine being anywhere else. The clubhouse houses his pro shop, equipped with quite a bit of top of the line equipment and a bar and restaurant area. A line of riding carts can be found outside the shop for those so inclined (the course is very walkable) and a full range with chipping and putting greens are also adjacent and always available for your use.

Your round at Fossil Island begins with a doglegging left Par 4 measuring 378 yards from the back tees. There is a pond on the left that definitely comes into play, especially if you want to cut off a little bit of extra yardage. There is plenty of room to the right, but you know how most golfers are, so again, the pond definitely comes into play! The approach to the green gently slopes up to the putting surface and once there, slopes back to front with tricky little slopes throughout.

The second is the first of two Par 3’s on the course and home to one of the smallest greens, slightly raised and sloping off to every side, making it a tough one to keep it on in regulation.

When most of you think of a 9-hole golf course, you might first think that if you decide to play a second nine, you will just be playing the exact same lay-

out. Well when playing at Fossil Island, this is not the case. New tee boxes have been created throughout the course to not only change the yardages, but also many of the angles you will face during your two tours of the course.

The third is a long, straightaway Par 5 at 602 yards from the tips that was redesigned a few years ago. OB lines the left side and a new pond comes into play on the right. For almost all, the hole plays as a true three shot hole, since the Hams Fork River cuts across the fairway about 100 yards from the green and then wraps around the left, making it pretty tough to carry in your attempt at a go in two. The green is long and narrow, sloping back to front. A greenside bunker right can make for a tough pin placement back right.

We will talk a little bit more about that bunker and this hole in a minute.

Number four was originally a Par 5, but now has been converted to a long, doglegging left Par 4, rated the toughest on the course. Plenty of obstacles await from the tee as willows line the left side and a pond with a cascading water feature sits on the right, narrowing up the landing area at the turn.

Now although the course probably gets its name because it is pretty much surrounded by water, another reason is for the island that is formed by the river encircling the third and fifth greens. The hole is very unique though, since the holes both have their own green, not a shared one, separated by a long, narrow bunker.

G O L F S O U T H W E S T —

With its length at 451 yards from the back tees, you need to crank it out there about 270 yards to clear the turn, leaving you still with a mid to long iron to the small, slightly raised green. Pot bunkers are placed both left front and right, catching many shots that trickle off of the putting surface.

The fifth is the second Par 5 at Fossil Island and forms a unique peninsula that helps to give the course its name. Now although the course probably gets its name because it is pretty much surrounded by water, as seen in the aerial views in this article, another reason is for the island that is formed by the river encircling the third and fifth greens. The hole is very unique though, since the holes both have their own green, not a shared one, separated by a long, narrow bunker.

The ninth is a reachable, straightaway Par 4 when playing from the forward tees, if you can keep your tee shot away from the pond on the left, starting about 200 yards from the tee. The green has a lot of undulation and slopes hard back to front with bunkers left and right. A good birdie opportunity, but can also have you shaking your head as you make your way to the parking lot and the end of the day.

All in all, it was a pleasure stopping in to the Fossil Island Golf Club in the little town of Kemmerer, Wyoming. The surroundings are gorgeous and the mystique of the Old West can be seen at every turn.

You know, it is rumored around town that the likes of Harrison Ford and Mel Gibson, among others, have made a stop or two over the years and have not only taken in a few holes, but had a bite and a beverage or two at one of the great local restaurants on their way to Jackson Hole and the many other more famous areas in Wyoming. Why not make it a point to visit this beautiful piece of the west on your next adventure and make sure you include your golf clubs!

Fossil Island Golf Club Nick Harding – PGA Professional 220 State Hwy 233 Kemmerer, Wyoming 83101 307-877-6954 www.golfkemmerer.com

J u n e 2 0 1 4

22 G O L F S O U T H W E S T — J u n e 2 0 1 4

Titleist’s Vokey WedgeWorks TVD-M and TVD-K N ew Titleist Vokey TVD wedges, designed

by Master Craftsman Bob Vokey, provide golfers with the performance and versatility for improved shotmaking through new Spin Milled TX3 grooves and the tour’s most popular shapes and grinds.

Vokey TVD wedges are the result of Vokey’s continuous collaboration with the best players in the world.

Since 2004, Vokey Design wedges have been the #1 wedge on the PGA Tour and the most played wedge at every level of competitive golf.

TVD, meaning “Tour Van Design,” originated from Vokey’s work on-site at Tour events, at his grinding wheel inside the Titleist Tour Van shaping and grinding wedges based on players’ needs. The TVD shape is lower in the par (or heel) area and more rounded in the toe for a classic look.

The new Vokey TVD-M and TVD-K models, two of Vokey’s most-requested grinds on the PGA Tour, are available on Vokey.com and through authorized Titleist accounts as part of the WedgeWorks Exclusives lineup. Each model is offered in two finishes (California Chrome and Black Ion) and fully-customizable – from length, lie, loft and weight porting, to toe engraving, personalized stamping, custom grips, shafts, shaftbands and ferrules.

All TVD wedges now feature the new, deeper Spin Milled TX3 grooves, delivering more spin for precision trajectory and distance control and improved greenside performance. TX3 scorelines, a progressive design with seven percent larger groove volume, produce additional backspin by channeling away grass and sand for improved contact between the ball and groove edge. Proprietary Spin Milled technology also provides trajectory and distance control through precisely milled grooves and machined face texture, significantly reducing the chance of “flyers” from the rough.

The new Vokey TVD-K – available in 54º to 60º lofts – is the culmination of Vokey’s work with several PGA Tour players, including Adam Scott and Jason

Dufner, to develop a sole that is playable in a variety of conditions. TVD-K features a wider, more cambered sole than any other Vokey model, making it very easy to use out of the bunker but still playable for a variety of shots around the green. The newest addition to the series, the TVD-K 54, provides a wide-sole sand wedge option that is not available in the new Vokey Spin Milled 5 (SM5) lineup.

“The K grind has been a huge hit for us,” Vokey said.

“It’s only been on Tour for a couple of years but we already have 30 guys using it. I think the secret is the cambered sole. It is wide and forgiving, but the camber keeps the club moving through the turf. So it’s playable in a variety of conditions.”

The new TVD-M – available in 50º to 60º lofts – is the result of PGA Tour feedback on the design, shape and performance of the original TVD series. The new TVD-M has a more rounded teardrop profile, matching the shape of the TVD-K, with increased playability from the crescent-shaped M grind sole. The moderate effective bounce of the TVD-M makes it an excellent all-condition wedge.

“We’ve had a lot of requests to match up the chassis or shape of the TVD-M with the TVD-K,” Vokey said.

“It’s the natural progression of the series. We now have three distinct shapes in the Vokey family: the SM5 with a high toe peak, the rounded teardrop of the TVD and the compact look of the Hand Ground series. We have a look to fit anyone’s eye.”

NEW MODELS: For 2014, all TVD models feature the new Spin Milled TX3 grooves for additional spin with trajectory and distance control. The lineup also features the new TVD-K 54º, a wider sole sand wedge with camber. The TVD-M line has a new shape, with a more rounded teardrop profile.

NEW LOOKS: Vokey TVD-M and TVD-K wedges are available in two finishes, California Chrome and Black Ion, both exclusive to WedgeWorks. Both models also feature all-new Vokey graphics.

LOFT/BOUNCE COMBINATIONS: TVD-M: 50.09, 52.08, 54.10, 56.12, 58.08 and 60.08. TVD-K: 54.12, 56.12, 58.10, 60.10.

TVD VS. SM5: The K grind offerings in the Vokey SM5 line (58.11, 60.11) have slightly wider soles and 1º more effective bounce than TVD-K (58.10, 60.10). The TVD-M 56.12 model has similar sole width with 2º more effective bounce than the SM5 56.10M. CUSTOMIZATION OPTIONS: Like all WedgeWorks offerings, golfers can craft their wedges to fit both their

game and personality with a nearly endless array of custom options.

We d g e Wo r k s Exclusives offer four different character stamping styles – Straight, Freestyle, Snow and the new Snow Dot option – in up to eight letters and/or numbers and one of 12 paintfill colors, from Oceanside Blue and Cerveza Yellow to Key Lime and Cowboy Orange.

“There isn’t a wedge I make on Tour that doesn’t have some type of personalized stamping,” said Vokey Tour Rep Aaron Dill, who works on the Titleist Tour Van. “Jason Dufner, for example, likes me to stamp ‘DUF’ on all his wedges. Zach Johnson has the names of children. Kevin Na has ‘NA’ in snow stamping all over the wedge. It’s totally personal.”

There are four toe-stamp options – Tour Saw, BV Custom, BV Diamonds and BV Clover – in 48 total possible color combinations. Golfers can also choose from seven different custom shaftbands and three ferrule options.

WedgeWorks offers BV grips in a variety of textures and colors to match the player’s look and feel preferences. New this year is the Vokey Whiteout Green Multi-Compound grip from Golf Pride along with the Vokey Niion Green grip from Golf Pride. Vokey also offers the WedgeWorks-only Kangaroo Leather grip in pinot red from GripMaster.

A high-performance shaft matrix includes wedgespecific shafts such as the Dynamic Gold Spinner and KBS Hi-Rev. The full complement of the Titleist custom shaft matrix is also available including graphite and lightweight shafts. WedgeWorks wedges can be laser etched on the shaft with up to 20 characters or numbers, offering an easy way to highlight a birthday, event or a player’s full name.

All Vokey wedges can be adjusted for length, loft and lie angle. Weight porting on the back of the wedge to dial in a specific swingweight is also available.

23 G O L F

IT’S NOT WHETHER YOU WIN OR LOSE IT’S HOW YOU GET TO THE COURSE.

The original 1948 Land Rover was ingeniously designed and engineered for extreme capability and strength. It drove off the production line ready to take on some of the world’s toughest terrain. Today these qualities are as significant a part of what makes a Land Rover vehicle unique as they were over 60 years ago. To experience one for yourself, visit Land Rover Las Vegas for a test drive today.

Land Rover Las Vegas

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S O U T H W E S T — J u n e 2 0 1 4

24 G O L F S O U T H W E S T — J u n e 2 0 1 4

2013 U.S. Open Champion Justin Rose

E

The U.S. Open

ach year, thousands of competitors enter the U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open. They are professionals and amateurs, teenagers and seniors, All-Americans and walk-ons, teachers and firefighters, representing more than 75 countries.

In 2014, Pinehurst has the honor of hosting both the 2014 U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open Championships. It will mark the first time in history that both tournaments will be played in the same year, on the same course. When complete, Pinehurst No. 2 will become the only site to have hosted all five USGA Championships.

This grand dame of American golf has hosted six previous USGA championships, including the 1999 and 2005 U.S. Opens. However, it’s clear that this year’s unprecedented scheduling of the U.S. Open (June 12-15) and U.S. Women’s Open (June 19-22) over consecutive weeks on the same golf course, Pinehurst No. 2, has sparked even more interest than usual throughout this golf-savvy region.

Extensive restoration of Pinehurst No. 2 was completed in 2011 by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw. Their work brought back Donald Ross’ vision for the course as one that would showcase the terrain and ground conditions that are native to the Sandhills region of North Carolina, as they carefully reviewed aerial and

ground photographs from the 1930s and ‘40s in replacing more than 40 acres of Bermuda grass rough with natural sandy areas.

“I think that when you see the course and the way it presents itself now, it is truly dramatic the way it frames the holes,” said Pinehurst CEO Bob Dedman.

“There’s a saying that golf doesn’t build character, it reveals character. [Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore] have revealed the character of this great course, Donald Ross’ masterpiece.”

Thanks to the restoration, this will be the first time either championship is played on a course without traditional rough. The fairways on Pinehurst No. 2 are directly bordered by the native sandy areas, giving players whose drives

25 Pinehurst No. 2

finish in those areas a number of options to consider for their next shot.

USGA Executive Director Mike Davis welcomed that element of uncertainty as he went through a few of the scenarios that players may face when their shots finish somewhere other than the fairways or greens.

“Sometimes they’re going to be on sandy hardpan,” said Davis. “Sometimes they’re going to be on soft, foot-printed loose sand.

Sometimes they’re going to be up against or underneath wiregrass.

Sometimes it will be on pine

G O L F S O U T H W E S T — J u n e

Players who attempt to drive the third green when playing from the forward tee will need to shape a left-to-right tee shot, as the trees and bunkers on the right discourage a right-to-left shot. needles or up against a pine cone. It’s going to give these players who miss a fairway just a different type of challenge. You could have two balls 6-inches apart and one can go for the green and one can’t.

That’s kind of the nature of the game we play. It wasn’t meant to be equal all the time or necessarily fair.”

“The only two differences, and they’re relative, are that we will be playing the women from tees [roughly 900 yards] forward from where the men play and, assuming we are having cooperative

Most players will choose a 3-wood, hybrid or long iron from the tee of this severe dogleg-right seventh hole.

weather for both weeks, we will have the greens slightly softer, but the same speed, for the second week,” he said. “So this all sounds wonderful on paper and I can assure you we have spent a lot of time thinking about this. Will we get it perfect? I can guarantee we will not get this thing perfect. But the idea is we’re going to try to have them play the same golf course.”

Years in the making and yet now just a couple of weeks away, the U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open championships are poised to become two of the most significant and memorable weeks in the USGA’s nearly 120-year history.

Let’s take a look at each hole and what the players will be facing: Hole 1 - Par 4 - 402 yards This short Par 4 will require something less than a driver off the tee for most players, who will likely try to play just short of the point where the fairway narrows dramatically, leaving 135-150 yards to a traditional Pinehurst No. 2 domed green. Although this is a lofted approach shot, it demands precision, with a miss in any direction likely to roll away from the hole.

Hole 2 – Par 4 – 507 yards This slight dogleg-right Par 4 played the most difficult in relation to par in the 2005 U.S. Open.

The restoration has doubled the width of the drive zone, but the approach shot is to a very severe green, given the length of the hole. Players will want to play down the left side of the fairway when the pin is located on the right side of the green, which features a pronounced hump in the front that will likely repel approach shots. continued on page 26

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26 US OPEN

G O continued from page 25 L Hole 3 – Par 4 – 387 yards F S O U T H W E S T — J u n e 2 0 1 4

When played from the regular tee, most players will lay up short of the bunker that encroaches on the right. The green sits up in the air and a miss in any direction will leave a difficult par save, particularly on shots over the green. Players who attempt to drive this green when playing from the forward tee will need to shape a left-to-right tee shot, as the trees and bunkers on the right discourage a rightto-left shot.

Hole 4 – Par 4 – 529 yards The longest Par 4 on the course will play shorter because of the downhill tee shot, which has been restored to the original angle that Donald Ross intended. This hole, which played as a Par 5 in both previous U.S. Opens, features a dogleg-left tee shot with the fairway canting from left to right. The large green is receptive to a long approach shot and it is unusual for Pinehurst in that its predominant slope is from right to left.

Hole 5 – Par 5 – 576 yards This dogleg-left hole, which was a Par 4 in previous U.S. Opens, will play as a risk-reward Par 5.

With a good tee shot, nearly every player will have a chance to go for the green in two, although they face a downhill-sidehill lie for the second shot because of the tilt of the fairway. Laying back on the second shot leaves a demanding approach, with the ball significantly above the right-handed player’s feet. This is by far the toughest green to hit and the toughest to putt at Pinehurst.

Hole 6 – Par 3 – 219 yards The first of the Par 3 holes will probably play as the most difficult. This medium- to long-iron tee

No. 9 requires a very accurate shot to a green with two distinct sections.

Shots that miss the green long and left will bounce away and leave the player with an almost guaranteed bogey. shot must carry a crease at the front that is four feet below the level of the green, as well as one of the deepest bunkers on the course at the front left.

Pin locations toward the front of the green will be exacting, because putts from the back of the green are extremely fast.

Hole 7 – Par 4 – 424 yards Most players will choose a 3-wood, hybrid or long iron from the tee of this severe dogleg-right hole. A left-to-right tee shot is preferred, as rightto-left tee shots will quickly run out of fairway.

Most players will be left with a mid-iron approach shot to the green on #11 that features demanding left-side pin loca­tions, because of the steep falloff to that side of the green.

The mid- to short-iron approach shot is to a green that is protected by a deep bunker on the right and features an interesting pin location on a plateau at the front left. If played smartly, this hole can yield a birdie.

Hole 8 – Par 4 – 486 yards This long Par 4 plays straightaway, but the fairway has pronounced slopes, first downhill and from left to right, then uphill and from right to left. Players who work the ball from left to right off the tee have an advantage in being able to hold the fairway. Players will likely have a mid-iron for their approach shot and they must guard against going left of or over the green, as the falloff behind the green is 8 to 9 feet.

Hole 9 – Par 3 – 191 yards This hole requires a very accurate shot to a green with two distinct sections. It appears from the tee that the back-left quadrant is more difficult, but that area of the green is fairly flat. The front-right section of the green actually has much more slope to it. Shots that miss the green long and left will bounce away and leave the player with an almost guaranteed bogey.

Hole 10 – Par 5 - 617 yards Unlike No. 5, this Par 5 will be a three-shot hole for most players. A pronounced mound on the right side is in play on the straightaway tee shot and the hole turns to the left past the drive area. Depending on tee location and conditions, a long tee shot can provide a chance to reach the green in two, but trees protect the left side, requiring either a right-to-left second or a towering shot over the trees. Players will lay up anywhere from 40 to 100 yards from the raised green. If played properly, this is a birdie hole.

27

The downhill tee shot at No. 14 favors a left-to-right shape to avoid the bunker on the left side of the drive zone.

Hole 11 – Par 4 – 483 yards The tee shot on this slight dogleg-right hole is one of the more demanding on the course, to a semiblind drive zone with some left-to-right slope. Most players will be left with a mid-iron approach shot to a green that features demanding left-side pin locations, because of the steep falloff to that side of the green. Players who miss the green to the right are left with the most benign up-and-down on the course.

Hole 12 – Par 4 – 484 yards Many players will go with driver, as the slight dogleg-right hole features a generous drive zone.

The second shot requires precision, because the effective size of the green is quite small. Players will want to err on the short side with their approach because of the dramatic drop-off behind the green.

The general slope of the putting surface is from back to front and its many subtle breaks will lead to plenty of three-putts.

Hole 13 – Par 4 – 382 yards Most players will hit something less than driver off the tee on this short, dogleg-right Par 4, which features probably the most uphill approach shot on the course. Anything short of the green will leave a difficult recovery and in a rarity for a Donald Ross course, it’s much better to be long than short of the green here. If you play it the way it should be played, this is a potential birdie hole.

Hole 14 – Par 4 – 473 yards The downhill tee shot favors a left-to-right shape to avoid the bunker on the left side of the drive zone.

The prudent approach shot, with a mid-iron to lofted iron, is to the front portion of the green, regardless of the pin location. Missing short leaves a fairly easy up-and-down, while the severe back-to-front pitch of the green makes recoveries from any other angle extremely difficult.

Hole 15 – Par 3 – 202 yards This is one of the few greens renovated by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, who restored the right side of the putting surface to its original size. The green still plays smaller than any green on the course except for the fifth hole, as shots that land on the front portion will likely end up in a collection area.

Recovering from the bunker on the right is difficult.

Hole 16 – Par 4 – 528 yards Players who favor the left side off the tee of this dogleg-left hole will likely receive a forward bounce

down the hill. Most players will face a slight downhill lie on their approach shot to a green with a pronounced back-to-front slope, particularly in the front section. Putting toward a front pin location from the back of the green will require a deft touch.

Hole 17 – Par 3 – 205 yards Although this hole plays a similar distance as No. 15 and will require a mid-iron shot for the men, this is a much larger green that is easier to hit. Again, there is a falloff in the front portion of the green.

The most exacting pin location is tucked behind the bunker on the right side. If played properly, this hole provides a legitimate chance for birdie.

Hole 18 – Par 4 – 451 yards The fairway appears much wider from the tee than it really is, because it makes an S-turn and the landing area is slightly uphill and hidden from the player. Players who forego the driver from the tee will likely face a mid-iron approach shot to a green with a hollow on the right side that creates a two-tier look. Expect a back-right pin location on Sunday, just as it was when Payne Stewart saved par to win the 1999 U.S. Open.

The process of determining each field of 156 players is a major undertaking. For the U.S. Open, it starts with upwards of 9,800 entrants and proceeds through two stages of qualifying, local and sectional. The U.S. Women’s Open has sectional qualifying, including the debut this year of four international qualifiers. The USGA relies heavily on state, regional and foreign golf associations to conduct qualifiers within their jurisdictions.

Players who survive qualifying have a chance to play alongside the biggest names in golf on one of the game’s grandest stages. With the added element this year of the back-to-back championships, competitors who make it to Pinehurst will be a part of history.

The most exacting pin location at #17 is tucked behind the bunker on the right side. If played properly, this hole provides a legitimate chance for birdie.

G O L F S O U T H W E S T — J u n e 2 0 1 4

28 G O L F S O U T H W E S T — J u n e 2 0 1 4

Nibley Park Golf Course A golf course doesn’t have to be located in a pristine and strikingly scenic location or have holes that bend and twist around natural obstacles and cater mostly to destination golf to be valuable or popular.

Nibley Park Golf Course, located in the heart of Salt Lake City, between 500 East and 700 East, south of 2700 South is by no means considered an eye-catching or breath-taking layout. The Par-34 nine-hole, 2,895-yard setup is, however, one of Salt Lake City’s most important golfing venues.

Almost every big name and no name in Salt Lake golf cut his or her teeth learning the game of golf at Nibley Park. It’s the place where it all begins for so many of Salt Lake’s golfers. Nibley caters to golfers from every walk of life. It’s a place where golfers of every skill level feel welcome.

“We’re a golf course for everybody,” says Jeremy Green, Nibley’s Head Pro. Women golfers, some beginners and some who have golfed for years, flock to the course. Multiple juniors learn the game on the driving range, putting greens and fairways of Nibley. Fathers and sons, fathers and daughters, brothers and sisters and coworkers mold their relationships at Nibley.

“Nibley Park is not the toughest golf course around, but we offer a golf course that won’t beat people up and provides the perfect layout and amenities for those wanting to get started in the game and for those who want to keep getting better at the game,” says Green. “Our role in Salt Lake and Utah golf is mostly developmental. This is where many golfers first obtain that love for golf and then develop their skills to the point that they feel comfortable golfing with others and golfing at Salt Lake’s other and more difficult golf courses. We serve that special niche that golf needs so that the game keeps growing. We are developing golfers, building the game and growing the game.”

Businessmen and businesswomen stop by before work, during lunch or after work for a quick round or to hit a bucket of range balls. It’s a short drive from everywhere.

“This is very much a convenient location for a lot of golfers. We are right in the heart of everything,” Green says. “We get golfers of every type here to play. We have the avid golfers, the beginners and the casual golfers. But mostly we get people who are looking for a reprieve from the day-to-day hustle of the city and a few hours of quiet and peace. It’s like a walk in the park. It’s a gathering place for the locals and a place they can get to quickly where they can find a quiet evening of recreation.”

Nibley’s driving range is one of the more popular practice facilities in the Salt Lake Valley. On many days and certain times, there’s a wait just for a spot from which to hit. Nibley offers clinics for men, women and juniors.

Nibley’s Wednesday women’s league is one of the most popular in the state with more than 200 members.

Nearly 300 juniors participate in Nibley’s clinics. The men’s league has nearly 100 members.

“We are definitely a community facility and get more

The finishing holes at Nibley Park are back-to-back Par 3s. The eighth, at 202 yards, features the course’s largest green, with a deep bunker on the left side. Again, trees seem to catch more shots than golfers expect.

29

Hole No. 1 is a 374-yard dogleg left Par 4 that bends around the driving range. An original Calder’s Park lake lurks to the right, but is really not in play for the better players, with two fairway bunkers straight ahead for those who may hit through the fairway.

Nibley is one of eight golf facilities owned and operated by Salt Lake City.

Operating since 1922, Nibley is Utah’s oldest public golf course. Harold Lamb was the course designer.

popular with golfers every year,” says Green.

Green, a former Olympus High golfer, is among those who grew up on the fairways of Nibley, under the mentoring of former head pro Mike Brimley. At the age of 16 he got a job as a cart and range boy at Wingpointe. He progressed to starter and then second assistant pro. After four years as an assistant at Mountain Dell he was promoted by Salt Lake City’s Golf Department to Head Professional at Nibley.

“As soon as I knew I wanted to be in the business of golf, becoming a head pro was my ultimate goal. And to be the head pro at the place where I basically grew up playing is especially rewarding,” Green says.

Chuck Sorge is the Head Superintendent of both Nibley Park and Forest Dale. Assistant Superintendent Bill Echternkamp is the one who mainly oversees Nibley’s daily maintenance. One of the first things you’ll notice when approaching Nibley’s pro shop is the white board calendar detailing the maintenance golfers can expect for the week, like when the greens will be rolled and verticut.

“Our guys do a great job of keeping the course in great shape with the budget they have. The fairways and greens are always very good. When we’re able to cut down our poa annua greens they are some of the best putting surfaces you will find,” Green says. continued on page 30

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30 NIBLEY PARK

G O continued from page 29 L F Nibley is one of eight golf facilities owned S O U T H W E S T — J u n e 2 0 1 4

and operated by Salt Lake City. Operating since 1922, Nibley is Utah’s oldest public golf course. Harold Lamb was the course designer.

The recreational history of Nibley Park goes back even further than its golfing days. The land on which Nibley is located was once one of Utah’s more popular amusement parks.

First opened in 1864, it was called Calder’s Park and was a place on the southern edge of Salt Lake City where families gathered to swim, fish and boat. The LDS Church purchased the land in 1902 and converted it to Wandemere Amusement Park, which featured two lakes connected with a complicated lock system, with an amusement ride

somewhat similar to today’s log ride. A boat would shoot down a track and slam into the water. Visitors would tour the lakes on rowboats. The park hosted nightly operas from a stage that floated on the water.

Railroad magnate Charles W. Nibley purchased the park in 1921 and donated it to Salt Lake City, stipulating that the land could never be developed for housing.

Many of the old cottonwoods of Wandermere and Calder ’s, which go back to even the pre-pioneer days, still line Nibley’s fairways. Most of

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Discount Card Enjoy these great membership benefits: • 20% green fee discount at all Salt Lake City courses Valid all day Mon.-Fri. and after 12:00 p.m. weekends & holidays • 10% green fee discount on weekend mornings Valid weekends & holidays before 12:00 p.m.

• 30% or more off during select off-peak times Times booked using the online reservation system at slc-golf.com • 30% discount on range balls Valid anytime • Extra day booking window when booking times online • Earn rewards points Redeem points for free range balls, free golf cart rentals and pro shop merchandise discounts • 1 Free 9-hole cart rental or 1 large range ball bucket • Valid for one year from date of purchase

The 214-yard Par 3 third is Nibley’s toughest hole. It’s just long and straightaway. A ditch about 30 yards in front of the green really shouldn’t come into play, but it does more than you’d expect. today’s greens are original. A new clubhouse, snack bar and driving range were constructed in the early 1980s.

Nibley’s distinguishing characteristics are its small greens and tight, tall-trees lined fairways. Its mostly straightaway layout is not long and doesn’t require or necessarily reward power. But you better hit it straight and be precise with location.

“The scoring holes

on a golf course are the Par 5s and we have only one.

So it can be a tricky little course. It’s a precision golf course and can be a challenge from the back tees. Our Par 3s are tough. If you shoot par here, you’ve played pretty solid golf,” Green says.

Hole No. 1 is a 374-yard dogleg left Par 4 that bends around the driving range. An original Calder’s Park lake lurks to the right, but is really not in play for the better players, with two fairway bunkers straight ahead for those who may hit through the fairway.

Driver is not the club of choice for many, but some bombers try to cut the corner and carry the driving range fence. The short approach shot is to the first of many tiny greens, protected by a bunker front right.

“If you hit this green you are going to have a good look at birdie,” Green says.

The Par 4 second hole has a ditch dissecting the fairway straight ahead, so a 240-yard tee shot is ideal, leaving a wedge shot into another small green with two bunkers on the left.

The 214-yard Par 3 third is Nibley’s toughest hole.

$45 Adult & Senior, $30 Junior Senior 65 and older, Junior 17 and younger

Purchase at any SLC golf course. Visit slc-golf.com or call 801-485-7730 for more information on the Salt Lake City Golf LoyalTee Discount Card.

Bonneville ● Forest Dale ● Glendale ● Jordan River Par-3 Mountain Dell ● Nibley Park ● Rose Park ● Wingpointe

Nibley’s distin­guishing character­istics are its small greens and tight, tall-tree lined fair­ways.

31 It’s just long and straightaway. A ditch about 30 yards in front of the green really shouldn’t come into play, but it does more than you’d expect.

“If the wind is in your face and you mis-hit it, you might find the water,” Green says.

The 310-yard Par 4 fourth hole, bordering 500 East, is full of temptation. Tall trees guard the tight fairway on the right, but let loose too much and you’ll go out of bounds left and may have a windshield to replace.

“If you’re going to bust a drive here, you better hit it really straight,” Green says.

The fifth hole is Nibley’s sole Par 5. Though straight away, it’s still a hole where precision rules over power. Most hit a 3-wood off the tee to avoid a towering tree down the right side. But 2700 South does lurk over the fence left. At only 453 yards it’s a reachable hole, but a tall tree about 120 yards from the green makes all second shots difficult, even the layup shots.

“It’s not an easy layup. You’ve got to stay left of that tree to have an angle to the green. And a ditch below the tree and left of the green will come into play,” Green says.

Holes six and seven are similar short Par 4s. The sixth goes west through tall trees and the seventh returns east through more tall tees. The key is avoiding the overhanging branches on both holes.

The finish is back-to-back Par 3s. The eighth, at 202 yards, features the course’s largest green, with a deep bunker on the left side. Again, trees seem to catch more shots than golfers expect.

“This hole is always a good test. It’s more difficult than people think,” Green says.

Nibley’s signature hole is No. 9. It can play anywhere from 90 yards to 170 yards, all carry over the lake. The green is narrow and protected

by a bunker in front, but there’s actually more room left and between the green and lake than it looks from the tee boxes.

“This is just a neat hole for finishing off a round. It’s a fun tee shot and a challenging tee shot. It’s a hole that makes you want to come back to Nibley for more golf. But again, if you hit the green you’ll have a good look at birdie,” Green says.

Eric Hogg holds the competitive course record at 6-under 28. Joe Cornwall shot a 26, but not in a formal competition.

Each Friday afternoon many of Salt Lake Valley’s finest players gather to see if they can match those scores.

“A lot of Utah’s better players think they can come out here and beat Nibley up. It sure is fun to see them try,” Green says.

Nibley has a course rating of 67.1 from the blue tees, 64.1 from the white tees and 64.5 from the red tees. The slope is 120 from the blue tees, 112 from the white tees and 109 from the red tees. The course plays at 5,364 yards from the whites and 4,682 from the reds.

Greens fees are $13 for adults, $11 for seniors and $8 for juniors. Greens fees are $13 for all golfers on weekends before noon. Cart fees are $7 per rider. Nibley has a parent/junior program where

G O L F S O U T H W E S T —

a junior’s fee is $5 when playing with a parent. The bounce-back special offers a greens fee of $10 for a second 18-hole round played within four days of the original round.

Nibley also participates in Salt Lake City’s LoyalTee Program, which offers discounts on greens fees and range balls. Salt Lake City offers various season pass options. A Junior Summer Passport is also available for $275, which is valid from May to August.

Nibley has a full-service snack bar, a fully stocked pro shop with the latest in golf equipment and apparel, rental carts and full teaching facilities. Green and his assistant, J.Z. Davis both offer lessons by appointment.

To book a tee time or for more information on Nibley Park’s facilities, leagues and programs go online to http://www.slc-golf.com/nibley.html or www. nibleypark.com. You can also call 801-483-5418 to reach the pro shop.

“Our role in Salt Lake and Utah golf is mostly developmen­tal. This is where many golfers first obtain that love for golf and then develop their skills to the point that they feel comfortable golfing with others and golfing at Salt Lake’s other and more difficult golf courses. We serve that special niche that golf needs so that the game keeps growing. We are developing golfers, building the game and growing the game.” Jeremy Green, Head Golf Professional Nibley Park GC

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32 G O L F S O U T H W E S T — J u n e 2 0 1 4

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