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Chip Shots
» Emerald Valley welcomes champs
» Chance for LPGA glory
» On history's cutting edge
» PNGA offering E-Mail Newsletter
» Desert calling to all women
» Putnam aims to defend, then maybe regain Cup
» Davis takes PNGA command
» Looking stylish up and down the fairway
» TGFI supports school charity
» A new clubhouse part of Sandpines' big plans
» Rare golf book turns heads
» Pacific Am sets its October dates
Emerald Valley welcomes champs
 If champions play there,
then everyone else will follow.
That's the attitude Emerald
Valley Golf Course in Creswell,
Ore., is taking with its three-year deal with the Oregon Golf
Association to hold the OGA
Stroke Play Championship.
The tournament will be held
Aug. 12-14 this year on the
7,093-yard, par-72 layout.
"Ultimately, the reason why
we keep seeking out bigger
and better events is because
people tend to trust the better players in terms of where
to play," said Todd O'Neal, the
general manager.
The club already has been
doing that to some degree by
being the qualifying site for
the U.S. Amateur, but this will
expose the course to more of
the top players in Oregon for a
longer period of time.
And they in turn tell their
friends about the course.
"We're trying to grab the
better players because they
are the ones people look to for
advice in terms of where to go
play," O'Neal said.
Getting players from outside its immediate area would be a
bonus for Emerald Valley, but
it's also a natural being located
just minutes from Interstate 5.
"A lot of people take golfing vacations where they drive
and play at golf destinations,"
O'Neal said. "What a way to
break up your drive?"
More information on
Emerald Valley is available by
calling 541-895-2174 or visiting
www.emeraldvalleygolf.com.
Chance for LPGA glory
A chance to compete against some of the
best LPGA Tour players in the world will be
available for Northwest aspirants thanks to
the Tournament Golf Foundation, Inc., and
The Safeway Classic at Columbia Edgewater
Country Club in Portland.
The event will be called the Safeway
Open and is open to any woman, professional or amateur, with a USGA Handicap
Index of 3.4 or less. It will be held July 5
at Langdon Farms in Aurora, Ore., with
the winner advancing to the LPGA Tour's
Safeway Classic, Sept. 19-21, at Columbia
Edgewater.
The two low amateurs in the Safeway
Open will get another chance, earning a
spot in the Monday qualifier for the final
two berths in the Safeway Classic.
"TGFI has been a supporter of women's
golf in the Northwest over our 34-year history," said Tom Maletis, president of TGFI.
"With the popularity of The Big Break on
The Golf Channel, we are offering our own
version. One round and the winner gets
a big break of their own in the Safeway
Classic."
The entry fee for the Safeway Open will
be $75, and applications are available by
calling the TGFI office at 503-626-2711
or visiting www.safewaygolf.com. The entry
deadline is June 29.
On history's cutting edge
A small nugget of history can add a profound amount of character to a golf course.
At the Wildhorse Resort in Pendleton, Ore., an historical discovery during construction did even more than that.
While excavating the site, workers discovered what at first looked like no more than a couple of rocks. Upon further examination, however,
it turned out these were no ordinary rocks.
In fact, they were not rocks at all, but teeth - molars, to be exact. The cultural experts from the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla
Indian Reservation confirmed the molars had belonged to a mammoth.
"It was pretty amazing that they recognized them," Wildhorse superintendent Sean Hoolehan said. "To the layman, they looked like just another
rock, really."
Finding bones while digging out a golf course, Hoolehan said, is not as uncommon as one might think. Often animals are discovered, from
coyotes to even a cow. But a mammoth?
"You'd be hard-pressed to get a permit to build a golf course where any potential archaeological find was likely," Hoolehan said. "That's why
you don't hear about these (bone discoveries) that often. Even here, they were not building where you'd expect a high volume of native
encampments to have been."
When the molars were discovered, the work stopped along the northeastern corner of the golf course site. While the discovery didn't greatly
affect the layout, the original plan for tee boxes on holes No. 4 and No. 7 were moved. The area where the molars were found was planted in
native grasses and left natural.
Visitors to Wildhorse can still view one of the teeth. It remains on display at the Umatilla's cultural museum, located not far behind the No.
4 green.
PNGA offering E-Mail Newsletter
A new E-Mail Newsletter is being provided by the Pacific Northwest Golf Association with information customized to fit the needs and wants of
each member.
The member benefit is available through the PNGA's web site, www.thepnga.org. The
newsletter will help keep members up-to-date on association events and activities.
An online registration form is available through www.thepnga.org along with an optional
questionnaire that will help customize the newsletter.
Desert calling to all women
It's one thing to talk about getting more women interested in golf. It's another to do it, and do it free of charge as the
Desert Canyon Resort in Orondo, Wash., is doing.
The resort is offering a free one-hour clinic for women followed by a complimentary wine tasting every Saturday at 1 p.m. this summer.
It was a program that started in April.
"The first clinic we had was with 80 women and most had never picked up a club," said Lindzee Frei, who handles marketing for Desert Canyon.
"They were really excited because we were making it inexpensive for them to come out here and learn."
Besides the clinics, which include some weekday lunch sessions for $30, Desert Canyon also has made it attractive by having two sets of tees
for women. The Sage course plays 5,553 yards and the Marigold course plays 5,254 yards, and there is a separate scorecard for the women's
courses.
"We changed a couple of tee boxes to make the holes either shorter, or some we made a little bit longer so the landing area was better," Frei said.
Flowerpots have been added to decorate the tees and gift packages also are prepared for women.
"We really want people to start bringing their families out here because we have a water park coming on soon and it's just going to be more of
a family destination."
The women also have their own web site with Desert Canyon information at www.theladiescourse.com.
Putnam aims to defend, then maybe regain Cup
Michael Putnam is all ready to defend his title at the Pacific Coast Amateur, and if all goes well for the senior at Pepperdine he will use
the four days on the Oregon Coast as a tune-up for the Walker Cup.
Putnam, out of University Place, Wash., and Fircrest Golf Club, has been placed by Golfweek magazine among the favorites for the U.S. Walker
Cup team later this summer.
Putnam's victory last summer in the Pacific Coast Amateur at Eugene Country Club in Oregon is among his recent highlights that he hopes
culminates in a spot on the Walker Cup team, which would try to win the Cup back from Great Britain and Ireland at the Chicago Golf Club on
Aug. 13-14.
But first would be the Pacific Coast Amateur, set for Aug. 2-5 with two rounds on Bandon Dunes and two rounds on Pacific Dunes.
Also set to play this year is James Lepp, who won the 2003 Pacific Coast Amateur in record fashion. Lepp, of Abbotsford, B.C., won at Capilano
in Vancouver, B.C., by 10 strokes.
Also signed up for 2005 is Craig Doell, one of Canada's top amateurs, out of Victoria, B.C.
More information is available at www.pacificcoastamateur.com.
Davis takes PNGA command
M.G. Davis of Alderbrook Golf & Yacht Club in Union, Wash., was elected president of the Pacific Northwest Golf Association at its annual
meeting in April at Royal Oaks Country Club in Vancouver, Wash.
Davis has spent the past five years as the secretary of the PNGA and has been on the Board of Directors for the past 10 years.
He moved to the Hood Canal area of Washington three years ago after 15 years as a member at Royal Oaks.
Davis replaces Gerry Streier of Idaho Falls, Idaho, who served as the PNGA president for three years.
Davis, 59, has spent nearly 45 years playing golf. He's a 10-handicap, but expecting to get down to a 7 or 8 once he sets his full attention
to golf this summer.
He is a former caddy, assistant pro and medical supplies salesperson. He was born in Portland, but spent his high school years in Seattle. He
played high school golf at Sealth High, and spent time caddying at Broadmoor, Inglewood and Portland Golf Club. His caddying included
loops during the old Portland and Seattle Opens and well as some time on the PGA Tour.
"I see myself more as a caddy. I'm not a player," he said. "I see myself more as a guy who will try to carry the association on his back for
a couple of years."
In the other elections at the annual meeting, Kent Brown will become the new secretary. Robin Anderson will continue as treasurer. Streier
will move into the past president position.
The vice-presidents elected were Cliff Shahbaz in Zone 1, Richard Merrill in Zone 2, Gary Neiland in Zone 3, Alan Manson in Zone 4 and Georgia
Hersh in Zone 5.
Looking stylish up and down the fairway
We first ran into the owner of this golf cart, Michelle (Mike) Lundeen on the golf course in Las Vegas, but many of you might have seen her
and her famous Pink Studebaker golf cart around the golf courses of her hometown - Salem, Ore. Given to her as a Christmas gift, this golf
cart won the 2002 Palm Desert Golf Cart Parade. For more on Pink Studebaker, look for the June issue of Golf Northwest Magazine (our sister
publication) available free at more than 500 golf courses throughout the Northwest.
- John Tipping, PNGA Media
TGFI supports school charity
Tournament Golf Foundation, Inc., joined by Al Roker, the weatherman for NBC's The Today Show, is helping support a worthy cause for
schoolchildren in Portland.
Tom Maletis, president of TGFI, presented a $15,000 check to Schoolhouse Supplies Warehouse in Portland during a national broadcast of The
Today Show. The funds were raised through the LPGA Tour's Safeway Classic last September at Portland's Columbia Edgewater Country Club.
Roker and Nick Viele, the executive director of Schoolhouse Supplies, joined the presentation from the basement of Madison High School in
northeast Portland.
"This year, with the Portland Public School budget crisis, the needs are greater than ever for programs such as this. We are happy to continue
as a supporter of this worthy program," Maletis said.
The Schoolhouse Supplies Warehouse helps schools and teachers in the Portland School District meet the demands for educational supplies.
In all, the TGFI and The Safeway Foundation are making $775,000 in charitable donations this year with a large percentage going to programs
supporting children.
The Safeway Classic will move up a month this year, being contested at Columbia Edgewater the week of Aug. 15-21.
A new clubhouse part of Sandpines' big plans
Sandpines Golf Links, which won Golf Digest's prestigious Best New Course award when it first opened in 1993, has set its sights upon
garnering additional accolades. Sandpines' new owners, a pair of Oregon developers, recently laid out an ambitious and exciting plan for
future greatness.
For starters, golf course architect Rees Jones will modify the challenging, links-style layout to his original plan. Jones' firm will work on
the natural bunkering and consider other changes to ensure Sandpines reflects the architect's masterful vision for this fine piece of coastal
property.
In addition to upgrading the golf course, future plans include development of 644 upscale residential units and a 125- to 150-room hotel to
complement the Links and create a luxury golf resort community. Construction of the new 9,000-square foot clubhouse (above right) will break ground
in June and be completed by next spring. It will be built of wood, stone, and glass in the Northwest Lodge style.
Blessed with rolling dunes, native grasses and freshening salt breezes, Sandpines Golf Links has long been compared to the best seaside golf
venues in the British Isles. Located in Florence, (ranked by Retirement Places Rated as the best retirement destination in America in 2004),
the resort and community lie an hour north of Bandon, an hour west of Eugene, and three hours from Portland along a rugged, scenic section
of the world-renowned Oregon coast.
And speaking of winning, Sandpines head golf professional Bob Rannow recently won the 2005 Al C. Giusti Memorial Tournament.
Rare golf book turns heads
Michael Riste, as the historian for the British Columbia Golf Museum in Vancouver, B.C., knows all about "The Goff," the first book ever
written entirely about golf.
But to get a call out of nowhere from a Seattle dealer of rare books who said he had an original copy of the first edition of the 1743 work
was quite a surprise.
"I was dumbfounded, to put it mildly," Riste said. "I couldn't believe it, and I still really can't believe it, that it showed up."
Riste got a call from Russell Johanson, who owns Ravenna Rare Books in Seattle, a couple of days before The Seattle Golf Show. Johanson had
seen that Riste was going to give a talk on golf history at The Golf Show, and wanted to know if Riste wanted to see some real golf history.
"Words could hardly describe it," Riste said. "First I thought it would be a replica, that would be the logical thing right away. You don't get
to see one every day."
There are very few first edition copies in existence, and the estimated value of this one is well into six figures. One collector Riste
contacted said there were 26 known copies in the world, and Riste said he was surprised that there might be that many.
"Just for somebody to phone out of the clear blue on a Tuesday morning and say 'I've got a copy of 'The Goff,'' is really, really unusual,"
Riste said.
"The Goff" is described by the USGA, which has a copy in its museum, as a heroicomical poem.
"It's just like you were reading Shakespeare," Riste said.
It's a story written by Thomas Mathison, a minister, which details an epic battle on the first golf course, Leith Links, between two gentlemen,
Castalio and Pygmalion.
Riste particularly enjoys the passage where the making of a feather ball is described.
Johanson specializes in pre-1850 books, and "The Goff" was part of a general collection Johanson secured about a year ago.
Pacific Am sets its October dates
Dates have been set for what's possibly the largest competitive amateur tournament in the Pacific Northwest.
The Pacific Amateur will engulf Central Oregon from Oct. 1 to Oct. 6 this year. Last year, the tournament drew 674 players from 34 states and
from around the world, ranging from South Africa to Australia.
Greg Nieto of Chico, Calif., was the overall winner.
This will be the ninth year of the Pacific Amateur, and there will be five divisions, and then numerous flights within those divisions. The
tournament is conducted over numerous courses in Central Oregon.
Each player plays three rounds, on three different courses, and then the top four players in each flight qualify for the finals, to be held
Oct. 6 at the Crosswater Club at Sunriver.
Registration and equipment demonstrations will be held Oct. 1-2 at the Sunriver Lodge, just south of Bend, Ore.
The standard entry fee is $450. Entries that pay with a credit card instead of a check will be charged an additional $10.
More information on the tournament is available by visiting www.pacamgolf.com or calling 1-888-435-3976.
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