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Looks to me like golf around here is in pretty capable hands.

This is the time when the big asso-ciations wrap up the past year and look ahead to the new year. The PGA chapter has a leadership change ev-ery year; the Jacksonville Area GA changes every two years and this is the one.

I went to both association meet-ings last month and I promise that we can look forward to good orga-nization. Both are working on their tournament schedules with enthusi-asm. Both will be led by solid people who have bought into the program. Both have the best interests of you and me in the forefront.

The more I listened, the more I re-alized how much these people help us. There were 40 or so pros at their meeting at Ponte Vedra; JAGA had

about that many directors a few weeks later at Amelia National. Both stuck with the agenda; both audi-ences listened respectfully. Over and over, the theme was clear: how can we help the game? Not “ourselves.” “The game.”

A cynic would mumble about that. Helping the game eventually will help the pros and the clubs, won’t it? Sure, no question. And that’s OK. A strong group of pros and an ag-gressive group of amateurs is a tide that will raise all boats.

Let me turn things around. If these people are taking a lot of their time to promote the game, shouldn’t we take the time to support their ef-forts? I realize that there are a lot of approaches to the game, but can’t each of us at least consider what’s being offered?

The pros have tournaments and clin-ics. JAGA has tournaments and a scholarship fund. If you don’t play in tournaments, then go get a les-son. If you care about education, find your JAGA director and give him a check. If none of this appeals to you, at least go to your pro, and your JAGA directors, and thank them for the time and effort they put into helping us.

We’ll have plenty of coverage on both in the months ahead. You’ll find out how you can be involved. Take ad-vantage of what we have.

Your thoughts?

I’m at [email protected] or 383-7587.

Brian LamarrePublisher

Good leadership helps all

Hello fellow Tweeps.Check us out at twitter.com/jaxgolfmag

SportsNotes

>> If you were the world’s most famous bachelor, would this be good enough for you? It’s a $50 million estate in Jupiter (that’s the ocean at the top, the Intracoastal at the bottom) that just finished getting $15 million in renovations. The original 10,000 square foot home has been fixed up and addi-tions include a 6,400 square foot gym, an elevator, a reflecting pond, and a slim lap pool. A few practice holes, too. So, Tiger Woods is the world’s most famous bachelor, and we assume it’s OK with him. The photo was taken by a real estate company in Palm Beach County; Woods’ people had no comment.

From the Publisher

4 Jacksonville Golf Magazine • December 2010 • www.jaxgolfmag.com Jacksonville Golf Magazine • December 2010 • www.jaxgolfmag.com 5

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For advertising & editorialJacksonville Golf Magazine

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PublisherBrian Lamarre

EditorFred Seely

Advertising DirectorRick Agliata

Cover photo by Excipio Photo

Jacksonville Golf Magazine is published every month and distributed throughout Northeast Florida. Reproduction without express written authorization from Jacksonville Golf Magazine is strictly prohibited. Editorial content is not necessarily the view of the publisher. All information is from sources we believe to be creditable. Neither the publisher nor the advertisers will be held responsible for any errors found in the publication. The publisher accepts no liability for the statements made by advertisers.

The professional team is set and the amateur team will be chosen soon for the Northern Chapter PGA Cup matches in February at Timuquana.

The pros won last year and hold the Underwood Cup.

The professional team was filled by captain Jon Fine of Mayport Windy Harbor with four veterans: host pro Clint Avret, Pablo Creek’s Richie Bryant, Selva Marina’s Tim Peter-son and Alachua Turkey Creek’s Walter Smith.

The other eight came from the 2010 points list with Player of the Year Cary Splane of Marsh Creek head-ing the way following by Charles Raulerson of the Country Club of Orange Park, Gerry James of Cen-ter Force Golf System, Broc Nell of Amelia Island Plantation, teaching pro Brad Rollinson, Spencer Brown of Selva Marina, Mike Benjamin of Fernandina Beach and Tom Stecker of St. Johns Golf Club.

Amateur Captain Doug Conkey said he would have his team soon.

One of the area’s two major seniors event will be Dec. 13-15 with a new division. The Gate Petroleum Senior will add Grand Seniors for the first time and they’ll play 36 holes.

The tournament starts with a qualifi-er on December 7 and Jim Howard, di-rector of golf at the host Ponte Vedra Inn & Club, expects over 75 to try for a spot in one of the three divisions.

There will be 48 spots in the Senior (ages 50 through 64) with 16 exempt from last year. The Super Senior (65-74) has 30 openings with 10 exempt and nine will make up the first Grand Senior field of those 75 and older.

The younger two divisions will open on the Lagoon course and then play the Ocean course in the final two rounds. The Grand Seniors open on the Ocean Course on the first day, take a day off, and then conclude on the Lagoon.

The entry fee is $200 for qualifiers and the deadline is Dec. 3. Those who make it pay and additional $75. Ex-empt players pay $250.

The other Senior is the JAGA Senior in April.

The Fernandina Beach Golf Club will get a new operator this month as Billy Casper Golf takes over the city-owned course.

The city sought bids for the op-eration and the Casper company was chosen over Scott Womble, the veteran pro who had been running the facility. Womble, formerly the pro at Long Point and what is now Amelia River, says he’ll stay in the area and will continue to be active in golf.

The Casper company runs 120 courses nationally including Bent Creek in Jacksonville, the St. Johns Golf and Country Club in St. Johns County and Victoria Hills in DeLand.

Pros chosen for Cup match

Gate Senior adds division

Fernandina makes a change

Longtime Hyde Park player Tommy Shattuck died recently but part of him will remain on the course thanks to a memorial program.

Shattuck’s ashes were scattered under a pear tree to the left of No. 1 tee by his pal, Hank Veno, last month. Shattuck was Boone Park’s tennis pro for 40 years; Veno re-cently retired as Plantation Country Club’s pro and earlier had been at Timuquana.

There are four trees and now each has a memorial with an American flag and a plaque. Shattuck’s memo-rial joins those for Joe Gushanas, Earl Tomlinson and Homer Nix. There are other memorials around the course as well.

A memorial at Hyde Park


Pros chosen for Cup matchfrom staff

Some major names in North Flori-da’s golf community turned out last month to honor the military.

It was part of The Players annual “Giving Back Month” and is a PGA Tour program that started in 2005.

There were a total of 48 teams, us-ing both TPC courses, and each team included and active duty or retired military service person. Many were Wounded Warriors, soldiers and sail-ors who had been injured, some to the point of losing limbs.

Among the celebrities were PGA Tour

players Vijay Singh and Jeff Klauk. Jacksonville Jaguars Josh Scobee and Rashean Mathis were there, too.

The military in Jacksonville par-ticipated, too, bringing an array of equipment including a pair of heli-copters.

They also provided apparel — each player had to tee off on one hole while wearing a steel helmet and a flak jacket.

An opening ceremony to the day’s events was held behind the TPC Sawgrass clubhouse and featured the Presentation of Colors by the Navy color guard from NAS Jack-

sonville, as well as a performance of the National Anthem by Phil Stacey (former sailor and American Idol fi-nalist) and remarks by retired Army Gen. Doug Brown and Dan Nevins of the Wounded Warrior Project, who is also a wounded warrior himself.

”We cannot begin to describe how much admiration and respect we have for the men and women in uni-form,” said Players Executive Direc-tor Matt Rapp. “We hope the Birdies for the Brave event along with our free military admission and hos-pitality policy can show even the smallest amount of our support for all that they do for our country.

Giving back through the game of golf

Ryan Kules setting up for a drive on the first hole of the Stadium Course.He lost his right arm and left leg in combat.Ph

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Professional golf begs for meaningful statistics and here’s one that has zero value: the No. 1 rank-ing. Tiger Woods lost No. 1 to Lee Westwood last month. By now, someone else may have it. If you

care, you have too much time on your hands. <<<

Observations after a visit to last month’s Disney tournament: a. The down-to-the-wire fight to make the top 125 is a lot more thrilling than deciding who’s No. 1, b. Disney World does everything great except make hot dogs, and c. There’s so much money in pro golf these days that even the caddies get good-looking women. <<<

Auburn’s Cam Newton wanted $180,000 to go to Mississippi State? That’s all? If you’ve ever been to Starkville, you’d want at least that much. <<<

Jaguars receivers Mike Thomas and Mike Sims-Walker have a nickname for them-selves: the “Mike and Mike Show,” just like the ESPN radio morning show. <<<

The Henry Tuten Gator Bowl is in its 34th year and some interesting names are among past winners. For instance, Len Mattiace is a four-time winner but never as a pro, Cary Splane is the only winner both as a pro and an amateur, former Jacksonville U. basketball coach Tates Locke once was on a winning team, as was David Duval as an amateur. And a few names from other fields: trail law-yer Glenn Cohen, famed superintendent Fred Klauk and surgeon David Johnston. <<<

The NFL season lasts 17 weeks but teams only play 16 games, so each gets what they call a “bye” week. Bad term. A “bye,” as anyone who ever participated in a match play tournament knows, comes when there aren’t enough people to fill the draw and someone gets a pass to the next round. How about “off week”

instead? <<<

Former Sawgrass pro Ed Tucker is now at Amelia River, the public layout next to the Fernandina Beach airport. He says that all is well. The Synovus Bank owns the course and has hired Davis Love III’s management company to run it. <<<

Two of our chubbies are slimming down, each by 60 or so pounds. Junior golf guru Boots Farley did it to combat a mild form of diabetes, radio talk show host David Lamm did it because he felt lousy. <<<

If you think ESPN basketball commen-tator Doug Gottleib comes across a bit abrasive, there’s good reason: his father is ex-Jacksonville U. Coach Bob Got-tleib, who had two winning seasons in the early 70’s but had problems getting along with others at the school, the fans and the media. Bob is now running a re-cruiting service in Southern California. <<<

The Times-Union used images of Univer-sity of Florida football players in pro-moting its Gator app and that’s a no-no. Should have known better — they did the same thing a few years ago with a photo of Tim Tebow. Had UF been part of the deal, there could have been prob-lems. As it was, the Gator administration didn’t know, so they won’t be punished by the NCAA. The T-U changed the ad a few days later, leaving out player photos and including only generic info. <<<

And the next president of Jacksonville U. is ... Alan Verlander. Really, an ath-letic director becoming a president? Wait and see. They’re grooming him internal-ly and he’ll pick up a doctorate along the way. Not anytime soon, though, as Kerry Romesburg is young, happy and still playing early-morning golf at Ponte Vedra with Herb Peyton. <<<

Christmas gifts are showing up and a good one is a coffee-table book “True Links,” which reviews the 246 world-wide courses deemed to be “links” by the authors. Only four are in the Unit-ed States, three in the Bandon Dunes area of Oregon and one on Cape Cod. Only four? Yep, say the authors, be-cause they’re the only ones that meet the criteria: sea views; sandy, dune-like terrain with fast-running fairways; and ever-changing winds. Wouldn’t, say, Sawgrass fit that, among a dozen others around here? Anyhoo, the book is beau-tiful, costs $40 and comes from Artisan Books. <<<

(Fred Seely is a veteran Jacksonville golf writer whose handicap is his occasional arthritis.)

Who’s No. 1?Does anybodyreally care?

Fred Seely

Where Past & Present Meet

Palatka Golf Club Call for Tee Times!

A 1925 Donald Ross DesignHome of the Florida Azalea Amateur

(386) 329-0141www.palatkagolfclub.com

Come see our progress as Bobby Weed restores the Palatka Golf Club

A little boy from Fernandina Beach was taken to Gainesville’s Shands hospital for open heart surgery last month. When the staff saw that the 10-month’s name was Brantley, they asked Gator quarterback John Brantley to pay a visit. He did, and here they are.

From the Editor


One of the most common mistakes I see on the driving range is an early turn. This happens when the shoulders turn too quickly away from the ball, usually completing their turn before the club is even halfway back. The results are disastrous for the golf swing. The club will wrap around the body during the takeaway, leading to excess manipulation to the top of

the backswing. The sequencing of the swing is also affected. Because the shoulder turn is completed so early, the arms will become disconnected as they reach the top of the backswing. This is why some players look too “loose” at the top.

To understand why an early turn is so harmful to a golf swing, you must break the swing down into its moving parts. Think of the distance the clubhead travels compared to the shoul-ders. While the left shoulder travels a little over a foot during the backswing, the clubhead travels about ten feet! The only way these two distances can arrive at the top in sync is if the shoulders remain passive during the takeaway. For the first two feet that the clubhead travels, you should feel your chest facing the ball. I would suggest rehearsing this move as a waggle before each shot. This passive takeaway will ensure that your swing has the proper sequence, and that the club doesn’t wrap around you at the start. You will find that your rhythm and swing plane improve.

Instruction

Hayes Farley

Full Swing (Early Turn)

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>> The Jacksonville Area GA’s Pro-President field is filling for the Dec. 6 event at Long Point. It’s the finale for Jim Edwards of Fer-nandina Beach, who finishes his two-year term as president. Bob Streightiff of Queen’s Harbour comes next with Joe Power of Eagle Harbor in line for 2013. A meeting feature: JAGA will honor a local PGA Chapter member as “Pro of the Year” and also will rein-stitute the Red Gossman Award for the association’s top director.

>> PGA Tour veep Rich George has left Ponte Vedra, going to Dal-las to be the an exec with the baseball Texas Rangers. His name is one frequently mentioned as a successor to Tim Finchem as PGA Tour commissioner and the move probably won’t hurt his chances.

>> Club pro moves: San Jose assistant Cole Stiles heads to Sea Island after the holidays and will be replaced by for-mer Gate winner and ace instructor Hayes Farley ... Another ex-SJ assistant, Ryan Meyers, is back in the business after trying to play for pay. He’s at the Slammer & Squire ... Ex-Amelia River’ pro Barry Richardson is now at Long Point.

>> The area’s golf promotion group, Florida’s First Coast of Golf, changed its leadership with St. Augustine tourism direc-tor Richard Goldman becoming the chairman. Honors went to Palencia GM Jackie Wilson, who was inducted into the organization’s Hall of Fame; Honours Golf, which runs the two World Golf Village courses, was named the golf member of the year; the Courtyard Marriott Oceanfront was the ac-commodations member of the year; and the Crowne Plaza Jacksonville Oceanfront is the new member of the year.

>> An ambitious schedule for local pros is being put together by the local chapter’s tournament director, Brad Rollinson. Included is a season-long match play tournament, a pro-am for military amateurs only and a season-ending Tournament of Champions between every team that won a pro-am.

>> Our only local in the USGA Mid-Am, St. Augustine’s Steve Carter, failed to qualify for match play. But a former resident did: Tom Krystyn, now living in Denver, got through qualifying but lost in the first round. Krystyn was a top junior here in the early 1980’s and his mother, Mary, ran the local junior program.

>> Locals in the USGA Senior Amateurs. Gainesville’s Buddy Alex-ander and South Hampton’s David Anthony both made the Round of 16 in the men’s event, Therese Quinn of Deerwood qualified for match play in the women’s and lost in the first round.

>> The local pros went along with a trend and now will allow their members to wear shorts in PGA competi-tions here. Only exception: if the host club says no.

>> Blue Cypress has a 9-hole championship for Seniors. The younger set (55-69) goes Dec. 6 and the 70-over crowd plays the next day. The entry fee of $35 includes lunch.

>> Wayne Huizenga has purchased the Frederica Club on St. Simons Island out of foreclosure. It’s a huge re-sort originally built by the now-troubled Sea Island Co.

PitchShots

(Hayes Farley, a past winner of the Gate Invitational, recently returned to the area and is an instructor at McCumber Golf Academy. For the last two years, he has been instructing at the Ivan Lendl’s Champions Academy in Sarasota.)


Travel

If you concede (and many don’t) that Harbour Town is the best course in the Hilton Head area, what comes next?

Plenty of contenders and we have two for your consideration today. Very different in every way, very good in every way.

Our nominees are the Robert Trent Jones course at Palmetto Dunes, a traditional layout in the middle of an enormous oceanfront resort with miles of homes and condos, and Old-field Golf Club, a Greg Norman de-sign some 20 miles inland that now is being operated by Jacksonville’s Hampton Golf.

Palmetto Dunes can be pricey, up to $180, while Oldfield has new owners and you can get on for as little as $60. (Comparison: Harbour Town is about $300.)

Palmetto Dunes is a big operation with Hilton Head’s biggest golf shop and the Jones course plays the most rounds (about 43,000 annually) of the high-end layouts. Oldfield has a small pro shop in a very classy club-house and may play the fewest; the

development went bust and the new owners, with Hampton’s help, are just getting the place going again.

You’ll love both.

The Jones course has one of the is-land’s two oceanfront holes (the oth-er is at Harbour Town’s lesser-known brother, Heron Point) and offers a nice combination of holes. You start and finish among the trees, with the middle holes being more open as you near the ocean.

Palmetto Dunes is a well-established development that depends on va-cationer play. Director of Golf Brad Marra estimates only 5 percent of the rounds are played by year-round residents.

Oldfield is the opposite. The original developers never got it going and have sold out to an Atlanta group

that quickly turned to Hampton Golf.

Oldfield, like Palmetto Dunes, is much more than golf. Both have a wide range of activities including equestrian but both put golf front and center.

Hampton hired former World Golf Village exec Jamie Selby to run things and play has picked up con-siderably.

The course is just a few years old but has a classic feel as it winds through woods and water. While the develop-ment struggled, there are a number of homes and it’s nice to see that they have followed the plantation style. Oldfield was an old plantation — 1732 is in its logo — and you get that feel throughout.

Worth the short trip.

The oceanfront 10th at Palmetto Dunes. — Photo courtesy of the Palmetto Dunes Oceanfront Resort

The back nine at Oldfield. — Photo courtesy of the Oldfield Golf Club.

Two in the Hilton Head area

Hilton HeadWhere: About 2:30 from Jacksonville, taking I-95 to exit 8 in South Carolina, then Hwy. 278 east.

Courses: They start almost as soon as you leave the inter-state. Depending on how you define the geographical area, there may be 100 to choose from.

Time to go: Spring and fall are best. Summer is high season when it’s hot and the area is full of kids.

What you’ll pay: Comparable to Jacksonville area for food and lodging. Golf is a little bit higher but watch for deals.

Info: There’s no central golf website like Florida’s First Coast of Golf but that doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty of information. Google will get you more than enough.


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Calendar

Who will win the Underwood Cup?

Northern Chapter PGA Cup matchFebruary 21-22, Timuquana Country Club

Sponsored by Underwood’s Jewelers

A great Jacksonville golf tradition!

The Marsh Landing Women’s Golf Associa-tion held its two-day Member-Guest event, The Ibis Classic, in October and the gross winners were (from left) Helen Short and her guests, Diana Stew-art, Miles Dumont and Lee Berkman.

Executive Women’s GAwww.ewga.com

Nov. 6: Jacksonville Beach.

Nov. 7: South Hampton.

Dec. 5: King and Bear.

Jacksonville Area GAwww.jaxareagolfassn.com

Dec. 6: Pro-President, Amelia National.

Jan. 18: Directors meet-ing, Windsor Parke.

July 21-24: Amateur Championship, Ponte Vedra Inn and Club.

Jacksonville Women’s GAhome.comcast.net/~jwga/

Dec. 1: Marsh Creek Dec. 8: Long Point Dec. 15: Sawgrass

Northern Chapter PGAwww.nfpga.com/north-ernchapter/5813/

Dec. 6: North Florida Section annual meet-ing, Orlando Bay Hill.

Dec. 13: Partner Appreciation Day, TPC Valley.

Dec. 18: Holiday party, University Club.

North Florida Junior Foundation

www.nfjg.org

Dec. 20: Masters and Prep Foundation, Jacksonville G&CC.

Dec. 27-28: Holiday Part-ners, Ponte Vedra G&CC.

Northeast Florida Seniors GAwww.nefsga.com

Dec. 13: Cypress Course, Palm Coast.

PGA Tourwww.pgatour.com

May 9-14: The Players, TPC Stadium.

LPGA TourDec. 2-5: Tour Championship, Orlando Grand Cypress.

Golf Channel Tourwww.golfchannel.com/amtour

Dec. 5-6: Fleming Island. (championship)

Feb. 20: Ponte Vedra Ocean.

Mar. 7: Queen’s Harbour.

April 3: Eagle Landing.

April 1: North Hampton.

Players Golf Tourwww.playersgolftour.org

Dec. 4: Fleming Island.

Other Dec. 7: Gate Senior quali-fier, Ponte Vedra Ocean.

Dec. 11: Gator Bowl “Patch” event, Fleming Island.

Dec. 13-15: Gate Senior, Ponte Vedra Inn and Club.

Jan. 26-29: PGA Merchandise Show, Orlando.

Feb. 21-22: Northern Chap-ter PGA Cup, Timuquana

April 18: Spina Bifida benefit, Deerwood.

April 25: Rotary Club of River-side benefit, Timuquana.

May 2: Dreams Come True benefit, Timuquana.

1stCoast GA

www.1stcoastgolf.com

Dec. 2: Seniors, Eagle Harbor.

Dec. 9: All Association, St. Johns G&CC.

Dec. 14: All Association, Deerwood.

Florida State GA

www.fsga.org

Dec. 13-14: Winter Series, Winter Garden.


WGVPitchShotsComing up at The World Golf Village:

>> The annual Festival of Trees, show-casing trees and wreaths decorated by local businesses, organizations, families and friends, will open December 3 at the Convention Center. It’s free and open to the public.

>> Santa and Mrs. Claus are stop-ping by the World Golf Hall of Fame IMAX Theater on Dec. 4 for break-fast. Tickets are $12 per person.

>> The IMAX features Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows through Dec. 31.

>> There’s a New Year’s Eve Party at the Renaissance Resort in the resort’s ballroom with entertain-ment by the 8-piece Funk Monster Band. Two party packages are avail-able to guests. Info: 940-8000.

>> Holiday gifts:

World Golf Hall of Fame All Access Tour – $60 per person.

A two-and-a-half hour private tour on Friday mornings. Autographed Memorabilia - $50-$500

Memorabilia with authentic autographs from World Golf Hall of Fame members.

Friends of the Hall of Fame membership - $60-$1,000

Includes unlimited admis-sion to the Hall of Fame for a year plus other benefits.

IMAX Theater annual pass - $39-$69

The IMAX Theater is upgrading to a new digital 3D projection system.

Full name: Daniel Patrick Hicken.

Main job: Sports Director, First Coast News. (Ch. 12 and 25.)

Second job: Morning sports talk show (with Jeff Prosser,) AM-1010.

Born: Buffalo, N.Y.

College: University of Florida. “My father was a school superin-tendent and we moved around, ending up in Miami when I was 13. I looked at the state schools and liked Florida the best.”

Spouse: Reagan, spe-cial education teacher.

Kids: 3.

Where they live: Pablo Bay.

Church: Church of the Redeemer.

First job: Intern at Ch. 12 in 1984. (“I drove all over the state look-ing for a job. Ch. 12 was the only offer I got, and I’ve been here ever since.”) Promoted to sports produc-er in 1986, weekend sports anchor in 1988, sports director in 1991.

He succeeded: John Laurence.

Favorite baseball team: New York Mets.

Favorite pro football team (Jaguars not included:) Miami Dolphins.

Favorite golf course: Windsor Parke.

How he plays: “I really went after it this summer and took a lot of lessons. But I’m one of those guys who can hit it great when the in-structor is standing there, and then choke when I go out on the course without him. Let’s just say I haven’t reaped the benefit of my lessons.”

Most exciting event he’s covered: “The city getting an NFL franchise, even though that wasn’t an ‘event.’ Other than that, the University of Florida’s national championships.”

Hobby: “Watching my kids play sports.”

People

Dan Hicken


The last two years have been a busy time for the local club professionals as they contributed to their communities as well as promoting golf.

According to the Northern Chapter’s Jack Aschen-bach, golf professional at Amelia National, here are some of the accomplish-ments:• The tournament series

this year included 11 Pro-Ams at North Florida’s best golf courses each having maximum participation.

• The Chapter created ex-tra play by starting the “Club Challenge”. As the year comes to an end, 16 clubs — divided into four divisions with four clubs per division — have faced off resulting in four divi-sion champions who will meet in a “Best of the Best” tournament at the Omni Amelia Island Plan-tation’s Ocean Links.

• Community efforts have included partnering with the Salvation Army. All

clubs in the Northern Chapter collected clothing through pro shop promo-tions. During one event, the Chapter collected more than 30 bags of clothing, helping with the efforts of rehabilitation of those in need. • The Chapter partnered with the Nassau County Habitat for Humanity to help to build three homes and raise more than $2,000 in funds through chapter efforts. The pros are cur-rently building a three-story motel in Fernandina Beach.

• A major effort was sup-porting military troops by providing numerous mili-tary appreciation days. Active duty personnel

were invited to play free of charge. “At Amelia Nation-al as well as many other clubs,” said Aschenbach, “we had our members play with the military folks, invite them to dinner and socialize with them. In a two year effort, we raised

more than $25,000 which went towards the Folds of Honor Foundation.”Aschenbach added, “We are committed to the com-munity, not only to pro-mote the game but also to help in every area that we can.”

Chapter pros secured clothing, donations for the Salvation Army

Lots of clothing donated for the Salvation Army

Local pros stay busy

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“I haven’t yet found

anything that I can’t find a good person to do it.”

M.G. Orender calls it luck. Others dis-agree. Be as smart as Orender, they say, and luck comes along.

The Hampton Golf owner is riding out the nation’s economic woes by ex-panding his company. Instead of eight courses under his company a few years ago, there now are 20 and the list may have grown by the time you read this.

“I looked at the golf business and de-cided that I had to hit the reset but-ton,” he said. “There were opportuni-ties because many golf courses were being run like they were when times were good, and they were doing poor-ly.

“I had a core of incredibly talented people. I sat down and thought hard. I knew I had to change the model.”

Hampton originally was part of Land-mar, the development company that fell apart when the real estate market bombed. Orender had pulled Hampton

Hitting the reset button

M. G. OrenderPresident, Hampton Golf

Family:Wife, Donna, is president of the Women’s National Basketball Association. Four children.

College:University of Florida.

Residence:

Jacksonville Beach.

Associations:PGA of America, Class A. President, 2003.

North Florida Section. President, 1985-87


away before the end, however.

The Hampton empire has rapidly ex-panded. In addition to the courses his company owns such as South Hampton, North Hampton and Grand Haven, they now manage a variety — formerly private clubs like Selva Marina, resort/semi-private clubs like the Palm Coast collection and the latest, three that came close to not surviving the economic down-turn in Naples.

In all, there are 20 courses and over 1,000 people in the hierarchy that is topped by its leader, Morgan Guy Orender.

Here are some of his philosophies:

Hiring people“We try and grow our own talent. I have 3-4 people who started when they were teenagers. We helped them with their education, pointed them where we wanted and the re-sults are great. A cart boy is now a vice president. My secretary is now head of Human Resources. A girl that started behind the counter at South Hampton now runs the call center. A guy came to me and said he wanted to get into food and bev-erage. I told him he was nuts, but there’s the dishwasher. Go at it and we’ll see what develops.

“I haven’t yet found anything that I can’t find a good person to do it.

“Here’s what I look for:

“1. People who really like people.

“2. Smart people. You can’t teach stupid to smart.

“3. People who really like coming to work.”

The reset button

“When I was putting together the way I wanted things to run, I looked at the way we treated customers. A guy comes to play and the person behind the desk is trying to do sev-eral things at once, answering the phone, doing tee times on the com-puter and trying to sign up the cus-tomer. That’s not good for anyone.

“I developed a call center and Land-mar and Hampton shared it. We used it for tee times, they sold homes. When we split, I made a deal — I de-veloped another call center that fit their needs and I took the old one.

“The call center changed that model, and what else could we do? All of a sudden, in addition to managing our courses, we were managing others. We had a good marketing depart-ment at Hampton and we could an-swer phones, so we sold other clubs on our doing that. It led to us do-ing the accounting. It led to other things and before you knew it, we were managing the whole opera-tion.

“Take accounting. Clubs have two people doing it. We take it over. We centralize it and now we have 12 people doing the accounting for 20 clubs. A dozen people doing what 40 used to do.”

“Everyone has a person doing their newsletter. We take it over. We have three very good graphics people, so now there are three people doing what 20 used to do.”

“We got into management of home- owners associations. It’s more than sending bills and cutting grass, but not much. Since we had grass to cut, we started our own lawn service. We bid competitively on developments. If we get it, fine. If we don’t, we’re saving money because someone gave a better price.”

“There are plenty of opportunities out there. Look at your resources and find other ways to use them.”

Advice for others• “Clubs don’t know how to hit the reset button. They have general managers who don’t know how to do it another way. We took a Charlotte club and cut out $1.4 million by cutting duplication of tasks. We got $1.7 million out of another.”

• “People today don’t know how to use golf for business. Must be a lost art. Where else can you get a client in a cart for four hours with just you and him? You can’t do that anywhere else. If I get someone for 4-5 hours and can’t make a deal, then I’m cer-tainly not the right person for that deal.”

• “Golf is a great deal. It’s 4-5 hours of inexpensive entertainment in a healthy setting. If you want to eat, the food is reasonably prices, too. Put a dollar amount to a golf game and compare it with other sports.”

• “The next big deal might be bowl-ing. It’s in air conditioning, it doesn’t cost much and you can drink beer.”

Hitting the reset button

www.hamptongolfclubs.com


The cost is $49 and it opens the golf-er’s door to a number of benefits. The most obvious is a discount on 20 rounds — up to $10 per round — but there’s plenty more in the Champions Card at Windsor Parke and Champi-ons Club.

Among the other benefits are two free rounds, 10 free buckets of range balls, the opportunity to play in special tournaments and discounts for your guests.

A happy customer is Ben Constable, who moved here several years ago from Hilton Head and plays Windsor Parke “probably 2-3 times a week.”

Constable, who says he’s “semi-retired because my wife won’t let me retire,” likes the value: “If you just took the two free rounds and the range balls, that would pay for it and more.”

Another benefit is a bonus points program that cardholders can use to play free rounds at courses across the nation. Many of the courses are oper-ated by a company named OB Sports; others participate in the program, like Champions Club and Windsor Parke.

“If you play a lot,” said Constable, “you accumulate points to get more free rounds. Anyone can use free rounds, can’t they?”

The special Cardholder tournaments are an opportunity to meet players and the popularity is exhibited by the July event, which drew 132 players at Windsor Parke!

It’s easy to get aboard the Champions Card express. You can sign up in ei-ther golf shop, or you can go to either club’s website.

“There’s nothing difficult to do,” said Constable. “And you feel part of a club. I’m at the course a lot and it’s re-ally enjoyable. They treat you right.”

Gary Murfitt run a pro shop and teaches during the day. Then he plays golf at night.

The Hyde Park head pro has built what he thinks will be the area’s best green in his back yard. He also has a 100-yard range. And the entire area is lighted.

“We have 2 1/2 acres out on the west side,” said Murfitt, “and there is room for almost anything. I didn’t want cows, so I built a golf course.”

The whole thing has cost about $500. Murfitt is a master scrounger, it seems, and only a few items like fertilizer have hit his pocketbook. The rest is sweat equity.

The green is about the same size as the average Hyde Park green. It’s actually almost a replica of the 6th green, just a little bigger in the back.

The grass came from Timuquana.

‘They punched their greens and (su-perintendent) Chris Neff gave me the plugs,” Murfitt said.

Neff was glad to help. “We just pile up the plugs and use them only if we need to get grass in a certain area,” he said. ‘Gary came with three guys and a truck, and they took three loads back home.”

Murfitt spread the plugs over the green’s base, top dressed with sand and watered heavily.

Playing at home

ADVERTISEMENT

2011 Champions

Card

Gary Murfitt

Another club bought new greens mowers and planned to use the old ones for spare parts. “They were out back of the maintenance barn,” said Murfitt, “and I saw them. Sure, they said, take ‘em.” They were still run-ning and today are purring after a tune-up.

The green was one thing. How about the range?

“We’re on septic and the drain field looks like a tee because it’s raised,” he said. “I put a mat on top, stuck in some markers and it’s about a 100-yard shot to the green.”

He strung wire around the area and installed lights. Maybe not football stadium-quality lighting, but plenty good enough for casual golf.

It has become a weekly gathering place for pals.

“We have a skins game with maybe 8-10 guys,” he said. “Lot of noise, but we’re out in the country so it doesn’t matter.”

And wife Laura?

“She loves it,” he said. “Keeps me home.”

Jacksonville Golf Magazine is distributed to golf clubs and specialty stores throughout Northeast Florida. You’ll find it everywhere and, more importantly, your potential customers are reading it.

Let us show you how we can help your [email protected]

Reaching our readers




December 20 Masters, Prep & Foundation Divisions Jacksonville Golf & CC

December 27 & 28* NFJG Holiday Junior Partners Event Ponte Vedra Golf & CC

January 9 Masters Division Queens Harbour January 9 Prep & Foundation Divisions Jacksonville Beach GCFebruary 21 Masters, Prep & Foundation Divisions Hidden Hills CC

*Holiday Junior Partners – Pick your partner (NFJG member), any age group or gender. Best Ball of twosome. Caddies permitted! Parents / Grandparents, here’s your chance! Details on website.

Tournament of Champions August 8 & 9 Dye’s Valley Course / Glen Kernan CC

www.nfjg.orgTournament Director:

Boots Farley, [email protected]

One UNF Drive, Bldg 48Jacksonville, FL 32224(904) 928-0571

North Florida Junior GolfOur new season for the NFJG has begun. Membership is $100 and is now open. The complete tournament schedule can be found on our website. The next events are:

JAGA 2-Man at Ponte VedraRegular: Gross - Peter Lucier-Jeff Smith, Net - Neil Murphy-Greg Peters. Senior: Gross - Jim Kuhn-Craig Miel-ke. Net - Larry Burke-Larry Fox.Super Senior: Gross - Mike Ferree-Bob Trowbridge, Net - Bob Morrison-Wally Mizell.

Marsh Landing Ibis ClassicGross: Helen Short, Diana Stewart, Miles Dumont and Lee Berkman.Net flights: Joyce Moore, Leigh LeMoyne, Jan McManus and Sharon Ruiz;. Judy Ball, Sue Birk, Adrienne Whitman and Deborah Meyer; Brenda Csencsits, Linda Doran, Amy Wallman and Lynn Cruger; Donna Pearce, Penny McCullagh, Jea-nette Arvia and Mary Louise Gallagher.

1stCoast Seniors at Eagle LandingFlight winners: Neil Murphy, Ray Benson, Dick Joyce. Net winners: John Hilton, Bunky Johnson, Dee Dee Stovall.

1stCohast GA scramble at Fleming IslandFlight winners: Gary Barber, David Hodges, Charlie Flynn; John Hil-ton, Reed Brown, Cal Buck.

Jacksonville Women’s GA Handicap ChampionshipOverall: Joyce Moore. Flight winners: Tama Caldabaugh, Chris Moyer, Shin-Shin Lin, Linda Hoffman, Pat Blinn.

Northeast Florida Seniors GA ChampionshipOverall: Alan Boyce. Flight winners: Don Lasky, Tom Smith, Dick Moffitt, Dick Tyson.

San Jose women’s member-guestOverall: Kim Barnes, Shelia Brocki, Barbara Brown, Nipa Polnoi.

NAS ChampionshipsMen: Roman Cenizal. Ladies: Sandi Deschaine. Senior Men: Bobby Earle. Super Senior Men: Jim Richey.

Hyde Park ChampionshipsChampionship: Donnie Allison. Flight win-ners: George Sessions, Gary Luke, Dean Phil-lips, Christopher Reed. Net winner: Sessions.

St Johns G&CC womens club championship Gross: Faye Shepherd. Net: Ginny Kavanagh.

Eagle Harbor Club ChampionshipsOverall Club Champ Neal Goldblatt, Overall Net Champ Cy Solsona, Ladies Champ Nina Hemmelgarn, Ladies 2nd Gross Mary Beth Pritchard, Ladies Net Champ Emily Brown, Senior Champ Ed Jamro (won in playoff), Senior 2nd Gross Gary Owensby, Senior Net Champ Craig Mielke, Senior 2nd Net Dave Schoonmaker, Super Senior Champ John Yacalavitch, Super Senior Net Champ Joe Power

Roman Cenizal (left) gets the NAS trophy from Assistant Professional Steve Sherman.

WinnersThe pro from BoliviaIt’s a long trail that winds from Bo-livia to Jacksonville. Ask Marian De-tlefsen, the head pro at Eagle Har-bor. She’s done it.

She was a good junior player in the South American nation, even rep-resenting her nation in the South American Cup though she was only 14, and came to the United States when her family moved here.

“My parents split so I spent time in the Baltimore and Houston,” said Detlefsen. “I kept playing golf and got a little notice.”

One who noticed was John Randall, then the women’s coach at Jackson-ville University and now known as the operator of the long-standing 1stCoast Golf Association. He re-cruited her and she moved here in 1989.

“I was a pretty good player,” she said. “And we had pretty good teams.” One teammate: South Hampton pro Kimberly Lawlor.

Detlefsen won a pair of events but her game wasn’t enough for the LPGA Tour, so she went to work.

She’s been at Eagle Harbor almost all

the time since, taking a few years off to have two children. Her husband is an executive with a local transporta-tion company and she says she has settled in here.

“She is a great asset,” said Eagle Harbor General Manager Jim Hous-ton, who came two years ago when Hampton Golf took over the opera-tion. “She knows the place and the members love her.”

Marian Detlefsen


PUBLICBent Creek 103rd St. on Westside. Range. 779-0800.

Blue Cypress Off University Blvd. in Arlington. Range. 762-1971.

Cecil Field 103rd St. on Westside. Range. 778-5245.

Deerfield Lakes Lem Turner Rd. just south of Callahan. Range. 879-1210.

Fernandina Beach Amelia Island Parkway. Range. 800-646-5997

First Tee of Jacksonville Golfair Blvd. west of I-95 North. Nine holes. Range. 924-0401.

First Tee of St. Johns County. Three holes. SR 207, St. Augustine. 810-2231.

Hyde Park Northern dead end of Jammes Rd. on Westside. Range. 786-5410.

Jacksonville Beach Penman Rd. south of Beach Blvd. Range. 247-6184.

King & Bear Part of World Golf Village but about three miles south of main area off SR 16. Range. 940-6088.

Mill Cove Monument Rd. in Arlington. Range. 646-4653.

Palatka Moseley Ave. west of downtown. Range. 386-329-0141.

Palm Valley Palm Valley Rd. east of U.S. 1. Nine holes. Range. 285-8978.

River Bend Golf Links South of Green Cove Springs. Range. 284-8777.

Slammer & Squire In World Golf Village. Range. 940-6088.

St. Augustine Shores U.S. 1 south of St. Augustine. Range. 794-4653.

St. Johns Golf Club Cypress Links Blvd. 27 holes. Range. 209-0351.

Starke East of town. Nine holes. Range. 964-5441.

UNF Golfplex At University of North Florida. Three holes. Range. 620-2050.

SEMI-PRIVATEAmelia River Amelia Island Parkway. Range. 491-8500.

Champions Club at Julington Creek Off SR 13 in Mandarin. Range. 287-4653.

Cimarrone CR 210 west of I-95. Range. 287-2000.

Country Club of Orange Park West end of Kingsley Ave. in Orange Park. Range. 276-7664.

Cypress at Grand Club Palm Coast. Range. 386-437-5807.

Eagle Harbor CR 220 in Fleming Island. Range. 269-9300.

Eagle Landing OakLeaf Plantation. Range. 291-5600.

Golf Club at Fleming Island US 17 in Fleming Island. Range. 269-1440.

Keystone Golf & Country Club U.S. 21 south of town. Range. 352-473-4540.

Magnolia Point Off US 17 in Green Cove Springs. Range. 269-9315.

Matanzas Course at Grand Club Palm Coast. Range. 386-446-6330.

North Hampton Off A1A west of Fernandina Beach. Range. 548-0000.

Pine Course at Grand Club Palm Coast. Range. 386-445-0852.

Queen’s Harbour Atlantic Blvd. west of Intracoastal Waterway. Range. 221-1012.

Royal St. Augustine SR 16 west of I-95 in St. Augustine. Range. 824-4653.

Selva Marina Selva Marina Blvd. north of Atlantic Blvd. in Atlantic Beach. Range. 246-3144.

South Hampton CR 210 west of I-95. Range. 287-7529.

St. Johns Golf & Country Club CR 210 west of I-95. Range. 940-3200.

Windsor Parke Hodges Blvd. north of Butler Blvd. Range. 223-4653.

PRIVATEThese clubs are private and are open to the public only for special events.

Amelia National Off A1A west of Fernandina Beach. Range. 652-0660.

Deercreek North of Avenues Mall on Southside Blvd. Range. 363-1507.

Deerwood Baymeadows Rd. west of Southside Blvd. Range. 642-5917.

Glen Kernan Hodges Blvd. north of Butler Blvd. Range. 646-1116.

Grand Haven Palm Coast. Range. 386-445-2327.

Hidden Hills Monument Rd. in Arlington. Range. 641-8121.

Jacksonville Golf & Country Club Hodges Blvd. north of Butler Blvd. 223-6910.

Long Point South of Amelia Island Plantation. Range. 277-5908.

Marsh Creek A1A south of St. Augustine Beach. Range. 461-1145.

Marsh Landing South of Butler Blvd. in Ponte Vedra Beach. Range. 285-6514.

Osprey Cove East of I-95 at Exit 1 in Georgia. Range. 800-352-5575.

Pablo Creek San Pablo Rd. south of Butler Blvd. Range. 992-6900.

Palencia US 1 north of St. Augustine. Range. 599-9030.

Plantation Country Club A1A south of Ponte Vedra Beach. Range. 543-2960.

Ponte Vedra G & CC In TPC. Range. 285-0204.

San Jose San Jose Blvd. Range. 733-1511.

Sawgrass A1A in Ponte Vedra Beach. Range. 273-3720.

Timuquana Timuquana Rd. west of US 17. Range. 389-0477.

RESORTThese courses are primarily for the use of resort guest or mem-bers. Some are also open for public play at certain times.

Omni Amelia Island Plantation In Amelia Island Plantation. 54 holes. Range. 261-6161.

Golf Club of Amelia Island Amelia Island at Ritz-Carlton. Range. 277-8015.

Ponte Vedra A1A in Ponte Vedra Beach. Range. 273-7710.

Tournament Players Club In TPC. 36 holes. Range. 273-3235.

MILITARYThese clubs are located on Navy bases and are for persons assigned to the bases or retired military per-sonnel. They occasionally are open for public play during special events.

NAS US 17 north of Orange Park. Range. 542-3249.

Windy Harbor Mayport Rd. north of Atlantic Blvd. in Atlantic Beach. Range. 270-5380.

Advertising Opportunities.Contact Rick Agliata 904.383.7587

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