Chris Cunniffe, PGA, gives a lesson at The Honda Classic Juniors set to receive a free lesson at The Honda Classic Volume 14, No. 2 - mARCH / APRIl 2010 Meet New SFPGA Staffer Corrie Edwards Stephanie Jennings, PGA, gives a lesson at The Honda Classic Terry Farino, PGA, gives a lesson at The Honda Classic Ryan Garrity’s Back to Back PGA TOUR Experience Putting Practice at The First Tee of the Palm Beaches Chris Czaja, PGA, gives a lesson at the Allianz Championship
TOPICS NEWSLETTER Play Golf America participant attempts a chip shot Chris Czaja, PGA, gives a lesson at the Allianz Championship VOLUME 14, NO. 2 - MARCH / APRIL 2010 Putting Practice at The First Tee of the Palm Beaches Terry Farino, PGA, gives a lesson at The Honda Classic Ryan Garrity’s Back to Back PGA TOUR Experience Meet New SFPGA Staffer Corrie Edwards Stephanie Jennings, PGA, gives a lesson at The Honda Classic Chris Cunniffe, PGA, gives a lesson at The Honda Classic Juniors set to receive a free lesson at The Honda Classic WHAT’S INSIDE: Chip Shots Play Golf America Days Rules With Drew Ryan Garrity Interview Pro’s On The Go Upcoming Events New SFPGA Hire ...And More!
Transcript
TOPICS NEWSLETTER
Play Golf America
participant attempts a chip shot
Chris Czaja, PGA, gives a lessonat the Allianz Championship
Volume 14, No. 2 - mARCH / APRIl 2010
Putting Practice at The First Tee of the Palm Beaches
Terry Farino, PGA, gives a lesson at The Honda Classic
Ryan Garrity’s Back to Back PGA TOUR Experience
Meet New SFPGA StafferCorrie Edwards
Stephanie Jennings, PGA, gives a lessonat The Honda Classic
Chris Cunniffe, PGA, gives a lessonat The Honda Classic
Juniors set to receive a free lesson at The Honda Classic
WHAT’S INSIDe:Chip Shots
Play Golf America DaysRules With Drew
Ryan Garrity InterviewPro’s on The Go
upcoming eventsNew SFPGA Hire
...And more!
contact informationSOUTH FLORIDA SECTION, PGA OF AMERICA100 Avenue of the ChampionsPalm Beach Gardens, Fl 33418
NeW memBeRSThe South Florida PGA would like to welcome the following new members to the Section:
Paul M. Fitzpatrick Jr., PGA A-8 Fiddlesticks Country Club Michael W. Ottinger, PGA A-8 PGA Golf Club Daniel J. Scardino, PGA A-8 Naples Grande Golf Club Trent D. Stewart, PGA A-6 St. James Golf ClubAli J. Wells, PGA A-6 PGA Center for Golf Learning & Performance
NeW APPReNTICeSThe South Florida PGA would like to welcome the following new apprentices to the Section:
Michael A Burlingame B-8 Naples Beach Hotel & Golf ClubRichard G Saunders B-8 Wycliffe Golf & CC
PGA CeRTIFIeD PRoFeSSIoNAl PRoGRAmThe South Florida PGA would like to congratulate Brady Fennel, PGA, on successfully completing the requirements for becoming certified in Instruction through The PGA Certified Professional Program.
QuARTeR CeNTuRY CluBCongratulations to PGA member Patrick Maglione for his induction into the Quarter Century Club, joining an outstanding group of individuals who have been PGA members for over 25 years.
IN memoRY oF NeAl STANleY, PGAPGA General Manager Neal Stanley of Meadowood Golf & Tennis Club in Fort Pierce passed away on February 21st. A PGA member since 1991, Neal is survived by his wife Misarys and two children. The SFPGA sends its condolences and prayers to the Stanley family.
2010 SFPGA lAS VeGAS TRAVel PRo-Am - oNlY A FeW SPoTS leFT
Join the SFPGA for its Las Vegas Travel Pro-Am! PGA Professionals stay and play for free (airfare not included) and the amateur contestant fee is $1,875 per person, single occupancy, and does not include airfare (accompa-nying guest fee is $299). The Pro-Am runs Sunday-Thursday, October 3-7 and golf will be played on Paiute Golf Resort’s Wolf Course, at Arroyo Golf Club and at Bear’s Best, with accommodations at Caesar’s Palace. Contact Andrea at 561-624-7644 for additional information. Spots are going fast, so
get your team together today!
64TH FloRIDA oPeN CHAmPIoNSHIP ReGISTRATIoNInnisbrook Resort, host of the PGA TOUR’s Transitions Championship, will be hosting the 64th Florida Open Championship July 16-18, 2010. In order to play in the Championship, you must first qualify at one of the 16 qualifiers around the state. The qualifying fee is $80, click here to register. Entries close Wednesday, June 16th at 4:30 pm. For more information on Eligibility and Championship Policies, visit the FSGA website.
mSR ReQuIRemeNTS - A muST ReADThe current MSR cycle ends June 15, 2011 and the requirements for the three year cycle is 54 credits. Please be aware that there are two required fields. The Education requirement is 12 credits and the Meeting requirement is 12 credits. The remaining credits can be earned under several different cat-egories. See MSR requirements at PGAlinks.com. See below for a schedule of Spring Meetings for the Chapters and the Annual Meeting of the Membership. If you have any questions regarding your MSR credits, contact the Section office at 561-624-7676.- SFPGA Annual Meeting of the Membership: May 17 - Weston Hills Country Club at 5 PM- Southeast Chapter Spring Meeting: April 20 - Jonathan’s Landing at 6:30 PM - Southwest Chapter Spring Meeting: April 19 - Foxfire Country Club at 10:00 AM- Island Chapter Spring Meeting: April 26 - Dorado Beach at 6:30 PM
APPReNTICe leVelS PASSeDCongratulations to the following individuals who have recently passed a level of the PGA/PGMProgram on their way to becoming PGA Members (As of 2/1):
Pleasant C Hughes Everglades Club R1Daniel L Lanman Okeechobee Golf & CC R1Charles M Beurmann Pine Tree Golf Club R2Julie M. Carse La Gorce Country Club R2Garrett J Davitt The Park Country Club R2Kyle A. Mills Miromar Lakes Golf Club R2Michael C Robinson Hawk’s Nest Golf Club R2
Paul M. Fitzpatrick Jr. Fiddlesticks CC R3Michael W. Ottinger PGA Golf Club R3Daniel J. Scardino Naples Grande Golf Club R3Christopher R. Weller Raptor Bay Golf Club R3
- The Pro-Pro Championship will be contested at La Gorce Country Club and Miami Beach Golf Club on July 6th & 7th. Please note the following Pro-Pro practice round information: La Gorce will be closed on Monday, July 5th; however practice rounds will be available July 2nd - 4th at a cost of $22.50 (caddie fee) + a $20.00 caddie tip. Practice rounds will be avail-able between July 3rd - 5th at Miami Beach Golf Club at a cost of $25.00.
NeW PolICIeS APPRoVeD FoR 2010 TouRNAmeNT SeASoNA few policy changes have been made for 2010 regarding the dress code and practice rounds. Shorts have been approved for Professional-only events June-August and a new policy defining what is and what isn’t con-sidered a practice round.
DReSS CoDe PolICYThe following dress code will be enforced at all South Florida PGA sanc-tioned events including Open competitions and designated practice rounds. PGA affiliates shall presenta neat appearance in both clothing and personal grooming. Clothing worn by a player preceding, during and post round shall be consistent with currently accepted facility attire. Pants must be worn by males at all Section events except those (Profes-sional only) events between June 1st and August 31st when shorts may be worn with the following stipulations:
1. The host facility/professional must approve the wearing of shorts. 2. Shorts will be a Bermuda style with solid traditional colors (no cargo, board, tennis or denim) at a length no shorter than slightly above the knee. 3. Shorts may be worn at Professional only events except the Section Championship and Assistants Championship. Profes- sionals may wear shorts at the South Florida Open. Female contestants may wear slacks, culottes, walking shorts or golf skirts, which constitute acceptable clothing worn by women in connection with participation in professional golf tourna- ments. Preceding and post round; tee-shirts, flip flops/san- dals and jeans are unacceptable. Dress code is subject to change as per host facility restrictions. The Tournament Director shall interpret this regulation, subject to approval by the Board of Directors. Failure to adhere to the dress code will result in a $50.00 fine.
DeFINITIoN oF PRACTICe RouNDAn official practice round shall be defined as any round of golf played at a facility hosting a section event 30 days prior to the scheduled event. This will apply to all golf professionals that will be playing in the event whether or not they have registered for the event at the time of the practice round. If a participant of this event is a staff member at the host facility, then the official practice round will be the day before the scheduled event for those staff members. This applies if the round of golf was complimentary or paid.
moRe PoINTS oFFeReD IN 2010 FoR PlAYeR oF THe YeAR & SeNIoR PlAYeR oF THe YeAR PoINTS RACe
Regular Player of the Year points will now be awarded for qualifiers, exempt players, and those making the cut at the Florida Open. Senior Player of the Year points will now be awarded in the Section and South
Florida Open for Seniors missing the cut. For a printout of the compete Player of the Year Points Policy, click here. The Player of the Year and Senior Player of the Year points races are supported by Sterling Cut Glass.
JuNIoR TouR VoluNTeeRS NeeDeDThe South Florida PGA is ready for another successful year of junior golf. To continue our successful trend, we need volunteers to come out and act as Pace of Play/Rules Officials during the events. Each volunteer will receive 1 MSR Credit per hour worked. If you would like to help, please click here to view the tournament dates and site, and then contact Meredith at 561-624-7657 with your availability.
FGCu PGm STuDeNTS ARe looKING FoR INTeRNSHIPS
Several Florida Gulf Coast University PGA Golf Manage-ment Program students are seeking summer employment opportunities (May through August) on both coasts of the South Florida Section. Please contact Marty Hall, In-ternship Coordinator, at [email protected] or at 239-590-7694 if you are willing to interview an FGCU student for a summer position.
APRIl IS PGA FRee FITTING & TRADe-uP moNTH
PGA Free Fitting & Trade-Up is a great pro-gram to promote your expertise as a golf professional, especially in the area of club fitting. It can also impact your business - a median of $3,210 in incremental revenue was generated by PGA Professionals host-ing this program in 2009. PGA Profession-
als who share post-event survey results with The PGA at the conclusion of the promotion will receive 2 MSR credits for PGA Free Fitting & Trade-Up Month. Please register for PGA Free Fitting & Trade-Up this year, and use this promotion to drive business for your facility. Visit Playgolfamerica.com.
2ND ANNuAl JuNIoR GolF eXPo & meRCHANDISe SHoW
On April 24th the Don Law Golf Improvement Center will host the 2nd Annual Junior Golf Expo & Mer-chandise Show sponsored by the Southeast Chapter at Boca Dunes Country Club. Volunteers and dona-tions for raffles are needed for this
event. For more information on how to volunteer or donate please call 561-451-1128.
HAVe You PuRCHASeD YouR PlAY-eR’S CARD YeT? South Florida PGA Professionals and apprentices wishing to play in three or more Section pro-only events are required to purchase a Tournament Play-er’s Card. The following events apply: Global Golf Sales Tournament Series #1, #2, #3, Southeast PGA Classic, E-Z-GO South Florida Open, Pro-Pro Championship and Section Championship presented by: TaylorMade-adi-das. It is important to note that you must purchase your Player’s Card prior to registering for any events or the system will not recognize that you have purchased one.
uPDATe YouR ReD/Blue CAleNDARA few changes/updates have been made since the Red/Blue calendar was printed and mailed out last month.
- The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Jupiter will be hosting the Global Golf Sales Tournament Series Finale and Section Championship, with Frenchman’s Re-serve serving as the Section Championship support site.
- Grey Oaks Country Club (Estuary & Pine Courses) will serve as host for the Statewide Pro-Assistant Championship July 22nd & 23rd.
chip shotssection news
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Do YouR TouRNAmeNT WINNINGS NeeD To Be PAID To A CoRPoRA-TIoN?If your tournament winnings need to be paid to a corporation instead of to yourself:1. It is important that you completely fill out all the corporation in-formation correctly while registering online. If the information is not complete, then your corporation will not be paid. 2. You can even have your corporation paid when mailing in your entry - just make note of it on the paper entry form before mailing into the PGA of America. 3. Notify the Section office with all your corporation information. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the tournament of-fice at (561) 624-7647.
NeW BoNuS Pool INTRoDuCeD FoR GloBAl GolF SAleS eVeNTS
Steve Sponder of Global Golf Sales is in-troducing a new bonus pool for Tournament Series #1 & #3. The Global Golf Sales Point Quota Bonus Pool is a separate contest in which those who accumulate the most points will receive a prize payout. Participants will be assigned a certain number of criteria points/power ranking or also known as a point quota. The number of criteria points an individual
is assigned will be based on his/her stroke average from the previous year’s events. Based on the player’s stroke average, s/he will be placed into one of the seven (7) power rankings. For more information on the bonus pool, payout structure and power rankings, please click here.
STRoNG FINISHeS AT THe PGA SeCTIoN SHoRT GAme CHAlleNGe RAISe $5,000 FoR THe SFPGA FouNDATIoN
A big thank you to all that participated in the PGA Section Short Game Chal-lenge held during the PGA Merchan-dise Show. The SFPGA Section fin-ished in first place on both Friday and Saturday of the Show, with winning totals of 51” and 100” scored by Mark Tschetschot, Director, PGA Mem-ber Tournaments (Fri) and PGA Pro-
fessional Mike Spurr (Sat), respectively. Thanks to Mark and Mike, $5,000 was won and will be gifted on their behalf to the SFPGA Foun-dation. Overall, the SFPGA ranked third in participating profession-als behind the Met and NFPGA Sections with 34 participants taking on the Short Game Challenge over the course of three days.
KeVIN HolT NAmeD GolFBuDDY SAleS PeRSoN oF THe YeAR
Congratulations to friend and sponsor Kevin Holt who was named the 2009 GolfBuddy Sales Person of the Year. Kevin will represent GolfBuddy as a sup-port sponsor of the Pro-Pro Champion-ship, the E-Z-GO South Florida Open and the Statewide Pro-Assistant in 2010.
chip shotssection news
BIll BISHoP NAmeD adidas SAleS PeR-SoN oF THe YeARCongratulations to friend and SFPGA sponsor Bill Bishop who was named the 2009 adidas Golf Sales Person of the Year. Bill and Sandi Bishop will rep-resent TaylorMade-adidas Ashworth Golf as a sup-porting sponsor of the SFPGA Section Champion-ship in 2010.
BeST NeW PRoDuCT AT PGA meRCHANDISe SHoW HAIlS FRom SouTH FloRIDACongratulations to PGA Professionals Don Law, Rick Heard, Bill Scott and Chad Kurmel as well as Diana Law of ParKit Golf whose product “Camp In A Bag” was voted Best New Product at the 2010 PGA Merchandise Show.
GolF lICeNSe PlATe PRoGRAmThis year the South Florida PGA has partnered with the Golf License Plate Program to help promote the plate to Florida residents. For every Golf License Plate sold in the state of Florida $25 goes to the Florida Junior Golf Council in support of junior golf throughout the state. This week every facility in South Florida will be receiving promotional information about the Golf License Plate Program, and we encourage you to display it at your facility. Please note that grants are available for PGA professionals conducting junior golf camps, clinics, etc. and more information can be found by visiting http://www.fjgc.org/.
DReAmlINeR looKING FoR A SAleS RePReSeNTA-TIVeDreamLiner, a new Golf Company, focuses on the short game and its Game Improvement System includes a patented fitting method complimented by a new line of innovative putters and wedges. DreamLiner is currently hiring Manufacturer’s Representatives and offering an attractive compensation package with Com mission Starting at 12% and attractive bonus incentives that, when maximized, will result hi total compensation of 15%.
Please send your sales background to: Dan O’ Rawe / 1005 Chimney Hill Dr. / Apex, NC 27502 / (302)7432411 / e-mail: [email protected]
NomINATe YouR PeeRS FoR 2010 SFPGA ANNuAl AWARDSIt’s time to nominate your fellow PGA professionals for the 2010 SFPGA Annual Awards. Each year the SFPGA Awards Committee selects eleven (11) award recipients based on your nominations. New in 2010: A Salesperson of the Year Award. Additional award categories include: Golf Professional of the Year, Teacher of the Year, Assistant of the Year, Merchandiser of the Year (Pub-lic, Private & Resort), Bill Strausbaugh Award, Horton Smith Award, Junior Golf Leader Award and the PGA President’s Plaque. Please take the time to make your voice heard and support your peers! Visit the SFPGA website and click on Awards to fill out your nomination online.
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chip shotssection news
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PRO’S ON THE GOPRo To FRom Miguel Colon Life Member Active A-4 – Dorado Beach ResortDavid Deetscreek A-13 – Mirror Lake CC InactiveJohn Nelson A-13 – Okeeheelee Golf Course Life Member ActiveJohn T. Wade A-1 – Naples Grande GC A-8 – Tequesta CCJosh Meredith unattached A-13- Villages @ Country CreekMichael Graci A-13 – Carambola Golf & CC North Florida SectionDavid Glasby A-4 – Heron Bay Golf Club A-1 – Heron Bay Golf ClubChris Holtrop A-4 - Club at Mediterra A-1 – Royal Palm Yacht & CCDan Cammarat unattached A-13 – New England SectionMichael McLellan A-4 – Indian Spring CC UnattachedDan Gawronski A-13 – LaPlaya G Crs A-8 – LaPlaya G Crs Lelon H. Matthis A-1 – The Fox Club New Jersey SectionThomas Fonseca Jr. Life Member A-4 – Heron Bay GCGreg Martzolf A-13-The Legacy Golf & Tennis A-13 – Indian Hills GCSpencer Schaub A-13 – Bahia Beach Resort & GC A-4 – Unaffilated Section
meeT NeW SFPGACommuNICATIoNS &
mARKeTING CooRDINAToR CoRRIe eDWARDS
The South Florida PGA is very happy to announce that Corrie Edwards has accepted the position of Communica-tions and marketing Coordinator with the South Florida PGA.
Corrie resides locally in Jupiter, which will help in her transition to the South Florida PGA. Corrie comes to the Sec-tion from the Northern Palm Beach County Chamber of Commerce where she has worked as their Communica-tions and marketing manager for the past 18 months. During her tenure at the chamber, Corrie has been recognized by the Florida Association of Chamber
Professionals for completing the best membership direc-tory and the best promotional materials. Corrie graduated from Florida Gulf Coast university with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications. While in school, Corrie completed a marketing internship with the Bonita Bay Group.
In her role as Communications and marketing Coordinator, Corrie will be responsible for publishing all section com-munication pieces. In addition, Corrie will work to imple-ment the various marketing plans initiated by the section staff. Corrie will also be an important member of the Golf-Pass team with facility recruitment and the on-site coordi-nator of all GolfPass outings.
Corrie officially joined the SFPGA staff on April 6th.
“I couldn’t be more excited to begin employment with the excellent staff at South Florida PGA,” said Corrie. “The SFPGA is a fabulous organization and I’m looking forward to growing with them.”
quote of the month“Golf, like the measles,
should be caught young, for, if postponed to riper years, the results may be
serious.”
~P.G. Wodehouse, A Mixed Threesome, 1922
tournament news
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South Florida PGA Professionals Keep Pace at the Honda Classic
Pictured above: Chris Cunniffe giving a lesson
Thank you to the South Florida PGA Professionals who served as pace of play officials during the Wednes-day Pro-Am at The Honda Classic on march 3rd at PGA National Resort & Spa: Bela Nagy, Bill Balish, Bill Friesing, Bobby Petelinkar, Bryan Peters, Chris Napieralski, Chris Czaja, Steve Clawson, Chris Hayes, Christina Sieminski, Cliff Lawson, Dan Halverson, Dave Salerno, Dave McNulty, David Steighner, David Comstock, Duncan Tinling, Frank Mitchell, Greg Gardner, James Kanavas, Jay Higgins, Joe Pace, John Vicker, Ken Smythe, Kevin LaFramboise, Kevin Battersby, Larry Eaton, Marc Albert, Mark Halverson, Mark Thomas, Mark Iwinski, Matt Grobstein, Mike Hayes, Michael Broad, Paul Celano, Richard LaGrasse, Scott Weber, Steve O’Hara, Steve Harrop, Tim Collins, Tommy Durick and Trent Reeves.
Play Golf America Days at the Honda Classic & Allianz ChampionshipFor the four straight year, The South Florida PGA Sec-tion was afforded the op-portunity to be a part of The Honda Classic, a PGA Tour event held at PGA National Golf Resort and Spa in Palm Beach Gardens march 4-7.
The South Florida PGA was present in the expo Area where eight SFPGA Professionals volunteered their time to give free ten minute lessons to any spectator who wanted to partici-pate, along with promoting other Play Golf America Programs, and the SFPGA GolfPass program. over the course of four days 112 lessons were given to beginners, intermediate and ad-vanced golfers from the area.
Special recognition goes to PGA Professionals Marty Barnes, Ryan Billings, Chris Cunniffe, Terry Farino, Stephanie Jen-nings, Ken Martin, Gene Neyman, Bill Plotkin, and Eric Wilson for volunteering their time to give free lessons.
PGA Professionals were also on sight to volunteer at the Al-lianz Championship, a Champions Tour event held at The old Course at Broken Sound Club in Boca Raton Feb. 19-21. The South Florida PGA had a similar set up to the Honda with a tent located in the expo Area where PGA Professionals gave free ten minute lessons from 10am-2pm each day over the course of three days, over 105 lessons were given. Special recognition goes to PGA Professionals Steve Clawson, Chris Czaja, Larry Eaton, Gene Neyman and Peter Zellmer for their help with this event.
Play Golf America Day at The First Tee of the Palm Beachesover 45 people attended the South Florida PGA Play Golf America Day at The First Tee of the Palm Beaches in West Palm Beach on Thursday, march 18th from 2 Pm - 5 Pm. The day was sponsored by PGA of America partners mercedes-Benz, RBC and American express.
The event featured six SFPGA professionals who volunteered their time to give over 45 full swing, pitching, and chipping lessons. Along with the free golf lessons, attendees were also able to test the newest equipment from Cobra
and Titleist.
At 4 Pm a special junior clinic was held featuring the ultimate contest “last man Standing”. Thirteen juniors were in attendance and each re-ceived a prize for competing.
The event was a great showcase of The First Tee’s new facility, and will continue to grow in the future. Special thanks to the following PGA Pro-fessionals who volunteered their time for this event: Guy Ashley, Don Law, Earl Puckett, Bob Watson, Craig Watson and South Florida PGA Growth of the Game Chairperson / Del Tura Country Club PGA Director of Golf Jeff Nixon. Kids on site at The First Tee of the Palm Beaches
whether to “go for it” in two, and the previous round I tried and ended up against the rock wall that guarded the green (it also housed a rattlesnake or two - I could tell from the “s” shape in the sand). She advised me that I should lay up no matter how well I hit my tee ball but for whatever rea-son I hit my longest drive of the week and as I approached my ball Donna from The Golf Channel remarked that they had not seen a ball up that far all day. I was left with a 5 wood, which I hit on and two-putted for birdie. Over a laugh, I told Donna this very same story as we approached the green and this was the last time Pam (Ryan’s wife) of-fered any advice.
Andrea: You play in SFPGA events throughout the sum-mer and figure out your own yardages and select your own clubs, etc. Who was your caddy for each TOUR event? Did you enjoy having someone on your bag or do you like to figure things out on your own? Did he/she help with your nerves?
Ryan: My first caddie at Honda was Matt Doyle. My is our Caddiemaster at The Dye. He often caddied for Ray Floyd back in the day. This makes him a good caddie in my book. In Puerto Rico I used Matt Minister aka “Rev”. Matt has worked fulltime for Nick Price the past 5 or 6 years. He is a true professional and is well respected on Tour. Though I get my own yardages with a laser and walked off yardages myself at events like the PNC, I chose to allow these cad-dies to get the yardages over the two week span. I felt es-pecially at the Honda that I needed to put more focus into the conditions - aka the wind.
member focusRYAN GARRITY
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In March, PGA Professional Ryan Garrity competed in the PGA TOUR’s Honda Classic, held March 4-7, and in the Puerto Rico Open, held March 11-14. Garrity, the Director of Golf at The Dye Preserve, received an exemption into the Honda Classic as the 2009 SFPGA Player of the Year. His exemption into the Puerto Rico Open came by way of this top finish at the 2009 SFPGA Section Championship. South Florida PGA staffer Andrea LaBlanc interviewed Ryan on his unique experience. Check out Ryan’s interview below:
Andrea: Congratulations on playing in back to back PGA TOUR events, both coming by way of SFPGA exemptions as the '09 SFPGA Player of the Year and the '09 Section Champion. What was your strategy coming in to tourna-ment week at The Honda Classic?
Ryan: My strategy for both was quite similar….First, I would get very comfort-able hitting short shots with the new grooves. This proved to be a little more difficult than I expected, yet I had nice results in both events with these shots. Thank god for all of this work or my scores would have been much worse.
Next, I would continue to fine tune my equipment. Having to switch to new irons (because of the grooves) and a new manufacturer (TaylorMade) was quite a project for someone who does not tinker a whole bunch.
The last thing that I kept an eye on was my conditioning. I continued my running and training all through the fall, only to end up with a tight back and left hip. I was advised to stop running etc. and begin a stretching- only pro-gram. It was a bit of a change not to be able to workout from late December forward, as working out had become part of my daily routine as well as my gametime warmup.
With regard to the Honda specifically…..I wanted to get a little extra time in on the course, as I have not played The Champ as much as one might think. I squeezed in 3 practice rounds prior to teeing it up. I also competed in The Minor League Tour on two of my days off in an effort to knock off some rust The results turned out to be pretty positive, even though I hadn’t competed since Q School.
Andrea: And how about The Puerto Rico Open?
Ryan: All I wanted to do in PR was treat it like a usual event. A practice round Tuesday, take it easy on Wednesday.
Andrea: What were the most memorable/ interesting experiences you took from each event?
Ryan: Teeing off the first hole at The Honda was quite a thrill, though my heart was not pounding through my chest as I would have expected. It was so amazing to have a lot of family, friends, and members of the club there to sup-port me. Even people that I didn’t expect to see, like Joe Steranka, the CEO of the PGA of America, were there to support me.
Andrea: The Honda Classic is right in your backyard and you were surround-ed by family and friends to support and cheer you on. Describe how it felt to be on the other side of the ropes.
Ryan: It was such a thrill. Coming down the Bear Trap was so exhilarating each day. I have gone out and watched several of my friends play in the past few years, so to be there actually playing myself was awesome.The hardest shot on that part of the course is #15….I can’t explain it, but it just doesn’t sit well when you are trying to draw up the correct shot. There’s too much water, too much wind. Coming to the 18th grandstand on Friday, knowing it would be my final hole was really rewarding. I decided to take a look around and soak it all in - all of the hard work in 2009 really seemed worth while at this point. I figured that I had better enjoy this moment for what it was. You just never know if you will ever get out there again, so it was really special. Andrea: Your wife is a former player. Does she offer you any tips that you incorporate into your golf game?
Ryan: Once she tried….We were driving to the third round of the PNC last June in New Mexico. The course had a par 5 that forced a tough decision
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education
Back in January, I attended a USGA/PGA Rules Workshop. Each year the instructors pass out multiple informational sheets to help the stu-dents better understand the rules of golf. This year was no different and I felt I would use this months’ segment to pass along one of the more interesting bits of information I picked up that I felt our PGA members would find intuitive. This months’ segment will discuss “situations in which applying a literal reading of the text of the rules reaches an unac-ceptable result,” or put another way, situations which are resolved against the rules of golf. Sounds more complicated than it really is.
The first situation I want to share is Decision 4-2/0.5 which asks, “may a player remove, add or alter lead tape during around?” Well, we know from Rule 4-2 that the playing characteristics may not be changed during a stipulated round. If you were to make a ruling based on the language of the rule book, you would no doubt penalize the player if lead tape was removed (for any reason) from his club. However, Decision 4-2/0.2 im-plies a different answer. It answers the question, “lead tape that becomes detached from the club in the normal course of play may be placed back onto the club in the same location. If the lead tape will not remain on the club in the same location, new tape may be used. Every effort should be made to restore the club, as nearly as possible, to its previous condition. Alternatively, the club may be used in its damaged state (without the lead tape) for the remainder of the round.”
In the next scenario, a player uses a club as a cane while climbing a hill and the shaft breaks. May he replace the club during the round? Rule 4-3 allows a player to replace a damaged club that is unfit for play with any other club if it is damaged in the normal course of play. If Decision 4-3/7 did not exist then the decision you would have to make as a rules official is if you considered the use of a club as a cane to be normal? Decision 4-3/1 helps us out a little by defining the meaning of damaged sustained in the normal course of play, however it says nothing about using the club as a cane. The closest it comes is mentioning, “leaning on a club while waiting to play, teeing a ball or removing a ball from the hole.” The only way you would know that using a club as a cane is considered normal is if you were familiar with Decisions 4-3/7 which states, “A club broken in such circumstances is considered to have become damaged in the nor-mal course of play as its use as a cane is considered a reasonable act.”
This next situation is one I use to see all the time at a club I worked at in Ohio while I was in college. The driving range ran parallel to the first hole and I would always see guys hitting the yellow range balls back onto the range as they walked down the first fairway. I didn’t think a whole lot about it from a rules standpoint; I just really appreciated it because that
SFPGA TOURNAMENT DIRECTOR ANDREW MILLER
meant I didn’t have to go pick them up. So obviously the mem-bers back in Ohio were breaching rule 7-2 for making a practice stroke during play of a hole. The language of the Rule 7 would in-dicate that anytime your club-head meets another ball, you have breached that rule. However, Decision 7-2/5 indicates that this is not always the case. The Decision states, “During play of a hole, a player saw some balls from the adjoining practice range lying on the course and flicked one back to the range with his club. Is there a penalty? In some circumstances the hitting of a practice range ball back towards the range during the play of a hole would be a breach of Rule 7-2, but the casual flicking of a range ball, ap-parently only for the purpose of tidying up the course, is not a breach.”
This next situation is one which I hope I am never called on the radio to make. I like situations that are black and white and I feel this scenario brings in a few too many shades of grey. Decision 13-2/22 states, “A player’s ball lies near a tree or bush. The player takes a practice swing near his ball and knocks down leaves in the area of his intended swing. Is this a breach of Rule 13-2?” Rule 13-2 prohibits improving the area of intended swing resulting in a two-
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rules with drewTaking Things Literally
Andrea: What did you think of each course you played?
Ryan: Both courses were very fair and different in their own ways. The Champ is a brutal all the way around, yet fair. The Trump course was not nearly as difficult, yet the greens were more undulated. Were they set up especially hard? The com-ment of the week as we were waiting to hit into our 5th hole of the tournament, from 235 into the wind (prior to making a 9) was from Vance Veazey. “This course is a joke - it makes Torry Pines seem like a walk in the park!”
Andrea: Your favorite holes and why?
Ryan: Any of the last five holes at Honda. The adrenaline can really get flowing if you really hit a quality shot.
Andrea: Your least favorite holes and why?
Ryan: One and two at Honda. I can hit a quick hook - no news here! The first tee ball at PGA with a strong wind from the elevated tee was not my favorite…..There were four balls in the water there for the week with one to start my second round. The tee ball on the second calls for a draw, and for me this turned into a hook on day 1 and a ball in the bunker on day 2. Both are nothing but trouble….
Andrea: Ryan, is there anything else you’d like to mention about your experience?
Ryan: The only thing that I would add is how much fun I had and how welcomed I felt due to the amount of friends that I have made the past five years here at The Dye Preserve, as we have many Tour players that are members and I have met many more through them.
Lastly, I really leaned heavily on my experiences and success-es during South Florida PGA tournaments. We have an ex-tremely competitive group of Professionals down here, and I tried to recall all of the positive feelings that I have acquired during our competitions in past years. I was really fortunate to get to get out there twice this year and I had two unforget-table weeks that I will always treasure.
member focus ...Continued from page 7
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education
Taking Things Literally...Continued from page 8
upcoming eventsApril 12Pro-official presented by Club Car & Tee-marketing and supported by mobile ProShop and AntiguaHeld at Admiral’s Cove
April 17-18Junior Tour event #1 presented by The Honda Clas-sic and supported by Titleist, Allianz Championship, Don law Golf Improvement Center and mirasol men’s GroupHeld at Indian Spring Country Club
April 19Player Ability Test Held at Stoneybrook Golf Club
April 26Nelson Cup matches supported by Taylormade-adidas Ashworth GolfHeld at Fort lauderdale Country Club - North Course
April 28Junior-Senior Championship supported by Glob-al Golf Sales, The PGA TouR and The links at Boynton BeachHeld at The links at Boynton Beach
May 1-2Junior Tour event #2 presented by The Honda Clas-sic and supported by Titleist, Allianz Championship, Don law Golf Improvement Center and mirasol men’s GroupHeld at old marsh Golf Club
May 3SFPGA Foundation Tire Kingdom Charity Pro-Am supported by Professional Golf Car Held at mcArthur Golf Club
May 4Global Golf Sales Tournament Series #1Held at mayacoo lakes Country Club
rules with drew
stroke penalty. It seems from the language of the rule that the player would be penalized under the situation explained but the Decision in-dicates the answer isn’t so cut and dry. It states, “The answer depends on whether the area of the intended swing is improved. In some cases, the knocking down of a number of leaves would not improve the area of the intended swing as the player still has to swing through a number of remaining leaves when making his stroke. In such circumstances, there would be no breach of the Rules. In other cases, the knocking down of one leaf might improve the area of the intended swing, in which case there would be a breach of Rule 13-2.” As you can imagine this situation could be extremely hard to call as a rules official, especially if you were not there to witness how many leaves were relocated.
The fifth and final situation I want to share would seem like a no brainier but I could see how someone might stumble with this particular ruling in the heat of the moment. The scenario is explained, “A player plays a stroke from within a water hazard but does not extricate the ball from the hazard. The player sees the ball land in deep water and it is clearly unreasonable for him to play a stroke at the ball from its new position. Before leaving the hazard, the player cleans mud off his club head by rinsing it in the water. Is the player in breach of Rule 13-4?” Rule 13-4 prohibits touching the ground in the hazard or water in the water hazard with his hand or a club. If you would have penalized the player for his actions in this particular situation under Rule 13-4 you would be wrong because Decision 13-4/40 allows such action. It states, “provided that there is no doubt or it is reasonable to assume from the player’s actions or statements that he will play his next stroke from outside the hazard,” he is not penalized.
Rules officials are different from any other sporting event referee. We are different from umpires in baseball, zebras in football and referees in basketball in that we are seldom asked to make judgment calls. Officials in other sports are asked to call balls, strikes, ins’, outs’, fouls, etc where a rules official is just typically asked to interpret the rule to the player and the player himself asses’s the penalty. However, sometimes, like in the situations described above, a rules official is asked to make a judgment call or ruling. It doesn’t happen often, in fact there are very few scenarios that it does. Listed below are a few other examples (Decisions) of when a penalty is not necessarily a penalty that I didn’t have enough room to include: 2-5/8.5, 4-3/9.5, 4-4a/14, 13-4/16.5, 33-2b/2, 33-8/13, 33-8/18.purpose and spirit of the Rules for a player to test what may happen when he drops his ball. Therefore, in equity (Rule 1-4), the player incurs a penalty of loss of hole in match play or two strokes in stroke play. In stroke play, the player may play the original ball as it lies on the path or take relief under Rule 24-2.”
After reading Decision 30-3f/13 I felt it important to share with you for two reasons. The first reason is that I can see how this particular situ-ation could easily play out in many Section events where the format is four-ball stroke play. The second reason is that I wanted to prevent any future breach from occurring. The situation is explained, “A and B are partners in a four-ball competition. A’s ball is on the putting green 30 feet from the hole, and B’s ball is 20 feet from the hole on a similar line. To assist him with his own putt, B stands on an extension of the line of putt behind A’s ball while A putts. What is the ruling? A was in breach of Rule 14-2b by allowing his partner, B, to position himself on or close to an extension of the line of putt behind the ball while he made his stroke. As A’s breach assisted B, B also incurred the same penalty (Rules 30-3f and 31-8). In match play, side A-B loses the hole and in stroke play, A incurs a penalty of two strokes and B incurs the same penalty.
Unfortunately, there is not enough space to include all 28 new De-cisions, but I hope the ones I outlined will help you get around the course in fewer strokes. Below is a list of all the new Deci-sions. Take some time on a rainy afternoon (trust me there will be plenty to choose from) to read threw them. They are all pretty interesting. New Decisions: 1-3/0.5, 1-4/11.5, 2/3, 2-4/3.5, 4-1/1, 4-4a/15, 4-4a/16, 13-4/0.7, 14-2/0.5, 14-2/2.5, 14-3/10.3, 19-2/10, 19-5/1.5, 20-2a/8, 20-3b/7, 20-3b/8, 25-1b/25.5, 27/17, 27-2a/1.3, 29/5.5, 30-3/3, 30-3e/1, 30-3f/2.5, 30-3f/13, 33-2b/1.5, 33-8/34, 33-8/44.5, 34-1b/9.
