Mike Dowaliby and Mike Mickelwright
Mike Dowaliby and Mike Mickelwright are participating in the Golf Digest golf lesson promotion during the month of May. Call the Golf Shop at 862-5960 to book your free lesson with either of these teaching professionals. A quick tune up or a series of lessons can benefit all of us at any time during the season, but especially early in the year.
Season Opener Tournament
The first big member tournament of the year is scheduled for this Saturday, May 7th. The format is a two-person best ball using handicaps. The great folks from the Whitefish Lake Restaurant staff will provide a luncheon following the tournament. Call to check for tee times at 862-5960.
Men's League Starts Thursday
The first round of men's league starts tonight at 5:30 p.m. Play will once again be with a shotgun start and various formats will be used throughout the season. As always the restaurant will have succulent dinner choices ready immediately following play.
New Green Ready for Sod
The new green on number two North should be ready for sod by the time this article hits the stands. Chip Roe has completed the finish grading of the top mix (sand and peat) for the putting surface and with Architect John Steidel's approval the sod will be laid as early as Monday, May 9th. The Bentgrass sod is grown in British Columbia and will shipped to Whitefish ready for installation. Patience is required once the sod is laid because in a matter of a couple of weeks the green will begin to look playable. However, the sod needs to establish a healthy root system in the top mix and become fully grown together before it can be safely used. The best guess for playing the new green remains around the first of July. The new fairway bunkers on number one and seven of the North Course should be completed within a week, with sand placed in them and sod laid on the displaced soil.
Rules of the Game
Whitefish along with many courses across the country has designated some areas as environmentally sensitive and ask golfers to refrain from entering those places. The stakes that delineate the Environmentally Sensitive Areas (ESA) are blue with green tops. When you play a course with these stakes you may not retrieve or play your ball from within the boundary. Your choice is to proceed following all the same rules for a lateral hazard less the option to play the ball from within the hazard. The Board of Directors strongly urge everyone to respect the areas designated as Environmentally Sensitive and ask you help in maintaining the quality environment. Your options to play should your ball somehow go into the ESA is to drop within two clubs lengths where the ball last crossed the margin of the boundary, rehit from the same spot where the ball was played before it went into the ESA or where possible go to a spot across the ESA equal distance from the hole. In each case the penalty shall be one shot.