Thursday, June 25, 2009

Golfing Highlights Column 6-26-09

Narrowsburg NY golfer and great outdoor sportsman Ed Guthrie.


This foursome golfing at Cheraw State Park Golf Course in Cheraw, South Carolina, shares a group photo with Park Manager Rick Smith, on the left. Golfers from the left include George Korth, Ed Guthrie, Josh Jennings and Golfing Highlights Columnist Ed Townsend

Paducah Ky (and former Livingston Manor resident ) golfer George Korth, left, and Port Jervis golfer Josh Jennings enjoy their golfing experience at the Cheraw State Park Golf course at Cheraw, South Carolina.

THE BELOW NOTED PICTURES SHOW THE BEAUTY AND PROFESSIONAL LAYOUT AT THE CHERAW STATE PARK GOLF COURSE AT CHERAW, SC












Swamp Fox Country Golf Director Lisa Suggs

Guthrie Likes Cheraw State Park
Golf In The Popular South Carolina
Swamp Fox Country Golf Package


You can't take the love of the outdoors and especially the love for the game of golf away from 72-year-old Narrowsburg golfer Ed Guthrie.
Prior to the start of the golf season each year in Sullivan County Ed joins friends in golfing in Myrtle Beach, Florida and at one of his favorite stops, the Swamp Fox Country Golf at Florence, South Carolina.
Asked why he liked Swamp Fox Guthrie said this package provided outstanding golf facilities and economical golf at $77 per night for his motel room, golf with cart and breakfast.
"The Florence area also offers some great eating facilities like the Creek Ratz and The Original Shuckers Raw Bar," Guthrie said.
Besides golf, Guthrie, a retired Frontier Telephone Company outside plant manager, is an avid lover of fishing and hunting taking annual fishing trips to Canada and hunts in New York and Pennsylvania for deer and turkeys.
Single, Ed has 5 children, 12 grandchildren and 1 great grandchild.
Guthrie enjoys his golf outings which he has been doing for some 45 years and now consists mostly of recreational golf in both Sullivan and Orange County. He formerly played in the Thursday Traveling Golf league in Sullivan County with golf partner Rick Ool of Middletown and also played in a golf league while living in Monroe at the Stony Ford golf course at Montgomery. In the 60's and 70's he played league golf eight years at the Central Valley Golf Course.
Ed in addition to his league play got in a lot of recreational golf and maintained a 12-15 handicap in these leagues and averaged in the teens the last couple of years in Orange County.
The Sullivan County Traveling league folded this year but when active included four different courses in Sullivan County.
Switching to the indoor sport of bowling in the winter months Guthrie is classified as an outstanding bowler where he maintained a 220 plus average in the Tuesday Mixed Firefighters league and the Wednesday Men's league at Kiamesha Lanes for several seasons. He now only bowls in the Tuesday Firefighters league where he maintained a 212 average last year.
Ed bowled for 45 years in the Mid-Hudson Bowling Association where he was voted into their Hall of Fame. He competed all of those years just in Classic leagues averaging 202 and 203 in leagues at Frontier Lanes, Bowling Time, Tarsio's and Bowl-O-Thon. He is a retired director of the Tri-County NY USBC Bowling Association.
His love for the outdoors which also includes great enthusiasm for fishing and hunting was greatly enhanced when Guthrie and his foursome arrived at the Cheraw State Park Golf Course at Cheraw, SC.
The 18-hole golf course at Cheraw State Park definitely provided a great golf experience in a unique natural setting professionally designed by Tom Jackson. The course offered beautiful lakes as it winds its way through a dense pine forest......its layout so broad that no two fairways are adjacent.
Golf Digest readers have ranked Cheraw's course a "Super Value" in an annual Places to Play survey.
Ed said this course and facility definitely sparked his interest because in addition to the golf course the park has cabins, campsites, nature trails, picnic areas and a scenic lake for fishing and boating.
The course and park offers the tranquil rustic appeal of nature and it's on land named for an Indians tribe and proudly embraces a rich antebellum history that extends to the Revolutionary War.
The par 72 course from the back tees runs 6,928 yards and includes Lake Cherokee and the 332-acre Lake Juniper. Opened in 1992, Cheraw logs over 30,000 rounds annually, popular because of its challenge and affordability.
Well maintained, the course offers Bermuda grass greens.
Guthrie's foursome that enjoyed this state park golf outing consisted of Port Jervis golfer Josh Jennings, former Livingston Manor resident and now Paducah, Ky. golfer George Korth and Golfing Highlights columnist Ed Townsend from Livingston Manor.
The Cheraw course is definitely a shot maker's course with a steady blend of uphill doglegs (both right and left) and we found that Cheraw doesn't cater to the player who prefers a draw or fade but one of the charms when playing this course is how broad the layout it.
Definitely not an easy course to walk....there are more than 6 miles of cart path, Cheraw gives everyone a resort setting without housing development. This Jackson designed course, despite mostly wide fairways, provides plenty of trouble areas with scores of deep grass bunkers around greens and positioned sand traps in the exact spot balls seem to land, especially on par 4 and par 5 holes when gambling golfers try to shorten a dogleg.
The teeth of this course is the back nine, specifically holes 10-13 where golfers quickly learn that the back nine is longer and much more difficult.
Best hole is No. 13, a 496-yard par-4 that doglegs left to a green protected by the waters of the lake.
The Cheraw Park was built in 1934 and according to Park Manager Rick Smith now employs 17 people and has a yearly operating budget of a quarter million dollars. David Hyduke is the golf professional. The course also features a full-service pro-shop and snack-bar. .
Guthrie and his golfing foresome noted they have been fortunate and greatly blessed in handing all of their golfing, motel and breakfast requests over to the "Princess" of South Carolina golf, Lisa Haynes Suggs, golf director of Swamp Fox Country Golf in Florence, SC.
Lisa was born into the game of golf, her father was a golf pro, she started playing golf at the age of 5, scored her first hole-in-one at age 6, stayed close to the game through her high school and college years and became Swamp Fox Golf Director in 2004.
The four of us have quickly learned why Swamp Fox Golf has been labeled "Golf's Super Bargain," because when it comes to thinking golf in South Carolina you hear a lot about Myrtle Beach and Hilton Head, but in the eastern part of the state you find the best bang for your buck with economical golf packages in one of the most beautiful and unhurried areas of our country.
Southern hospitality is also a big draw for Northeast golfers who get to play spring golf in the Florence South Carolina area which offers golf packages on 32 different golf courses.
We usually check with Lisa in the early fall about courses she would recommend and high on her list was the Cheraw State Park Golf Course..
We can certainly endorse that statement and enjoyed our conversation with Park Manager Smith following our 18-holes of golf. He was very proud of this facility and the opportunities this Park offers.
Be sure to put the Cheraw State Park Golf Course on your list when you call Lisa and Swamp Fox Country Golf at 1-800-845-3538 for your next golf trip to South Carolina. Their web site is http://www.swampfoxgolf.com/

The Golf Tip
By Robert Menges

Prepare our mind for a better game>
We all have different ways of doing things on the golf course, which is why one technique or strategy might work for one person but not another.
For example, some of us will visualize the shot we want to hit in our mind, because it helps us execute the shot. For others, they have to experience the shot.
With that said, (or written, in this case) it never hurts to try something new. So here are several "pep talks" you can create to help build your confidence for the next round.
After each round of golf, take 60 seconds to sit quietly and replay your three best shots of the round. Visualize them in slow motion and lock every detail into your memory. They'll come back to cheer you on in the future.
Tell someone about your best shot of the day, but never talk about your worst shots. Professionals can usually remember every shot during a tournament, but there is one shot they "just don't recall"--its their worst shot. Let the bad shots go, and never, ever talk about them.
After every shot, remember to say, "great shot" and mean it when you say it.....the results may not be exactly what you wanted, but the ball went where you hit it. So go and do it again.
Breathe before ever shot or putt, remember to breathe deeply and softly. It will relax your whole body and allow you to focus on the task at hand.
Make it a part of your pre-shot routine to consciously expect a great shot. As you pull the club from your bag, smile. As you look down the fairway or line up your putt, smile. As you stand over the ball, smile. Expect the best.
Finally, but perhaps most importantly, have fun out there. Golf is a game. Yes, it can be very challenging and frustrating at times, but it is intended to be a form of enjoyment. Enjoy the day, the weather and the time with friends. Chances are, you'll enjoy the wonderful game of golf as well.
Robert Menges is the head golf professional at the Swan Lake Golf & Country Club, Mt. Hope Road, Swan Lake. He is available for private lessons and if you have a question or subject you would like covered, he can be reached by phone at 292-0323 or via e-mail at menges@hughes.net

This column is written by Ed Townsend, a consultant to the amateur and professional sport of golf and to several golf writers associations. If you have a topic that you believe would make good reading or have league standings and tournament information, please call Ed at 845-439-8177 or send an e-mail to bowlgolfect1@yahoo.com
For a more expanded version of this golf column, please visit the Web site at http://bght.blogspot.com/

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