Thursday, June 20, 2013

Golfing Highlights Column 6-21-13

World Class Golf Course Coming To Area

  The design and construction of a world class golf course in coming to this area.
  Whoa now....listen up...... the headlines and lead sentence can be somewhat misleading....yes part of the headlines is true but instead of a standard type of golf course we will see a world-class DISC golf course which will be located at the Frost Valley YMCA.
  The course is being designed by world renowned course designer John Houck and will be his first course in New York.
  Houck has designed more courses than anyone else and the current number one and two ranked courses in the world are both John Houck designs. 
  The Frost Valley course will be 18-holes and will serve children with disabilities  and promote inclusion with all Frost Valley participants. 
  The new course will also welcome professional disc golf championship tournaments as well as casual play by the more than 35,000 children and adults staying annually at Frost Valley .
  Current in the design phase the new course will be located on a 5,000-acre woodland section of the camp.
  CVS Caremark Charitable Trust recently granted Frost Valley with $20,000 and earmarked it for a program suitable for children with disabilities. 
  This recreational activity will incorporate exercise, skill, competition and education.
  Projected to be completed by 2014, Frost Valley's course development is overseen by Tom Holsapple, operations director and a 15-year disc golf enthusiasts who noted, "this championship-level course is tailored to Frost Valley's unique terrain and disc golf is suitable for varying abilities and perfect for Frost Valley's expansive Catskill Mountain setting easily accessible to the tri-state area."
  According to the Professional Disc Golf Association there are more than 100,000 tournament competitors playing 3,762 tournaments worldwide and it is enjoyed by groups of all ages. Disc golf is played in about 40 countries around the world.
  Disc golf has also recently been incorporated into the Special Olympics. 
  Welcome to another type of golf facility to our area. 

Ed's Outlook

  Our regular game of golf will never be replaced by disc golf but this new form of competition using the term "golf" has gained in popularity where the object of the game is to traverse a course from beginning to end in the fewest number of throws of the disc and ending up with throwing a flying disc at a target referred to as the basket. 
  It's interesting to find that disc golf uses three types of disc's, the putter, mid-range and the driver.
  We'll give it a whirl sometime soon.
  One of our favorite golfers was Miller Barber who was a leading player on the PGA Tour in the 1960's and a dominant one in the early years of senior play with 11 PGA Tour wins and 24 more on the Champions Tour.
  Barber, 82, recently succumbed to cancer. 
  He showed us all that even an unorthodox swing can work.
  RIP Miller. 

  Ed Townsend is a PR consultant to the sport of golf. Ed writes and compiles the information for this column. If you have league and tournament information  shoot a hole-in-one or even shoot your age, let Ed know at 845-439-8177, email at edwardctownsend@hotmail.com or fax at 845-205-4474. View this column and all of Ed's pictures at http://bght.blogspot.com We are also on Facebook.

The Golf Tip
By Robert Menges

  In today's ever changing golf game, most players are under the influence that if they hit the ball longer they will play better.
  Even though technology has increased how far the ball will travel, the scores are about the  same. There is no doubt that if you hit the ball longer you should have less club to the green and be able to get the ball closer to the hole and make more putts.
  I believe this to be true, but you better be able to hit the shots on the green close to the pin.
  Wedge play is important here and I suggest carrying three wedges in your golf bag. Most golfers have a pitching wedge and you have a choice to make for the other two wedges. A gap wedge comes with about 50 to 53 degrees of loft and a lob wedge is about 60-64 degrees of loft. I would choose between these two clubs depending on how far you hit the ball. 
  A lob wedge will save our shots around the green and a gap wedge will help you with the in between yardages in the fairway.
  You should always carry a sand wedge that has 54-57 degrees of loft. 
  The next time out on the course count how many shots you take from 100 yards to the hole. I think you will find that this will total about 60 percent of  your score.
  Robert Menges is the 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, Bob can be reached at 845-292-0323 or by email at menges@hughes.com

Putting Tip
By Joe Bermel

  Consistent Speed is a major asset to every terrific putter and can never be overrated.
  You feel the speed with your EYES, MIND and HANDS. The triangle your eyes see is the distance between the ball and the hole. A signal is sent to your mind, then the mind sends a signal to the muscles in your hand which determines the amount of acceleration on the forward stroke for the distance you want the ball to travel.
  This definitely connects to the amount of back and thru distance.
  Joe Bermel is available for private lessons, group, corporate, organization and golf shows-tournaments. His special edition DVD "How To Putt Well" is available by calling 631-589-1384, at his web site www.ThePuttingDoctor.com or by email at joe@theputtingdoctor.com 

 

 PHOTO

                                                      

A disc golfer and the basket the disc must end up in.

                 

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