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 The Participants + 1 in the 2010 Ackerman Classic at Old Hickory Golf Club By: Chad Moore The night of the funeral many friends and family gathered at a local watering hole frequented by Steve, Rhodeside Grill. That night we decided that it was better to celebrate Steve’s life rather than mourn about that fact that he was gone. I know it’s cliché to say we are going keep his spirit alive through our memories, but that couldn’t be more accurate. Steve does live on and although his life ended way too soon, he lived a full life, which was evident with how many lives he touched. So it was decided from that point forward that we would celebrate Steve each year in the early weeks of April. In 2008 we didn’t know exactly what we were going to do, but one thing was for sure, we would end up a Rhodeside. The idea of golf came about, not because Steve played golf or even liked it, but knew it was a way for us to get out away from the daily grinds of life and enjoy an entire day dedicated to Steve and that’s exactly what we did. Can’t say the weather cooperated that year, but we didn’t care, everyone who was invited showed up. Sure enough that night all who played ended up at Rhodeside along with about 40 others. I’ll be honest, this was a tough year and a day like this was needed for sure. Around Feb of 09 I sent an email to the group about what we wanted to do for that year’s outing. I made the suggestion that we set up a tournament, actually I’m not sure who’s idea it was, but I’ll take the credit. Without hesitation we all agreed to develop teams, so the first order of business was to rank the field… can’t say this was an easy process as we have 1 true A play and a few Fs, but after a few squabbles and couple of trades the teams were set. To commemorate the day I thought it would be a good idea to award each of the winning team members a plaque which read “2009 Ackerman Classic” over a picture of a dirty martini (Steve’s drink of choice). The week’s heading into the tourney we had several days in the 70s, so we were hopeful that the weather would be a bit better than the previous year. Well I can let you know that when we teed off it was about 47 degrees and raining sideways, but again we all showed up with no complaints. By day’s end the sun had peeked out and we all managed to have survived even though there were allegations of a cart being driven on a green and threats of being kicked off the course. The winning team score was 5 under par posted by Keith Livingston, Jason Ovslaski, Andy Togni and John  "Check it out Ladies.. This Guy won Closest to the Pin" Burdick. A short ceremony took place to award the plaques, of course a few stories were told and a beer two was drank, but we were ready to rush home, clean up and head to Rhodeside. Oh and one more thing we that I almost forgot, at the end of this tourney we thought it would be nice to take a snap shot of the group, so we can remember what we look like when we’re old and gray. Well we ended up taking quite a few pics and the most memorable (which I believe to have Steve’s stamp of approval) depicts several of us giving the Ackerman salute (a story for another day), which has since become a tradition.Sure enough when we arrived at Rhodeside several of Steve’s friends were already there with martini’s in hand ready for a night of sharing memories and laughter. Yes most of the stories are the same, but they never get old… and on occasion you would hear one that you haven’t heard before. What a night… I think I went down somewhere between 3 and 4 AM and for an old man like me that’s way past my bed time. This brings us to this years Ackerman Classic. Hard to believe it’s been 3 years since Steve passed… At this point I think most of us look forward to this time of year, although it’s still difficult to rehash the feelings of 3 years ago… we’ve come to enjoy each other’s company and to celebrate the life that Steve lived. Meghan, Cameron and I reached out to the Ackerman’s and joined them for church this past Easter (the week before this year’s tourney). It was great to see them and I promised that we would stay in touch, I would ask that each of you do the same. I can’t tell you how much it would mean to them to hear from you all. Well last year we decided that we would step up the efforts for tourney each year and this year was no exception. JC Byrne had “Ackerman Classic” shirts made with the official logo of a martini glass (created by Mike Henry) embroidered on the front of the shirts. Pretty nice shirts and they were even color coordinated for each team. I must say this was a nice touch! This year’s outing was held at Old Hickory Golf Club in Woodbridge. Thanks to Adam McCaa, who was able to secure the location, we were treated really good and had a solid rate for a Saturday morning. Other than the change in courses there was one glaring difference from years past, it was freaking beautiful outside. I might have failed to mention that during the first Ackerman Classic in 08 it was freezing, didn’t have the rain like 09 but it was chilly. At any rate, this year was shaping up to be the best of the bunch, new shirts, good weather, even had a few more peeps come out and joined us… hell my team even birdied the first 2 holes, which was 5 shots better than how we started last year, although our final score ended up 1 shot worse.  As it always is in a scramble.. It's who's gonna make more putts? Not this team. Pretty solid day all and all. Old Hickory is a great course for our scramble format. There were no threats of being kicked off the course and we had a new winner with a new low winning score. Team Green – Mike Dorner aka “Doc”, Chris Counts, Mike Henry, and Steve Willenheimer shot a tournament record of 6 under (yeah it’s only been two years of keeping track, but a new record none-the-less). Unfortunately, we didn’t have plaques to award this year, that’s due to my slack ass, well I have a small excuse, my time’s been limited with the birth to my son Cameron… had to give him a shoutout, what up Bubby? We also decided that rather than giving a plaque each year that we would get an office Ackerman Classic trophy, possibly a Stanley cup looking trophy that will have room for winners names to be engraved…. you’ll get it i promise, although it might not be until tee off during the 2011 Ackerman Classic. After passing out the prize money, (yes we have money on the line… of course) and a beer or two, we all headed home to clean up for Rhodeside once again. Again, a pretty good turnout at Rhodeside. Without hesitation dirty martinis started flowing and of course so did the stories. I didn’t stay as long this year…. babysitter had to leave at 12am, but I did manage to get in a martini or two! That’s the story of the Ackerman Classic, created by a terrible tragedy, but a celebration we look forward to each and every year. I know I speak for us all when I say we love and miss you Steve! Your friend and brother always, Chad 
 The Winning Scorecard at the 2010 Ackerman Classic By: Lee Ross, Contributor  There is a Reason Old Hickory has a Busy Tee Sheet It’s a prized possession that every golfer holds dear and wouldn’t dare give up—unless a better one comes along: the tee time. Few things make other golfers more jealous than hearing someone else brag about a Saturday morning tee time. Especially if that time is at the new golf course everyone is talking about or on that first perfectly warm day of the year. For decades making the tee time was a simple but somewhat onerous process—especially at the exact moment when the weekend tee sheet opened up. Anyone who’s played long enough knows the early morning scene. Golfers who’ve been pacing outside the locked golf shop door for the previous 30 minutes rush inside the second it opens. With foam still clinging to their mouths, the beastly golfers bark out their claims to the following week’s best times. At the same time, the telephone’s incessant ring forces the poor golf pro (who is still in desperate need of that first cup of coffee) to mind the requests of those who are too lazy to show up in person. All the while, processing the players who are supposed to be teeing off that morning and who are of course the same people making the tee times in the first place. Every golf course has a different policy when it comes to tee times and while in person and over-the-phone requests are still accepted, more tee times than ever before are booked on-line. The reasoning is quite simple for golfer and golf shop operator alike: convenience. “It allows me the same access 24/7 as my customer,” says Steve Clark, director of operations for Old Hickory Golf Club in Woodbridge, Virginia. “I can see what’s going on….and it gives you flexibility [to manage the tee sheet] if you know how to use it.” Old Hickory has utilized an on-line system since it opened in 2003. Clark says the Internet was a key component of spreading the word about the golf course and that over time the use of on-line bookings for tee times has increased. He estimates that 25% of the times are booked this way and he expects that figure to increase over time as more people become used to making on-line reservations. Ten years ago, the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority’s courses (Pohick Bay, Algonkian and Brambleton) went to an on-line system and its managers are very happy with the results. Instead of having people line up outside the pro shop or jam up the telephone lines, the rush for the prime tee-times is now done in front of a computer. “If somebody has a standing time then they will go on-line and do that,” says Chris Pauley, Director of Operations for the NVRPA courses. “That is a big majority of our business.” Interestingly, the NVRPA’s move to on-line bookings coincided with a marketing venture to join forces with the municipal courses from Fairfax and Prince William Counties. Pauley says the joint effort was designed to increase awareness of the other courses and create friendly matches between the different systems. But that arrangement hasn’t fulfilled NVRPA’s expectations and it will not be part of the joint-system next year. The most significant change for NVRPA golfers in 2010 will be the elimination of an upfront reservation membership fee golfers have had to pay each year in order to make tee times two weeks in advance. Pauley says the number of people paying the annual charge has dropped and believes that cost is driving business away. The trend towards on-line golf reservations is also working its way to some private clubs. Argyle Country Club in Silver Spring, Maryland is in the process of instituting an on-line system for its members. Assistant Pro Fran Hogan says Internet reservations are “just a heck of a lot more convenient” for members and pro shop staff. Hogan says the current practice of determining prized weekend times by lottery will remain in place but members will be encouraged to make weekday times through the club’s website. Argyle like many other clubs sends out an electronic newsletter and the move towards on-line Monday-Friday tee times is another step towards using modern technology for its members. But not all clubs have the same need. “We still do things the old fashioned way,” says Bethesda Country Club Pro Jim Folks. Clubs with more courses or more members may have a more pressing need for an on-line system. But at Bethesda, a starter takes weekend times two days in advance and access at all other times is generally handled on a first-come first-served basis, which rarely leads to problems. So how do on-line reservations work? If you book a tee time at one of the 175 or so courses that use services like teetimes.com, it isn’t too difficult at all. Computer technology allows golfers to book their spot on the tee sheet automatically. “We are trying to help the golf course operate and sell their tee times,” says Greg Dorsett, owner of teetimes.com and its parent company Software Performance Systems, Inc. The LaPlata, Maryland technology firm has turned the majority of its business towards the golf industry with its tee time reservations system and several websites like lastsecondgolfer.com and playgolftomorrow.com that offer discounts on unclaimed times. While a lot of its customers are concentrated in destination markets of Williamsburg and Ocean City, teetimes.com customers can be found throughout the Mid-Atlantic. It recently signed a five-year deal to process tee times at the Fairfax County golf courses. But the computer technology does a lot more than simply process tee times. It also allows operators to better track customer trends and can market their services accordingly. Dorsett describes how the tracking systems can identify all of the customers who have purchased a particular golf ball or also bought equipment at the pro shop. In turn, golf course operators can use that information to target specific golfers with specials or other deals that based on their buying history may of interest. “We pride ourselves in being a leader in technology and leverage the power of the Internet for their customers,” Dorsett explains. But he is also quick to point out that while he can make the tools available; the golf courses have to do the work to take the information they’ve gathered and market it accordingly. “We drive the technology,” Dorsett says. “But they do the marketing.” Dorsett predicts that the future of on-line tee times will extend to social networking sites like Facebook. He also predicts that text messaging will become a more common way for golf courses to reach out to its customers and in turn for golfers to reserve their coveted tee times.  This is why we don't move forward until everybody has hit.
By: Brent Postal The old rules of golf give us many things to avoid whilst playing. They tell us our drive must come to rest past the ladies tees. They explain how necessary it is not to stand even an inch in front of the tee box. But it’s 2009 and there are some new rules we should follow, if not for the sake of the game, at least to preserve our dignity. Here are five things that will leave you red in the face, and let me assure you, I’ve done them all. Drive for negative yardage
Wreck a cart
Fall down the steps
Whiff
Endanger lives
If you can avoid doing any or all of these five embarrassing things, you’re doing just fine. Other situations like forgetting to zip up and leaving a big wad of asparagus in your teeth will inevitably pop up. Such is life. No matter where you play, something unexpected or uncomfortable will happen. Such is golf.
Submitted by: Brent Postal  Not Your Typical Ride Anybody who’s ever entered a golf scramble at some point believes they can win it. Of course, it almost never happens. Well I got as close as I’ve ever been last Friday at a local course. They host 9-hole scrambles that often bring around 100 golfers. Our group of three played exceptionally well that day. Everything was set for the pride-boosting, albeit marginal, first place gift certificates. But then, something strange happened, something that ended our chances right then and there. But let’s start at the beginning. Our first hole was number three, a doable par four…. 3 – A long, straight drive put us in good position for our second shot. We all used wedges and ended up using my approach, which ran about 25 feet past the hole. The greens were recently aerated so getting a smooth role was basically impossible. One putt went about inch off the cup but none converted. We tapped in for par. 4 – This is a short par three, downhill, about 110 yards. We used my ball which again settled about 20 feet away. I was last to putt and my Callaway stopped just one revolution too short. So close. Even through the first two. A slight ticking in the back left tire is all that is wrong with this start. 5 – With a good drive, this is an eagle hole. Fortunately, our big hitter put our first shot on the fringe. Once again, one of our putts came up tantalizingly close. We kicked in for birdie and went to the next uphill par four feeling like we missed some great opportunities. 6 – A tough hole, the green sits atop a high mound. Our drive is okay, our second shot is excellent. With a friendly bounce off the backstop, we were looking at an 8-footer for birdie. It only took one putt. The ticking tire is far from our minds now. Two under through four. 7 – This is a birdie hole, provided the drive is accurate. We used mine, which barely found the right rough. An approach shot by our eldest member left us with a 13-footer for our third straight birdie. It was straight as an arrow, and he drained it. The birdie train was rolling. 8 – If any hole can stop the train, it’s this one. Uphill all the way, a tough par four. Fortunately, my buddy carried over his perfect approach swing and somehow landed a ball within about eight feet of the pin. We buried it, confident we just picked up one on the field. Our shouts were heard two holes over. 9 – Another par four eagle hole given a well-shaped drive. We used my safety shot off the tee and chipped on from there, close enough to nail the putt. Five birdies in a row! Two holes to go, we’re feeling lucky today. I can practically see the pro writing my name on the gift certificate. Now, remember that ticking we heard on our rear left tire? It’s quite loud at this point, and the sloping hill is putting undue pressure on  There are no pit crews in golf this wavering wheel. “I’m going to drive down to the flat part so we don’t tip,” my buddy says. “It’s not going to fall off,” I say confidently. No more than two seconds later and – “there it goes.” It wasn’t a disruptive jolt, more like a riding with huge passenger in the back left seat. The cart limped to a stop. We vowed that we wouldn’t let this disrupt our unprecedented rhythm. We had to hoof it back to the first tee, about a hundred yards uphill, meeting up with our now laughing teammate. Time to focus again. 1 – This is a tough par 4 with an even tougher green. Playing in a group, par is a great score here. By yourself, it’s magical. Our drives fly through the air like errant fireworks. All but one is lost in the woods, and the one that’s not OB is only about 110 yards in front of us. We play a decent second shot to get back on track and are left with a long approach to the uphill green. Things were unraveling right in front of us. How would we even save par now? A decent shot put is on the fringe, a good 20 feet away with at least 4 feet of break, a nasty right-to-left’r. I was last to putt and felt uncertain at best. I pushed the ball somewhere in between where the others had put theirs, it began collecting speed as it moved down the slope. Still on course, it seemed to be magnetized to the cup, but no one says anything. It’s as quite as we’ve been all day. We all watch silently until – Bam! “Great save baby!” High fives for everyone. Still five under par with one to go. 2 – One of the easiest holes on the course and our last hurdle. My drive is exquisite, almost too perfect as it rests just beyond the fairway. We’re left with 40 yards. However, there’s a mound on the front of the green, where the pin is placed. I know I don’t have this shot in my bag. All four shots fall either short of the mound or on it, and the balls filter back down in front of the green. “We just need to chip up and save par,” I say. Our chips are unimpressive, the closest being about eight feet away. I see just outside right edge in the putt, and put one right where I want it. It crosses in front of the cup and I can only hope my teammates saw the line. Two more putts go begging and we have one last chance to salvage a perfect drive. The putt isn’t close, it never had a shot as it storms past the right edge. Bogey. Heartbreak. Handshakes and a trip to the bar can’t hide the disappointment on our faces. We were poised for six under or at the very least five. Turns out our score of four under tied us for first place in the first flight. The tiebreaker was consecutive birdies starting at the group’s first hole, which we of course par’d. I have no malice towards the winners or the staff in charge of the cart’s maintenance, but little do they know how close we were. It should be us holding those gift certificates. But hey, we didn’t win. Five birdies in a row and we didn’t win. We were doing so well. We were poised to win it all, and then, as they say, the wheels just fell off.
Response: Thank you for your kind words regarding Pros N’ Hackers. We hope that you continue to support us and also continue to learn and grow with this great game. While you have picked up the game a little late, there is never a wrong time to learn. In only a few months you have caught the same fever that infects all of us golf lovers. It’s a hard feeling to describe to someone who has not tried to play golf. I wish you the best of luck in learning the game. While I’m not expert on instruction, I can certainly relate to you how I learned to get better, in hopes that it might help you to. The first thing you must realize is that golf has little to do with your driver, your 5-iron, 7-iron or any other longer club for that matter. Golf in it’s rawest form is the act of getting the ball in the hole. That is the single most difficult thing to learn to do, and most of your shots in a given round happen around the hole. To that point the advice that I would give you, starting now, is to put away the rest of your bag except your putter, sand wedge and pitching wedge. Do nothing but develop your short game for the rest of the year. Trust me, everything else will fall into place after that. Starting in 2010 you’ll already have the hardest part somewhat tackled, then you can work on your longer shots. I realize that this is not a fun prescription, as most people enjoy seeing how far that they can hit the ball. But hitting the ball far has nothing to do with getting it in the hole. Stay on the practice chipping and putting areas, learn to hit the short shots like the bump and run or the lofted pitch, learn when to lag putts and when to try and make them. While it may seem mundane, the short game is the most artistic part of the game. That’s my advice to you: keep it simple for now. Learn how to chip and putt effectively, and when you do decide to either take lessons or start to play rounds of golf (with the intention of scoring better) you’ll be way ahead of the curve. Thanks for your letter Brian and best of luck with learning the game. Sincerely, Chris Counts
Click Here to Read the Summer Edition of Pros N’ Hackers Golf Magazine Here are a few of the best, Inside the Ropes images from the AT&T National. We will update this page each day to help give you a better view of Washington, D.C.’s July 4th golf celebration. Click on the Thumbnails below to view. All photos by Alan Bushnell. (bushnellphotography.com) WEDNESDAY PRO-AM
THURSDAY ROUND ONE
FRIDAY ROUND TWO
SATURDAY ROUND THREE
SUNDAY ROUND FOUR
Yet Lucas Glover came across the aisle to beat them all and in the process, his name will go down in history. For anyone who watched Monday’s final round coverage, you finally got a sense for what the U.S. Open is all about, a rapidly fluctuating leaderboard made for an exciting day of golf. And miscues, like Mickelson’s at 17 or Duval’s also at 17 end up costing you in the Open. Duval even came back from a triple bogey on the third hole, his first hole of the day. It was an unfortunate fried egg right in the lip of the bunker, which he exacerbated by hitting two poor shots following the mishap. Glover, of Greenville, S.C. is a world class player. He’s been a President’s Cup Member, a PGA TOUR Winner and a very consistent performer, but no body could have seen it culminating this week. Congratulations to the newest member of the Major Champions Club and, Lucas, we hope to see you at the AT&T National next week. When you tune into all of the best golfers in the world competing at Bethpage Black on Long Island this weekend you’ll want to think ahead to the year 2011 when our own Congressional Country Club in will host the United States Open once again. Think about how much has changed in the world of golf since the venerable Blue last hosted the Open in 1997. To present that fact with more detail, here is the list of major champions in the two years leading up to the 1997 U.S. Open 1995 1996  Photo by: Alan Bushnell Tiger was in his first full year on the PGA TOUR, and while he was coming off an historical Masters victory in 1997, full TigerMania was a few years away. We saw it hit it’s peak at last years U.S. Open at Torrey Pines. Of course, Tiger now has a special connection with Congressional, as the host of the AT&T National. We may see things hit a fever pitch in 2011 as one of D.C.’s newly adopted sons takes aim at another U.S. Open trophy. I’m assuming that he will win at Bethpage this week, as no one else could really compete with him in 2002 on the same golf course, and in the same conditions that we will see this week. Next year the Open is at Pebble Beach, where Tiger won by 15 strokes in the year 2000. You see where I’m going with this? Tiger could be going for his 4th consecutive U.S. Open title in 2011 at Congressional! If you think that this is premature hype, you are correct. Though the USGA doesn’t need Pros N’ Hackers, or anybody else for that matter to sell this event for them, but I can spot a trend when I see one. So let’s sit back and see what happens, if Phil or Vijay or Camilo, Ogilvy or anyone else happens to have an out of body experience this weekend, then my theory is out the window. After all, it’s the U.S. Open and anything can happen. |
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The summer edition of Pros N’ Hackers Golf Magazine is at local golf courses right now, however you can read it online right now on ProsNHackers.com. In this issue you can read our cover story about the State of Professional Golf in the D.C. and Baltimore and also see a first-class pictorial from the AT&T National by our talented feature photographer, Alan Bushnell, tips from Virginia’s top two teachers Mark and Leslie Guttenberg, a review of the best golf training gadgets on the market and much more.
There was Tiger Woods going for his 15th career major title. Phil Mickelson was fighting for his first U.S. Open with a heavy heart, promising wife Amy that he would try his best to bring a silver trophy into her hospital room. David Duval can’t back from oblivion and chose Bethpage Black as his coming out party. Ricky Barnes, a former U.S. Amateur Champion, didn’t even have PGA TOUR status and his erratic swing and central casting good looks would have played well, too.
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