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
This seems literally impossible at first glance, but alas, it happens.  I recall the time this happened to me.  I remember standing unconfidently on the tee box, going through my practice swings to loosen up.  Our group was playing poorly, the beers were flowing, and I just wanted to kill the ball.  The whole was a reachable par four if the drive is crushed, faded perfectly, and landed softly.  I adjusted my grip, sought power from deep within my loins, and hoped for the best.  The innermost part of the over-rotated club hit the ball on a dead line to my immediate left.  I’d still be in the positive if not for a tree branch which provided a perfect backboard for arid Titleist.  It banked off and landed in the woods behind the tee box.  After one stroke, the whole was longer than it was when I tee’d up.  Another stogey eased the pain.

Wreck a cart
It wasn’t that long ago (nine or ten years) that I played golf for the carts as much as the greens.  My buddy and I would tear up the course, daring ourselves to drive over the worst terrain in sight – not to say that we weren’t good golfers, I remember a few 9-hole rounds in the low 40’s.  One day we went a little too far and blew a tire.  “How the hell are we going to take this back to the clubhouse,” I thought.  Leave it young adolescent boys to scheme up a plan like this.  When we returned it, I walked alongside to hide the deflated tire as my playing partner steered the cart.  We wised up pretty quick after realizing we’d be financially responsible for such mishaps.  Now, I hardly take them off the path.

Fall down the steps
Most courses have some sort of steps, usually wooden, that take the golfer up to a tee box or down to a green.  These wooden steps are old but sturdy enough to hold even the guys wearing XXXL Polos.  Well, in this case, the wood steps I was walking down had small gaps in them.  And sure enough, one of my plastic cleats dug right in there.  I went to lift said leg and it stuck to the step as if glued there as a prank.  My momentum carried me forward and I fell down two more steps, on to my face.  Worse yet, this was the first time playing with my girlfriend’s father.  Quite an impression I made.  As you can imagine, he offers me a hand every time we approach those steps.

Whiff
I haven’t whiffed since I first picked up a club.  And I imagine anyone who’s ever played the game has missed completely at some point early in their development.  However, it’s difficult to watch grown adults whiff at the ball during corporate outings.  You know it’s bad when nobody says a word after strike one.  The player is embarrassed and I’m embarrassed for them.   If you can’t hit the ball every time, buy a couple hundred dozen range balls until you can.  Sheesshh.

Endanger lives
I remember getting ready to start my round with a friend one time while a group ahead of us was letting us play through.  They parked their cart ahead of us about twenty yards, well off to the left.  Now, I have an annoying tendency to pull drives quite horribly, usually only on the first hole.  Well, it was good thing they didn’t stay in the cart.  I plunked it right on the number.  I’m sure they felt better about letting us play through after that.  It did ricochet onto the fairway, so it wasn’t a total loss.

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.

Brian J. Curtis of Rockville, MD writes:

I always enjoy reading your editor’s letter in Pros N’ Hackers. They are insightful and pleasant to read.

I am 25 years old and recently started to play golf. I have literally only been playing for two months now and I am addicted! Besides getting lessons from a professional, do you have any “101″ advice for a new golfer?

Thank you,

Brian J. Curtis

Response:
Brian,

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
Editor

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.

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

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THURSDAY ROUND ONE

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FRIDAY ROUND TWO

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SATURDAY ROUND THREE

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SUNDAY ROUND FOUR

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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.

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
Ben Crenshaw – Masters              Nick Faldo – Masters
Corey Pavin – U.S. Open               Steve Jones – U.S. Open
John Daly – British Open             Tom Lehman – British Open
Steve Elkington – PGA                   Mark Brooks – PGA

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.

In the coming days, Pros N’ Hackers Club Members will be receiving the spring edition of Pros N’ Hackers.  We hope you enjoy the issue. Here are a few things to watch out for.  

*Bay Creek Resort & Club - Two fantastic
golf courses and an even more amazing piece
of Virginia. 

*Kelly Murray’s Caddie Diary -  His friend and professional golfer Erik Compton, fight it out to make the cut at the Honda Classic. Erik is a
two-time heart transplant recipient and is,
excusably, not at 100%.  But he still has a world of game and Kelly was there to nurture it and
tell us about it. 

*True Player: Anthony Kim - Read about the brash and brilliant young ballstriker who will be back to defend at the AT&T National Hosted by Tiger Woods. 

*The Best Putters of 2009 –  Dr. Barry Lotz gives us his 10 best when it comes to getting it done on the greens. 

All of this and much more coming soon. 

 

Of course, you may also pick up Pros N’ Hackers Golf Magazine at just about any public golf course in the Washington/Baltimore Metro Areas. And if your course doesn’t get Pros N’ Hackers, let us know. 

The Exciting Par 3 12th at Augusta National

There’s just a feeling that golfers get inside during the week of the Masters. It’s the kryptonite that the plush green and rolling fairways of Augusta National have on us.  The hollow echoes of applause that ring through the back nine on the weekend have us on the edge of our seats, thinking about our own next big approach shot or clutch putt.  The Masters is the heartbeat of golf. 

As we enter 2009’s playing, I remember back to some of my favorite Master’s moments. Nicklaus, at 46, shocking the world. “Maybe…YES SIR!!!”  

Like The King, The Black Knight and The Golden Bear strolling the fairways together one last time a few years ago.  It’s Larry Mize shocking Greg Norman on the 11th hole in a playoff, it’s Faldo routing Norman on Sunday. Couples getting the luckiest break of his life on the 12th.  Tiger winning the event by 12 strokes in his first trip to Augusta as a professional.  

It’s DiMarco challenging Woods. Woods countering with a chip on the par 3 16th that will go down as the most spine tingling moment in the history of the tournament bar none. Anyone who remembers hearing the roar that crackled the microphones, seeing the explosion of emotion from Tiger and hearing Verne Lundquist scream “IN YOUR LIFE.. Have you ever seen anything like that?”  

It’s Phil Mickelson finally getting his major championship. “Is it his time? Yes!!!”  And there is still plenty of room for moments where you root for the underdog, Len Mattiace’s heartbreaking playoff loss to Mike Weir,  Zach Johnson holding off Tiger Woods, from Iowa farmboy to Masters Champion. Jose Maria Olazabal, not once but twice, showing that he was one of the world’s best, even if it was only one time per year.  

What kind of feelings does the Masters give you? Got any memories, And who do you think is going to win this years tournament?  Let us know.

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