I WON’T CLAIM to be Nostradamus, although I do have a Rick Neuheisel-like knack at entering March Madness college basketball pools.
But I have a vision of the future of golf, and the sport will be a lot less “groovy.”
A new regulation governing the production of certain types of golf clubs is causing cash registers to ring.
Golfers around the country are buying up the current style of wedges.
The clubs will soon become scarce because of a recent “groove rule” change from the United States Golf Association.
The USGA’s decision means that the new grooves on clubs made beginning Jan. 1 will have about 70 percent of the depth and size of clubs made today.
Grooves act like tread on car tires, helping move grass, sand and other junk away from clubfaces, aiding a player’s control and shot making.
These new wedges will deliver a reduced amount of spin on shots.
For more information on the science of grooves, visit www.golfsmith.com/grooves.
PGA Tour players have been dealing with the new rules all season (witness the Phil Mickelson wedge hubbub back at the start of 2010).
It even affected Port Angeles native Jerry Johnson’s qualifying for the U.S. Senior Open.
He had to scour the Willamette River Basin before his tee time just to find wedges that would let him play legally.
Thankfully, amateur players have until 2024 to keep using their illicit clubs for handicap tracking purposes.
$500K challenge
Nobody took the cool half a million dollars at the Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce and Olympic Medical Foundation’s $500,000 hole-in-one challenge.
Thirty players qualified for the event with 26 competitors participating in the Sept. 10 competition.
I had been planning on attending but was laid low by the worst chest cold I have had in years.
Qualifiers for the event were Andy Anderson, Jeff Anderson, Bernie Anselmo, Troy Atwell, Jeff Avellak, Richard Baugh, Rich Burlingame, Dolly Burnett, Ken Chace, Jeremy Copeland, Dominick DeBari, Mike DuPuis, Silas Fuller, Shawn Harris, Dave Hire, Jeremy Holden, Larry Klinefelter, Mark Leffers, Steven Loerlein, Bob Madsen, Jacob McMenanmin, Mark Most, David Peterson, Al Q, Terry Randall, John Raske, Alan Stewart, Chris Szczepczynski and Steve Thompkins.
Twenty-six showed up for the final, a 150-yard shot from the fairway on the 18th hole at Peninsula Golf Club in Port Angeles.
Loerlein came the closest with his shot, missing the cup by 10 feet, 9 inches.
Players didn’t walk away empty handed.
Prizes ranged from round-trip airfare on Kenmore Air, raft trips with Olympic Raft & Kayak, gift certificates to local restaurants and more.
Organizers will meet in a few weeks to discuss the event and potential improvements for next year.
If you have ideas, send them to Chamber Executive Director Russ Veenema at russ@portangeles.org.
DECA Scramble set
The Port Angeles High School DECA club, a group for students with interests in business and marketing, will host its second SkyRidge/DECA Golf Scramble at SkyRidge Golf Course in Sequim at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday.
Tourney fees are $200 for a four-person team or $50 for an individual.
Port Angeles High School students can help out their peers and play for $20 per person.
Lunch will be provided along with prizes.
Mulligans will be available for $2.
For more information, phone SkyRidge at 360-683-3673, Hayley Pearce at 360-809-0978 or Corbin Brabant at 360-670-8097.
Disco Bay night golf
Night golf will return to Discovery Bay Golf Club in Port Townsend on Oct. 22.
For more information on this event, phone the clubhouse at 360-385-0704.
Port Townsend golf
Port Townsend held its 36-hole stroke play men’s club championship last weekend.
The course was set up for scoring on day one but pin placements were at their most difficult, and players teed it up from the tips to keep things tough.
Assistant pro Gabriel Tonan came out on top in the gross division, besting Hazli Kastikapes by two strokes.
Fred Heywood took top honors in the net division.
Driving in the Dark
The Port Townsend Sunrise Rotary Club is holding its fifth annual “Driving in the Dark” golf tournament Saturday at Port Townsend Golf Club.
Registration starts at 3 p.m., and the tournament begins at 4:30 p.m.
Dinner will be served at the clubhouse between the two rounds with the second nine holes played at dusk and after dark.
The tourney was scheduled to coincide with the full moon, so if the weather cooperates, there will be moon light as well as glow sticks to mark the course and the holes.
There are several changes to the format this year.
A putting contest will be held at registration, with $100 going to the golfer with the closest putt.
Every golfer gets two putts with their entry fee, but additional putts can be purchased.
If more than one golfer sinks their putt, the cash prize will be split among the winners.
The $10,000 hole-in-one prize will be a little easier to win, as the golfers will be playing for it on a different hole with a little shorter distance than in the past.
Mulligans are available for purchase for tournament play, but not for use on the hole-in-one prize.
The tournament itself has cash prizes, $500 for first place, $300 for second place and $200 for third place in a scramble format.
There are also some exceptionally nice raffle prizes available — many gift certificates donated from around Port Townsend, wine from Fairwinds Winery, and lots of golf gear from Port Townsend Golf Club.
Every golfer has two raffle tickets included with their entrance fee, but more may be purchased at the event.
For more information, or to register for the tournament or as a sponsor, phone Curtis Stacey at 360-302-0979 or stop in at the Port Townsend clubhouse.
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Michael Carman is the golf columnist for the Peninsula Daily News. He can be reached at 360-417-3527 or at pdngolf@gmail.com.
