Whitevale Golf Club tells Hurricane Sandy…….........…..NO MEANS NO!!!!!!!!!

After the promise of Frankenstorm Sandy wreaking havoc by dumping 100mm (or 4 inches) of rain and 150 MPH winds that would take out every tree in Ontario, Whitevale Golf Club slaps Sandy’s unwanted advances right in the face. Rain fall total from the actual Hurricane was only a half inch. Winds may have made a mess with small branches and leaves all over the golf course, but we only lost one tree. The tree that we did loose is behind the 12th green, and it is a tree we are happy to lose as its removal continues to help improve air circulation in this micro environment.
Rain fall leading up to the actual Hurricanes arrival has made the golf course very wet and soft. All Turf Department staff were given Monday and Tuesday off as we were concerned about the damage that we could potentially cause trying to get clean up underway. It is very likely that clean up is going to take a couple weeks, only because many areas are just too wet to enter with any equipment. We ask for your patience while we do our best to get this debris out of play, while we make the priority of “zero damage” to any turf area. With the forecast calling for rain all week carts may not go back out onto the golf course until next week at the earliest.

Solheim Cup 2012

For the 5th year, two teams of 12 ladies each battled it out for the Whitevale Solheim Cup. The FUSCHIA Team, headed by captain Linda Briggs, scored a Three-peat (winning the cup for the past three years in a row). PURPLE Team captain, Donna Power, was gracious in defeat – promising that 2013 would have a completely different result!

Final score was Fuschia 13 ½ points – Purple 10 ½ points

Fuschia team members were:

Lisa Mackie, Zona Pereira, Kandice Brackenbury, Barb Rogers, Darlene Doyle, Sandy Milner-Docking, Meri Calder, Lynne Sage, Joan Store, June Atam, Sandy Connors, and Linda Briggs

Purple team members were:

Karen Parsons, Norma Columbus, Anne Trimble, Mary Charleton, Suzi Snow-Liska, Dawn Faller, Joanne Kagjanich, Anne Griffin, Anne Hill, Josette Bell, Connnie Van Dusen, and Donna Power.

The day was framed in glorious fall weather, and on-course score reporting was handled by the dynamic duo of Ed Griffin and Wayne Carpenter.

Thanks to Shawn, Andrew and staff for a most plentiful and delicious post-game feast!

Submitted by Linda Briggs

Ron Swartz

Ron Swartz a Whitevale member since 1959 passed away this week. Ron loved his golf and Whitevale. Although his rounds decreased over the years, he still managed to count over 20 rounds this year.

Ron will be greatly missed, he was true gentleman and a great ambassador for the club.


SWARTZ, Ron - Suddenly on Tuesday, October 23, 2012 at his home. Ron Swartz, beloved husband of Nancy. Loving father of Pam Swartz and Neil Schneider, and Carrie Swartz and Shawn Stillman. Dear brother and brother-in-law of Howard and Susan Swartz, and Audrey and Lucian Michaels. Devoted grandfather of Daniel, Jolie, and Cooper. Beloved son of the late Manning and Sybil Swartz and son-in-law of Evelyn Laiken. At Benjamin's Park Memorial Chapel, 2401 Steeles Avenue West (3 lights west of Dufferin) for service on Friday, October 26, 2012 at 11:30 a.m. Interment Beth Tzedec Memorial Park. Memorial donations may be made to B'Nai Brith Canada, 416-633-6224.

Closing Dinner and Dance

This past Saturday was our Closing Dinner and Dance. Over 100 members and guests enjoyed the elegant 5 course dinner prepared by Chef, then hit the dance floor until the wee hours of the morning. Below are the only PG-13 pictures from the night.

Special thank you to Lori our Social Director for her all work this year and Shawn or F & B Manager and Chef Andrew for making all the 2012 social events mega hits!

DYING PINE TREES??? NOT EVEN CLOSE!!!

Pinus strobus (or White Pine which is the common name) is a very popular coniferous tree. Some might even say iconic as when we travel to the Muskoka’s this prevalent tree is used as a logo in many forms for many businesses. We have many of them throughout the golf course. This time of year I receive a lot questions about the White Pines. Many people think that they are dying from lack of water or fertilizer or have a disease, when in fact they are going through a very natural process.


Each year the White Pine puts out new growth, which means new needles. So it loses last years needles and they fall off. Right now last year's needles are very yellow and are falling all around the bases of the trees. Just as our deciduous trees lose their leaves, the pines shed and grow new needles in their yearly cycle of growth. A close look at cedar trees revels the same cycle of shedding old growth. There is no concern for any of these trees.

Every year, right after Thanksgiving, there are a couple of immediate changes that affect all members playing the golf course. The more obvious of the two is the addition of artificial mats to the blue and white par 3 tees. All of our par 3 tees are extremely undersized for the amount of play they receive. By asking all member to use these artificial mats we are able to stop any more damage from occurring to these tiny tee decks as we move toward winter. It also gives us the opportunity to get seed soil mix to all damaged areas and start the healing through new growth before the weather turns the turf areas dormant. We feel very strongly it is a necessary evil in order for us to provide better course conditions for spring opening.

The other change is an increase in the height of cut on our greens, which ultimately means a slower putting surface. Once again this is necessary for the over all health of the putting surfaces. A longer leaf blade going into winter makes for a stronger grass plant that will be able to store more carbohydrates for the long Canadian winter. Just like a hibernating bear, the turf is still alive and respiring all winter, which requires a certain amount of stored food to feed off through the winter. The longer leaf blade will also help protect the crown of the plant from bitter north winds that can cause desiccation. The turf can handle the death of the leaf blade, just as humans can live without a finger or an arm. The crown of the plant is the main part that new growth is produced, so this is the part of the plant that must be protected at all cost.

The last three winters in this part of the world have really not been winter at all. So far this fall we have seen more frost mornings than we did in the same time in the previous 3 falls combined. I hope this means a return to a traditional winter where we get frost in the ground by early December and a good 10cm snow fall before Christmas. This is the ideal conditions for the turf providing the temperature stays consistently below the freezing point……………but………………it’s probably too soon for me to be talking about winter quite yet. Let’s hope we have some awesome fall golf weather over the remaining season.

Women's League Closing Event

Over 50 League members showed up on Tuesday evening to celebrate the close of another succesful season. The turnout all year has been tremendous and we had almost 900 rounds played over the 16 weeks of the League and Playoffs.

The winners of this year's League Shield which ia awarded to the Play off Champions went to the Chicks with Sticks team. Captain Zona Pereira teamates were Lisa Brewer, Angela Colm, Pamela Cooper, Liane Garvey, Betty Lemon, Linda Lennon, Jane Moser, Karen Parsons, Glenda Roberts, Susanne Sambleson, Lori Sheffield, Terri Toms, Barb White and Joanne White.

The Par Tee Girls lead by Sandra Milner Docking finished second. Her team was Theresa Arbuthnot, Kitty Braid, Joan Brandham, Ingrid Braun, Linda Briggs, Margaret Chew, Sandra Connors, Alice Ferns, Eileen Fitzpatrick, Anne Hill, Joanne Kajganich Melody Robinson, Barb Rogers and Connie Van Dusen.

The third place winner and also the League Champions were the Birdie Babes. Captain Kandice Brackenbury led the team of Jennifer Aird, Marilyn Ankenmann, Phyllis Burgan, Meri Calder, Debbie Couch, Lynne Downey, Kathryn Lebo, Lisa Mackie, Dawna Matton,  Suzi Snow-Liska, Enid Stephenson, Anne Trimble, Helen Ullock and Dee Steinwall.

Some highlights of the Season included the Low Net Average going to Michelle Miles with a 35.4 and Betty Lemon with a 35.44. Low Gross Average went to Gail Pimm with a 38.
The top proficiency rating went to Betty Lemon who competed in all 16 weeks and counted every week! The Birdie Babes were the top team with rounds played by a team at 193.

A short survey will be forwarded to members of the women's section looking for some feedback on how to make the League an even bigger success next season.
Congratulations to all and a special thanks to all the Captain's who rallied their troops every week.!

Fall Derby Wrap Up!

The 2012 Fall Derby is in the books and the Team of Dave Myrvold, Tom Kelly, Pat Burrell and Jerry Kimber were this year's Champions. Mother Nature factored into the weekend with a lovely two hour frost delay on Monday morning. This didn't slow down this team whose 3 day total of 50 points put them 9 points ahead of the field.
 Second place overall went to the Team of Josette/ Ron Bell and Darlene/ Bob Doyle who finished with 41 points. There was a close battle for third place with Bob Spahn, Clayton Spahn, Ross Davidson, Steve Campbell and John McCormick picking up 34 points, one point ahead of the Team of Kevin Ashe, Larry Aicken, Fred Calvert, Dave Sutton and Glenn Davis. Finishing 5th overall was the Team of Paul Lacour, Manny DaCosta, Louis deCarvalho and John Toman who had 29 points.

Day 3 Winners
1st D. Myrvold, P. Burrell, J. Kimber, T. Kelly - 18 pts (204)
2nd J & R Bell, D & B Doyle - 14 pts (212)
3rd B. Spahn, C. Spahn, J. McCormick, S. Campbell - 13 pts (213)

Day 2 Winners
1st  J & R Bell, D & B Doyle - 18 pts (122.5)
2nd D. Myrvold, P. Burrell, J. Kimber, T. Kelly - 14 pts (127)
3rd K. Ashe, G. Davis, F. Calvert, D. Sutton - 13 pts (127.5)

Team	Fall Derby 2012				Beat	Beat	Beat	Final
12	Myrvold, Dave	Kimber, Jerry	Burrell, Pat	Kelly, Tom	18	14	18	50
8	Bell, Ron	Doyle, Bob	Bell, Josette	Doyle, Darlene	9	18	14	41
2	Spahn, Bob	Davidson, Ross	McCormick, John	Campbell, Steve	12	9	13	34
3	Ashe, Kevin	Calvert, Fred	Davis, Glenn	Sutton, David	14	13	6	33
15	Lacour, Paul	Toman, John	Da Costa, Manuel	de Carvalho, Luiz	10	11	8	29
1	Hogan, Ed	Liska, John	Snow-Liska, S.	Dahn, Heinz	13	5	5	23
11	Glover, Jim	Cooper, Steven	Williams, Dave	Lambrinos, Peter	8	6	8	22
10	Griffin, Ann	Griffin, Ed	Schuch, Peter	Rogers, Barbara	7	7	6	20
13	Hewitt, Josh	Ferns, Craig	Karl, Mike	Burrell, Mark	4	8	8	20
4	Hudson, Adam	Billington, Al	Dunphy, Paul	O'Brien, Don	6	11	2	19
14	Couch, Chris	Couch, Debbie	Iordanis, Nicholas	Sinovic, Jeff	3	3	12	18
6	Trimble, John	Nebel, Bob	Matton, Dennis	King, Rick	11	3	2	16
7	Power, Donna	Brackenbury, K.	Brackenbury, W.	Trimble, Anne	0	1	11	12
9	Lemon, Walt	Atam, Barney	Adams, Bob	Downs, Neil	1	9	1	11
5	Darby, Padraig	Rodriguez, Steve	Fennell, Tom	Barrett, Grant	4	0	2	6
16	Milner-Docking, S.	Docking, Bernard	Atam, June	Duda, Kevin	2	2	0	4

Fall Derby - Myrvold Team Leads the Way!

The Team of Dave Myrvold, Pat Burrell, Tom Kelly and Jerry Kimber were the leaders after Day 1. Their score of 104 was 4 clear of the team of Kevin Ashe, Glenn Davis, Fred Calvert and Dave Sutton. The weather seemed to get worse as the day progressed and no afternoon groups cracked the top 5 spots.

A close battle for third spot saw Ed Hogan's team of Suzi Snow-Liska, Heinz Dahn and John Liska finish with a 98, one stroke ahead of Bob Spahn group with John McCormick, Steve Campbell and Ross Davidson.

Interestingly, the leading score for this year's Day 1 format of 104 was the same as the Day 1 score in 2011. We will see if the new stroke holes will make a difference on any of the other format scores this weekend.

New Stroke Play Card / Just in Time for the Derby!!

The Annual Fall Derby Event takes place this Thanksgiving Weekend and the new stroke play card will be used. This popular Event is a three day tournament where a new format is used everyday. Four players teams may be any combination of men, women or a mix there of! A fifth player may be used to ease the commitment of playing all three days.The Event is open to all A and B members.

In addition to the Main Event Prizes there will be daily prizes awarded. We had a tie in the Spring Derby for the first time ever!

The Captain's committee has adjusted the format to allow male players with an index of 16.8 the option of using the White Tees.

The New Stroke play card has new Handicap Stroke holes that reflect the actual degree of difficulty of the hole. You will notice that unlike a Match Play card, the strokes do not have to alternate between the front and back nines. (ie # 18 is the 2nd stroke hole and # 15 is the 3rd stroke hole)

To those of you who are new to the Club and would like some more information, please contact us in the Pro Shop and we would be glad to answer all your questions on this fun Event.

Sign up is available online or on the Mixed Board.