Strong Showing by Whitevale Member's

As tournaments start up across the province in preparation for summer events a few Whitevale members have been busy this past week. In the Golf Ontario Tournament of Champions event held at Spring Lakes Golf Club, Gail Pimm finished 1st in the Senior Women's Division after a great score of 75. In the Men's Division Mark Brewer shot 77 to finish in a tie for 24th and in the Senior Men's Division Dave Walker carded a round of 82 finishing in a tie for 53rd.

Congratulations also goes out to Wade Brackenbury who qualified for the Ontario Men's Mid-Am after a score of 75 left him in a tie for 4th and moving on to the finals at Burlington G & CC.

Hole 15 & 16 - Rules Update

As the construction starts up again after a long winter, the characteristics of holes 15 & 16 have changed as most of you have seen. Prior to construction, the area surrounding the maintenance facility has been marked Out of Bounds. With the changes, that same rule will be in place moving forward for those two holes. The Out of Bounds markings are now in place and will be in place until the project has been completed. Over the next few weeks the left side of 15 & 16 will get shaped and start to look more like the final product. We appreciate you patience and look forward to seeing you on the course!

Sr. Ryder Cup Qualifying

Sr. Ryder Cup Qualifying

Times for 2  qualifying rounds have been set aside for the mornings of Sat May 12 and Sunday May 13. Sign-up is online and registration will be cut-off  Wed May 9 at 6 pm.

The team will consist of 6 low qualifiers in the 55 to 65 age group-must be age of 55 prior to say July 1, 2018 as there are 2 matches in June and 2 in July and 2 qualifiers from the 65 and up group-the only prequalified person is Dave Walker as Senior Club Champion so there are actually only 5 open  spots in the 55 to 65 -this is a gross score event only. There will also be spares-number to be determined but at least 1 in the over 65 and at least 3 in the 55 to 65. If you want to find out what the Ryder Cup is all about google Ontario Senior Ryder Cup-actually there are a few New York State teams as well. Entry fee to be chitted will be $10 for the weekend with the money going into a fund to subsidize team shirts-there are no prizes other than qualifying. Event is open to all A members and B and C members with a handicap of 10 or less

Qualifying was originally intended to be from last summer’s Senior Club Championship however there was a rule change concerning ages which are now based on day of the match as opposed to Dec 31 so some players did not have a chance to qualify who should have-participants in last year’s Senior Club Championship will have their scores count towards qualifying-the rounds on May 12 and 13 (you must play both) will count to improve your scores from last year’s Senior Championship or you can choose not to play if you are satisfied with last summer’s scores or  you can’t play May 12/13 or want to save $10.

The 55 to 65 participants must play from the blue tees as that is the approximate yardage matches will be played at-participants over 65 can play from the whites as the matches move the over 65’s up somewhat-if you are over 65 you can still choose to play from the blues and qualify in either age group

For your information I have noted the cut off scores from last year’s club championship below:

55 to 65 blue tees 6^th place was 168

Over 65 white tees 2^nd place was 157

Costs for qualifiers are the cost of a shirt unknown but say $50 plus $60 per event which includes green fees, a cart and a meal (either lunch or light supper)-tournament dates are Jun 18 Whitevale; June 25 Wyndance; July 10 Summit and July 31 Oakdale. If Whitevale moves on there is a playoff round and a championship day. The championship day is no cost, not sure about the playoff round.

  

Bob Nebel, Senior Ryder Cup representative

Weekday Men's Opening Field Day

It was time for the weekday men's opening field day and another great turn out for this year's event. With sunny skies and warm temps the gentlemen were treated to a perfect day to tame the course. In the end the team of Bob Tennyson, Ted Addie, John Carter & Dan McConnachie came out on top.

1st Place - Dan McConnachie, Bob Tennyson, Ted Addie & John Carter (57.5)
2nd Place - Kevin Hughes, Dave Whiting & James Byrne (58.1)
3rd Place - Chris Cummins, Tom O'Connor & Derek Phillips (58.4)
4th Place - Gerry Lawrence, Steve Kelleher, Bryndon Fry & Stan Steinwall (58.5)

Men's Opening Field Day

Snow.....that's right snow is what was on the course this morning and welcomed us for today's men's opening field day. Even though the wind was brisk and the air was cold we had over 100 strong to kick off the season. Congratulations to the winning team of Colin Dunne, Brad Haley, Keith MacIsaac and Michael Cann.

1st Place - Brad Haley, Michael Cann, Colin Dunne & Keith MacIsaac (57.6)
2nd Place - Chris Couch, Ken Oley, Forrest Todd & Don Pickthall (59.0)
T-3rd Place - Mike Karl, Jim Glover, Tom Duckworth & Brian Sharp (60.2)
T-3rd Place - Chris Cummins, Bernie Docking, Steve Hastings & Art Pingree (60.2)
5th Place - Fred Calvert, Rob Connors, Mike Doria & Patrick Convery (60.9)

*full results will be posted Monday.

Women's Opening Field Day

Well another year has official begun and today was our Women's Opening Field Day. Although it wasn't ideal weather the spirits were high and a great day was had by all. We had 27 brave women take part in the first event of the year and below are the final standings. Congratulations to the winning team of Maureen Cormier, Janet Martinko, Terry Hosford & Jodi Crerar.

1st Place - Maureen Cormier, Janet Martinko, Terry Hosford & Jodi Crerar (67.8)
2nd Place - Lauren Giles, Norma Columbus, Barb Rogers & Marianne Goss (67.9)
3rd Place - Lisa Mackie, Diane Packer, Joanne Kajganich & Jill Fewster-Yan (69.4)
4th Place - Bonnie Cartwright, Sandra Milner-Docking, Yvette Fulton & Theresa Arbuthnot (70.3)
5th Place - Jacquie Dunne, Elke Oley & Linda Briggs (70.5)
6th Place - Sue Dickinson, Darlene Doyle, Veronica Raos-Dunn & Anne Hill (73.9)
7th Place - Kandice Brackenbury, Jennifer Byrne, Pamela Cooper & Julie Pingree (75.3)

MEN’S INTERCLUB 2018 QUALIFYING

Competition Dates:

Whitevale - Monday, June 11th
Oshawa – Monday, July 16th
Cedar Brae – Thursday, July 26th
Meadowbrook – Tuesday, August 21st

Qualifying Process:

Dates: Monday, May 7 – Monday, May 21
Cost: $20 for 3 x 18-hole attempts (Note: qualifying fee to be chitted by Business Office)
Categories: A: 0 - 9, B: 10 -15, C: 16+

Process:

- Must advise Pro Shop prior to playing and hand in score after playing
- Qualify from blue tees for A and white tees for B & C
- May re-qualify for an additional $20 for 3 tries
- Best net score represents your qualifying round

Requirements:

- 4 man teams for each category group
- There will be a cost for team shirts
- Everyone will play at least one game, would like to have 18-24 qualifiers
- There will be additional charges to fund the Whitevale hosted supper pro-rated to all participants
- Fees for carts will be chargeable at all clubs, approximately $20 each round
- For pace of play, all participants are encouraged to ride

Questions: - Please see Pro Shop staff or call Walt
Convenor: Walt Lemon 416 493-5521

Rules Seminar at Whitevale

On Tuesday May 8th, we will be welcoming Tom Forestell from Golf Ontario to host a rules seminar for Whitevale members. With the season nearly here, this is the perfect time to offer what will be an informative and interactive session about rules and scenarios about the game. The seminar will take place from 6:30 - 7:30 pm and include:

- Review of basic rules.
- Power Point presentation.
- Q & A session.

There is no charge to attend and if you wish to please e-mail Ryan La Rose (ryan@whitevalegolfclub.com) to confirm your attendance.

James Francis (Arby) ARBUTHNOT Obituary

Very sad to report on the passing of Whitevale Member Arby, who joined Whitevale in 1979!

On behalf of the entire club, our thoughts and prayers are with Theresa and her family at this time.

ARBUTHNOT, James Francis (Arby) Peacefully at Markham Stouffville Hospital on February 16, 2018 in his 80th year. Beloved husband of the late Jean O'Hare for 51 years. Dear father of Theresa. Brother of Bill and the late Bob. Also remembered by his brothers and sisters-in-law, nieces and nephews. Longtime member of Whitevale Golf Club. Friends will be received at the Dixon-Garland Funeral Home, 166 Main Street North (Markham Road), Markham, on Thursday, February 22nd from 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. Funeral Mass will be held on Friday at 10 a.m. at the Church of St. Patrick, 5633 Highway 7, Markham. Reception to follow at Church. Donations may be made to Markham Stouffville Hospital Foundation.

Mid-Winter Update

Having temperatures, bouncing back and forth above, to below freezing, is one of the worst winter weather patterns for healthy Spring turf-grass. This winter we have experienced an abundance of these fluctuations, however, we have had one saving grace that has prevented any issues so far, this is the lack of snow.

So far this season, 99% of the greens surfaces are free of ice because the small amount of snow we had either melted off when we had mild weather or were helped off the surface with shovels and squeegees. As of February 2^nd, the greens are healthy, and we have minimal ice in some low pockets on fairways and some tees. The tarps are really paying for themselves this year keeping the cold, drying north winds off the putting surfaces. We still have 6 or 8 weeks of winter left, and we know that weather patterns can do anything this time of year, so we still have the second half of winter to get through, but we are looking great as of today.

The new Turf Care Center build was put on hold just before Christmas as we ran into a small challenge. There is an area where the ground must come up about 10 feet, so that we have a large enough flat area to build on. The soil had a high moisture content and we couldn’t get adequate compaction to build. We researched buying aggregate from a quarry and pouring a 12 or 15-foot concrete wall in that corner to keep on schedule, but this would have driven costs up substantially; with no guarantee the material would have met our compaction requirements. After several on-site meetings, it was determined that prudent decision was to put the earthworks on hold until April or May when we have weather that will dry down the material allowing the 100% compaction we need to ensure success. 

As with most big projects, certainly the last few at Whitevale, we encounter unexpected challenges, delays and headaches. As a club we will prevail past these challenges with patience and understanding.

The week of February 5 through February 9 I will be at the Golf Industry Show (GIS) in Texas. The educational program is second to none and the networking and access to new technologies in turf management helps me keep moving Whitevale and its course conditioning forward to keep pace with our competition in the golf market place.