The Maple Ridge Messenger 6-15-09
1/13/2010 9:51:45 AMTHE MAPLE RIDGE MESSENGER
The Official Newsletter of Maple Ridge Golf Club, Columbus, Ga.
JUNE 15, 2009 EDITION
FACILITY RENOVATION UPDATES Tom Kubik, General Manager
I apologize for the inconvenience and delay with the bathroom renovations. The Ladies room should be complete by the end of this week and the Men’s room should be close behind. Hopefully the finished product will be worth the wait. Thank you for your patience.
We have not forgotten about the situation at number Nine with regards to the breech in the drainage pipe and sagging cart path. Several options have been and are being explored including 1) replacement of the drain pipe and cart path to the original state, 2) replacing the drain pipe with a bridge and 3) creating a dam and spillway that would create a pond around the front and left side of the green, nearly creating an island green. Hopefully we will gather the final estimates and reach a decision within the next few weeks. Unfortunately, the washout is not covered by our insurance.
We have also recently made a purchase of dishware and other kitchen utensils that will be used to upgrade regular dining and future catered events. The barbecue that has been served at recent events has been a big hit and we will be purchasing a large grill or two smaller grills to be able to cook on site and make the smoked meats a new staple on the menu.
As always …please let us know your thoughts and ideas to make Your Club the Best it can be. Thank you so much for your continuing support!
TOURNAMENT TIME! Mike Gill, Dir. of Golf & Gene Matthews, Head Pro
Ya gotta love when the weather’s perfect, the course is in tip-top shape and tournament play is everywhere! What a great Chattahoochee Cup we had this past weekend, with 58 teams and 116 players battling it out in two-man best-ball competition for the 13th straight year … and thanks to Jay Pontiac-Buick-GMC and Triangle Wholesalers (Coors and Miller distributors) for sponsoring this grand event!
Congratulations to overall and Championship A Flight winners Adam Cooper and Bubba Gallops, who fired a torrid 64-66---130 to down Johnny Hammond and Ray Crooke by three shots. Chad Glanton and Kevin LeRoy were another shot back at 134 to lead Maple Ridge golfers in this open tourney.
Championship Flight B was won by Kip Fox and Larry Jay at 139; Kevin Snipes and David Dennis captured the First Flight at 143; Dennis Blackmon and David Messer shot 148 to snag the Second Flight; Allen Black and Ryan Earnest’s 158 gave them the Third Flight by two strokes.
Next up: our annual 4th of July Holiday Scramble, this year to be held on Friday the 3rd! Here’s a great chance for new members to play in your first Club tourney! Form your own foursome or sign up as a single at the podium. The $45 entry fee ($30 plus cart) includes breakfast and a back-lawn lunch, prizes and tons of fun! We’ll shotgun at 8:30 a.m. This way, we’ll still have our regular Saturday dogfight and help you keep your weekend plans intact. We’ve had 120 players each of the past two years, so don’t miss this highly popular tournament!
LET’S TALK TURF! Doug Smith, Certified Golf Course Superintendent
Summer Fun. Summer officially begins this Sunday, June 21st at which point we have reached the longest day of the year. During this day the sun is rising in the northeast at approximately 6:34 A.M. and setting in the northwest at approximately 8:52 P.M. These long days provide the turf great growing conditions so it can recuperate and heal from maintenance activities such as aerification. Oh no! Did I say aerification? Of course, after the greens finally recover from transition and get back in good shape it must be time to aerify!
Our first greens core aerfication this year is scheduled for Tuesday, June 23rd. During this process we will be pulling small cores of turf with .0375 inch diameter tines. The “plugs or cores” will then be removed, and the greens rolled. The greens will then be “top-dressed” with sand, which will be brushed and watered into the holes. This sand will dilute the organic material that is naturally produced in the surface of the root zone. In the end it will take close to 100 man-hours to complete this important maintenance practice, so we can continue to make Maple Ridge the best it can be!
DINNER CLUB FEAST JUNE 19 Shawn Robinson, Dir. of Food & Beverage
Everyone who likes to eat and likes to do it in a pleasant setting with good friends needs to make their reservation today for the Friday, June 19 Dinner Club! We’ve got a spectacular menu of Fresh Fruit Salad, BBQ Ribs / Smoked Boston Butts / BBQ Chicken / Smoked Sausage/ Brunswick Stew / Slaw / Black Eyed Pea Salad / Deviled Eggs / Roasted Corn on the Cob / Corn Bread / White Bread, and Strawberry Shortcake.
It’s only $20/person or $40/couple, including tax and gratuity, served on the back lawn (weather permitting). Social hour begins at 6 p.m. Reservations are required, so please invite friends and non-members. If you want to show them what great meals we put on here at “The Ridge”, what better time to do it?
“PMD” & “UWP” UPCOMING! Rick Jacobson, Director of Sales & Marketing
Interesting weeks ahead: our third “Potential Member Day” of 2009 and a “Unity With Pam” networking luncheon featuring, as guest speaker, Jim Simonini, Director of Business Development for renowned golf course architect Robert Trent Jones, Jr.
Saturday, June 27 is “PMD”. The first 20 non-members reserving a spot get, for just $25, a great afternoon of lunch, 18 holes with cart, post-round drink and a chance for maximum group discount on their initiation fee! Invite your golf buddies, or come solo. We always get a good bunch of people. Those who join afterwards save as much as $1,250! Special start times that day are 1:30 p.m. for check-in/lunch/range balls, and 2:30 shotgun. Contact me ASAP at 706-569-0966 or rjacobson@wcbradley.com.
The “Unity With Pam” lunch is open to all for $10. Pam Willis-Hovey has her usual great program lined up, to include live musical performers, a silent auction, TV actor Renny Roker (founder of “Teens on the Green” which funds college scholarships for accomplished high-school golfers with at least 3.0 grade-point averages). Pam’s show is televised on NBC-38, and among those interviewed will be Shawn Robinson, Tom Kubik and me. There’ll also be a putting contest and “Corn-Hole” played afterwards outside, so come take a long lunch break and enjoy this special occasion! Jim Simonini’s talk alone makes it worth coming to Maple Ridge next Tuesday!
New members keep pouring in, and we’re delighted to welcome Greg Stone, Deputy General Manager of defense contractor Omega Training Group; Justin McRae, assistant manager of The Goetchius House on Broadway and son of longtime member Rickey McRae; Kyle Christiansen, a member of the Shaw High School golf team; Bryant Blackmon, who golfs for St. Anne School; The Upper Krust owner David Carson, purveyor of great pizza on Bradley Park Dr., and Ellen Harris, brand-new to the game of golf as she winds up a long accounting career at Kudzu/The Game. Welcome to all! Invitations go out soon to those who have joined since March (and their member sponsors) for a June 30 New Member Reception.
“The Hack is Back” – Maple Ridge Hackers senior softball team emerged from a mid-season slump to win our last two games convincingly. By briefly falling into last place, and having fewer players than most teams, we earned a “first-round draft choice”, adding one of the area’s best free agents, Mark Levy. Since several players work evening shifts, we can now avoid forfeit possibilities and become the league’s hottest second-half team, gearing up for July playoffs. We’re now 4-6 with 8 games left.