8/6/2019 Green Sheet: June 30 edition

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8B THE SARATOGIAN, Thursday, June 30, 2011

Ski Team hosts golftournament

The BHBL/BSpaAlpine Ski Team will behosting a golf tourna-ment at the Ballston SpaCountry Club on July 11with a 9 a.m. shotgunstart.

The $75 per person feeincludes green fees, cart,continental breakfast,and lunch buffet.

Sponsorships are also

available.Check made payable to

the BH-BL Athletic Asso-ciation and mail to Ball-ston Spa Country Club,Attn: Todd Manderson,PO Box 117, BallstonSpa, N.Y. 12020

For information callTodd Manderson at 588-0645.

Golf tournament tosupport Alzheimers

Hit the links for thosewith Alzheimers disease

in our region. The 13thAnnual George J. DennisMemorial Golf Tourna-ment to benefit theAlzheimers Associationof Northeastern NewYork will take place onMonday, Aug. 8 atMcGregor Links CountryClub in Saratoga Springs.

The morning shotgunstart will be at 7:30 a.m.and the afternoon shot-gun start will be at 1 p.m.Cocktails are set for 6p.m. and dinner at 7 p.m.

Golf pricing, which

includes lunch and din-ner, is $200 per golfer and$800 per foursome. Din-ner alone is $100.

Reserve a foursome orlearn about sponsorshipopportunities by contact-ing Sarah at 867-4999, ext.304 or at sarah.ohig-gins@alz.org.

Greenfield learn togolf lessons

The Brookhaven GolfPro will give two sets oflessons this year to youth

ages 618. Its a 5-dayClinic. Cost is $40. Thefirst session concludesthis week and the secondsession is from July 18 toJuly 22.

The June session is forgolfers ages 6-8, while theJuly session is for ages 9and up. To register, pickup a form at Town Hall,visit www.townofgreen-field.com, or theBrookhaven Club.

Teeing off onCancer tournament

The American CancerSocietys Coaches vs.Cancer has announcedthat the fourth annualTeeing Off on CancerGolf Classic will be heldat the Saratoga NationalGolf Course, on Monday,Aug. 29.

For more information,the organizing commit-tee can be contacted byvisiting their website www.teeingoffon

ancer.org or bysending an email to

information@teeingof-foncancer.org.

unior golf seasonpass essay contest

The Town of Green-field has established ajunior golf season passfor a boy or girl who hasfinancial need and quali-fies through a 150-wordessay on How golf willhelp me develop honestyand integrity in my life.

Each applicant shouldsubmit their essay and

family information tothe Town of Greenfieldby July 5.

UPCOMING

EVENTS

COURSE OF THE WEEK: MCGREGOR LINKS COUNTRYCLUB

ASK THE PRO

Q. What causes agolfer to slice the

ball?

A. In relation to thetarget line, a personis probably swinging

from the outside in.Their club is comingdown left of the tar-

get line and cuttingacross the ball with

a neutral or openclub face, making

the ball slice. Its allabout trying to cor-rect the club path

and face of the clubat impact. Most peo-

ple arent aimed cor-rectly and it makes

them swing over the

ball even worse. Ifyoure having trou-

ble slicing, youshould make an

effort to swing out-

side of the target.

Michael Behan,

head golf profes-sional at Van Patten

Golf Club

WHATS YOUR

FAVORITE CLUB?

Kent Tarkleson,

owner and profes-sional at TarksIndoor Golf Club inSaratoga Springs

Titleist vokey 56-degree sand wedge

Its the most fun

club because it has

the most versatility.

Its the one club in

my bag thats capa-

ble of hitting a multi-

tude of differentshots. Theres full

swing shots, knock

downs, flop shots,

bunker shots. I just

like its versatility

and its reliability. Im

just comfortable

with it in my hands. I

hit it certain dis-

tances and I like to

get in that range so I

can use it.

Whats your favoriteclub? Let us know

online.

Links course a challenge for any golferWILTON

McGregor Links isa semi-privatecountry club thatis accessible tothe public every-day but Tuesdaysand Thursdays.The course which is a locateda few miles fromdowntown SaratogaSprings was built by

state senator Edward T.Brackett and designed in1921 by DevereauxEmmett.

Emmett is also thearchitect of other localcourses such as MohawkGolf Club and Mechan-icville Golf Club. He alsodesigned CongressionalCountry Club, which justplayed host to the 111thUS Open earlier thismonth.

While its never hosteda major professionalchampionship, McGre-

gor has been the site ofseven New York StateAmateur Golf Champi-onships and two USOpen local qualifiers.The home course ofSkidmore Colleges golfteam wil l also host aNew York Junior PGAtournament and the New York State Boys andGirls championshipslater this summer.

The course is current-ly building a driving

range with limit-ed-flight ballsand a short-game practicefacility to accom-pany its puttinggreen so playerscan have a goodwarm up prior totheir round.

Golfers get agood view of McGregorslinks-style design right

off the first tee. Althoughthe 445 yard par-5 is oneof the easiest holes onthe course, it does pro- vide a rolling fairway,fescue grass, moundsand strategically placedbunkering.

As your round pro-gresses, youll get moreof the same links ele-ments, which create achallenging round. Forexample, on third hole a 225 yard beast of a par-3 players can only seea tip of the flag from the

tee because a series ofbunkers and moundsblock the green fromview, making it one thehardest par-3s around.

Although McGregoroffers its fair share ofchallenging holes, itdoes present opportuni-t ies for gol fers to getaggressive. Head golfprofessional TomOppedisano said playerscan attack between theeighth and 13th holes. Inthat stretch, the bestbirdie opportunities are

on two reachable par-5s No. 8 and 12. Theeighth is a pretty tight432 yard dog-leg le ft ,while No. 12 is 465 yards with a large water haz-ard to short and right ofthe green.

After the 13th hole ashort 126 yard par-3 golfers have to bringtheir A-game to concludetheir round.

The home stretch,No. 14 through 18, isespecially challenging,Oppedisano said.

Youre not going to geta bunch of strokes backcoming into the clubhouse. You just dont getshort wedge shots thatyou get with some of theearlier holes.

The 565 yard par-515th is especially difficultbecause it takes a driverout of most gol fers hands. With only a 20 yard landing area andtrouble left and right offthe tee, an accuratedrive down the middle isessential. Even if your

tee shot stays in the leftpart of the fairway, play-ers will either have to hit

up and over trees that jut out into the fairwayor take less club and hitup and over the timber.

Like most DevereauxEmmett designs, theclosing hole is a par-3.Players may have a bit of

an audience as a newlyrenovated clubhouse andback patio overlook the165-yard 18th.

Furthermore, McGre-gor has a 10-year renova-tion plan to continue toimprove the playing con-dition of the course, which was already infantastic shape duringmy round. Theyve alsomade significant rein-vestment into the qualityof the turf and thegreens, as well as a fewaesthetically pleasing

adjustments. Although McGregor

possesses qualities of alinks course, such asrolling fairways, long fes-cue grass and well-placed bunkers, unlikeother links layouts,woods and a few condosmake some of the holes alot narrower than onewould expect. These fac-

tors make for a uniqueand challenging layoutthat will test everyaspect of your game,from shot execution tostrategic thinking.

Saratogian sports

writer Alex Ventre is anavid golfer. He can bereached by email ataventre@saratogian.com.

ALEXVENTRE

Check out video highlights

of McGregor LinksCountry Club online.

MCGREGOR LINKS359 Northern Pines

RoadSaratoga Springs

584-6664www.mcgregorlinks.com

Par-726,349 yards

Golf Rates (includesmandatory cart):

Monday18 holes: $65

Tuesday, Thursday

and HolidaysMembers only

Wednesday18 holes: $65

Friday (before noon)18 holes: $100

Weekend (after 1 p.m.)18 holes: $75

Prices listed aboveare for unaccompanied

guests. There arecheaper greens fees if

accompanied by aMcGregor member. Call

for tee times and mem-bership rates

ERICA MILLER/emiller@saratogian.com

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ERICA MILLER/emiller@saratogian.com

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Bring this ad for

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MON-FRI

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Offer Expires 7/15/11(not valid with anyother promotion)

Minutes from Saratoga!Youll love the Turf conditions