TOPICS NEWSLETTERVOLUME 14, NO. 3 - MAY 2010

Dennis Walters Performs for Over 750 Youth

Junior Tour’s First Event 2010 Pro Official Championship presented by Club Car & Tee-Marketing

Sanctuary Golf Club Raises Over $8000 for SFPGA Foundation

WHAT’S INSIDE:Don. E. Beattie

Scholarship Winner 2010 Annual Meeting

Chip ShotsFoundation DaysPro’s On The Go

Upcoming Events...And More!

Junior-Senior Championship

contact informationSOUTH FLORIDA SECTION, PGA OF AMERICA100 Avenue of the ChampionsPalm Beach Gardens, FL 33418

PHONE / FAX561-624-7676 / 561-624-8576

EMAILsflorida@pgahq.com

WEBSITEwww.sflorida.pga.com

PRESIDENTStephen A. Cox, PGA

VICE PRESIDENTBrian Peaper, PGA

SECRETARYWarren Bottke, PGA

IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENTJeff Raimer, PGA

SOUTHERN CHAPTER PRESIDENTDick McNeill, PGA

SOUTHEAST CHAPTER PRESIDENTSteve Harrop, PGA

SOUTHWEST CHAPTER PRESIDENTBill Constantine, PGA

ISLAND CHAPTER PRESIDENTAaron West, PGA

EXECUTIVE DIRECTORGeoff Lofstead

ADVISORY BOARDDean BakerRick BaylissEd D’Alessandro, PGAIra KaplanJim MaitlandJim O’ConnorCraig PernaSteve SponderHarry TempkinsRoger Woonton

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NEW MEMBERSThe South Florida PGA would like to welcome the following new member to the Section:

Mack T. McConahan, PGA A-8 The Polo Club of Boca Raton

NEW APPRENTICESThe South Florida PGA would like to welcome the following new apprentices to the Section:

Jeffrey T. Hale B-8 River Landing Country ClubSimon M. Handley B-8 Hope Valley Country Club

PGA CERTIFIED PROFESSIONAL PROGRAMThe South Florida PGA would like to congratulate Jeff B. Wilson, PGA, on earning his second certification through The PGA Certified Professional Program in Golf Operations.

QUARTER CENTURY CLUBCongratulations to PGA members Joseph Drabin and Kevin Walker for their induction into the Quarter Century Club, joining an outstanding group of individuals who have been PGA members for over 25 years. HALF CENTURY CLUBCongratulations to PGA members Dwight W. Campbell and Tom Micek for their induction into the Half Century Club, joining an outstanding group of individuals who have been PGA members for over 50 years. CONGRATULATIONS Congratulations to PGA member Ryan Garrity, PGA and wife Pamela on their new baby. Eliza-beth Paige Garrity was born April 22 at 8:33am at 20 inches, 9lbs and 12oz.

IN MEMORY OF JACK PHENEGER, PGA AND JACK KERCHNEW, PGAJack Pheneger passed away on March 28th. A PGA member since 1961, Jack is survived by his wife Car-ol June Pheneger. Jack Kerchner also passed away April 15th. A PGA member since 1985, he is sur-vived by his wife Christina Kercher. The SFPGA sends its condolences and prayers to both families. 2010 SFPGA LAS VEGAS TRAVEL PRO-AM - ONLY A FEW SPOTS LEFT

Join the SFPGA for its Las Vegas Travel Pro-Am! PGA Professionals stay and play for free (airfare not included) and the amateur contestant fee is $1,875 per person, single occupancy, and does not include airfare (accompa-nying guest fee is $299). The Pro-Am runs Sunday-Thursday, October 3-7 and golf will be played on Paiute Golf Resort’s Wolf Course, at Arroyo Golf Club and at Bear’s Best, with accommodations at Caesar’s Palace. Contact Andrea at 561-624-7644 for additional information. Spots are going fast, so

get your team together today!

64TH FLORIDA OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP REGISTRATIONInnisbrook Resort, host of the PGA TOUR’s Transitions Championship, will be hosting the 64th Florida Open Championship July 16-18, 2010. In order to play in the Championship, you must first qualify at one of the 16 qualifiers around the state. The qualifying fee is $80, click here to register. Entries close Wednesday, June 16th at 4:30 pm. For more information on Eligibility and Championship Policies, visit the FSGA website.

MSR REQUIREMENTSThe current MSR cycle ends June 15, 2011 and the requirements for the three year cycle is 54 credits. Please be aware that there are two required fields. The Education requirement is 12 credits and the Meeting requirement is 12 credits. The remaining credits can be earned under several different cat-egories. See MSR requirements at PGAlinks.com. See below for a schedule of Spring Meetings for the Chapters and the Annual Meeting of the Membership. If you have any questions regarding your MSR credits, contact the Section office at 561-624-7676.- SFPGA Annual Meeting of the Membership: May 17 - Weston Hills Country Club at 5 PM. For more information see page 5.

NEW BONUS POOL INTRODUCED FOR GLOBAL GOLF SALES EVENTS

Steve Sponder of Global Golf Sales is introduc-ing a new bonus pool for Tournament Series #1 & #3. The Global Golf Sales Point Quota Bonus Pool is a separate contest in which those who accumulate the most points will receive a prize payout. Participants will be assigned a certain number of criteria points/power ranking or also known as a point quota. The number of criteria points an individual is assigned will be based on his/her stroke average from the previous year’s

events. Based on the player’s stroke average, s/he will be placed into one of the seven (7) power rankings. For more information on the bonus pool, payout structure and power rankings, please click here.

GOLF LICENSE PLATE PROGRAMThis year the South Florida PGA has partnered with the Golf License Plate Program to help promote the plate to Florida residents. For every Golf License Plate sold in the state of Florida $25 goes to the Florida Ju-nior Golf Council in support of junior golf throughout the state. Every facility in South Florida should have received promotional in-formation about the Golf Li-cense Plate Program, and we en-courage you to display it at your facility. Please note that grants are available for PGA profes-sionals conducting junior golf camps, clinics, etc. and more information can be found by visiting http://www.fjgc.org/.

NOMINATE YOUR PEERS FOR 2010 SFPGA ANNUAL AWARDSIt’s time to nominate your fellow PGA professionals for the 2010 SF-PGA Annual Awards. Each year the SFPGA Awards Committee se-lects eleven (11) award recipients based on your nominations. New in 2010: A Salesperson of the Year Award. Additional award categories include: Golf Professional of the Year, Teacher of the Year, Assistant of the Year, Merchandiser of the Year (Public, Private & Resort), Bill Strausbaugh Award, Horton Smith Award, Junior Golf Leader Award and the PGA President’s Plaque. Please take the time to make your voice heard and support your peers! Visit the SFPGA website and click on Awards to fill out your nomination online. The deadline is May 19, 2010. MORE POINTS OFFERED IN 2010 FOR PLAYER OF THE YEAR & SENIOR PLAYER OF THE YEAR POINTS RACERegular Player of the Year points will now be awarded for qualifiers, ex-empt players, and those making the cut at the Florida Open. Senior Player of the Year points will now be awarded in the Section and South Florida Open for Seniors missing the cut. For a printout of the compete Player of the Year Points Policy, visit sflorida.pga.com. The Player of the Year and Senior Play-er of the Year points races are supported by Sterling Cut Glass.

APPRENTICE LEVELS PASSED Michael Burlingame Naples Beach Hotel & GC N-0Katherine Dixon St Andrews CC N-0Richard Saunders Wycliffe Golf & CC N-0Oliver Gendron Royal Palm Country Club R1Patrick Hawkins McArthur Golf Club R1Pleasant Hughes Everglades Club R1Christopher Brady St Andrews CC R2Andrew Forbes Normandy Shores Golf Club R2Robert Lenkey Ft Lauderdale CC R2Scott Nitowski The Forest CC R2Andrew Plesz The Forest CC R2Ford Sullivan Wildcat Run Golf & CC R2Brett Belade Turtle Creek Club R3

JUNIOR TOUR VOLUNTEERS NEEDEDThe South Florida PGA is ready for another successful year of junior golf. To continue our successful trend, we need volunteers to come out and act as Pace of Play/Rules Officials during the events. Each volunteer will receive 1 MSR Credit per hour worked. If you would like to help, please click here to view the tournament dates and site, and then contact Meredith at 561-624-7657 with your availability.

FGCU PGM STUDENTS ARE LOOKING FOR INTERNSHIPS Several Florida Gulf Coast University PGA Golf Management Program stu-

dents are seeking summer employment opportunities (May through August) on both coasts of the South Florida Section. Please contact Marty Hall, Internship Coor-dinator, at mhall@fgcu.edu or at 239-590-7694 if you are willing to interview an FGCU student for a summer posi-tion.

MAY IS PGA FREE LESSON MONTH

Last May, nearly 5,250 PGA and LPGA Professionals nationwide gave more than 80,075 FREE 10-MINUTE LESSONS. From all indications, 2010 PGA Free Les-son Month will be even better! This is per-fect for new golfers, casual golfers and avid golfers alike. Simply put, PGA Free Lesson

Month is the perfect tool to improve your game, get you started, or discover all the ways to get more golf into your life! Visit Playgolfamerica.com to learn more.

HAVE YOU PURCHASED YOUR PLAYER’S CARD YET? South Florida PGA Professionals and apprentices wishing to play in three or more Section pro-only events are required to purchase a Tournament Play-er’s Card. The following events apply: Global Golf Sales Tournament Series #1, #2, #3, Southeast PGA Classic, E-Z-GO South Florida Open, Pro-Pro Championship and Section Championship presented by: TaylorMade-adi-das. It is important to note that you must purchase your Player’s Card prior to registering for any events or the system will not recognize that you have purchased one.

NEW POLICIES APPROVED FOR 2010 TOURNAMENT SEASONA few policy changes have been made for 2010 regarding the dress code and practice rounds. Shorts have been approved for Professional-only events June-August and a new policy defining what is and what isn’t con-sidered a practice round. Visit sflorida.pga.com for both policy updates.

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MEET SFPGA TOURNAMENT OPERATIONS

INTERN TYLER HAMPTON

The South Florida PGA is pleased to welcome Tyler Hampton as its Tournament Operations In-tern for summer 2010. Tyler is currently pursing his MBA in Sports Administration from Saint Thomas University in Miami Gardens, FL. He graduated from University of Kentucky with a B.A. in Business Marketing and Finance.

Tyler comes to the South Florida PGA with four years of competitive golf experience. He worked on the cart staff as at a country club in Lou-isville, Kentucky and as a caddy at Valhalla Golf Club. He is very pas-sionate about the game of golf and is looking forward to working closely with our Tournament Director, An-drew Miller.

Tyler states, “I’m very excited to join the South Florida PGA Team. I was thrilled to even apply for the

position and even more appreciative to find out that I would be joining the operations team. I began playing golf at the age of 11 and it has been a lifelong dream of mine to work in the industry. I’m faithful that this opportunity will warrant beneficial expe-rience and help me pursue a career in the world of professional golf.”

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A WORD FROM AN APPRENTICE KATIE DIXON What is your progress in the PGM/PGA Program? Have you passed your PAT? What level are you currently working on?

I am a Level 1 Apprentice. I passed the PAT on my first attempt in December with 74-79.

Where are you from? Where did/do you go to school and what did/do you study?

I am originally from Ashland, Kentucky. I am the only athlete in my high school’s history to be named First-Team All-State in Golf. I played college golf for the University of Kentucky.

Where do you currently work? Where have you worked? What have been your job responsibilities?

I am an Assistant Professional at St. Andrews Country Club in Boca Raton Florida. My previous positions were: Assistant Pro-fessional at Bellefonte Country Club & Sandy Creek Golf Course both in Ashland, KY; also coached both Girls & Boys High School Golf.

What inspired you to pursue golf as your career? What are your goals?

As a coach, I helped my students with drills that I had been given in college, and saw how pleased they were with their improvements they had made. It inspired me to become a teacher. My goal is to become a Head Golf Professional or Director of Golf at a first-class organization.

What are your other hobbies besides golf?

Painting, playing piano, and following my sister, Mary Beth’s golf career.

Favorite golf moment?

Definitely a tie between working the bank with my father during the 1996 PGA Championship at Valhalla and watching Morgan Pressel hole a fried egg side hill bunker shot over a 6 foot lip to a tight pin during the ADT Champsionship in 2007.

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quote of the month

““The mind messes up more shots than the body.”

Tommy BoltProfessional Golfer

PRO’S ON THE GO

PRO TO FROM JR Congdon The Verandah Club, Fort Myers unattachedRyan Brandeburg Unaffiliated Section Naples Grande GC, NaplesShawn Ward A-4 – The Club at Grandezza, Estero Philadelphia SectionJohn Quinzi Life Member A-1 – Ironhorse CC, WPBJason Hayes A-1 – Ironhorse CC, West Palm Beach Hunter’s Run Club – Boynton David Pfisterer unattached A-1 – Everglades Club ,Palm BeachMartin Barnes A-1 – Palm Cove GC, Palm City A-8 – Palm Cove GC Palm CityAndrew McMechan A-1 – Royal Palm Yacht & CC. Boca RatonA-1 – Boca Raton Resort, BocaTommy Hilliard unattached A-4 – Ocean Reef Club, Key Largo Brian Linton unattached A-4 - Biltmore Golf Crs, Coral GablesDavid Buono unattached A-1 - Grande Oaks Golf Club, Davie

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ANNUAL MEETING OF THE SFPGA MEMBERSHIP

Join us for the South Florida PGA Annual Meeting of the Membership Monday, May 17th from 5:00-7:00 pm at Weston Hills Country Club in Weston, FL.

HIGHLIGHTS:

Southeast Chapter Office Oath of Office A special presentation from the SFPGA Foundation

Nominate your peers for 2010 Annual Awards Vote on a resolution brought to the floor -

Executive Board Expansion

Participate in our NEW food drive, to benefit Jack & Jill Children’s Center.

Jack & Jill Children’s Center is a non-profit organization that provides family oriented early

childhood education and support to strengthen working families of Broward County. Jack & Jill Children’s Center strives to break the cycle of poverty for children of lower income work-ing families in Broward County through the provision of family-oriented child care services

and family intervention and support. Bring your canned items to the meeting.

Most needed items: peanut butter, canned meals (pop-top cans a plus), canned fruits and vegetables, rice, breakfast cereals, long life milk (boxes or powdered), paper products: toilet

paper, paper towels, and hygiene items: toothpaste, shaving items, soap, etc. in individual sizes

Members are eligible to earn 4 MSR credits for attending.

DRESS CODE: Jacket is required. If not dressed appropriately you will not be admitted to the meeting. Please visit sflorida.pga.com to register.

UPCOMING EDUCATION SEMINARS:

Spring/Summer - June 10 The Vineyards in Naples

8 AM - 12 PM, $40 registration fee

Fall - November 8 Atlantis CC

8 AM - 12 PM, $40 registration fee

presented by: hosted by:

Earn More MSR CreditsBoth events are now available for registration,

and all information can be found on the education page of the website.

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2010 Pro-Official Championship presented by Club Car & Tee-Marketing

Host PGA Professional Ryan Zug and amateur partner Bernie Carbal-lo of Admiral’s Cove in Jupiter played a spectacular round of golf together on Monday, April 12, 2010 at Admiral’s Cove during the 2010 Pro-Official Cham-pionship presented by: Club Car & Tee-Marketing. The event consisted of 54 teams, comprised of one South Florida PGA Professional and one official from the Professional’s place of employment, playing in a best ball competition.

Zug and Carballo finished their round with a team score of 62, edging out their nearest competi-tors, PGA Professional Matt King and his amateur partner, John Herring, also of Admiral’s Cove and PGA Professional Jason Hrynkiw and his amateur partner, Bruce Allman of Gleneagles Country Club who shot a composite 64. PGA Professional Frank Dobbs from Eagle Marsch Golf Club won the low professional division after shooting a 66. Frank Dobbs and his amateur partner Bob Riccio won the low gross division after shooting a combined score of 66. For complete results from the Pro Official Championship presented by Club Car & Tee-Marketing, visit the SFPGA website.

Special thanks to host facil-ity Admiral’s Cove for a first rate playing experience. Thank you presenting sponsors Club Car & Tee Marketing, as well as support-ing sponsors Antigua and Mobile Pro Shop.

Kevin Compare and Richard Terga played show rather than tell Wednesday in winning the ninth annual South Florida PGA Senior-Junior Championship April 28th at the Links at Boynton Beach.

The two instructors at the John Webster Golf Academy at the Break-ers Hotel in Palm Beach posted an 11 under par 60 while playing three different formats, six holes each. Playing a scramble, they birdied four of the first six holes, Nos. 1, 3, 5 and 6; made four more birdies on the next six holes, a better-ball event, the 8th, 10th, 11th and 12th; then added three more playing alternate shots, the 13th, 16th and 17th.

“We both rolled the ball well,” said Compare. “I let Richard hit the approach shots on the last six holes because he’s such a good wedge player.” They did not make a bogey and won by three shots over the 2005 champions, Danny St. Louis and Alan Morin, who had 63.

Jerry Tucker and Chad Kurmel, winners the past three years, had 64, tied for third among 40 teams.

Compare said he couldn’t remember the last time he won a golf tournament whether on his own or in a team event. Terga won 18 Minor League Golf Tour events between Oct. 13, 2005 and Feb. 4, 2010. They tied for fifth with 64 here last year. Special thanks to host facility The Links at Boynton Beach, PGA Head Professional Daniel Hager and The Links at Boynton Beach facility staff for their excellent hospitality and providing participants with a first rate playing experi-ence. The SFPGA would like to recognize the Junior-Se-nior’s support sponsors The Links at Boynton Beach, the PGA TOUR and Global Golf Sales represented by Steve Sponder. Thank you for your support in making this event a great success.

Junior-Senior Championship

Host PGA Professional Ryan Zug and amateur partner Bernie Carballo win the 2010 Pro-Official Championship presented by: Club Car & Tee-Marketing.

Kevin Compare and Richard Terga win the Senior-Junior Championship

Article by Larry Bush

tournament newsJunior Tour Wraps Up First Event at Indian Spring Country Club

One hundred junior golfers participated in the first event of the 2010 South Flor-ida PGA Junior Tour season April 17th and 18th, annually held at Indian Spring Country Club in Boynton Beach on the West Course. Naples resident, Ryan Celano and Boynton Beach native, Ash-ley Burke were Overall Champions of the event in the boys and girls divisions.

Strong winds and fast greens on Satur-day, followed by rain on Sunday made things challenging for all players in the field. Fourteen year old Celano was unaf-fected by the conditions, while shooting 69 each day finishing three shots ahead of his nearest competitor Chase Koepka of Lake Worth. Austin Schultz of Bonita Springs finished third with a 149 one shot ahead of Hunter O’Mahony of Tequesta.

Burke, claimed the Girls Overall Ti-tle shooting a two day total of 152, fin-ishing second by one shot to Burke was Shelby Coyle of Pembroke Pines. Emma Smyser of Naples fin-ished third with a two day total of 154.

In the Boys 12-13 Age Division Jalen Ledger of Palm Beach Gardens shot a 69 on Sunday to claim victory by four shots to Stefano Gabriel Butti of Palm City. Nick Gagliardi of Tequesta fin-ished third with a two day total of 151.

Story Shaw of West Palm Beach finished first in the Girls 12-13 Age Division with a total of 171, followed by Zora Gittens of Parkland with a 188 and Mary Janiga of Wellington with a 194.

The South Florida PGA Junior Tour is proudly present-ed by The Honda Classic and supported by Titleist, Don Law Golf Improvement Center, Allianz Cham-pionship, The Fun Group at Mirasol, and ParKit Golf.

Special thanks to Indian Springs Country Club for hosting the event.

The Florida Open ChampionshipSixteen (16) qualifiers in the state of Florida held June

28th - July 9thChampionship Dates: July 16-18, 2010

Innisbrook Resort & Golf ClubEntry deadline: June 16, 2010

US Senior Open Qualifying

Three (3) qualifiers in the state of Florida:Gainesville Country Club on June 28, 2010Dunedin Country Club on June 28, 2010

Quail Ridge Country Club on July 5, 2010Entry deadline: June 9, 2010

South Florida PGA Professional Championship

Quail Valley Golf ClubSeptember 28-29, 2010

Entries will begin Wednesday, May 26th...

...Entry deadline is 5:00 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, July 7th. Entries will begin Wednesday, May 26th, via telephone and on-line at www.pgalinks.com or www.pgatournaments.com.

South Florida Senior PGA Professional ChampionshipSailfish Point Golf Club

August 12-13, 2010Entries will begin Wednesday, June 2nd, via telephone and on-line at www.pgalinks.com or www.pgatournaments.com. Entry deadline is 5:00 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, July 14th.

South Florida Callaway Golf PGA Assistant ChampionshipFrenchman’s Reserve

August 2-3, 2010Entries will begin Wednesday, June 9th, via telephone and on-line at www.pgalinks.com or www.pgatournaments.com.

Entry deadline is 5:00 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, July 21st.

Other Tournament News

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Ryan Celano and Ashley Burke were Overall Champions at the first Junior Tour

Girls play at Indian Spring Country Club for the first Junior Tour

Dennis Walters performed his inspirational show at the Don Law Golf Improvement Center at Boca Dunes Country Club for the fifth year Thursday, April 15th for over 750 students from Palm Beach and Broward Counties.

Walters, who has performed his show for al-most thirty three years, was paralyzed from the waist down in an accident almost thirty-five years ago, putting his dream of becoming a touring professional perma-nently on hold. This accident was seen by most as a tragedy, but Dennis persevered, and with a positive outlook he faced his tragedy as just a minor obstacle on his on-going journey toward achieving his dreams. In doing so, Dennis states, “I’ve always loved to play golf, so when I was injured I knew I had to find a way to still do what I loved – and I’ve been able to do that through hard work and determination.” His message of inspiration was conveyed to all the juniors in attendance this Thursday as they sat in awe and cheered for Dennis while he performed some of his amazing trick shots from the swivel seat of his customized golf cart.

Walters came to Boca Thursday morning full of enthusiasm and ready to show the local juniors how dreaming big, hard work, and believing in yourself are the cornerstones to achieving one’s dreams and goals. Dennis had his co-host, super dog, Bucky open the show for him, solving math problems and golf trivia questions by barking the answer.

Continued on next page....

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This year the SFPGA would like to congratulate Bradley Keena, the son of Cal-laway Golf Sales Representative Kerry Keena, on being named the 2010 Don E. Beattie Scholarship recipient. Bradley will enter his first year of studies at The University of Central Florida in the Fall. The South Florida PGA Foundation annually awards one Palm Beach County resident with The Don E. Beattie Scholarship, a $2,500 grant assisting a student with his/her college education. The Don E. Beattie Scholarship was established in 2006 in memorial of PGA Professional Don E. Beattie for his service to the South Florida PGA Section as a Past President and for his support of the game of golf. Don E. Beattie was a selfless, giving, unassuming individual dedicated to commu-nity outreach efforts and countless charities throughout Palm Beach County.

Individuals eligible for the award include graduating High School Seniors whose par-ents, grandparents or themselves are employed in the golf industry, and are a resident of Palm Beach County.

This year the SFPGA’s 2010 Don E. Beattie Scholarship Recipient is a student who has shown leadership, dedication and support to both the community and youth programming. He is currently finishing his senior year at Cardinal Newman High

School in West Palm Beach, where he is a member of the National Honors Society and Varsity Lacrosse Team. He is also heavily involved in an outreach program called Young Life as well as a leader of the Wyldlife Program for middle school stu-dents.

Jupiter Native Bradley Keena awarded Don E. Beattie Scholarship

Dennis Walters an Inspiration to Over 750 South Florida Youth

After a brief warm-up, not only was Walters able to drive the golf ball well over 200 yards while strapped to his golf cart, he was also able to perform phenom-enal trick shots, including hitting the ball through fire, hitting the ball from an extra large tee, with a super small club, with a club made of rubber, a fishing rod, and a cell phone, to name a few. Before ending his show Walters reminded each student that “you can achieve success in life and that almost anything is pos-sible if you believe.” Walters was then honored by a standing ovation from the entire crowd!

After the show the students from Tradewinds Elemen-tary, Quiet Water Elementary, Deerfield Park Elemen-tary and Boynton Beach High School’s ESE Depart-ment were provided with a sub sandwich from Jersey Mike’s Subs, as well as chips and soda and Jelly Belly jelly beans. Special thanks to Jersey Mikes and Jelly Belly for sponsoring this event. PGA Professional and host Don Law, along with his wife, Diana, are the individuals that have made this event happen for the past five years, this clinic would not have been possible with-out their hard work and dedication to junior golf. For the past fifteen years, Don and Diana have been promoting golf to the youth of South Florida. Said Don about the event, “Dennis Walters was just incred-ible and it was truly an inspirational treat for the kids and adults in attendance.”

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The Sanctuary Golf Club’s PGA golf professionals and club members raised over $8,000 for the South Florida PGA Founda-tion Monday, April 12, 2010 by hosting the Pro-Pro Charity Clas-sic at their golf course. Ed Lockard, PGA Director of Golf at the Sanctuary, recruited his head golf professional as his teammate to compete his two assistant pros.

Members at the Sanctuary generously donated a total of over $4,600 just to win opportunities to caddie for the players and drive the golf cart. All proceeds went to the South Florida PGA Foundation, comprised of three cornerstones, one being junior golf. Junior golf is close to Lockard’s heart. “Most of us start out as juniors, including myself! Junior golf is the future of the game.”

Lockard estimates over 100 club members attended the lun-cheon, and 150 spectated at the golf course. Members enjoyed a beautiful sunny day, as well as a chance to interact with their golf professionals on a more personal level.

Lockard states, “The members at the Sanctuary are notorious for being generous and giving back to the community. This is just an-other example of their long history of supporting a great cause. Junior golf is something we all feel strongly about. These are the most generous folks I’ve ever seen!”

Created in 2008, Foundation Day is a fundraising activity cre-ated to raise money for the South Florida PGA Charitable Foun-dation. The South Florida PGA Board of Directors created “Foundation Day” as a day in which PGA Professionals can con-duct fund-raisers for the foundation through their facilities, like the one Sanctuary hosted Monday. For more information about hosting a fundraiser, please contact Meredith Winkelmann at 561.624.7657.

Located on beautiful Sanibel Island, The Sanctuary Golf Club is a challenging 6,806 yard layout nestled between a Ding Darling wildlife refuge and Pine Island.

Sanctuary Golf Club Raise Over $8,000 for Foundation

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Dennis Walters cont.Sanctuary Golf Club hosts a Foundationg Day and raised over $8,000 for SFPGA Foundation

foundation focusPGA Coors Light Tournament for CharitySouthwest Florida golf professionals raised $49,295, Monday, April 5, 2010, to help youngsters with substance abuse problems at The Vince Smith Center of Southwest Florida Addiction Services, as well as the PGA Art Soder-holm Scholarship Fund, 1st Tee of Collier Junior Golf, Southwest Florida Junior Golf, Florida Gulf Coast University Professional Golf Manage-ment Program, and Florida Gulf Coast University Men’s & Women’s Golf Teams.

Altogether, 24 teams from various clubs throughout Lee and Collier counties played in the 30th Annual Coors Light Tournament of Charities, the area’s largest pro-amateur golf tourney, hosted this year by Pelican Preserve Golf Club in Fort Myers. The Tournaments sponsors include a $5000 donation from MillerCoors Brewing, Lit & More Inc., JJ Taylor Distrib-uting and Pelican Preserve.

EJ McDonnell, Head Golf Professional at Bonita Bay Golf Club, won first place in the fund-raising competition by raising $10,164.00 for charity. They also held the previous record of $8552.00 last year.

The Club at Olde Cypress won the Southwest Florida Club Championship. Mike Carr and his team took top honors by shooting 122 on the Pelican Preserve course. Other members of the winning team were Steve Solarsh, Joe D’elia and Frank Madalone.

Each amateur member of the team received a trophy and $150 gift certificate to Pelican Preserve.

The PGA-Coors Light Tournament of Charities, sponsored by the Southwest Florida Chapter of the Professional Golfers’ Association, MillerCoors, Lit & More Inc., JJ Taylor Distributing and Pelican Preserve Golf Club, is among the areas most successful. To date this event has raised over $1,597,810 for charity.

Other winners were: second place (scored 123), Bonita Bay team of Pro Scooter Burns, Chuck York, Dick Tieva & Thomas Boyle; third place (scored 124), Cypress Lake team of Pro Ron Leatherwood, Paul Velte, Bob Mitchell & Bonnie Mitchell; fourth place (scored 125), Olde Cypress team of Pro Tommy Vilardo, Debbie Metz, Chip Schilling & Rick Metz.

Fund raising totals announced Monday were: Bonita Bay Golf Club ($10,164); The Vineyards CC ($7396); Moorings Country Club ($7270), Olde Florida Golf Club ($6000); Quail Creek ($4400); The Club at Olde Cypress ($3580); Cypress Lake CC ($3000); Gateway ($1849); West Bay Golf Club ($1400); Arrowhead Golf Club ($1285); The Dunes –Sanibel ($1241); Del Webb ($400).

The event highlighted more than three months of fund-raising by area golf professionals to benefit the PGA Scholarship Fund, Junior Golf, The Vince Smith Center of Southwest Florida Addiction Services (SWFAS), Florida Gulf Coast University Professional Golf Man-agement Program and FGCU Men’s and Women’s Golf Teams. Congratulations to all the professionals and their generous members.

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Other Foundation Day Facility Participants FACILITY PROFESSIONAL AMOUNT RAISED Abacoa Golf Club Warren Bottke TBA Cypress Lakes CC Robin Albright $775Del Tura CC Jeff Nixon TBADon Law Golf Improvement Center Don Law TBAFiddlesticks CC Jim Kurtzeborn $360 Ft. Lauderdale CC Mark VanDyck $1667 Hammock Creek Steve Harrop TBA Jacaranda Country Club Miles Horton TBAJonathan’s Landing Jim Leary TBAOlde Florida Tom Wildenhaus $200 Orangebrook Golf & Country Club Bob Mallek TBA Pelican Sound Golf & River Club Steve Cox $297PGA Golf Club Bob Baldassari TBAPlantation Preserve Golf Club Brian Schuler TBA The Country Club at Mirasol Roger Kennedy TBAThe Sanctuary Golf Club Ed Lockard $8000The Vineyards Country Club Tom Metzger TBAWest Bay Club Jeff Raimer TBA GRAND TOTAL: $11,229

member spotlight

PGA Professional Philip Argianas and wife Suely were always very passionate about junior golf.

In the summer of 2009, Phil began instructing golf clinics for special needs children in South Florida, with three to four students coming out once a week for eight weeks. It was during those classes that Phil and Suely decided to branch out and cre-ate a plan to allow many more special needs students to benefit from the game of golf.

GIG- Gifts in Golf was formed as a non-profit organization es-tablished to provide golf to special needs kids and their families. “GIG’s” program concentrates in bringing out the ABILITIES within any disability, customizing the teaching to each special needs group, making it fun while promoting the benefits of the game of golf.

GIG currently offers programs for Down Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, Autism and to the many with physical, mental and emo-tional disabilities. Phil and Suely conducted their programs for the Ronald McDonald House, Easter Seals, and various other charities and associations providing golf instruction for these

juniors.

Phil says, “These kids are amazing. There are lots of smiles, and the families are so appreciative. There’s a huge need for golf for special needs children.”

Suely adds, “That is one of the reasons why we do this. It’s the kids’ enthu-siasm and enjoyment that rewards us the most!”

These golf programs “Golf for People with Physically dis-Abilities” are designed and instructed by PGA Certified Professional Philip Argianas, five times award winner of the Junior Golf Leader Award presented by the PGA.

Phil and his wife work hard to make these programs successful. Phil states, “My wife Suely P. Argianas, Executive Director of GIG-Gifts in Golf, has done so much to make all these programs happen. We have been running 3 to 6 classes, once a week since February 2010.”

Programs are designed to meet the needs of young people with physical, mental, and emotional disabilities, emphasizing their “ABILITIES”. The classes are offered at no cost to these families.

Programs are customized for each group. Curriculum includes the follow-ing: Golf instruction - putting, chipping, pitching, and full swing, rules of golf, and SNAG golf play.

GIG exists based on grants and donations from corporations, foundations, associations and individual contributions and the many hours we donate. For more information, please call Phil at 305-238-7507 or email him or Suely at giftsingolf@aol.com.

Photos taken and by ©Suely P. Argianas.

Golf for Special Needs Kids & Their Families

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Photos: GIG- Gifts in Golf hosts golf pro-grams for children with Down Syndrome and

other special needs

GIG- Gifts in Golf host a golf clinic at the Ronald McDonald House

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education

I am going to go out on a limb here and say this month’s Rules with Drew segment is most interesting one I’ve written to date. The rea-son I say so is due to the debate and discussions surrounding the two situations I am sharing. The reason for all the talk is there isn’t a deci-sion which can put the discussion to rest.

The first situation I am going to share is one I even debated, due in large part to its hypothetical nature and the fact that it never hap-pened. I’m not a big fan of the “What If ” rules questions but I de-cided this situation warranted inclusion because so many people are talking about it and it happened at one of the most popular events of the season, The Masters. So the scenario unfolds with Ernie Els play-ing a chip shot from behind the 15th green at Augusta National. He catches his shot a little thin and scoots his ball across the green and apparently into the water in front of the green. In disgust, Ernie grabs another ball from his caddie, raises his arm to drop it but is abruptly stopped by shouts of “No” from the patrons. Ernie put his arm down, gave the ball back to the caddie and walked toward the hazard to find in amazement his ball still in play on the bank or the water hazard. He proceeded with that ball and scored a 7 on the hole. So the question that has been kicked around since the Masters is if Ernie had dropped that ball and then found out his original ball was still in play, would the dropped ball have been in play under Rule 26-1 or would he have been allowed to proceed with the original ball and pick up the dropped ball under Rule 20-6?

When first presented with the situation, my initial thought was since Ernie was not virtually certain his ball was in the hazard, his dropped ball would have been dropped under an inapplicable rule (26-1) and he would have been able to pick up that dropped ball under Rule 20-6 and proceed with the original. Decision 26-1/3.7 states, “A player’s ball is struck towards a water hazard and is not found. It is neither known nor virtually certain that the player’s ball is in the water haz-ard, but he drops a ball under Rule 26-1b. Before he plays the dropped ball, his original ball is found within the five-minute search period. What is the ruling? It was neither known nor virtually certain that the player’s ball was in the water hazard when he put the substituted ball into play, and, therefore, that ball was incorrectly substituted under an inapplicable Rule. The player must correct his error under

SFPGA TOURNAMENT DIRECTOR ANDREW MILLER

Continued on page 13...

rules with drewDecisions, decisions

Rule 20-6 by abandoning the substituted ball and continuing play with the original ball. If the original ball was found inside the water hazard, the player may proceed under Rule 26-1. If the player failed to correct his improper procedure and played the dropped ball, he has proceeded under an inapplicable Rule and incurred a penalty (see Decision 34-3/6). The ruling would be that the player has pro-ceeded under Rule 27-1 (the only Rule that applied to his situation), incurring the one-stroke penalty under that Rule. Additionally, as he played the ball from a wrong place (i.e., a place not permitted by Rule 27-1), he incurred the general penalty, loss of hole in match play or two strokes in stroke play, for a breach of Rule 27-1. In stroke play, the Committee must determine whether the player committed a serious breach when he played from the wrong place (Rule 20-7c).” This Decision kind of works for the situation described but in the first sentence it says the ball was not found. Well, Ernie really didn’t look for it, did he? So I went back to the drawing board and decided to talk with some other people and get their opinions. After speaking with some fellow rules officials, my thoughts began to sway toward a different solution. Without looking at his record, I assume Ernie Els has played in the Masters more than a dozen times. And I am sure with his experience at Augusta National he knows that a ball struck towards the hazard like the ball he hit is 99 times out of 100 going to find the bottom of that lake. As it turns out, only recently has Augusta National decided to grow the grass fronting the 15th green a little longer. Since Ernie was sure in his mind and from past experiences that his ball was wet, he had virtual certainty that his ball was within the margin of the hazard and thus he must proceed with the dropped ball. Decision 26-1/3.5 supports this thought by stating, “A player’s ball is struck towards a water haz-ard. It is known or virtually certain that the player’s ball is in the wa-ter hazard, and he drops a ball under Rule 26-1b. Before he plays the dropped ball, his original ball is found within the five-minute search period. What is the ruling? As it was known or virtually certain that the ball was in the water hazard when the player put the substituted ball into play, that ball was correctly substituted and he may not play the original ball. If the original ball was found in the water hazard and this discovery affects the reference point for proceeding under Rule 26-1b, resulting in the substituted ball having been dropped in a wrong place, the player must correct the error under Rule 20-6. The player must proceed in accordance with any of the applicable options under Rule 26-1 with respect to the correct reference point (see Decisions 20-6/2 and 26-1/16). Otherwise, Rule 20-6 does not apply and the player must continue play with the dropped ball. In either case, the player incurs a penalty of one stroke under Rule 26-1. In the unlikely event that the original ball was found outside the water hazard, the player must continue with the dropped ball under penalty of one stroke (Rule 26-1).”

It is also important to mention that a player can at any time invoke “stroke and distance.” Since Ernie would have dropped a ball from the spot where his last stroke was made, that ball would be in play unless he made a declaration that he was playing a provisional ball for a ball which was lost outside of a water hazard. Since Ernie said nothing, it would be hard to argue that he was dropping a provi-sional ball and the fact that he was so close to the place where his ball might be lost. Thus, the dropped ball would have been in play and he would not have been able to pick it up under Rule 20-6 and proceed with the original. Had Ernie dropped a ball in a different spot (ie: not in the spot from which he just played) he would have an argument for proceeding under 20-6. I guess what this situa-tion boils down to is the player’s intent. It would appear from the scenario that Ernie was taking relief under Rule 26-1. However, the rules of golf don’t always offer a get out of jail free card for intent. I predict the USGA and R&A will discuss this situation before the

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education

Decisions, decisions...Continued from page 12

upcoming eventsMay 3SFPGA Foundation Tire Kingdom Charity Pro-Am Supported by Professional Golf Car Held at McArthur Golf Club

May 4Global Golf Sales Tournament Series #1Held at Mayacoo Lakes Country Club May 5South Florida Senior Open Pro-Am Held at Jonathan’s Landing - Fazio May 6-7South Florida Senior Open Held at Jonathan’s Landing - Fazio May 15-16Junior Tour #3 Held at the Vineyards Country ClubPresented by the Honda ClassicSupported by Titlelist, Allianz Championship, Don Law Golf Improvement Center & Mirasol Men’s Group May 16 Southeast Classic Charity Pro-AmHeld at Fort Lauderdale Country Club - North

May 17SFPGA Annual Meeting of the MembershipPresented by PGA National Resort & Spa May 17-18Southeast PGA Classic Held at Fort Lauderdale Country Club - North Supported by the PGA TOUR, Jack Nicklaus Sportswear & Fort Lauderdale Country Club May 24Player Ability Test Held at PGA Golf Club - Ryder June 7Scratch Pro-Am Held at TPC Eagle TraceSupported by Golf GameBook & Mobile ProShop

rules with drew

next revision just due to the large amount of interest and debate this particu-lar situation has sparked. Who knows, maybe a new Decision will be born from this most peculiar situation.

This next situation happened during the Monday qualifier for the Shell Houston Open in March. Before explaining what happened, I would like to thank the Southern Texas PGA for sharing the experience with me. It was explained to me as follows: After all the scores were calculated and posted, there was a five way tie for the four qualifying spots into the PGA Tour’s Shell Houston Open. The official announced that a playoff for the qualifying spots would begin on hole #10 at 7:05 pm. On the 10th tee at 7:05 pm the offi-cial in charge announced the order of play would be determined by drawing numbers out of a hat and that names would be drawn in the order the names appeared on the scoreboard. The official announced the name of the first player to draw a number, however that player was not present. After delib-erating for a few seconds, the official in charge decided to continue with the drawing by moving on to the next player and decided that the absent player would choose his number last. A few moments later the absent player ar-rived on the 10th tee and drew his number after the other four had already drawn their starting positions. At that time the official in charge announced for play to begin. The other four players in the group felt the absent player was late to tee, a violation of Rule 6-3, and should be penalized for not being present when the drawing was announced and took place at 7:05 pm.

As this situation is not covered in either the Decisions or Rules of Golf books, the official in charge consulted the USGA. The USGA said under these cir-cumstances the player was not late to the tee because the order of play had not been established and the official had not announced for play to begin. The analogy was made that if the group assigned to a starting time (the an-nounced 7:05 pm) could not play because there was a group in the fairway, and thus had not been announced for play to begin, there was a “revised” starting time based on when the official announced for play to begin. Had the order of play been determined in another manner, ie; say at the scoreboard when it was announced who was in the playoff, where it would begin, what the order would be, a specific time was announced and then the player was late – then he would have been penalized under Rule 6-3. After reading this situation I tried to figure out how I will go about preventing this type of controversy in the future. It is important to note that playoffs can be very informal in nature and it would be very difficult to announce a starting time, the order of play, etc at the scoreboard following play because most of the players are either at the range, on the putting green, in the parking lot, etc. There would be no one to hear the announcement. I guess the only thing you could do is make sure you as the head official round up all your playoff contestants and make sure they are at the tee prior to your arrival.

In conclusion, I would like to thank my fellow rules officials for sharing their opinions regarding the situations above and I look forward to seeing every-one on the tournament trail this summer.

Alan Morin and Chad Kurmel opened the new season for the Southeast Chapter of the South Florida PGA Section on Friday (April 23) by winning the 14th annual Chuck Woodward Memorial Par 3 Pro-Pro golf tournament at the Little Club.

They had four-ball stroke play scores of 46-48 for 14 under par 94 over 36 holes on the 2,234-yard, par-3 course, winning by a shot. They had also teamed up to capture the SFPGA Pro-Pro Champion-ship last year at Tiburon Country Club in Naples.

In the morning round, Morin, an assistant at The Falls Country Club, Lake Worth, had eight birdies and Kurmel, an instructor at the Don Law Golf Im-provement Center, Boca Raton, made one, and they had their only bogey of the day at the 86-yard 10th hole. Each scored three birdies in the afternoon.

“Nothing spectacular,” Morin said. “We both just played pretty steady all day.” Morin won the tournament with Tom Cleaver in 2007. Mo-rin and Kurmel each earned $600 from the $9,170 purse, including the optional bonus pool.

It was Morin’s 14th Southeast Chapter victory, the sixth for Morin.

Seniors Ed Sabo of Tequesta and Dan Fabian of West Palm Beach were second among 30 teams with 46-49-95.

The husband-and-wife team of Christopher and Jackie Kaufman of Boca Raton earned the only skin of the day when Chris aced the 137-yard 14th hole with a 9-iron during the afternoon round. Each received $600 as there were no skins in the morning, the money carrying over to the afternoon.

Here are the SW Florida PGA Chapter Award Winners: Henry B. Wat-kins Award - Dwight OlsonVince Smith

Award (Stroke Average) - Chris Phillips, Heritage Palms Golf Club Play-er of the Year - Scott Richardson, LaPlaya Golf ClubMerchandiser of the Year - Public - Jim Simpson, Del Webb at Ava MariaMerchandiser of the Year - Private - Christian Sheehan, Gateway Golf & Country ClubHorton Smith Award - Ken McMaster, Miromar Lakes Golf ClubBill Strausbaugh Award - Jeff Raimer, West Bay Beach & Golf ClubJunior Golf Leader - Allen Manguson, Coral Oaks Golf CourseTeacher of the Year - Trevor Gliwski, Rick Smith Golf Academy at Tibu-ronJeremy New Assistant of the Year - Trevor Johnson, Bay Colony Golf ClubGolf Pro of the Year - Karl Bublitz, Grey Oaks CC Charity Recipients from the Tournament of Charities:Southwest Florida Addiction Services - $10,000Florida Gulf Coast University Men’s & Ladies Golf - $10,000Florida Gulf Coast University PGM Program - $10,000Collier Jr. Golf - $5,000Southwest Florida Jr. Golf - $5,000 Charity Recipients:Southwest Florida Addiction Services (SWFAS) $10,000Florida Gulf Coast University Mens & Women’s Golf Teams $10,000Florida Gulf Coast University PGM Program $10,000Collier Junior Golf / 1st Tee of Naples $5,000Southwest Florida Junior Golf $5,000 High Schools Scholarship Winners - Each receiving a $1,000 scholarship:1. Samantha Sileno - Charlotte HS2. Chase Marinell - Bishop Verot HS3. Marcy Koonce - Community School of Naples4. Gabriel Ruiz - Gulf Coast HS5. Jenna Nizamoff - Naples HS6. Meagan Flodeen - Barron Collier HS7. Dylan Gorton - Barron Collier HS8. Alex Giguere - Naples HS9. Emmanuel Pagkanlungan - Barron Collier10. Ryan Iamurri - Naples HS11. John Shelton - Gulf Coast HS12. Elizabeth Brown - Naples HS13. Sarah Carey - Gulf Coast HS Awards for the Tournament of Charities top 5 fundraisers:1. 5th Place - Quail Creek, Nate Johnson2. 4th Place – Old Florida, Tom Wildenhaus3. 3rd Place – The Mooring CC, Mike Blosser4. 2nd Place – The Vineyards CC, Tom Metzger5. 1st Place – Bonita Bay, EJ McDonnell

chapter newssoutheast southwest

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