Hello from the Illinois Valley Country Club golf course!
(Editor’s note: This article was intended for the April 10 edition.)
On Monday, the 8th, I got to go out on the course with my daughter, Taylor for her birthday. She and Poke and Tracy all played and John joined up with us on the 3rd hole, which was actually the 6th hole because the course was nice and busy so we had to skip around a bit in order to avoid waiting on the tee box.
Taylor is hitting a natural draw somehow, this is something that guys with many years of experience cannot accomplish. She sheepishly brushes it off as something that she cannot control but is happy that she has it. A draw shot puts a little bit of spin from right to left on the ball. A fade or slice spin goes from left to right, as a result of the cutting action of the toe of the club. This kind of spin on the ball makes it put on the brakes as it flies through the air, losing distance as it spins against the direction of travel. A draw spin will kind of pull the ball forward as it spins from the heel of the club, digging into the air as it spins. In addition, when a draw shot lands on the ground, it accentuates the roll with the pulling action, giving the shot more distance.
Taylor, hitting from the ladies’ teebox was getting distance like the guys, putting a big birthday smile on her face. We finished #9 and John, Poke and I talked the girls into letting us go back out and meet up with the skins game that was also going on Monday afternoon.
There were 18 guys, including Emily, representing the gals. This put $180 in the skins pot. Troy got the first one on #1 with a chip-in birdie and Todd put one on close in three shots on #2 and made his birdie putt. There was a lot of action with people attempting to win a third skin but to no avail. Todd and Troy split the $180. Danny got the KP on #4 and was in contention for the KP on #8 but D’Lynn just beat him out with a laser shot at the pin. Chris Olson, who had been off for most of the winter came back and was hitting such nice drives, it does help to take a little time off of golf and forget all the bad shots from the past season. Emily did hit one straight at the pin on #8, nearly spoiling D’Lynn’s KP but came up just a bit short.
Poke treated the immediate family to dinner at Carlos and I helped Taylor eat the deep fried ice cream, whew, that is a stomach full.
Rex is taking Todd, Jason Gill and me to Grants Pass for their annual spring pro-am and D’Lynn is taking Scott, Troy and Poke over for a second team. We then go over to Rogue Valley Country Club on Monday and Tuesday for a grueling five days of golf.
IVCC has our second tournament of 2024 with a 420 tournament sponsored by the (Scott) Bud Bros dispensary shop.
**Mens and Ladies leagues start the week of April 22 so come down and get signed up for them. Ladies League is nice and calm and low-impact so don’t be afraid of too much competition. The Men’s is more competitive and lots of fun for the whole summer!!
**And remember, kids 17 and under always play for free at IVCC.
