I RECENTLY RETURNED from a sojourn to Spokane to cover Neah Bay boys and girls basketball teams at the state tournament.
Despite wonderfully sunny and warm weather, this was working trip, I didn’t have the time to sample Spokane’s well-appointed public courses, tracks like Downriver, the Creek at Qualchan or Indian Canyon (still closed for the season).
The trip coinciding with the daylight saving time change did make me realize we are fast approaching the end of the school year.
To that end, Sequim Golf for Grads, a fundraiser for a safe and sober Sequim High School graduation celebration, is soliciting donations to make sure the Class of 2015 comes home free of harm after grad night.
A golf tournament is planned at SunLand Golf and Country Club on Saturday, May 16.
The event will open with an 11 a.m. shotgun start and includes a round of golf followed by dinner, awards, and raffle drawings.
Price-Ford of Port Angeles is sponsoring a shot at taking home a new Ford F-150 pickup or a Mustang for a hole-in-one and a vehicle giveaway for a KP on a particular hole.
Players can get in the game for $100, and receive 18 holes of golf in a four-person scramble format, range balls, a mulligan, five raffle tickets and post-event dinner.
Sponsors are sought.
Main tournament sponsorships are available for $1,000 (Diamond Level).
Diamond sponsors receive an optional 10 x 10 marketing tent near the club house or on a hole, a prominent spot on the event flyer, complimentary green fees for a foursome, a dozen Titleist Pro VI golf balls, four mulligans, forecaddie, a round of drinks, signage on course and at the dinner, and a spot on the post-event thank you advertisement.
There are also $750 Gold Level sponsorships, $500 Silver Level, and $200 hole sponsorships available.
The event will include a cash bar and beverage cart, the guaranteed vehicle giveaway for KP, and a custom-fitted Scotty Cameron putter on the long drive hole.
For more information, phone Mark Ostroot at 360-461-7688.
Main cards ace
Steve Main aced the 135-yard fourth hole at Peninsula Golf Club in Port Angeles on Sunday, March 8.
Main used his 8-iron on the shot, which was witnessed by Buddy Fraser, Larry Aillud, and Brian Duncan.
Shamrock Scramble
SkyRidge Golf Course in Sequim will host its ninth annual Shamrock Scramble on Saturday.
The four-person scramble has a 9:30 a.m. shotgun start, and a $160 ($40 per player) team entry fee.
Entrants will compete for KP’s and a LP on the 18th hole.
Range balls, green fees and an Irish lunch of mulligan stew also are planned.
Best-dressed prizes also will be offered.
Carts are $15 per seat, and an optional honey pot is $40.
Phone SkyRidge at 360-683-3673 to get in the game.
SkyRidge also will host its toughest tournament of the year, “The Gut Buster,” on Saturday, March 21.
The individual medal play-event will offer tee times starting at 8:20 a.m.
Men will play the course from the tips, the Black tees at 6,529 yards, while senior men will tee off from the Green tees, a 5,960 yard distance.
Ladies will play from the 5,737-yard Silver tees.
Entry fee is $65 per person and includes a shot at KP’s on three holes, long putt on No. 18, 18 hole of golf, range balls, lunch and a honey pot.
Golfers also can play a free practice round on Friday before the tournament.
Carts are $15 per seat.
St. Patty’s in PT
Port Townsend Golf Course will host its annual Saint Patrick’s Day golf tournament at 10 a.m. Saturday.
A catered dinner will follow the two-person scramble event.
Cost is $35 per player, plus $10 in green fees for nonmembers.
For more information, phone 360-385-4547.
Cedars shootout
The Cedars at Dungeness will host a St. Patrick’s Day Shootout event on Thursday, March 19.
The par-3 challenge will run from 10 a.m. to noon, and feature individual gross and net divisions.
Players will receive range balls, a shot at KP’s on every hole, drink specials and an Irish dinner.
Cost is $55 for the public, $38 for Cedars members.
The event is open to all players with a handicap, but players should wear green or else be assessed a two-stroke penalty.
The tourney will pay out $750 gross and net based on a full field of 45 competitors.
Honey pots and giveaways also are planned.
For more information, phone 360-683-6344.
Chambers Bay update
The countdown to the U.S. Open has dipped below 100 days.
KCPQ-13 continues its weekly hole-by-hole preview of the Chambers Bay layout during its “Q It Up Sports” sportscast at 10:30 p.m. on Sundays.
Hole No. 3 also known as “Blown Out,” is a 198-yard par-3, described as a “redan hole” by USGA agronomist Larry Gilhuly.
A redan hole has a green that slopes down and away from the point of entrance, typically the front-right portion of the green.
A new tee box was constructed after the 2010 U.S.
The right half of the green sits at the player, then curves to the left with a bunker guarding the front.
Players are going to use the right bank on the green to allow for release to left-edge pin locations.
Depending on where the pin is located, players will face speedy putts breaking toward the Tacoma Narrows or slow, uphill putts heading toward downtown Tacoma.
Tough, tough hole. There will be bogeys.
To watch the video, visit tinyurl.com/PDN-Chambers3.
Hazard’s Ascent, is the name of the fourth hole at Chambers Bay, an uphill, 495-yard par-4.
The hole plays as a par-5 for amateurs.
Bunkers, bunkers everywhere if you go low on the rightside, and if you try a driver up the left-hand side, the ball will probably trickle down to the right.
It’s going to play as a short par-4 on one of the four tournament days.
Links golf ingenuity will likely be needed on this hole, which is destined to be one of the most difficult holes on the course during the U.S. Open.
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Golf columnist Michael Carman can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5152 or pdngolf@gmail.com.