ANOTHER ROUND OF congratulations are in order for Cedars at Dungeness Golf Course PGA director of golf and general manager Bill Shea.
Shea was recently honored with his second PGA Bill Strausbaugh Award in the past three years.
The award recognizes PGA members who demonstrate a record of service to their section or association, leadership ability, involvement in civic activities and local charitable causes within their community and is recognized as someone of outstanding character.
Shea and members of the Cedars staff are active with Special Olympics golfers, coaching the Sequim High School golf teams and lots of other charitable activities here on the North Olympic Peninsula.
Only one candidate in Western Washington receives the award from the more than 200 golf facilities and 400 professionals under the PGA umbrella.
Veterans play free
SunLand Golf & Country Club in Sequim invites veterans and active military personnel to play for free on Sunday in honor of Veterans Day.
All you need to do is provide proof of service like a military ID, a uniformed services retired card, veterans organization card, a photo in uniform or anything else that proves you stepped up and served our country.
Cart rentals aren’t included in the free round.
SunLand has also switched to their winter rate of $25 for 18 holes.
Golf away the meal
SkyRidge Golf Course in Sequim will host a Post-Turkey Day Two-Person Scramble and Best Ball on Friday, Nov. 23.
Players will tee off from the green tees while playing a scramble on the front nine and best ball on the back nine.
A minimum of three drives per player must be counted during the front-nine scramble.
The event has an 8:30 a.m. shotgun start (barring frost) and the cost is $60 per team ($20 per team optional honey pot).
Gross, net and KP prizes will be available along with lunch following play.
Carts are $15 per seat and an optional Horserace Scramble after the tournament is $5 per team.
SkyRidge coupon
A coupon for SkyRidge is also available in this year’s Elegant Gourmet Coupon Book sold by Soroptimist International of Port Angeles, Noon Club.
Golfers can receive four rounds for the price of three with the coupon, which expires on May 31.
The deal does not include carts.
Coupon books are available from Noon Club members, Angeles Furniture, Jim’s Pharmacy and KONP in Port Angeles and the Hallmark store in Sequim.
Proceeds go to the myriad charities aided by Soroptimist members.
Hilltop Open recap
Paul Itti stole the show with a hole-in-one during Port Townsend Golf Club’s much-anticipated Hilltop Open Fall Classic.
Scores went low as more than 50 players competed in the two-person scramble event.
“The staff was a little worried about the weather for the tournament but mother nature did not ruin the day for this event,” Assistant Pro Gabriel Tonan said.
“It was a beautiful fall day with a little wind to make it a little more challenging.”
In the gross division, Mitch Black and Dean Rigsby combined for a winning 61 while Terry Khile and Tonan tied Chris Holloway and Sean Anderson with 63.
On the net side, Jeremiah Fountain and Randy Holeman took top honors with a 49 while Woody Woodley and Joe Hansen were second with a 50.5 and Pat Lundgren and Al West teamed for a 53.5.
Itti, owner of the Khu Larb Thai restaurant in Port Townsend, used a 9-wood on the 154-yard downhill No. 16 hole.
Tonan passed along that the ball landed about two feet short of the hole, took one hop and went into the hole with that wonderful tink sound coming from the flag stick.
Witnesses were Dan Owen, Jerry Spieckerman and Paul’s Hilltop Open partner Bret Roberts.
It was Itti’s second career hole-in-one.
Following the tournament players were treated to a late lunch at the Hilltop Tavern featuring Judy Lundgren’s “world-famous lasagna.”
Clallam best ball
The first Clallam County Best Ball Tournament will be held at SunLand Golf & Country Club in Sequim on Saturday, Nov. 17, and wrap up at Peninsula Golf Club in Port Angeles on Sunday, Nov. 18.
A 10 a.m. shotgun start will kick things off at SunLand, and a 9 a.m. start will open the final day of play at Peninsula.
Entry fees are $160 for the general public and $100 for members of SunLand and Peninsula.
Food and course prizes are included.
Players will compete for a $4,800 purse based on a full field of 60 teams, and there will be daily honey pots for players to go after.
Ladies are encouraged to form teams and compete; eight teams are needed to have a separate division for women.
Entries can be picked up at Peninsula Golf Club or phone and SunLand Golf & Country Club.
Glow golf outings
Friday night glow golf events continue at Discovery Bay Golf club near Port Townsend.
With the time change due to daylight-saving time, I would phone the club house at 360-385-0704 to inquire on the start time.
Golfers are asked to arrive 30 minutes early to get their glow ball equipment and meet their teammates.
Cost is $10 for the nine holes, plus a fee for the night golf equipment.
Golfers should bring a flashlight to navigate potential pratfalls like sand traps and wooded areas.
Single players are welcome, and if you have foursome together, that’s your team.
Also at Discovery Bay, $10 golf Saturdays continue through November.
Golfers can play their choice of nine or 18 holes for $10.
Wide World of Golf
Lots of happenings on the professional golf stage during a somewhat slow period of the year.
Rory McIlroy signed to be the new face of Nike Golf, penning a 10-year $200 million contract before incentives.
He also shot a commercial with Tiger Woods to introduce Nike’s new red Covert driver — and subsequent line of woods and hybrids.
Over in Thailand, Guan Tianlang, a 14-year-old middle school student from China qualified to become the youngest player in Masters history after winning the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship.
He averaged 250 yards off the tee but was accurate with his approach shots and drained lots of putts with his belly-putting style.
Golf is growing slowly in China so it will be interesting to see if Tianlang can play well and spur even more growth — similar to the growth found in South Korea after strong performances by golfers from that nation.
______
Golf columnist Michael Carman can be reached at 360-417-3527 or pdngolf@gmail.com.