A GENTLE WARNING for Saturday morning for those in the vicinity of the Port Townsend Golf Club: I’ll be golfing in the club’s annual Toys For Tots Tournament.
So choose your route to the Farmers Market or the library with care and disregard San Juan Avenue, Cherry, F and Blaine streets. I’ve hit cars before and I will probably do so again.
Saturday’s tourney is $30 and has a 10 a.m. shotgun start.
Phone the course at 360-385-4547 to get in on the game.
There’s no official Toys for Tots program in Jefferson County but there is Christmas Connection, a program that seeks to have every child in Port Townsend have a gift to unwrap on Christmas.
It’s administered by the Port Townsend DSHS office and they need your help!
Need is incredibly high this year, so if you have a chance before Friday stop by the state Department of Social and Health Services office, 915 Sheridan Ave., Suite 201 and drop off a donation.
Port Townsend Golf Club has a giving tree available if you can provide the gifts as soon as possible.
For more information, read this story on the program by PDN reporter Charlie Bermant at tinyurl.com/ChristmasConnection.
Holiday party held
I was able to attend Port Townsend’s annual Christmas party and open house last Friday.
Some kind folks had some nice things to say about my column, and some ideas for winter topics that I appreciated, and I enjoyed the company and the spread of food the course and members provided.
Freeloader? Well, I was invited.
There were some excellent small slider-like sandwiches and an awesome crab dip, not to mention some tasty Christmas sugar cookies.
It was good to gloat with Port Townsend men’s club member Ken Brink over the early Christmas present given to all Washington State Cougar fans, new head football coach Mike Leach.
Giddy is not a term I would throw around lightly but we were both beaming while discussing future trips to Pullman.
Yes, there will be a golf column on my round at WSU’s Palouse Ridge coming after a Saturday football game next fall.
Cedars tourney entries
Your 2012 calendar might be bare but Sequim’s Cedars at Dungeness Golf Course has two golf events ready for listing.
Cedars at Dungeness is accepting entries for upcoming tournaments in January and February.
The course will hold its New Year’s Invitational event on the first Saturday of 2012, Jan. 7.
A 9:30 a.m. shotgun start (barring frost) will lead to a two-person shamble on the front nine and a two-person best ball game on the back nine.
I wasn’t aware of what a shamble was, so I looked it up.
A shamble is a type of golf tournament that combines elements of a scramble with elements of regular stroke play.
All team members tee off and the best tee shot is selected.
All players move their balls to the spot of the best ball. From this point, the hole is played out at stroke play, with all members of the team playing their own ball into the hole.
The event is $60 for non-members and $40 for Cedars members.
Greens fees include a boxed lunch, cart fees, range use, KPs and $1,500 in comp prizes (based on full field).
A $20 team honey pot for gross and net scores will be available.
The field is limited to 50 players, so get in the game before the holidays arrive in force and you forget.
Entry deadline is Jan. 4.
Cedars will also host its 19th annual Polar Bear Championship on Feb. 4-5.
This is a 36-hole stroke play format with three amateur divisions and one professional division.
Entry fees are $140 and includes three rounds of golf (including a practice round on Friday), range balls on Saturday and Sunday, a tee prize and lunch on Sunday, and $5,500 in prizes (based on full field).
Amateurs must have USGA handicap of 27 or lower.
Carts are an extra $16 per day.
Entry deadline for this tourney is Monday, Jan. 30.
For more information, phone Cedars at 360-683-6344, ext. 1.
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Golf columnist Michael Carman can be reached at 360-417-3527 or at pdngolf@gmail.com.