If there ever was a day when the weather gods paid attention, it was Monday, July 9, when fifty Edmonton ladies drove themselves to the beautiful Trestle Creek Golf Resort, located about 97 km west of Edmonton.  Day, Evening and Beginner ladies were thrown together to golf 18 holes on a day when the weather was perfect, not too hot and no mosquitoes.  Started off by following the Course Marshall to our holes on the Creekside 9 in an exercise one player described as ‘herding cats’.  Despite the multi-level greens with wicked pin placements (nasty to put a flag at the top of a hill with the slope leading down to a sand trap….) a fun time was had by all.  Lovely steak dinner followed with their chef separately cooking the steaks for our dietary restricted ladies AND making them a special dessert.  I think we need to go again next year!

Patti Daye Edmonton Coordinator

 

Par Bears and Birdie Juice are par for the the course in the Edmonton Day league.

Understandably, the Day league ladies are a more relaxed group than the Evening and Beginner league members.  They have the time to golf 18 holes, are not rushing from work to play golf and are not struggling to master the intricacies of the game.  Thus, it seems, they become more inventive….

Par bears:  The Day league ladies celebrate their pars by sharing par bears; at least one member of each team seems to carry this treat, made from soaking gummy bears in some sort of alcohol for anywhere from an hour to a week.  Some refrigerate the container whilst soaking while others leave it on the counter. Is vodka better than almond tequila?  More experiments are obviously needed!

Birdie juice:  Another alcoholic beverage to celebrate the achievement of a birdie.  This one is more simple but again, there does seem to be at least one member of each team that carries the supplies.  Tiny plastic shot cups are presented, the ‘juice’ is poured out and the birdie is toasted.

Of course, being great Ready golfers, these celebrations are carried out at the next hole, not the hole the event occurred on.

Patti Daye Edmonton Coordinator

Zero putt’s for Edmonton’s Cathy – making a 60 yard pitch into the 13th hole at the Links at Spruce Grove.

Kimberley’s Trickle Creek Golf Course – one tough track so congrats to all of you!!! and some personal bests and birdies at the Kimberley Golf Club on the Play &  Stay this year.  Trickle Creek Birdies for Lynne #11 Terri #8 and Carol #13  Melanie birdies #7 at Kimberly Golf Club and scored a 99, a personal best I think

Carol birdies #7 at Valley Ridge and follows it up with a Par on #8, Nicki par’s the 17th hole and Heather birdies #3 at The Canals at Delacour.

When we play golf we must always keep up to the group ahead of us right?  Well this did not work so well at Woodside Greens a couple of weeks ago. We were three groups and were starting on the back nine. The first group headed out and as there was some construction on the 10th tee box we had to tee off on a temporary one, but not a problem. The second group went out and our group followed. We continued on to hole #11 keeping up with the group ahead of us. I asked Kristy what the par was after our drive and she replied a par 4, really I asked we just drove and there is the 200 yard marker? well maybe it is marked incorrectly? We putt out and go to the next tee, seeing the second group up ahead of us and guess what it is hole #14, we looked back and the first group are now following us. We had missed holes number #11 and #12 no wonder the yardage seemed wrong……………this was certainly a first and gave us all a chuckle, the group in front of us didn’t catch on until hole number #16 I think.

Our weekend commenced with eight of us attending the Trickle Creek’s Pars and Guitars Music Series Campfire Heroes under the stars on the patio at the golf course. The group was comprised of Jason Greeley a Canadian Idol finalist, Shane Young Las Vegas Dueling Piano Shows and Neil MacDonald from the Boom Chuka boys, based out of central Alberta. What a great night we had and so entertaining, what a great way to kick off a fabulous weekend. Everyone arrived on Friday night and our meet and greet in our room sure was a tight squeeze even though we changed to a room with a balcony, sorry Carol and Fran we didn’t know it would impact you. The weather couldn’t have been any better for our golf at Trickle Creek on Saturday and the Kimberley Golf Club on Sunday. We finished our round at Trickle with a wonderful buffet which everyone enjoyed. Our golf had some high notes and some not so high notes, Trickle Creek can do that to you as can Kimberley. The majority of the group returned to Calgary following our round at Kimberley Golf Course but eight of us stayed Sunday night and we enjoyed a fabulous dinner at the German restaurant on the hill, The Old Bauernhaus,  a great ending to a wonderful get-away. Mark your calendars for next year, maybe a Golf and Gamble experience.

The beginners took on Lil Devil at Blue Devil this month. The 9 hole course is made up of Par 3’s, 4’s and a Par 5. The Par 5 is 245 yard and doable for a Par for any of us. This fantastic little track offers a bit more challenge to test their skills.   It was nice to see the support for one another, after all we can always find something positive with our efforts. We finished up on the patio sharing some laughs and getting to know one another just a little bit better.

Well we did it again, fooled everyone, no one guessed where we were going. Our destination was Coyote Creek Golf Resort, just outside of Sundre in the foothills of the Rockies. It was great to travel a little closer to home and we also were able to have a shot gun start which was terrific. We boarded the bus at Signal Hill shopping centre and wow what a motley crew arrived, but they all had one thing in common, THE BEACH. We had bikini tee shirts, beautifully designed bikini golf shirts, grass skirts and leis and bathing beauties complete with fins and snorkels. When we arrived there was ample time for some to get very creative with their carts, it was so much fun. The format, which Nicki thought we dreamed up over wine, was creative and gave everyone a fair chance at winning it all. We really did appreciate all the help from those who gave us prizes we really did have some great ones. There were some amazing drives and a very long putt, congratulations ladies. Coyote Creek had a fabulous meal for us which everyone enjoyed. The food was great and the staff so helpful. We ended it all up doing the Limbo and the Macarena, thanks to Lorie who helped lead the dance. Now we just have try to fool you again next year. The loonies we collected will again be donated to the Children’s Cottage Society.

We were at Glen Eagles with the Day League this month and got to witness Jennifer Dennett hit the green on 16……what a proud moment, great shot Jennifer. Carol Sadler also hit the record books this month she had a wonderful birdie on hole #8 at The Winston. Cheryl Zaic and Jan Willis of the Beginner League finished up at Lakeview with two Pars, I guess the lessons are paying off 🙂

No shot in golf comes with more mental baggage than the sand shot. Just about all of us , upon climbing into a bunker, starts ticking off a mental checklist of set-up and swing keys — open stance, open clubface, hit two inches behind the ball, follow through, and so on. As a result, by the time we have to hit the shot, we are so loaded down with mechanical thoughts we end up either hitting it way over the green or back in the sand. Learning to master the greenside bunker will take strokes off your score.

Here are a few easy tips to help you get out every time:

Keep your approach as simple as possible.

Get into a comfortable set-up and simply focus on swinging the clubhead under the ball. Clear your mind and you’ll find more success in the sand. The only true fundamental for greenside bunker shots is getting the center of gravity of the clubface under the center of gravity of the ball. If you do this, the sand you displace will force the ball upward with enough loft for most situations. There are mechanical keys to playing extra-high shots or for generating a lot of backspin, but for a basic, get-on-the-green bunker shot, swinging the clubhead under the ball should be your primary thought.

We thought this was very appropriate as we just returned from our Mystery Bus Trip Life’s a Beach and beach it was, sooo many sand traps and didn’t my partner Edie almost hit them all