October 2020 ISSUE: 8 DRIVE THE MAGAZINE OF HIDDEN THE MAGAZINE OF HIDDEN VALLEY GOLF CLUB VALLEY GOLF CLUB 1 In this month’s issue CLOSE YOUR EYES THE GREATEST EVENT TOURNAMENT RESULTS ON EARTH? booming. Our tournament participation in From The President’s September nearly doubled that of 2019 and the new handicap system has allowed all of us to Desk play on equal footing. It’s safe to say that in a year of global turmoil, golf has been a rare bright spot and beacon of hope that we can return to “Golf, like the measles, normalcy. should be caught young, for, if postponed to riper Golf has offered people the years, the results may be chance to safely reconnect both serious.“ with the outdoors after endless zoom calls and shut downs and with their friends. P.G. Wodehouse It is clear that the perception of Hidden Valley GC has rapidly shifted. The fish & game folks What an incredible year were blown away by our for golf 2020 is turning hospitality, our new young out to be! members are rapidly The National Golf assimilating into the Foundation recently tournaments and daily games released a report showing and the food and beverage that year over year rounds Eric Kranz operation is humming thanks to Steve of golf played in the VanWassenhove’s expertise. United States are up 21% President, HVL Golf Club As the golf season winds down here in in August! This follows a October, it is safe to say that all things year over year increase of considered 2020 was a special season at 14% in June and 19% in July. HVGC and one we can be proud of and build This national trend is definitely not missing us upon. here at Hidden Valley as the golf club has seen record numbers of rounds played in both August and September. The surge in new members continues as we have added memberships across the spectrum of demographics which should keep the course lively and spirited going forward. Overall, Hidden Valley Golf Clubs prospects continue to look bright, brighter than ever in many ways. The course is in tremendous shape, membership is increasing to levels that offer us options on how to proceed with capital improvements and play at the course is 2 diminishes physical contact with surfaces that From The Pro Shop could host unwanted germs. At the risk of going a little stir-crazy, being I can say as of the date of this publication, outdoors and getting some exercise can do a HVGC has done very well navigating the current world of good. Covid 19 Pandemic. From the early stages in A lot is still uncertain about how this will all Spring with heavy restrictions to the current play out, but we do know that open and well situation presenting itself ventilated spaces are not today, the club has conducive to a virus surviving survived and even and/or spreading. That flourished through this makes golf courses seem like period of uncertainty. a great place to get away While we should all take without risking too much the necessary precautions when it comes to your health. to keep the spread of the In fact, the fresh air, exercise, Coronavirus at bay, I and limited social contact believe the game of golf is could boost overall physical one of the few sports that and mental health. can actually thrive during I understand the severity of a quarantine as evidence Brian Krinsky the situation we are in, and would never recommend going against how of our own membership. PGA Pro, HVL Golf Club This year despite the the professionals tell us to handle this pandemic our rounds of pandemic. With that being said, golf play are up and we have surpassed our original does seem like a perfect sport that goal set in the beginning of the year. We could do everyone good while we all deal with currently sit at 246 members with only 170 the realities of the world today. That is why members at the start of the year. That’s quite an HVGC is achievement and bodes well for golf moving the perfect place for our members and future forward especially at HVGC. Why? Our club members moving forward into the future. Golf offers a host of reasons, from a great golf as a sport course, great membership and a fun environment to a great value. Obviously golf is is here to stay as evidence of golf rounds up all also an individual sport over the country. Golf has been rediscovered in a sense. Our club is prime for good things to played outside, so social distancing should be come. Now would be a great time to solicit any quite do-able. Even playing in your normal new prospects for membership. We are group shouldn’t be an issue, as you can just growing as a club during an unprecedented walk or take individual carts (currently) for time and who would of thought that at the your group. Everyone beginning of March. Let’s us all keep the club plays with their own equipment and golf balls, surviving, growing and flourishing! Lets do it! and even leaving the pin in is completely legal Finally, this pandemic event has been (thanks USGA). All of the above greatly challenging to most throughout the entire world. My wish is for everyone to be safe, 3 healthy and happy as we work our way through this pandemic. Take care all! October Pro Shop Hours Weekdays: Open 8.00 am Weekends: Open 7.30 am 4 Once we complete the annual top dressing of CourseTalk the greens, we will be focused on raising the canopy of some of the trees, repairing bunkers and placing sod on fairway bare spots. Maintenance of the golf course and its environs is a 365-day-a-year and while golf is beginning We will be also tackling leaf removal which will to wind down as Fall approaches, our work be almost a daily task until the Fall season is seems to intensify. over. We completed the I hope you enjoy your time on the aerification and reseeding course. This is truly a beautiful time of the fairways and tee of year as the Fall colors transform boxes at the end of our course, the shadows lengthen September and we will and the air turns crisp. complete the greens by the early part of October. That will be followed by application of starter fertilizer to give the new grass a head start once a new growing season begins. Jason Gadd Big thank you from the maintenance team to the Course Superintendant POA and the Board of Governors who secured a new blower that we will use to help the top dressing process, remove leaves, clippings and dew. I also want to call out Dave Freking for his help in landscaping around the club house and the course. Thanks to Fred Kerth for stepping up to handle hole positions and Steve VanWassenhove for helping fix divots on many of the fairways. Obviously, I would ask every member and visitor to bear with us while we reseed and top dress. Continue to fix your divots on the fairways and your ball marks on the greens. These simple acts have a profound impact on the way the course plays. Since the last magazine, we have removed two large trees from the side of the 18th hole. 5 The Greatest Sporting Event On Earth? Every September, every two years it seems that but rather between the French and the U.S. It the entire world stops for a few days and was 1913, the first big breakthrough year in golf focuses itself on a very specific patch of green as 20-year old amateur Francis Ouimet wonderland somewhere in defeated the two leading players either Europe or the USA. in the world, Brits Harry Vardon and Ted Ray, in an 18-hole Considered by many to be playoff for the U.S. Open at The the greatest sporting event in Country Club just outside of the world, the Ryder Cup Boston. But in an event halfway captures the imagination of around the world several months almost everyone - golfer and later, a four-man team of French non-golfer alike. professionals soundly defeated Over the course of three an American squad, 6-0, at days, it becomes a Titanic Versailles. This proved to be the clash between the best of the “grand daddy” of all USA golf world and their international matches – older European counterparts. than the Walker Cup, the Curtis Cup, the Canada Cup and the In this issue of Drive, we take Ryder Cup. a look at the history of this very special event. The concept of an international Samuel Ryder team event percolated further as The history of the Ryder Cup is a fascinating journey – a real metamorphosis if you will – from halting efforts at an international match in the early years to American dominance after World War II and finally to restoring competitive balance with the addition of players from Continental Europe. THE FOUNDING AND EARLY YEARS Interestingly, the first true international team golf match did not occur between the U.S. and Great Britain, 6 the PGA of America first gave it serious fortune selling penny packet of seeds to the consideration early in 1921. Later in the year the British public through the mail, ran a series of circulation manager of Golf Illustrated golf tournaments for the British pros in an promoted what was supposed to be a match effort to promote his company, the Heath and between the U.S.