Mystery Valley Still an Atlanta Favorite Popular Dekalb Course ‘In Best Shape Ever’
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GEORGIAPGA.COM GOLFFOREGEORGIA.COM «« AUGUST 2013 Mystery Valley still an Atlanta favorite Popular DeKalb course ‘in best shape ever’ By Mike Blum sections that made putting from one side to the other an adventure. he landscape of daily fee But those days are in the past, and a golf in metro Atlanta has newly installed irrigation system has changed dramatically over helped Mystery Valley achieve the best T the past two decades, but course conditions at the DeKalb County there are still a few courses left whose facility in many, many years. history extends beyond the arrival of “Everybody who has played here has the internet. told us we’re in the best shape ever,” says Mystery Valley Golf Club opened John Crumbley, Mystery Valley’s General for play in the mid 1960s, when the Manager and PGA Director of Golf. options for Atlanta’s public course “We have grass from tree line to tree line golfers were limited. and this is a big golf course. We have Almost a half century later, there are more square yardage of grass than most far more courses now available to anybody in the city,” Mystery Valley’s quality layout features large Atlanta’s daily fee players, but Mystery Mystery Valley’s bent grass greens are putting surfaces with mostly subtle breaks Valley has stood the test of time and also in excellent condition, giving the remains among the most popular facil- club’s loyal regulars even more reason ities in the metro area. to make frequent visits to the Mystery Valley has retained its course, which is located in east DeKalb Savannah, where GCL is based. standing as one of Atlanta’s busiest County a few miles south of Stone Among Mystery Valley’s most obvious Jekyll Island, and the original daily fee courses, even through the Mountain Park. assets is its traditional Dick Wilson Canongate, on which he collaborated stretches when its conditioning was DeKalb County owns the course, design. Wilson was the golf course archi- with design partner Joe Lee. not exactly at optimal levels. which is managed by GCL of Savannah, tect for iconic layouts such as Doral’s Mystery Valley was the last course The course, which was tagged with which also operates Collins Hill Blue Monster, Bay Hill, Cog Hill, Wilson designed before his death, and is the unflattering nickname of “Misery in Gwinnett, like Mystery Valley a LaCosta and Laurel Valley. His Georgia an understated, traditional layout with Valley” by some of its regulars, was municipal facility, the excellent Sapelo designs include the Mountain View plenty of movement on a majority of known for its hardpan lies and greens Hammock course near the Georgia coast course at Callaway Gardens, the divided between Summer and Winter and Mary Calder, a 9-hole facility in Oleander and Pine Lakes courses at [ See Mystery Valley page 6 ] Like Us on Facebook Follow Us on Twitter @GolfFOREGeorgia Belong to Tom Fazio’s Mountain Masterpiece Introducing Our National and Silver Anniversary Memberships Your Chance to Join An Exceptional Community and Club Few courses offer the beauty, challenge and Champion Hills is a debt-free community and playability that Fazio created here at Champion member-owned club with tennis courts, fi tness Hills in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains – and center, heated pool, walking trails, dining options to celebrate 25 successful years, we’re pleased to and more. The Fazio course is consistently ranked announce two special membership* opportunities. in the top 15 in North Carolina and we’re located just 10 minutes from Hendersonville and 30 U New National Membership – This option was created for those who love great mountain golf minutes and Western North Carolina, but live outside the from all the dining and entertainment that Hendersonville area. Asheville has to offer. U Silver Anniversary Membership – A limited number of full memberships are also being made To learn more or to schedule a visit, contact us at available at a signifi cantly reduced initiation fee. 828.696.1962 or [email protected]. ChampionHills.com R 828.696.1962 R [email protected] *Champion Hills Club is a private, member-owned country club. Admission is member-sponsored and requires approval by the Board of Directors. 2 GOLFFOREGEORGIA.COM AUGUST 2013 IT ALLALLL COMESCOMES DOWNDOWWN TOTO ATLANTAATLANTA TICKETSTICKETS NOWNOW ON SALESALE ATAT PGATOUR.COM/TTCPGAATTOUR.COM/TTC SEPTEMBERSEPTEMBER 18-22, 20132013 EASTEAST LAKELAKE GOLFGOLF CLUBCLUB | ATLANTA,AATTLANTTAAA, GAGA YOUTHYOUTH 18 AND YOUNGERYOUNGER FREEFREE WITHWITH TICKETEDTICKETED ADULTADULLTT CCOMPLIMENTSOMPLIMENTTTSS OF SSOUTHERNOUTHERN CCOMPANYOMPMPPAANY 2013 AUGUST GOLFFOREGEORGIA.COM 3 Instruction Fore You 3021 Kalah Place, Marietta, GA 30067 770-933-04GA / 770-953-6638 fax golfforegeorgia.com / [email protected] Send all press releases to: [email protected] PUBLISHER Better Chipping – Hands Down Golf Media, Inc. / John Barrett EDITOR Mike Blum By Bobby Hix you put alignment sticks on the ground, ability to do that on a consistent basis. And WEBSITE/ FACEBOOK/ SOCIAL MEDIA PGA Director of Instruction you will notice that when square, the club- one thing you can be sure of is the best HYPDMedia, Inc. / Ellen Marsau Arnold Blum Golf Learning Center face is perpendicular to the target line. See players are the ones who keep the clubface SOCIAL MEDIA SERVICE & CONTENT at Idle Hour Club figure u. square the longest. Alli Hunt / Ellen Marsau JUNIOR/COLLEGE GOLF NEWS COORDINATOR Now, when we swing the When taken back correctly, the palm of Lauren Freeman Or to be more specific, hand club, either on a chip or a full the back or bottom hand of the student is SPECIAL PROJECTS COORDINATOR down. Now I will explain. swing, we swing the club on facing down. This allows the clubface to Abby Bergquist In order to be our best at chip- plane, not on the target line. remain in a square to plane position on the MARKETING & ADVERTISING ping, we have to be able to The plane is angled and the backswing. This position in turn should National Sales: Ed Bowen/Bowen Group, return the clubface to the target line is straight. That remain as the club is swung into the impact [email protected] Local & Corporate Sale: John Barrett/Rick Holt, impact position the same way being said, the clubface position as well. This palm down position [email protected] each time. Of course this should remain square to the promotes forward shaft lean and provides a ART DIRECTOR Lori Montgomery holds true no matter if we are plane line during the take- consistent angle of attack time after time, CREATIVE SERVICES Catalina Montana chipping or making full swings. When we away as well as during the downswing until giving us the consistency we desire to hit CONTRIBUTORS can return the club consistently back to the after impact. See figure v. This will insure great chips and pitches. See figure w. Bobby Hix • Robert Matre • Steve Dinberg ball, we can then control the distance, that the clubface returns to the ball with The biggest mistake we see on a day to • Ed C. Thompson Photography direction, flight and roll of the ball just by the same loft each time. day basis is the deadly “flip” at the ball. GEORGIA SECTION, how far we swing our arms. So many of us have been taught over the Playing palm down will help any player PGA OF AMERICA OFFICERS There are many variations of chip shots years to point the toe of the clubface up to who fights this because as long as the back President but it is important to master the standard the sky during the takeaway. The toe of the or bottom hand palm faces down, it can Brian Stubbs, PGA / [email protected] chip as you can use it, sometimes with dif- club does eventually point up but it is due never pass under the front or top hand, Vice President Mark Mongell, PGA / [email protected] x ferent clubs, probably 85% of the time. So to the folding of the rear elbow, not by which is what a “flip” is. See figure . Secretary the chip we are talking about here is the rotating our hands. When we rotate our You can chip better, hand down! Brian Albertson, PGA / [email protected] standard, straight ahead chip. hands, we open the clubface. When we Honorary President First of all we want to begin with a open the clubface, we must return it to (Bobby Hix can be reached at Patrick Richardson, PGA / [email protected] square clubface, a clubface that is aimed square before the club gets back to the ball 478-477-8777 or at bhix&ihcgolf.com). CHAPTER PRESIDENTS toward where you want the ball to land. If and there are not many of us that have the Central Chapter President Mike Baker, PGA, [email protected] East Chapter President Josh Williams, PGA / [email protected] North Chapter President Jeff Fraiser, PGA / [email protected] AT- LARGE DIRECTORS Jeff Dunovant, PGA [email protected] Matthew Evans, PGA [email protected] John Godwin, PGA [email protected] Billy Jack, PGA [email protected] Chad O’Dell, PGA [email protected] Bob Stevenson, PGA [email protected] uvwx Darin Stinson, PGA [email protected] SENIOR DIVISION President INSIDE THIS ISSUE Steve Barfoot, PGA / [email protected] ASSISTANTS’ DIVISION FEATURES: DEPARTMENTS:DEPARTMENTS: President Bill Fedder, PGA / [email protected] TKFricke takes Georgia Open . 8 First post-season for Web.com Chip shots . 28 Executive Director Mike Paull GPGA Match Play reaches semis . 10 Tour . 20 Assistant Executive Director/ Golf FORE Juniors . 29 Junior Golf Director Scott Gordon Section Championship at Retreat. 10 Valdosta winner Wilcox shoots 59 Tournament Director Pat Day, PGA Wagoner wins at Berkeley Hills .