Course in mid-season form
The Whitefish Lake golf course, like
all of us, has seen enough rain the past two months and hopefully a
typical June will take a different turn and perhaps be drier than
normal.
While the course has been open since
the middle of April, play has been spotty and conditions less than
ideal. Interestingly, the course is in great condition with the
putting surfaces in mid-season form already. Early season spring
maintenance has been conducted and not even the smallest trace of
evidence from aeration can be found on the near perfect greens.
Great job greens crew! Think sunshine.
Jr. Qualifier June 13
Whitefish Lake Golf Club will once
again host the Montana State Junior qualifier tournament on the
North Course, Monday, June 13. The top four finishers in each age
class and gender will advance to the state tournament the following
week on Shelby’s Marias Valley Golf Course. Some of the local
talent from around western Montana is expected to compete with
locals, Reed Platke, Arthur Doorn and Erin Tabish expected to
easily qualify for the state event.
WHS Junior, Reed Platke, has had a
great winter season competing across the West and winning in a
large junior tournament in Denver a couple of weeks ago. He was
second in Las Vegas earlier in the winter and as of this writing he
leads the field in a Boise tournament at even par.
Bulldog Open
The 31st Annual Bulldog Open is
scheduled for June 19, for its typical Father’s Day location at
Whitefish Lake Golf Club. While the afternoon session is already
full, a few spots remain open for the morning session. Grab three
of your friends and register to participate in this fun-filled
event featuring great prizes, plus lunch and dinner all for only
$60 per player. All proceeds from the four-person scramble go to
support youth golf at Whitefish Lake Golf Club.
All New Fleet of Carts
Golf Professional, Tim Olson, took a
major step in acquiring 84 totally new electric Club Car golf carts
this season. The fleet fits nicely with the club’s efforts to go
more green and quiet while providing a high quality product for our
patrons.
Tee-Time Procedures
Members and guests alike can call the
Whitefish Lake Golf Club number, 862-4000, starting at 6:45 a.m. to
book a tee time two days in advance. Players can also come to the
course and get in line for tee times as the procedure includes
taking one phone call and then a player from the line to book a tee
time. The board of directors is investigating ways to improve the
process and potentially cut down on the phone wait time for
callers.
Rules of the Game
The plugged ball is a common occurrence
on all the golf courses in the valley this year. Remember, you may
lift clean and place your ball if lands and remains in its own
pitch mark, in the fairway, and all without penalty. Let’s hope
this condition goes away fairly soon.
Repairing ball marks on the greens
Wet weather adds to problem of ball
mark severity and as always players are asked to fix any ball mark
they find on the green. There does seem to be an inordinate number
of unrepaired ball marks on the new number five green on the North
course. Please help us maintain the excellent putting surfaces we
have by each doing our part to fix ball marks and divots too.