Wentworth Golf Club
by rhart | May 8, 2018 | From The Pro, Golf News
by rhart | Jun 2, 2018 | From The Pro, Golf News
It’s always a special day for Dad. And it’s a great excuse for getting him out on the golf course.
Let Dad have some fun with these Wentworth Specials just for him.
Bring your Dad out to Play Golf!!!
Saturday, May 16th & Sunday, May 17th
Buy $50 Gift Card & Receive $10 Free Gift Card
by rhart | Feb 14, 2019 | From The Pro, Golf News
Wentworth Golf Club has received our new Yamaha Golf Carts.The New DRIVE 2 EFI Carts from Yamaha are so quiet, you do not realize your in a Gas Golf Cart. Plus they have a USB port for charging your phone or other device. Pretty Cool!
Our entire fleet will be featuring these new golf carts. Come take a “test drive”.
by rhart | Mar 18, 2020 | From The Pro, Golf News, Golf Tips, Wentworth Golf News
According to Dr Catherine Troisi, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston on golfdigest.com…
“Sunlight and other environmental conditions can kill viruses like this, so it is probable that that is true for this novel coronavirus, as well. So I would say in the actual playing of golf, you’re not at much risk.”
So if you’re thinking about what to do during our new “shelter in place” world, you might want to consider playing a little golf. You’ll be outdoors in the fresh air and getting a little exercise too.
But best of all, it will help take your mind off of the crazy situation we are all in.
But you still might have questions…
by rhart | Mar 25, 2020 | From The Pro, Golf News |
Most health experts agree that playing golf during the pandemic is a good way to stay healthy and reduce stress during these unusual days.
And as long as the proper precautions are taken, the USGA is doing its part to adapt its governance of the game to these unprecedented times.
One of the adjustments some courses have made to lower the risk of spreading unwanted germs or disease, is changing the golf hole itself.
The idea is to help keep hands from touching the flagstick by raising the cup or covering the hole in some way to lower the need of reaching into the hole for you ball. I played a local course recently and they had turned the actual golf holes around so it’s easier to get your ball out of the hole.
The USGA released an informative Frequently Asked Questions page on March 20 that answered some of the questions many golfers have.
And, as we here in Florida enter into the peak golf season, some golfers are wondering if you can still post scores to our handicaps due to the variations the USGA is allowing in the game.
Here’s what the USGA says on their website…
“The 2019 Rules of Golf were drafted to offer each Committee the flexibility to make decisions as to how golf is played at their course or in competition and the Committee Procedures section of the Official Guide to the Rules of Golf offers a significant amount of guidance and recommendations on how to address circumstances unique to each course or competition,” the USGA’s statement read.
“From the perspective of the Rules of Handicapping, the most frequent questions received are primarily related to the acceptability of scores for posting to a player’s scoring record. In particular, relating to modifying the hole and not requiring the player to “hole out” as required under the Rules of Golf. These are founded in a desire to minimize the possibility of exposing golfers to coronavirus and have included leaving the hole liner raised above the putting surface or placing various objects into the hole so the ball can be more easily removed. In these specific cases, provided guidance from health and governmental officials is being followed, a temporary measure is in place within the United States to accept scores played under these conditions for handicap purposes using the most likely score guidelines, even though the player has not holed out.”
Aside from relaxed rules around holing out and posting scores to your handicap, the USGA has relaxed its rules as it pertains to bunkers and rakes, allowing players to use a form of “rake and place” by using a foot or club to smooth an otherwise disturbed piece of a bunker. If needed, the USGA recommends a preferred lie local rule. Some local courses in our area are letting people take the ball out of the bunker altogether and play from behind where the ball went in.
The USGA also relaxed and made recommendations for scoring and scorecard usage that will limit the passing back and forth of cards and/or pencils to keep, mark or attest a score.
You can read the USGA’s full guidance statement on COVID-19 here and find the full FAQ page for adjusted rulings here.
by rhart | May 8, 2020 | Golf News, Wentworth Golf News
by Eric Snider
A lone golfer shoots for the green at Pebble Creek Golf Club in New Tampa.
Golf — it’s the last game standing. For the time being, of course.
While basketball, softball, flag football, soccer, volleyball, tennis and pickleball players are all sidelined — or should be — golfers are still in the swing of things, with most courses open. Imagine being out in the open air on beautiful expanses of green for four, five hours at a time, playing a game you love, with other people, and keeping score. Kinda makes you want to take up golf — even if you’re atrocious at it.
James Libby, of Seminole, took it up long ago. At age 67, he’s been very good at it for a long time, with a handicap that ranges between 5 and 9. He’s grateful for the rounds he plays three times a week at Seminole Lake Country Club, where he joins a close-knit group of participants that range in number from 20 to 35. He’s noticed a subtle shift in attitude.
“It’s at the point where, if I’m having a sucky day or hit a bad shot, I don’t care nearly as much,” he says. “How bad can it be? We don’t have the virus. We’re with a bunch of good guys having fun. Don’t get me wrong, though. We all still want to win.”
Golf is arguably the original social-distancing sport, says Bill Place, president of Tropical Golf Properties, which owns four semi-private golf properties in the greater Bay area, including Pebble Creek in Tampa. Players have their own balls and clubs. Rarely during play are people in close proximity, except when they wait to hit off the tee or putt. During the COVID-19 epidemic, players must stay at least six feet apart at all times.
That’s not been hard.
“No one wants to be the one who causes the club to close down,” Libby says. “You’d be shamed and shunned and beaten to death with sand wedges.”
The virus crisis has prompted a whole new set of safety rules that are largely uniform across all golf facilities.
Most impactful: one person to a cart, with exceptions made for family members who live together. That can cause courses to run low on buggies, which can slow start times and play overall.
To mitigate the effect, Place’s facilities have instituted time windows during which players can walk the courses, usually during late afternoons. The City of St. Petersburg’s public courses always allow walking, says Jeff Hollis, golf courses director for the city.
Other measures: Flag sticks must remain in place. Ball washers have been covered or decommissioned. Rakes have been removed from sand traps. Carts, driving range baskets and other tools are routinely and meticulously sanitized. “Pretty much every touch point we can think of,” Place says.
The holes themselves have been revamped. The idea is to prevent players from reaching in for balls and instead knock them out with their putter. Some courses have turned the holes’ plastic bottoms upside down, some have inserted sections of styrofoam pool noodles, some put PVC donuts in the bottom. All have the effect of creating a hole that’s less than an inch deep. There have even been stories of courses sticking styrofoam coffee cups in holes — if you hit the cup, it counts as a make. (Lousy putters rejoiced.)
Swing stations on driving ranges have been moved farther apart. League play has been canceled. Beverage cart service halted. Traditional post-round handshakes are obviously out.
The pandemic’s impact is not restricted to the courses themselves.
Many pro shops have put tape on the floor to remind people of social distancing. Some have erected plexiglass shields to protect clerks. Using cash is discouraged or banned. The City of St. Petersburg’s courses allow only four people in the pro shop at any time. Some facilities have simply shut their shops down and will send cart attendants to get something if a player absolutely needs it.
Law enforcement officers regularly stop by to monitor compliance, the course operators say. And comply they do.
Bill Place is blunt about his reasons for being so stringent on the rules. “We don’t want anyone to get sick, and if we’re extra vigilant we can prevent getting shut down,” he says.
It’s a fear most golf operators share. At the moment, at least, there does not seem to be much call for course closures by Bay area government officials, and Gov. Ron DeSantis’s stay-at-home orders made an exception for golf, deeming it an “essential recreation activity” as long as social-distancing guidelines are followed.
While golfers may be finding a lifeline at the course, it’s a far different story for the owner/operators, many of whom are simply trying to keep their facilities alive. Most courses in the Bay area have managed to stay open, but business has been way off.
“Courses can’t survive on the golf aspect alone,” Place says. “I make about half of my profit on restaurant and banquet business.” The banquets are gone. The restaurants are takeout only, bringing in a fraction of the revenue they did before. Layoffs have ensued.
Dave Creighton had some difficult choices to make in March. He’s the operating partner in a family business that owns Fox Hollow Golf Club in Trinity and two other courses. Fox Hollow is semi-private: It has 300 members but is also open to the public for play. “Before the state got shut down, I was starting to see a lot of new faces,” Creighton says. “We were seeing New York plates in the parking lot. Frankly, it was making me and my staff nervous.”
Fox Hollow drastically cut back hours in the pro shop for a few days, then closed it altogether. Not long after, Creighton decided to restrict the club to members only. “I joke with them: ‘Enjoy it now. It’s not going to last,’” he says. “It’s more relaxed now, but the number of rounds played is way down. I do get stressed when I look at the bank account.”
Fox Hollow also lost its banquet and dine-in restaurant business. Their big Easter brunch, a club tradition, was takeout only. The facility missed out on most of the premium fees generated by non-members during high season. Public play accounts for 60 percent of the club’s golf business, Creighton says. Fox Hollow’s golf revenue stream is now limited to membership dues, cart fees, and a few dollars from the driving range. “We’re hanging on, trying to survive,” he says.
Owner/operators take solace in knowing that they’re providing much-needed outdoor recreation for a whole lot of people who are otherwise cooped up.
Hollis, St. Pete’s golf courses director, runs city-owned properties not completely governed by the bottom line. “People are very appreciative that we’re open,” he says. “We’re doing our best to give people an outlet.”
Even the independent owners who have endured serious financial hits recognize some pluses. “We’re grateful not to be in the situation that so many businesses are in, having to close, having no revenue.” Place says, “And we’ve noticed people going out of their way to help the courses — buying food and drinks from the restaurant, tipping well. They obviously want to keep us going.”
And then there’s golf itself, the last game in town. “I’ve been working in this business since I was 13,” Creighton says. “It can’t be all about the money. You measure your success by people as well. My office door is always open and I can’t tell you how many people stick their head in to thank me for the opportunity to play.”
Creighton, once a highly ranked club pro, is using this time to play more. “I’m trying to get back to that bar where I once was, or past it,” he says. “Plus the members enjoy it when one of the staff goes out and plays with them.”
And, finally, there’s this: “The golf-course conditions were great before,” Creighton says. “They’re fantastic now. With the reduction in holes played, there are not a lot of divots or ballmarks.”
Just another reason for golfers — or newbies, for that matter — to throw a bag in the trunk and head out to the course.
The pandemic has affected golf tournaments, too. But it’s not stopping the Pelican Women’s Championship; read about the new dates for the Pelican, which will be the first LPGA tournament in Tampa Bay since 1989.
