The Salas Effect

Brittany Lang, Brittany Lincicome, Stacy Lewis, Brooke Pancake, Lizette Salas,
& Jennifer Song ready for the Women's Health Classic Pro-Am at Stony Point.

The Self Regional Healthcare Foundation Women's Health Classic is in full swing at The Links at Stoney Point even though the tournament action is still three days away.  The topiaries that will reappear at the Festival of Flowers in about 6 weeks are artfully placed around the clubhouse, the leaderboard is up and waiting to record the action on the course, the spectator seating is where it needs to be, and the months of planning and hard work are behind Jim and Denise Medford.  Show time started at 7:30am Monday morning with the first of three Pro-Am events.

The Bethel Wars, Summer 2014 Edition

These dollar bills just keep getting passed back
and forth, properly dated & tagged!

It's taken him two years to do it, but Wes has finally made a clean sweep of our most recent two-round series in the Bethel Wars!  He thoroughly enjoyed out-playing me and I had a terrific time getting out-played.  What more could be said about two rounds of golf with one's elder son in the sweltering heat and humidity of mid-summer in the Carolinas while Arthur was gathering strength just 200 miles to the east.

Lessons From Cut Day at Stoney Point

Joanna Klatten leads by 2 shots going into the weekend
at the SRH Women Health Classic.
Photo Credit: Scott A Miller.

I've been so enjoying my time at the Self Regional Healthcare Women's Health Classic at Stoney Point.  For two days I've been stationed on the par-5 6th hole, which has a blind tee shot, as a spotter.  The hole has always befuddled me and I looked forward to the opportunity I'd have to study the pros' techniques for navigating the bunker and playing the hole.

From the forward tees, a short hitter like me tends to try to shave the left edge of the fairway bunker and then proceed down the fairway with a couple of decent shots, two-putt, and walk off happily with a bogey.  But an errant tee shot, and I've had many, will either put me in the fairway bunker, out-of-bounds on the right, or into a tree-poison ivy-snaky hazard that runs the full length of the left side of the fairway.  I more often go in the bunker or right and out-of-bounds.  Both are expensive mistakes.

Ready, Set, Go! Who's Coming In Hot?

Women's Health Classic Leaderboard, off the 18th Green
at The Links at Stoney Point

The scene's set and everything's in place for the Women's Health Charity Classic at the Links at Stoney Point.  The leaderboard's up and waiting for the players, who are rolling into town now and have a practice round Tuesday morning.  The party tent's ready for two days of Pro-Am events and festivities, and the course is ready for the Thursday tee off.  And if you're in the Mother's Day mood on Sunday, you can take Mom to Sunday brunch at the event's party tent before the final round tees off.  Follow this link for the tournament schedule.

A Big Southern Welcome for The Symetra G.R.I.T.S. (Girls Raised In The South)

The Elephant Topiary, The Links at Stoney Point

It looks like a circus is coming to town at The Links as Stoney Point.  Well, if not a circus, something that looks big and involves the elephant topiary we local folk know and love as one of the centerpieces at the Festival of Flowers.  There are party tents, a huge leaderboard between the 18th green and the clubhouse, viewing stands for important people, cross-cut fairways, and greens that are, well, lush and green and, according to a couple of golfers I chatted with today, holding the line and rolling true!

Stoney Point's hard at work preparing a huge Southern Welcome for the Symetra Tour players, staff, and fans.  They have about two and a half days to finish getting the sidewalks edged, the tables inside the party tent set up, and tend to all the other little details that make a big party simply perfect.

The Aussies are Coming to Town!

I've been checking the LPGA/Symetra web site daily for the last week, waiting for the Women's Health Charity Classic field to be announced.  Finally, it popped up last night and I got my first peek at the golfers who are going to tee off next week at The Links at Stoney Point.  We're in for a treat!

It's Spring! That Means Tourneys, Tourneys, and More Tourneys!

The Links at Stoney Point, Greenwood, SC

Signs of spring: Two weeks ago the Star Fort Ladies Golf Association held it's season-opening Spring Fling Tournament.  Lexi Thompson has taken the traditional winner's leap into Poppy's Pond and Michelle Wie has danced the victorious hula at Ko Olina.  Last week it was the first Interclub Tournament of the year at Greenwood Country Club.  This week is was the first Sandlapper's Tournament of the year at the Links at Stoney Point.  And in less than three weeks the Symetra Tour will be in town.  We girls are swinging our sticks with renewed vigor at every level of the game.  I'm positively awash in golf pleasure!