Here’s A Chance To Kick Some Serious Putt

Evidently, the demand for golf competition has outgrown the capacity of conventional golf courses to handle it.

They have now spread to practice facilities and even to golf simulating enterprises.

Beacon Hill Golf, for instance, will host its first Pro-Am Putting Tournament Friday - which developer Pete Raynor hopes will be the start of more extensive competitions.

“I’m hopeful of having a major putting event the weekend after Labor Day next year with pro purses of $20,000 and total purses in excess of $50,000,” Raynor said.

Entry fee is $15 (call 482-0622 before Thursday), with 100 percent payback on the pot. Prizes in the amateur division include a year’s unlimited use of the facility.

“We’re trying to start a different type of tournament,” said Jim Henry, Beacon Hill pro. “If we get the pros and some of the amateurs involved, we think we can expand this into a sponsored event in the future.”

Henry described the 18-hole putting course as having four different levels on an area the size of a football field. The “holes” will, in some cases, require negotiating 70 feet in distance and 20 feet in break.

Then we move to Virtual Golf, where simulators allow players to sample courses such as St. Andrews, The Coeur d’Alene Resort, Pebble Beach and others.

The company is now hosting two tournaments a month with purses up to $250 (fee $16 per person for competitions on the second and third Thursday of each month).

Who in the world would want to play indoors on a simulator when the weather has finally gotten nice enough to do the real thing outdoors?

“Well, it’s not much walking, for people who love to golf but can’t get around well,” explained John Barron at the facility. “It’s air-conditioned and it’s real good for beginners, because there’s not somebody pushing you all the time, wanting to play through. Plus, we’re open until midnight, so you can play when it’s dark.”

Call 533-5906 to get entered in the competitions.

Another Bear in Montana

It’s not often that area golfers get an opportunity to see Jack Nicklaus play, so it’s of interest that he will be sort of in the neighborhood - even if you have to cross Idaho to get there.

Nicklaus will play at Eagle Bend (Bigfork, Mont.) on Aug. 6 in the Jack Nicklaus Charity Exhibition - the dedication of a new 9-hole layout designed by Jack Nicklaus II.

Nicklaus will also conduct a clinic. Cost is $40. Call 800-255-5641.

Tournaments

Look for:

The fourth annual Women’s Amateur Wandermere Classic, Aug. 11-12. Deadline is Aug. 1, with $8,000 in prize money at stake.

Spokane Parks and Recreation Foundation Trustees annual golf fundraiser, Wednesday Aug. 16 at The Creek at Qualchan.

The event features a morning junior tournament, a golf clinic and a best-ball adult tournament. Proceeds go to park improvements, recreation programs and local PGA junior golf programs.

Junior registration forms will be available at are courses. Call Marion Severud at 625-6297

The Greater Hillyard Business Association Golf Tournament, an 18-hole scramble Aug. 4 at Esmeralda.

Fee is $40 and includes green fees and lunch, etc. Call Kim Medley at 489-8760.

Aces are wild

Chuck Snyder, a UPS truck driver, got a couple special deliveries last week at a course in Red Wing, Minn.

Snyder, who generally shoots in the low to mid 90s, used a 7-iron for a hole-in-one on the 135-yard No. 2 at Mississippi National Golf Links.

Then, at the 145-yard No. 5, he did it again with his trusty 7-iron.

Snyder said he had never come within 8 feet of an ace before.

Even with the two aces, Snyder finished with an 87.

We here at the Golf Notebook choose not to recognize either hole-in-one. Not only did Snyder not buy TWO ROUNDS for his friends on the 19th hole, he didn’t even pick up the tab for one.

“I figured it was their job to buy them for me,” Snyder said. “After all, I got (the aces) and they didn’t.”

, DataTimes