Fairways To Try All-Day Greens Fees
The Fairways at West Terrace golf course will experiment this year with all-day greens fees instead of the traditional 18-hole rate, said head professional John Durgan.
Under the new pricing structure golfers will pay a daily rate that entitles them to play as many rounds as they want that day - provided additional tee times are available when they check in at the pro shop.
“We’re trying to give golfers as much golf as they want to play,” said Durgan, a family partner in Fairways Golf Inc., which leases the course from West Terrace Joint Ventures, a Canadian-based golf course development group.
“We’re setting a precedent, in my opinion, for public 18-hole courses in our area, Durgan said.”
He explained that additional tee times must be scheduled in person at the pro shop.
“There might be busy days when it’s not possible to schedule another complete round,” Durgan admitted. “But in most cases, this will give people more golf for the same money.”
The current all-day rate of $12 will be good until April 1, when it will increase to $15 on weekdays and weekends. The $15 rate will hold throughout the peak season on weekdays, but will jump to $18 on weekends (until after 2 p.m.) from June 1 to Oct. 1.
In October, the rate for weekdays and weekends will drop back to $12.
The Fairways, although plagued by standing water on several holes, is one of a handful of local courses open on all permanent greens. Several others plan to open this weekend, but golfers should call ahead for information about course conditions and tee times.
Guthrie to be honored
Former Spokane resident Connie Guthrie, a two-time USGA Senior Women’s Amateur champion, will be one of five inductees at the Pacific Northwest Golf Association Hall of Fame banquet that will be held April 11 at Fircrest Golf Club in Tacoma.
Guthrie, who lives in Hayden Lake, Idaho, won the Senior Women’s Amateur in 1984 and 1986 and was a member of the USGA’s Women’s Committee from 1990-93. She won the Spokane Area Women’s championship 16 times and captured both the PNGA Women’s Amateur (1984) and Senior Women’s Amateur (1993).
Joining Guthrie on the list of inductees are Herb Fritz of White Rock, British Columbia; Dr. John Harbottle of Tacoma; George O. Holland of Seattle, and Harold Weston of Portland.
Every other year since 1978, the PNGA Hall of Fame Committee has honored men and women who have made extraordinary contributions to amateur golf in the region.
WSU gets green to study green
The United States Golf Association has awarded Washington State University a one-year, $24,000 grant to study run-off water used to irrigate the floating green at the Coeur d’Alene Resort Golf Course.
The grant, according to Larry Gilhuly, the western director of the USGA Green Section, was awarded in part because the Washington State Golf Association contributed about $44,000 to the Green Section last year.
“It is the USGA’s policy to fund research projects which have significant support from state and regional golf associations before all others,” Gilhuly said in this month’s issue of Pacific Northwest Golfer. “The WSGA’s contribution was a primary factor the USGA considered in awarding this grant to WSU.”
The floating green on the 14th hole at the course sits atop a multimillion-dollar, state-of-the-art water collection system that prevents rain and irrigation water from running into Lake Coeur d’Alene. The grant will allow WSU to study whether the water collection system is meeting its purpose of preventing contaminated water from entering the lake.
The USGA, according to Pacific Northwest Golfer, has indicated the grant could be extended for two more years.
Peter’s principles
One of the most interesting opinions offered by outspoken ABC-TV golf analyst Peter Alliss during an interview that will appear in Golf Digest’s April issue is his assessment of where the Masters ranks among the sport’s four major tournaments.
“It would be very easy for me to put the Masters last, because it is a small field, a small event and only 63 years old,” said Alliss, a three-time winner of the British PGA. “Plenty of people have said or written detrimental things about the U.S. Open or the PGA or the weather or the hotels or the food at our (British) Open Championship.
“But nobody ever says or writes anything detrimental about the Masters. It is ruled totally by fear.”
Pitch shots
The Downriver Ladies 18-hole Golf Group will hold its annual kickoff breakfast at 8:30 a.m. March 25 at Downriver. All women golfers are invited to attend. Call 328-6833 or 327-1965 for information… . The MeadowWood Women’s Golf Club will stage its opening-day meeting at 9 a.m. March 26 in the MeadowWood clubhouse. Golf will follow the meeting… . The Indian Canyon Ladies 18-hole Golf Club will hold its initial meeting of the season in the Indian Canyon clubhouse at 9 a.m. March 26. New members are welcome. For information, call club president Dottie Blosser at 448-7516.
, DataTimes