The Pennant

Club News
Rob Riddle,  General Manager
 
I would like to thank the membership for another great year at Black Creek Club.  In 2008 our member events were some of the biggest we have ever had.  We also showed positive growth in our overall membership size.  In the spirit of the recent elections the staff at Black Creek will be taking our winter down time as an opportunity to make positive changes to ensure the health of your club.  One of our main goals for 2009 is to more effectively communicate with the membership as a whole on various topics.  Some of those topics that will be included: new members, special course maintenance, member event info, merchandise sales, etc.  One thing that hampers our success at getting this information out is many of our records are old or inaccurate.  To help the club better serve you, we are asking all members to provide us with updated information.  We need email addresses, phone numbers and snail mail addresses. 

In 2009 a special member handbook will be sent out to all members.  The same information will be available via the internet at blackcreekclub.com.  Current events or any changes to the member handbook will be emailed, posted on the web site and in the club house. 

As a staff we hope that providing information in a timely fashion by many avenues will give us the best chance to do our jobs of serving you. 

Happy Holidays,


Rob Riddle
 
Golf News
Todd McKittrick,  Head Professional
 
I hope everyone had an enjoyable year at Black Creek.  I just wanted to take this time to say thank you to the membership for accepting me and my wife Jessica into the Chattanooga/Black Creek Community in a relatively short time span.  Since I have been at Black Creek I have seen some amazing golf stories from all corners of our membership.  Here is my top ten list:
 
10.  Trying to reach the green in 2 on hole #6  I hit one of the best 5 irons I could into that green.  As I drive around the burn my wife says I don’t see the ball.  She gets out of the cart and sprints right to the hole finds the ball and says this must be better than an eagle right?
 
9.  Brent Burks shot his career round of one under par 71.  Only to by followed up with a 90 a few days later.  That’s golf for you!
 
8.  Everyone hates playing on aerified greens.  As a matter a fact many people blame their new higher scores on the little sandy rascles…except Don Malone, in early 2007 Don, holed out a shot on #18…for a double eagle.
 
7.  During 2007 Scott’s Revenge I watched Rob tee off #10 with a driver which ended up in the hell bunker.  Since the game required you to use that club the entire hole Rob drilled the ball into the wall popping it up onto the green…wow, who needs a wedge.
 
6.  For many of our members shooting under par would be a career achievement, for Ed Shuey shooting 71 meant also firing his age!
 
5.  Mitch Stoltz brings a guest out   and shows him 17 holes only to watch his golf cart stolen by a random guy coming off the mountain looking for a ride.

4.  Some people wait their entire lives to get just one hole-in-one…Freddie Simmons truly lost count how many he has had but was reminded that the one he got this October was his 6th at Black Creek!!!!

3.  Bill Snipes buys a Ping driver that he can draw…signs six figure endorsement deal because if he can do it anyone can.
 
2.  I personally enter quite a few scores into the handicap computer.  I have been entering scores as a golf professional for nearly 10 years now…on 8/20/08 something happened that I didn’t know was possible…the GHIN system that Alan Carmichael played too well when he shot 63 from the blue tees forcing me to call the USGA to force the posting.
 
1.  And the #1 golf moment ….Some people are scratch golfers others are plus handicaps but few have ever had weeks like Mike Borkowski did at the end of September. Mike shot 29 under par in 8 days…69,63,71,72,68,66,71, and 67 are you kidding me?!
 
Course News
Scott Wicker,  Superintendent
 
 Chattanooga Classic Review
With atypical Fall weather (warm & calm, a little humidity and overcast skies),  the strongest field the Classic has seen to date commenced with their dart-throwing contest as a softened, defenseless course endured a barrage of birdies on Thursday & Friday.  But just when you thought every record would be broken, the weekend proved to be a different story.  The crispness of Autumn returned on Saturday and it was accompanied by a brisk northern breeze.  By Saturday afternoon, the once receptive greens had turned into firmer playing surfaces that actually required these guys to think about what their ball might do when/if it landed on green.  By Sunday, the breeze had shifted to the East, the greens had firmed up a little more, and with dollar signs attached to every stroke, the average score skyrocketed to 72.7.  This was the highest single round scoring average ever recorded  in the event.  In the end, Arjun Atwal won in a playoff by shooting an even par 72 with a birdie on 18 in regulation and once again in a playoff.

 

Some interesting facts from the 2008 Chattanooga Classic include:

 

The low round of the tournament was 60 (a new Tournament record set by Arjun Atwal on Friday)

The high round of the tournament was 80

There was a double -eagle on 18 (Peter Tomasoulo on Saturday hit a hybrid from 239)

The highest individual hole score was a 10 on #18 (ironically, by Peter Tomasoulo on Sunday....ouch!!!)

There were 3 holes-in-one this year.  There had only been 1 hole-in-one in the previous 5 events.
 

The range tee will not be over-seeded this year with Ryegrass.  We feel like the underlying Bermuda simply needs a break and an opportunity to grow unimpeded next Spring.  This means that in the late winter/early Spring, the practice tee will be significantly more damaged than in years past.  You can help preserve the tee by impacting as small of an area as possible when you practice.  Please try to keep your divots concentrated in a small area and not spread out over a large area. During periods of wet weather, practice will be restricted to mats.  We appreciate your cooperation during these times.

As the golf course begins to go dormant for the winter season, please remember that once the brown blades of grass wear out, there will be nothing to replace it until the warm weather of Spring returns in April.  Everyone can help preserve the playing surfaces by paying close attention to their activities when behind the wheel of a golf cart.  We ask that everyone comply with a few simple cart rules.
 
Course announcements

1. Always park your cart completely on the cart path around tees & greens.   This includes all 4 tires.

2. Always avoid obvious wet areas, even if they are not marked.

3. Try to vary your route to areas not showing obvious wear.

4. Please remain on the cart paths on all par 3’s.

5. Please remain on the cart paths around the clubhouse and all practice areas.

 

 

With plenty of great weather remaining before the onset of winter and good course conditions, I hope everyone gets  the opportunity to squeeze a little more golf out of this season.

 

I hope to see you on the course soon.

 
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