Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, August 29, 1993 TAG: 9308290060
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: E7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Randy King
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
One week later, teen-ager Chris Turner also tours Blue Hills in 63, the lowest-scoring competitive round ever in Roanoke high school golf.
Without detracting from either player's career round, the fact remains that Blue Hills and Roanoke's other public courses never have played easier.
The summer drought has rendered Roanoke's public tracts almost defenseless.
Bone-dry fairways and burnt-out rough, both products of the drought, have turned the courses into mere pitch-and-putts for the good players.
Tee balls are rolling like they're riding on I-81. Forget hang time on drives. The key stat now has become roll time.
Naff, who averages 275 yards off the tee, unloaded several drives in the 350-yard range at Blue Hills and Countryside, nearly reaching the green on a couple of par-4s.
Fairway woods? Leave 'em at home. Those weapons won't be necessary. If you hit it all, it's iron time on the second shots to most every par-5.
With the added length off the tee, the good players are wearing out their wedges hitting into most every par-4. Find a local par-4 that still requires a long-iron approach, and you've got a scoop.
"I've never seen the courses around here play any shorter or easier," Naff says. "You never hit more than a short iron into the green anywhere. You should shoot some numbers under these conditions."
But no matter how easy it is, you can't subtract from 63-clubbers Naff and Turner. Hey, you still have to put the ball in the hole. Line up most golfers from the 150-yard markers on every hole and they still don't shoot 63.
\ VALLEY NEWCOMER: Ohio transplant Alex Stanek created a mini-stir with his first-round 68 in Valley Amateur qualifying. Stanek, 31, finished third in qualifying before losing in the second round of match play.
"You haven't seen the last of me," said Stanek, who moved from Columbus to Roanoke eight months ago.
Stanek, who graduated from Ohio State, formerly worked as superintendent at a Pete Dye course in New Albany, Ohio.
\ VALLEY AM LEFTOVERS: Don Foster failed to defend his title, but the 54-year-old golfer did extend a pair of his tournament records. Nobody has played in or won as many matches as Foster, who is 18-11 in match play. . . . Foster and '72 champion Don Ragland have advanced to match play in 12 of the 13 years, including the past 11, since the tournament went to its current format. Tim Chocklett has made match play nine consecutive years, while this year's runner-up, Mark Funderburke, has advanced for the last eight years.
\ FUZZY MADE ME DO IT: Craving an opportunity to play with PGA star Fuzzy Zoeller, Bobby Penn has decided to enter the upcoming Hanging Rock club championship. Zoeller will play several holes with area club titlists in the Champion of Champions portion of the Tee Off for Sight tournament Sept. 21 at Hunting Hills.
"I figure it's worth the trouble in order to get a shot to play a few holes with Fuzzy," Penn said. "That's the only reason I'm playing."
Penn bypassed the Valley Am due to the lingering effects of recent surgery to remove his appendix.
\ SAND BLASTS: Tom McKnight's stout season continued recently, when he finished second at the Cardinal Amateur in Greensboro, N.C. McKnight lost on the fourth hole of a playoff, when reigning North Carolina State Amateur champion Stephen Jones drained a 35-foot birdie putt. . . . McKnight made the low 64 and match play at the U.S. Amateur for the second consecutive year, but lost in the first round. . . . Two-time champion Clarence Moore is one of a record 2,275 entries for the 39th U.S. Senior Amateur Championship, which will be played Sept. 20-25 at Charlottesville's Farmington Country Club.
by CNB