THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 10, 1996 TAG: 9603100166
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C13 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JIM DUCIBELLA, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 72 lines
Call this idea a winner and Stihl champion.
Stihl, Inc., the Virginia Beach-based power-equipment manufacturer, has joined forces with the Virginia Jaycees and seven Beach golf courses on a worthy project that runs from St. Patrick's Day to Memorial Day. Called Stihl's Aces for Kids, the goal is to send 40 mentally challenged individuals to Camp Virginia Jaycee in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
For every hole-in-one scored at a participating course from March 17 to May 27, Stihl will pay for one person to spend a week at the camp. Donations will be made in the name of the golfer.
Participating courses are Honey Bee, Broad Bay, Cavalier, Cypress Point, Princess Anne, Stumpy Lake and Red Wing.
There's a kickoff event Saturday at Honey Bee, 9 a.m. shotgun start. It's a two-player Florida best-ball tournament - $65 per player or $120 per team. There will be prizes for longest ball, closest to the pin and the top four teams. Prizes will include Stihl products, trophies, gift certificates and free rounds of golf. Hole-in-one prizes include a new set of clubs from Nevada Bob's and two round-trip tickets from USAir.
The deadline to register for the Honey Bee tournament is Wednesday. You can do that by phoning Curtis Goettel at 463-7247.
LARGER FIELD FOR AMF SIGNET OPEN: The field for this year's State Open, to be held at Richmond's Willow Oaks Country Club July 18-21, will be expanded to 171. That will include 81 pro qualifiers, 81 amateur qualifiers, the defending champion (Rob McNamara of Farmington Country Club), and eight (pros or amateurs) from open qualifying at Stonehenge Golf & Country Club July 15, the Monday of Open week.
PAULSON UPDATE: Second-year tour pro Carl Paulson of Virginia Beach had a surprise visitor in California a couple of weeks ago - teaching pro Butch Liebler. The two worked on all aspects of Paulson's game, which Liebler feels is nearly in shape.
``He's close,'' Liebler said. ``He's just 25 and, unfortunately, he's going to get wallowed in the mud a little bit from time to time.''
Paulson, who won the PGA Qualifying School in 1995, took a break after that, then suffered with the flu for close to three weeks and was hampered from practicing by this area's harsh winter.
``It's funny, I got off the plane from flying cross country, put on the radio and they were talking about pitchers and catchers reporting for spring training in baseball,'' Liebler said. ``I called Carl and I told him that next year we were going to find someplace warm for him to go to, someplace where he could work to get ready for the season. It told him that next year, prepare to have his own `spring training.' ''
INSIDE THE LEATHER: The Virginia State Golf Association has gone on-line and can be accessed on any of the Internet providers. http://www.inet1.com/VSGA is the address. . . . And if that's not enough from cyberspace, try the latest in vacation gimmicks, Golf Travel Online (GTO). Not only can you use it to find information on golf-related vacations in the U.S. and elsewhere, you can use GTO's Internet-based travel agency to reserve the vacation you fancy most. On-line since Feb. 15, it can be found at http://www.gto.com . . . . The Colonial Golf Course near Williamsburg copped a couple of sweet designations recently. Golf Magazine named it one of the country's ``Top 10 You Can Play,'' or daily fee, courses. Golf Digest picked it as one of the Top 10 Public Courses in Virginia. Opened last spring, it's a Lester George design, with Robert Wrenn of Richmond consulting. . . . Cavalier is making an interesting change to one of its finest holes, the par-3 18th. They're moving the green complex close to the water, adding a bit more danger, not to mention another 20 or so yards from the back tees. . . . Self-serving promo ahead: I'm always looking for information of interest to the local golfing community. Got some? Call 446-2463 and leave a message on my voice mail. by CNB