THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 1, 1996 TAG: 9609010228
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C10 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JIM DUCIBELLA, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 67 lines
Welcome back, Bow Creek.
The venerable old Virginia Beach course is open again after a 9-month hiatus caused by the city's Plaza Drainage Project. During that time, the city constructed a lake on the course, as well as several drainage canals, to help carry water away from the surrounding neighborhoods during heavy rainstorms.
``Not only does the project seemed to have worked,'' Bow Creek pro Phil Stewart said, ``they added some character to the golf course.''
The lake touches play on the second, third and fourth holes. The drainage canals impact on Nos. 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 17.
``It changes the nature of those holes,'' Stewart said. ``There's some strategy decisions that come into play now that didn't before. On 11, 12 and 17, trees were wiped out during construction. Now, you've got a canal. Some of the people who've played it say it's more fun now because they have to approach those holes differently than before. It's like playing a new golf course.''
Stewart's people resodded several areas of the course. That seems to have taken, although Stewart says the course probably won't be in tip-top condition for another month.
Bow Creek's reopening should have a positive impact on the other public courses at the Beach, especially Kempsville. That's where many Bow Creek regulars flocked to once construction began.
``A lot of people have come back to see the changes and have stayed,'' Stewart said. ``It hasn't been a come-by-once sort of thing. Our first week was pretty busy and that's seemed to continue. The golf business is more spread out now.''
GETTING IT STRAIGHT: Apparently, there have been nasty rumors going around that Hurricane Bertha knocked the new Legends at Stonehouse course near Williamsburg out of commission. Nothing could be more wrong, director of golf Forrest Fezzler said last week. Not only has the course been up and running, Fezzler says it's in the best shape of its young life.
In addition, the Legends-built Royal New Kent course in New Kent County is approaching the last stages of cosmetic improvements. Asphalt is being poured over what once were dirt roads. The course, as fine a replica of a Scottish links course as you'll find in these parts, has been open for about a month. Both are wonderful experiences.
GETTING A HANDICAP: Ask a golfer why he doesn't have a handicap. More often than not, the excuse is that the player doesn't belong to a club.
That's no longer a problem. The USGA has just published the Golf Club Formation Kit, a how-to guide for anyone interested in forming a golf club even though he doesn't own the real estate. The kit provides basic instructions, including sample by-laws. It's free and available by contacting the USGA Handicap Department any one of several ways. Telephone 908-234-2300. Fax 908-234-9687. E-mail usga(AT)ix.netcom.com. Or write to P.O. Box 708 Far Hills, N.J. 07931.
GETTING NUTTY: There's a guy in Houston who has invented what he's calling a ``reversibly elevatible golf cup.'' As soon as a player's ball settles into the bottom of the cup, it rises up through the ground so the golfer doesn't even have to bend down to get it before going to the next hole. Once the ball is removed, the cup automatically retreats into its natural position.
TAP-INS: GolfWorld magazine is reporting that this month's Presidents Cup matches at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Lake Manassas, Va., may be the last held there. The magazine, citing two unnamed players, says the biennial match-play event will be moved to Australia, perhaps to Royal Melbourne GC, in 1998. PGA Tour officials say no future sites have been determined. . . . This should come as no surprise, but single-day tickets for the final two rounds of the '97 U.S. Open June 12-15 at Congressional CC in Bethesda, Md., are sold out. However, season tickets, which provide week-long access, are still available at $200 each. Daily tickets, $50 each, still remain for the opening two rounds. For ticket information and purchases, call 800-336-4446. by CNB