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Valley Golf & Country Club, a family favourite
Located halfway between Saskatoon and Prince Albert just off Highway 11, lies a golf destination unlike any other in Saskatchewan. The Valley Golf Club, located in the Valley Regional Park near Rosthern, is one of the provinces most popular family golf courses.
"The golf course was built for golfers of all levels from the seasoned professional to the beginner. The course is very user friendly with wide fairways and large greens. It is truly a FUN golf course to play," says general manager Ryan Aebig.
The golf course measures just over 6,700 yards, with three sets of t-boxes. The par-72 course is situated in the "heart of the Valley area" with rolling terrain, white silica sand bunkers, natural water hazards and large mature trees. The course also has a CPGA professional on staff to give golf lessons, a fully stocked pro-shop, driving range and practice green.
The 18-hole expansion was completed in 2004 and the course has matured nicely over the last couple of years. "We moved and planted over 300 trees the last few years. The wet weather that has hurt the golf industry has helped all of the trees to grow rapidly."
The golf course is the main calling card; however the beautiful 65 site campground is perfect for people and families who like to "Stay & Play" for a weekend, week or even for the whole summer. "We now have 27 full-service seasonal campsites that many golfers stay for the summer and golf"
Also located in the park is a large creative playground area with an 80' trolley and an 85' slide. Beach volleyball, horseshoe pits, mini-golf, and numerous picnic sites for people to use. The town of Rosthern, located one km away, has a new swimming pool for people of all ages to enjoy.
If you have the time, the area is famous for its colourful history centred around the Riel Rebellion of 1885. Fort Carlton, Batoche, Duck Lake and the Fish Creek National Historic Site are all within a short driving distance. A few minutes east of Rosthern will take you to the Seager Wheeler Farm where wheat was grown that won five world championships, an unprecedented feat in the history of Western Canada. For more, click www.westcentral.sask.info
The Valley Regional Park and Golf course is perfect for company BBQ's and tournaments, Family Reunions, or simply a weekend get-away. Call the office to book campsites, tournaments, or reunions at 232-5000. T-times can be booked through the pro-shop at 232-5272.
Don't forget to check the website for all of the prices and happenings going on at the Valley Regional Park Golf Course at www.valleyregionalpark.com
Gooder fits like a custom suit
Golfers wanting to take their game to the next level this summer may want to talk to custom club-maker Bert Reich of Regina district and hear what he has to say about off-the-rack suits.
"Custom clubs...there is a difference - I strongly believe that. If you were going to attend a function where formal wear was required, would you borrow a suit from your neighbour to wear? Probably not, because it won't fit you correctly," says Reich who launched Gooder Custom Golf Clubs this spring
"Purchasing off-the-rack golf clubs is similar. If you want the best possible golf clubs that are made to fit you and your swing, custom fitted clubs are a must, plain and simple."
Reich, an inventory manager with Kramer Ltd., was a drag racer for 18 years before retiring from the sport when his son was born in 2000. Since then, the Kronau resident confesses to becoming a golf fanatic.
The golf industry has no set standard for too many elements of a golf club, or shaft flex. Most off-the-rack clubs are "cut and glued" only, according to Reich. No spine aligning, frequency matching, swing-weight matching, loft-and-lie adjustments, shaft profiling etc. takes place which are all very important performance enhancements to golf club consistency and performance, Reich adds.
A full set of custom clubs - depending on the components and options chosen such as the grips, steel or graphite - ranges in price from $450 to $1,500. Reich says he doesn't buy "trash components," only those he would use himself.
Reich markets his custom clubs through www.goodergolf.com, and has received orders from across Saskatchewan, Canada and the United States. He attributes some of the positive response to his certification and membership in the Association of Golf Clubfitting Professionals.
"Regardless of who you purchase your clubs from, if you want to play better golf and get more enjoyment from the game, your clubs must be custom fitted by a competent clubfitter/builder.....and don't forget to practice your short game!"
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Shaking golf's moneymakers
In 2006 Tiger Woods, aside from making the rest of the Tour look like a raggedy mob of weekend chops, also made himself a bit of coin.
To be precise, before investment income, he cashed in to the tune of $98,941,827.00. A staggering $87 million of it was amassed through ridiculously lucrative endorsement contracts. He was paid, grab onto something, $20,000,000 alone for his allegiance to the Swoosh. And, provided his financial advisor isn't Conrad Black, he probably did OK with the stocks, bonds, funds, Swedish bank accounts, etc. Obviously, this puts him, by a long shot, on the top of Golf Digest's list of most financially unchallenged golfers. And when you compare his earnings to the stars of other sports, it becomes ever more impressive.
Interestingly, the second richest golfer in 2006, Phil Mickelson, made a measly $44,256,505.00 in 2006. Chump change... Poor guy can hardly afford to stock his vanity with Brylcreem anymore. Perhaps Bryl could look at giving the man (it's called a chip out, Lefty) some freebies, too.
But, warm fuzzy feelings aside, we don't really need to feel sorry for Phil. He has some pretty fine sponsorship deals as well. Except for some sports betting, which, he says he quit cold turkey a couple of years ago, his squeaky clean "Father of the Year" image goes over well with his backers. For example, Ford, desperate for a comeback, pads his pockets for somewhere around $7 million... better cash that cheque quickly there Phil! And Callaway forks over $10 million a year to help keep Phil's bank account out of the red. You can bet that those players who gave Phil the nickname "FIGJAM,"(Google it if you don't know), most likely would have to move that decimal point a few places to the left to say around $4,400,000.00 to get their accurate measly income when compared to Phil's.
At any rate, the dollars associated with the sport of golf have come a long way.
Tiger is destined to become the first pro athlete to make $100 million in a year and it's predicted he'll break the billion dollar mark in total career earnings in 2010. Sixteen golfers made over $10 million in earnings in 2006. Jim Furyk, a man who may be challenged follically, was not challenged financially, cashing in for nearly $18 million. John Daly, although he only saw about ten bucks of it thanks to numerous child support and alimony requirements, earned over $8.5 million. And Michelle Wie, who might not qualify for the match play portion of her club championship anymore (womens or mens), earned over $19 million in endorsements in 2006. I wonder who her agents are, the Montreal Mafia?
Of course, the moral of the story is this: Golf can pay. And if you've got a name, a game, a phony smile, a nice oversized baseball hat perfect for slapping a logo on, etc., you've got a chance at making some crazy big bucks especially through endorsement deals. But, regardless of how you feel about men and women making millions swatting at balls, consider how much money some other people make for doing interesting and, for all intents and purposes, much more trivial things.
- Howard Stern: $302 million for just being Howard Stern.
- Tom Cruise: $67 million for throwing tantrums, procreating (scary), and just doing lots and lots of really weird things.
- Paris Hilton: $7 million for being a mindless, skinny chick who goes to parties.
- The Wiggles: $50 million for dressing up like dorks and brainwashing millions of children.
- Jessica Simpson: $14 million for being the world's worst actress.
- Elvis: $45 million for being dead. He's dead, people, dead. Dead, dead, dead.
- Donald Trump: $44 million for firing people, insulting Rosie O'Donnell, and having a bad hair day, well, everyday.
So there you have it. Now the huge money some of our most endearing golfers make just seems all hunky dory, now, doesn't it? But, friends, you've got to admit it, $45 million a year when you're dead, now that takes talent.
Andrew Penner is a Calgary based CPGA Professional & author. He has written for Inside Golf for the past six years.
Shoot their lights out
Here's a rule that will maybe save you a stroke. If you're just off the green and get a free drop for some reason (sprinkler head), you may drop the ball onto the fairway fringe or onto the green. But only if it's within one club length and no nearer the hole.
Some say the fairway bunker shot is the most difficult in golf. If you have a lip to get over, you may not want to dig your feet into the sand too deeply. Use a closed stance to get a straighter shot.
Here's a way to improve your putting that you may not thought of. Arrive to the club early and start putting on the practice green. The trail of dew will give you a visual idea where your putts are going or should go.
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