By Brian Hann
CPGA Teaching Professional
Henry-Griffitts Master Clubfitter

As golf professionals, it is our responsibility to know and understand the rules of golf. The challenge, is that the grounds on which we play golf, and the myriad of possibilities for occurrences on those grounds, are enormous. Thus, there are very few people anywhere who have a full understanding of the rules of golf. Even in professional competitions, there are accidental violations. Here is one example of a rule that gets broken on occasion.

• The provisional ball rule. The provisional ball rule is only in the book to act as a time-saver. The idea is that you can play another ball on the provision that your original ball may be lost or out of bounds. That way, if you walk up to your ball and find that it is, say, two feet out of bounds, you will not have to march back to the tee to put a new ball into play. You can simply walk over to your provisional ball, which automatically becomes the ball in play. The violation typically happens in one of two ways. The first way to potentially break this rule is to play a provisional ball without declaring your intent to do so. In the absence of any such announcement, your original ball is instantly toast, and your unannounced ball becomes the ball in play. The penalty that you pay is two strokes. The second (and less common) way to break this rule is to play your provisional ball from a point beyond where your original ball is likely to be. This becomes a slippery judgment call, because there will always be some speculation as to where your original ball is likely to be. Nonetheless, if it is determined that you have played your provisional ball beyond a point where your original ball is likely to be, you will have broken a rule.

On the subject of the provisional ball rule, we look to the PGA Tour for an example of sportsmanship. We can find plenty of instances of good sportsmanship on tour, with many examples of players calling rules violations on themselves. Occasionally, however, we see an act of poor sportsmanship, and such was the case several years ago, in a playoff in San Diego at the Buick Invitational.

A tour player hit his ball well into the trees, down a gulley. He declared a provisional ball, which he striped down the middle. As he was walking down the fairway, some members of the gallery went into the ‘jungle’ to search for his ball. When he realized this, he told PGA Tour rules officials that he did not want to look for his ball, and he would appreciate it if no one else looked either. Why? Because he knew that if found, he would have to deal with it. At the root of the game, golf is all about hitting your shot and dealing with the consequences of that shot. The tour player in question was trying to twist things in his favour, by abusing the intent of a rule injected into the book to serve simply as a time-saving device. If his original ball was found, he knew that the most likely thing he would be facing would be an unplayable ball situation. He would then have to abandon his provisional ball (which would automatically become null and void) and march back to the tee, where he would be under the pressure to re-create the perfect swing that he made on his provisional ball.

Well… somebody did find it, and he had to march back to the tee when he chose to proceed under the unplayable ball rule. His penalty was one stroke. He did not re-create the great swing that he made on the provisional ball. His ball sailed left, heading for the same fate as the original, when it hit a branch, and fell to the rough. Amazingly, he managed to get the ball out of the rough and onto the green, where he two-putted…… for victory and the winner’s share of the $3.5 million purse. The player? Phil Mickelson. His unfortunate rival in the 2001 playoff? Frank Lickliter II, who could only manage a triple-bogey after his own unplayable lie woes and a three-putt to top off his playoff misery. No sweet justice this time.

Lefty Mickelson wasn't interested in finding his ball at the Buick Invitational one year.

STAY SHARP! It’s once again time for Ladies' and Men's Club members to take advantage of our Stay Sharp winter lesson program. The program runs from now until Dec. 15, then again from Jan. 15–Feb. 28. This great benefit to your membership includes the following: Twenty-minute checkup lesson: Private, individual setting to explore ways to improve your putting, chipping, pitching, bunkers or full swing. Simply choose a topic and let one of our professionals have a look-see. Please provide your own range balls (BYOB). Note: You are welcome to book two such sessions, one in the fall, and one in the spring. Call 658-4444 or stop by the pro shop to book. Golf swing and ball flight analysis: Private individual session at the driving range to explore exactly how the clubs in your bag affect your ball flight, and ultimately your swing motion. Have you ever wondered why you have relative success with certain clubs in the bag, but a true challenge with others? Perhaps you speculate that your clubs may not be the correct length for you. Maybe you wonder if the shaft flex is appropriate. Let one of our highly trained professionals analyse your swing and ball flight while conducting a few experiments, leading to an evaluation of the relative suitability of your weapons for you and your golf swing. Indoor 'Classroom' Sessions: Group setting complete with pencil and paper for note taking. Various topics will be presented, and a schedule will be posted in the pro shop. Our staff will open doors in the areas of game management, pre-shot routine, short game strategies, putter fitting and many other topics to be announced. DATES: Wednesdays, Nov. 1, 15, 29, Jan. 24, Feb 7. TIME: 6-7 p.m. at the Ridge Course clubhouse We hope that you take the opportunity to Stay Sharp!

Don't be left out in the cold!

We're in no hurry to get rid of summer and bring on Ol' Man Winter, folks, but the 2006-07 Winter League is here.

Winter League teed off on Monday, Oct. 16, and it runs until Friday, March 16. The cost is the same as last year, $40, and that qualifies you for reduced green fees of $33 for Cordova Bay members and $38 for public players Monday through Friday. And let's not forget the other Winter League benefits: official Winter League handicap, a daily prize competition and a season-long competition. You can sign up in the pro shop.

Oh, those pesky autumn leaves

With the onset of fall, there are two factors that affect daily maintenance decisions for golf courses on Vancouver Island. The first challenge is created after the beauty that is enjoyed with the magnificent fall colours. These colourful leaves later become a maintenance and golfer headache, as they fall to the ground creating obstacles for locating your ball.

They're also a perfect disease environment for the fungi that thrive beneath them in the moist, shaded conditions. Fall brings the onset of heavy dew patterns and prolonged leaf wetness. These conditions persist even on a clear day, when the turf remains damp from accumulating dew between the periods of 4 p.m. and 11 a.m. This prolonged leaf wetness is a perfect host to a variety of turf diseases.

Starting with the issue of leaves, at Cordova Bay we use a sweeper for some areas where accumulation is very heavy and some spot work is done by hand with either a hand-held or tractor-mounted blower. The leaves collected during this process are mixed with our fall aeration cores and garden compost to produce over 2,000 yards of viable top soil by spring. However, the bulk of our leaf cleanup in the past two years has been dealt with by using a large, five-deck rotary mower equipped with a mulching deck. It pulverizes the leaves and returns them to the soil to be naturally decomposed. This process keeps the course tidy, is very efficient, and fits into our compost recycling programs nicely.

As we approach November and the daylight hours are shortened to less than 12 hours, heavy dew accumulation is common. This heavy dew is not only a nuisance to golfers trying to keep their feet dry, but it also creates an ideal environment for fall turf diseases to flourish. The cultural management policies we have implemented to reduce this disease environment is to manually remove the dew each morning, by either mowing or rolling the greens at first light. Even though turf growth is not sufficient enough to warrant a mowing or rolling, the removal of the dew makes it a worthwhile procedure. This practice not only improves the playing condition of the putting surfaces, but it also helps reduce leaf wetness and, therefore, helps alleviate some of the fall disease pressure.

The Sophora Japonica is native to China and Korea. It was first introduced in 1747.

It is a medium-to-fast grower, reaching 50-75 feet in height and will spread to 20 feet, creating a beautiful canopy to look up at.

The leaves are bright green in spring and summer, and they cling to the tree late into the fall. They turn a bright yellow before falling off. The stem ends/buds are usually black, making it a nice contrast for winter.

The flowers are creamy white and slightly fragrant. They hang from the tree in six-12-inch-wide panicles. It blooms from July through mid-August and is a very showy flower. Once the flower petals have dropped, a bright, green pod remains. The colour changes from yellow to brown and may hang on the otherwise bare branches all winter.

Diseases and insects may try to damage the small tree seedlings, but once becoming more mature they are quite resistant to both problems.

The Sophora got its name because it was used around Buddhist temples. We have one larger specimen in the Ridge patio and one smaller tree by the creek at the Ridge.

The Sophora has become one of my favourite deciduous trees.

Following is a small list of some of the trees on the course that have great fall colour.

Quercus Palustris – Pin Oak
Quercus Rubra – Red Oak
Gintgo Biloba – Maidenhair Tree
Acer Rubrum – Red Scarlet Maple
Acer Saccharinum – Sugar Maple

• Fifteen days/seven rounds of golf
• Five courses: Palm Hills Golf Resort; Royal Hua Hin Golf Club; Majestic Creek Country Club; Springfield Royal Country Club; Imperial Lake View Golf Club
• Green and caddy fees included at all five courses
• Three nights in Bangkok and 10 nights at the seaside Regent Cha-Am Beach Resort and Spa
• 10 nights superior sea-view accommodation
• Full breakfast daily
• Pro tips with published golf writer and Class A teach professional Jody Jackson of Cordova Bay Golf Course

Cost: $2,625 (plus tax)

Not sure if the Thailand Adventure is for you? Have concerns or questions? Then join us for an information and slide show Oct. 2 from 7-7:45 p.m. at The Ridge.

Contact Jody Jackson
Cordova Bay Golf Course
(250) 658-4444/889-8004; fax (250) 658-4951

Now Selling

Priced from $720,000 + GST
(250) 658-4700

5331 Cordova Bay Road, Victoria, BC
Office Hours: Monday-Friday 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
www.saywardhill.com