Our November Newsletter
Newsletter Section:
A Mixed Month...
November is a bit of an awkward month, isn't it? Somber with remembrance in the beginning then slowly building excitement as the Christmas season draws near. Winter hasn't fully arrived, yet the sunshine, when it comes, just seems a little anemic.
Here at the course, too, November is mixed. There are days when the sun is out and the temperatures reach lofty heights of nine or ten degrees. Those days the golfers appear in droves, determined to soak up the last of the good weather. There are other days, though, when Mother Nature will show her cruel side. On those November days the wind howls through the range, the rain comes sideways and even the most ardent winter league golfer stays indoors.
As the weather becomes more inclement for golf, other projects at Cordova Bay can take place.
In keeping with Bill Mattick's history of the property we've added some more four legged creatures to the woods between holes 14 and 4.
Dean's winter tradition of improving the course bit by bit continues as his crew prepares to renovate some of the tees and bunkers.
Around the clubhouse Bill Mattick's Restaurant is furiously ramping up for the very busy Christmas season. In that spirit Grant offers us the advice of a professional restaurateur on how to host a memorable Christmas party.
Not to be left out nor outdone, The Ridge hosted the First Annual Juniors' Halloween Tournament - costumes and all.
Thanks for joining us for another monthly installment. Read and enjoy.
Stephen
Host a Fun & Safe Christmas Party
For some hosting a Christmas party can be an enjoyable way to connect with family and friends over the holiday season. For others it can be a horrifying proposition with visions of utter failure and embarrassment. Let me offer a few suggestions to help you get past the fear and on to a great event that will be enjoyed by all.
My first suggestion is “know your guests”. Tailor your event to the number and style of guests who will be attending. A sit-down dinner at the bosses’ house is one of the best ways to end your party before it begins as this kind of event tends to be pressure-filled and conservative. A reception-style event creates a more relaxed environment promoting conversation and mingling. Finger sandwiches, cheese platters, veggies & dip and some sweets placed at different locations spreads out the crowd and prevents ending up with the ubiquitous Kitchen Party.
To bridge the gap between sit-down and reception-style events, offer a more substantial option such as carved roast beef, or turkey, on a bun. Having a variety of nutritional options (veggies, pita and humus, cheeses) and not too many salty snacks, helps to ensure your guests are not drinking, or drinking too much, on an empty stomach.
Provide a wide selection of beverages, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic. Tea, coffee, juice, sodas are a must for non-alcoholic but you can also add punch or hot apple cider as great holiday extras. For the alcoholic beverages include beer, wine, whiskey, vodka, Bailey’s & rum (with eggnog). Another seasonal option is mulled wine, it’s easy to make and gives your house a wonderful festive aroma.
Remind your guests that Drinking & Driving is not acceptable. As the host of the party you are legally responsible for ensuring that this does not happen. Provide options for getting them home. Suggest a designated driver and find out who it is; have local taxi numbers at hand; check your local area for driving services that get your guests and their cars home at the same time. These services are readily available and are usually only marginally more costly than a one way taxi fare. There are plenty of ways to get home and no valid excuses for driving under the influence.
Planning your party early is essential. Invitations should be sent out at least 3 weeks in advance. The holiday season is busy for all so make sure you give your guests ample notice to add your event to their list. Have a theme and list it on the invitations. Let guests know there will be a prize for the best Christmas gear. Games can be a great way to help your guests get to know each other. Seasonal trivia games are easy to set up and you can pick the topic, movies, songs or whatever else you like. Remember not to focus solely on the food, an entertaining and fun event is what will make your party a must attend year after year.
Hopefully these basic suggestions can help eliminate the stress of hosting your next Christmas function. If not, I know a fantastic event coordinator I can lend you (don’t tell her I said that).
Happy Holidays
Grant
Aye, matey... Thar be sheep in them thar hills.
If you hear a little more bleating than usual from the woods around the golf course you're not crazy. Nor are you hearing the pitiful last cries of a golfer desperate to find his ball. In fact, the wooded area along holes #3, 4, 14 and 15 have become home to the newest denizens of Cordova Bay.
Cordova Bay has always made strong efforts to keep alive the distinct history of the property on which it lies. From the Turner Farm homestead through Bill Mattick's eclectic collection of petting zoo, train ride and vegetable market, our land carries a rich history.
With this in mind, we invited a herd of woolly sheep to make our wooded ridge home. They have a gargantuan run, from the goat shed all the way back to Hunt Road. A quick look at a Google satellite map shows just how big an area this is. Or, if you’re like me, you find out the hard way by jumping the fence and wandering through the bush yelling “C’mon Sheep… here sheep… @!$%&# sheep” trying to get a few pictures. I have new respect for Lewis and Clark.
In any case, our fluffy friends are a bit shy, tending to hug the valleys and ridges that pepper their range. A best chance to glimpse the new tenants is to smack your drive way left off the 15th tee. As you trample through the woods looking for your ball, on the left you'll see the fence that marks the edge of the enclosure. If you’re lucky they’ll be there, noses through the fence, gazing at the Nirvana of smooth, lush grasses that are Dean’s greens and fairways.
They've all been told, though, that Dean's best grass, lovingly grown and tended to, is strictly off-limits. The punishment? Well, let's just say that we do love to use local food in the kitchen.
Halloween up at The Ridge
The Ridge Halloween Tournament
On Sunday, October 30th, 17 of Cordova Bay’s bravest juniors battled the elements in hopes of fame, glory….and candy. Ranging from ages 8 to 15, the Halloween tournament is both a competition of score, and of costume. Some of the best costumes winners included:
Best Presidential Costume - Jacob as Barack Obama
Best Piece of Stationary - Kendra as a Crayon
Most Gruesome – Sarah with a knife through the head
Hardest Costume to Swing in – Billy
Eventually, after 9 hard fought holes, the clouds broke and we had our scoring winners. Lexi K came in with a score of 30 (+3) and was our girl’s winner. The boys 12 and older winner was Jacob B, with a score of 31 (+4). Our Boys 11 and under category winner and overall winner was the youngest player in the field. Chase B (8) shot a person
al best score of 26 (-1) to win by 4 shots.
Chase has been a long time student of Cordova Bay’s summer junior camp. Chase was only one and a half when his dad cut down one of his clubs to get the youngster on his way. He hopes to follow in the foot steps of his favorite golfer, Rickie Fowler, and play golf professionally. Let me be the first to wish him the best of luck along the way!
Congratulations Chase!
The Super Superintendent
Keeping the Water Flowing
The Maintenance department has been very busy through the months of October and November preparing the course for good winter playing conditions. Much of this activity has focused on aeration and drainage. In addition to deep tine aeration we’ve physically cored parts of the fairways, rough and tees. Spectacularly, though, our green’s nutrition program (check out the video blog here) succeeded to such a degree that we didn’t need to pull physical cores on the greens at any time. Two significant purchases last year have become key to keeping the course conditions up to our high standards right through the winter.
We have a new deep tine aerator called “The Bullet” which aerated all our fairways and primary rough to a depth of 6 to 8 inches using a solid tine. This new piece of equipment is 1 of only 3 presently in North America. We are really excited about the positive effects it will have over time on our course drainage and the improvement of our soil’s physical properties.
The second piece of equipment we purchased this spring is a See Snake drainage camera and auger, used for locating damaged or plugged drains. This equipment enables us to easily trace our way through the miles of underground drainage and locate issues from tree root invasion. Once these trouble areas are identified we can either replace the plugged drain with a solid carrier line or shred the tree roots with the auger to open up the line.
Yearly Improvements
We are excited about a couple of the course improvements that will take place between now and May. These improvements include several garden renovations – Alesha is over the moon deciding exactly what plants and flowers to add to her amazing creations. The building of new tee complexes on holes number 5 and 7 will commence in the next month or two. These changes continue the improvements we outlined in our long range plan to develop a fifth set of tee boxes. Other improvements will include renovations to the tee complexes on holes 8 and 13 in an effort to provide larger, level tee surfaces. The larger surfaces will allow the grass more time to recover (especially in the slow growing winter) meaning less time with mats on the tees.
Please enjoy the golf course this winter and don’t hesitate to send the maintenance department questions, comments or suggestions in regards to maintenance practices or course improvements to dpiller@telus.net.
Sincerely,
Dean Piller
Happenings
November 28th - Member Wine and Cheese
December 25th - Christmas Day Golf. Clubhouse is closed but the course is open. Please pre-register in the Pro Shop.
January 1st - Annual Ice Breaker Tournament
Tip of The Month:
GOLF’S SILLIEST RULE
The R & A (Europe) and the USGA (America) are the chief stewards for the game of golf worldwide. Locally, Golf Canada (formerly the Royal Canadian Golf Association) tends to the needs of amateur golfers. These bodies are responsible for administering the rules of golf so that we have something same/similar worldwide. There is a new Rules of Golf book that will be in force worldwide from 2012-2015. It includes some revisions for further fairness and equity in the rules of golf.
One rule of golf that I’m certain is not up for debate as to whether it should be changed, though, is Rule 4-4. This rule states that the maximum number of clubs allowed is fourteen. I contend fourteen is waaay too many clubs. Looking back in history, we find that people did not always carry so many clubs. Commonly, players featured a driving club, a spoon (fairway wood) a cleek (long iron equivalent) a mashie (mid iron equivalent) a niblick (short iron equivalent) and a putter. That’s six golf clubs! Many people managed without one or more of these, still finishing their rounds of golf with a sense of enjoyment.
As teaching professionals at Cordova Bay, we evaluate equipment and make recommendations to clients on a daily basis. Included in our clubfitting recommendation is a thought as to the appropriate number of golf clubs for each individual. I have a surprise for you. The average number of clubs that we recommend to our clients is seven! Some people don’t need seven because their power quotient creates a smaller scale, or perhaps they play most of their golf on smaller courses, so we recommend fewer. Some need more because their power quotient is greater, which equates to larger yardage gaps on full swings with their clubs. These people tend to play the majority of their golf on longer courses, and we recommend more than seven clubs. Yet the average number of clubs that we recommend is seven, and when we are in doubt as to how many clubs to recommend, we always recommend fewer, which leaves the door open for the potential to add clubs at a later date, but only if needed.
You will notice that the “old school” set of clubs consisted of six clubs, and our average recommendation is for seven clubs. Here is a breakdown of how things might equate, and the key difference: the Sand Wedge (commonly attributed to the great Gene Sarazen):
| Old School | Modern Day |
|---|---|
| Driving Club | Driver |
| Spoon | 3, 5 or 7 wood |
| Cleek | Hybrid |
| Mashie | Mid Iron |
| Niblick | Short Iron |
| Putter | Putter |
| AND... | |
| The Sand Wedge |
As in life, a great rule of thumb in golf is “less is more”.
Brian Hann
Lead Teaching Professional
Cordova Bay Golf Course
In This Issue
A Mixed Month...
November is a bit of an awkward month, isn't it? Somber with remembrance in the beginning then slowly building excitement as the Christmas season draws near. Winter hasn't fully arrived, yet the sunshine, when it comes, just seems a little anemic.
Here at the course, too, November is mixed. There are days when the sun is out and the temperatures reach lofty heights of nine or ten degrees. Those days the golfers appear in droves, determined to soak up the last of the good weather. There are other days, though, when Mother Nature will show her cruel side. On those November days the wind howls through the range, the rain comes sideways and even the most ardent winter league golfer stays indoors.
As the weather becomes more inclement for golf, other projects at Cordova Bay can take place.
In keeping with Bill Mattick's history of the property we've added some more four legged creatures to the woods between holes 14 and 4.
Dean's winter tradition of improving the course bit by bit continues as his crew prepares to renovate some of the tees and bunkers.
Around the clubhouse Bill Mattick's Restaurant is furiously ramping up for the very busy Christmas season. In that spirit Grant offers us the advice of a professional restaurateur on how to host a memorable Christmas party.
Not to be left out nor outdone, The Ridge hosted the First Annual Juniors' Halloween Tournament - costumes and all.
Thanks for joining us for another monthly installment. Read and enjoy.
Stephen
Host a Fun & Safe Christmas Party
For some hosting a Christmas party can be an enjoyable way to connect with family and friends over the holiday season. For others it can be a horrifying proposition with visions of utter failure and embarrassment. Let me offer a few suggestions to help you get past the fear and on to a great event that will be enjoyed by all.
My first suggestion is “know your guests”. Tailor your event to the number and style of guests who will be attending. A sit-down dinner at the bosses’ house is one of the best ways to end your party before it begins as this kind of event tends to be pressure-filled and conservative. A reception-style event creates a more relaxed environment promoting conversation and mingling. Finger sandwiches, cheese platters, veggies & dip and some sweets placed at different locations spreads out the crowd and prevents ending up with the ubiquitous Kitchen Party.
To bridge the gap between sit-down and reception-style events, offer a more substantial option such as carved roast beef, or turkey, on a bun. Having a variety of nutritional options (veggies, pita and humus, cheeses) and not too many salty snacks, helps to ensure your guests are not drinking, or drinking too much, on an empty stomach.
Provide a wide selection of beverages, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic. Tea, coffee, juice, sodas are a must for non-alcoholic but you can also add punch or hot apple cider as great holiday extras. For the alcoholic beverages include beer, wine, whiskey, vodka, Bailey’s & rum (with eggnog). Another seasonal option is mulled wine, it’s easy to make and gives your house a wonderful festive aroma.
Remind your guests that Drinking & Driving is not acceptable. As the host of the party you are legally responsible for ensuring that this does not happen. Provide options for getting them home. Suggest a designated driver and find out who it is; have local taxi numbers at hand; check your local area for driving services that get your guests and their cars home at the same time. These services are readily available and are usually only marginally more costly than a one way taxi fare. There are plenty of ways to get home and no valid excuses for driving under the influence.
Planning your party early is essential. Invitations should be sent out at least 3 weeks in advance. The holiday season is busy for all so make sure you give your guests ample notice to add your event to their list. Have a theme and list it on the invitations. Let guests know there will be a prize for the best Christmas gear. Games can be a great way to help your guests get to know each other. Seasonal trivia games are easy to set up and you can pick the topic, movies, songs or whatever else you like. Remember not to focus solely on the food, an entertaining and fun event is what will make your party a must attend year after year.
Hopefully these basic suggestions can help eliminate the stress of hosting your next Christmas function. If not, I know a fantastic event coordinator I can lend you (don’t tell her I said that).
Happy Holidays
Grant
Aye, matey... Thar be sheep in them thar hills.
If you hear a little more bleating than usual from the woods around the golf course you're not crazy. Nor are you hearing the pitiful last cries of a golfer desperate to find his ball. In fact, the wooded area along holes #3, 4, 14 and 15 have become home to the newest denizens of Cordova Bay.
Cordova Bay has always made strong efforts to keep alive the distinct history of the property on which it lies. From the Turner Farm homestead through Bill Mattick's eclectic collection of petting zoo, train ride and vegetable market, our land carries a rich history.
With this in mind, we invited a herd of woolly sheep to make our wooded ridge home. They have a gargantuan run, from the goat shed all the way back to Hunt Road. A quick look at a Google satellite map shows just how big an area this is. Or, if you’re like me, you find out the hard way by jumping the fence and wandering through the bush yelling “C’mon Sheep… here sheep… @!$%&# sheep” trying to get a few pictures. I have new respect for Lewis and Clark.
In any case, our fluffy friends are a bit shy, tending to hug the valleys and ridges that pepper their range. A best chance to glimpse the new tenants is to smack your drive way left off the 15th tee. As you trample through the woods looking for your ball, on the left you'll see the fence that marks the edge of the enclosure. If you’re lucky they’ll be there, noses through the fence, gazing at the Nirvana of smooth, lush grasses that are Dean’s greens and fairways.
They've all been told, though, that Dean's best grass, lovingly grown and tended to, is strictly off-limits. The punishment? Well, let's just say that we do love to use local food in the kitchen.
Halloween up at The Ridge
The Ridge Halloween Tournament
On Sunday, October 30th, 17 of Cordova Bay’s bravest juniors battled the elements in hopes of fame, glory….and candy. Ranging from ages 8 to 15, the Halloween tournament is both a competition of score, and of costume. Some of the best costumes winners included:
Best Presidential Costume - Jacob as Barack Obama
Best Piece of Stationary - Kendra as a Crayon
Most Gruesome – Sarah with a knife through the head
Hardest Costume to Swing in – Billy
Eventually, after 9 hard fought holes, the clouds broke and we had our scoring winners. Lexi K came in with a score of 30 (+3) and was our girl’s winner. The boys 12 and older winner was Jacob B, with a score of 31 (+4). Our Boys 11 and under category winner and overall winner was the youngest player in the field. Chase B (8) shot a personal best score of 26 (-1) to win by 4 shots.
Chase has been a long time student of Cordova Bay’s summer junior camp. Chase was only one and a half when his dad cut down one of his clubs to get the youngster on his way. He hopes to follow in the foot steps of his favorite golfer, Rickie Fowler, and play golf professionally. Let me be the first to wish him the best of luck along the way!
Congratulations Chase!
The Super Superintendent
Keeping the Water Flowing
The Maintenance department has been very busy through the months of October and November preparing the course for good winter playing conditions. Much of this activity has focused on aeration and drainage. In addition to deep tine aeration we’ve physically cored parts of the fairways, rough and tees. Spectacularly, though, our green’s nutrition program (check out the video blog here) succeeded to such a degree that we didn’t need to pull physical cores on the greens at any time. Two significant purchases last year have become key to keeping the course conditions up to our high standards right through the winter.
We have a new deep tine aerator called “The Bullet” which aerated all our fairways and primary rough to a depth of 6 to 8 inches using a solid tine. This new piece of equipment is 1 of only 3 presently in North America. We are really excited about the positive effects it will have over time on our course drainage and the improvement of our soil’s physical properties.
The second piece of equipment we purchased this spring is a See Snake drainage camera and auger, used for locating damaged or plugged drains. This equipment enables us to easily trace our way through the miles of underground drainage and locate issues from tree root invasion. Once these trouble areas are identified we can either replace the plugged drain with a solid carrier line or shred the tree roots with the auger to open up the line.
Yearly Improvements
We are excited about a couple of the course improvements that will take place between now and May. These improvements include several garden renovations – Alesha is over the moon deciding exactly what plants and flowers to add to her amazing creations. The building of new tee complexes on holes number 5 and 7 will commence in the next month or two. These changes continue the improvements we outlined in our long range plan to develop a fifth set of tee boxes. Other improvements will include renovations to the tee complexes on holes 8 and 13 in an effort to provide larger, level tee surfaces. The larger surfaces will allow the grass more time to recover (especially in the slow growing winter) meaning less time with mats on the tees.
Please enjoy the golf course this winter and don’t hesitate to send the maintenance department questions, comments or suggestions in regards to maintenance practices or course improvements to dpiller@telus.net.
Sincerely,
Dean Piller
Happenings
November 28th - Member Wine and Cheese
December 25th - Christmas Day Golf. Clubhouse is closed but the course is open. Please pre-register in the Pro Shop.
January 1st - Annual Ice Breaker Tournament