Fall 2009 Highlights

The last few months of 2009 have been very exciting for members of Carolina Trace CC. A recap on some of the highlights this fall: In October, we moved into the new clubhouse and began setting up operations. We launched a three month membership campaign and have added more than 50 new memberships. Our membership numbers are the highest in more than fifteen years+. In November, we conducted two member openings and one community opening with more than 1,000 people who celebrated its Grand Opening. We served more than 400 members for a Thanksgiving Feast sure to satisfy any appetite. Our first wedding was celebrated in the new Clubhouse. Also, Col. Dick Kuehl was the guest speaker for our Veteran’s Day Remembrance and buffet dinner. And our new Fitness Center opened. In December, we held our annual Get Happy Chorus performance, Santa Claus visited the new clubhouse bearing treats and gifts, we hosted the Lee County Career and Technical Education Gala—the largest school fundraiser, members enjoyed a new event with the Fashion Show luncheon featuring styles and designs from the 1920s to today. We held our Annual Meeting and elected three new Board members. We participated in the Toys for Tots program. Our New Year’s Eve Celebration will be like no other New Year’s Party we’ve ever held as we toast to the New Year with friends and family. To look forward to in the New Year: the Fitness Center is open seven days a week and group fitness classes begin in January—offering morning, afternoon and evening classes—from light stretching to intense cardio workouts. Members can join the Wine of the Month Club, new Tuesday Night specials include Family Buffets offering new menu items each week, Wednesday Night specials include Mussels and Martinis for $5, two winter golf seminars, new Fantasy Golf league, updated video golf swing software where members can compare their swing side by side to a large library of PGA and LPGA Tour players, and new One Golfer membership levels. Art classes are back, Genealogy classes, Bingo, Scraping Booking club, and holiday celebrations and parties—first starting with a romantic Valentines Dinner and Dance. The Trace Players return to the clubhouse and will perform in the spring, Camp Trace returns this summer, and so much more… . The entire Staff of CTCC would like to thank and wish a Happy New Year to our dedicated and wonderful members who are the heart of our club.

Ace Spotlight

The last ace for 2009 goes to Larry Mintz who took down Creek #16 on December 21st. There were a total of eighteen holes-in-one for 2009. Holes #10 and #16 Creek each had four, which was the most on any one hole.

Sunday Couples Championship

The Sunday Couples Championship was played on October 24th and 25th. Day one format was a Modified Pinehurst and day two, a Better Ball of Two. Nearly forty-eight couples competed for gross and net honors. Ron and Diane Conti (pictured below) shot a two day total 150 to edge out Lee and Marcia Connor’s 153. Ron and Marie Carhart (pictured above) squeaked by Bob and Pat Mohnal, 128.2 to 128.6. Great job all year by Bill and Sheila Fox and Ron and Chris Heppell, the chair couples.

Tennis Club Champions/Mixed Doubles

Congratulations to the 2009 Tennis Club Champions/Mixed Doubles. After four vigorous rounds of mixed doubles played by eleven teams, the champions are Don Cameron and partner Cynthia Wicker (pictured on the left). The runner-up partners were Larry Aiken and Jane Johnson (pictured right). The score for the almost two-hour final round was 6-4, 7-6 (tie breaker 7-4).Out of the four rounds of tournament there were 4 tie breakers played - exceptionally close and good tennis. If you are new to the Club, you are welcome to check out and consider joining the CT Tennis Association.

Great Review for Chef Michael

At Lake Fest, Bob and Betsy Anderson were thrilled to win the dinner for four prepared in their house by Chef Michael and served by Jenny. They summarized the evening for an insight into what is to come with the new Executive Chef. We had the dinner recently, and if it’s any indication of things to come, I guarantee you’re going to be very impressed by Chef Michael’s talents! After talking to us about our food likes and dislikes, here’s what Chef Michael did for the Losquadros and us: We started with an appetizer of crab dip done two ways (spinach with crab and Cajun crab) served with spiced pita chips. We then had a lovely salad of veggies and baby lettuce with fresh, made-to-order citrus vinaigrette. The main course was Seafood Pescatore which was ½ lobster, scallops, shrimps, clams, mussels and calamari, sautéed with leeks, celery and carrots and then tossed with fresh fettuccini pasta and saffron lobster broth, garnished with parmesan cheese, crushed red pepper and green onions. The last course was a chocolate and raspberry Triffle which was layers of crushed raspberries, chocolate marble cake, whipped cream and chocolate custard, topped with fresh raspberries. Yes, it was wonderful! I think club members will have lots of fabulous meals to look forward to with our charming, new chef. Many thanks, Michael!

Sunday Couples Championship

The final tune up before the Sunday Couples Championship produced a lot of great golf. The format was one best ball on holes 1-6, two best balls on holes 7-12, and three best balls on holes 13-18. The team of Don and Joyce Gilliam (pictured left) and Ray and Lalia Nuzzolo won convincingly by three shots with a 125.

MGA Pinehurst Tournament

Four flights filled another great MGA tournament on September 25th. The format was a Pinehurst, two person teams alternating the shots after the tee ball and second shot. The following were the flight winners. First Flight – Rich Pruchnik & Lee Connor – 64.4; Second Flight – Al Frangipane & Mike Washington – 68; Third Flight Len Tulio & John Fancher – 62.8; Fourth Flight- John Gloeckler & Ray Rahn – 65.8. Closest to the pin honors went to Bob Salasko Creek #6, Ed Kirk Creek #8, Lee Connor Creek #10 and Ralph Newberry Creek #16.

NC WGA Tournament

The Carolina Trace CC WGA was represented by 8 ladies as two foursomes playing 2 Best Balls in each foursome in the North Carolina WGA tournament. One foursome came in tied for 2nd place and the other came in 5th place. It was a great showing for the WGA of Carolina Trace CC. Pictured from left to right – Arlene Gilbert, Marcia Connor, Carole Philbin, Joyce Wells, Marie Inzerillo, Mim Markowitz, Kathy Schlagel, and Lalia Nuzzolo. Congratulations!

Ace Spotlight

September finally had its ace--Lisa Roberts stepped up and nailed the 16th hole on Creek on September 27th. Great shot Lisa!

Lake Fest!

Another fun community event, was the 2nd Annual Lake Fest. 332 people enjoyed free pontoon boat rides. Others explored Lake Trace on kayaks, took fly fishing lessons, entered a fishing derby, took a swing at the floating pirate ship, watched Head Pro Mike Krick's 'Trick Shot" demonstrations, shopped with local vendors selling their wares, and kids enjoyed the bounce house, face painting and more than 40 activities.The food court was also packed with Yarboroughs ice cream, Bud’s Barbeque and Two Brothers Catering and a beer tent with music. The Temple Teens and Get Happy Chorus performed. Honored this year was 'lady of the lake' Libby Bibb for her many tireless efforts in educational programs for lake preservation. CTCC President Hersman and CTA President Harry Undy honored Lee and Max Amcher as king and queen of Lake Fest. The Amchers have chaired this event for two years, and have volunteered hours of their time to making Lake Fest a big success. There were 220 volunteers to help make this festival run smoothly with leadership from Chairpeople, Carol Abbey, Betsy Anderson, Barbara Berman, Fred Berman, Libby Bibb, Jeanne Colwell, Kendall Crawford, Jackqui Danek, Evie Dooley, Bill and Marie Inzerillo, Janice Matthews, Jenna Miller, Georgann Roberts, and David Feavel.

Labor Day Golf tournament

Eighty players participated in the Labor Day golf outing on September 7th. The format was a scramble and each team had to use two drives per person. The winning team was Scott Schaeffer, Ken Garrett, Carol Burgess and Nancy Remington (pictured). Closest to the pin honors went to Tina Drew, Ray Nuzzolo, Monty Rowe and Neil Rotter.

The Rant, 90.5 FM-Wednesdays

Do you know about this radio program? Director of Marketing, Sara O'Leary was a guest on their September 16th show to talk about the new grand clubhouse set to be completed in 14 days. The Rant airs Wednesdays on 90.5 FM, WDCC in Sanford, on a signal that reaches into Moore, Harnett, Chatham and lower Wake couties in addition to Lee County. Hosted by Sanford Herald Editor Billy Liggett, the views expressed on the Rant do not represent the views of The Sanford Herald or WDCC FM, but "aims to bring intelligent discussion about issues important to Lee County, North Carolina, mixed with what we believe to be humor. Co-hosts include Herald cohorts Jonathan Owens and Gordon Anderson, who are merely [there] for their looks," according to their web site. If you're interested in the latest current events in Lee County or other 'pop culture' happenings, give them a listen. "O'Leary appreciates the opportunity and would like to thank Liggett, Owens and Anderson. Keep up the fine work!"

Carolinas PGA Board- Pro Krick

Head Golf Pro Mike Krick was elected to the Carolinas PGA Board as Area V. Director. He is pictured with Ron Schmid, Executive Director accepting the position.

2009 Club Champions

The semi final and finals of the Men’s and Ladies Club Championship were played on the 28th and 29th. The men had three divisions, the super senior, senior and open champions. The ladies had a full field of sixteen players playing match play to decide their winner. The semi final in the super senior featured two matches. Match one was Wally Harris vs. Jack Morgan and the second match was Gene Pasztor vs. Harry Evans. Jack Morgan and Gene Pasztor won their matches and faced off on the 29th for the finals. Gene Pasztor played lights out, winning his match handily. He continued to his play and shot one stroke over his age. The semi finals of the senior club champion featured Rich Pruchnik vs. Pete Goldberg and Tom Boerger vs. Frank Buczny. Pruchnik and Boerger faced off in the finals. A well played match by both with Tom Boerger coming out on top. The Open division for the men’s club championship had some great golf as well. Tony Bloedorn played well enough to get by Ron Smith. Defending champion, Keith Reeves played strong against Bob Mohnal to get to the finals. Tony played exceptionally well and claimed his first Carolina Trace Club Championship. The ladies had an exciting final four and finals match. Mulitlple time winner and “ace machine” Diane Conti played well to beat Sue Palmer. While Tina Drew, a past champion, passed Marcia Connor in the semi finals. Two past champions went head to head in the finals. Tina Drew outlasted Diane Conti to win. “This time it is really special to win because Diane was in the tournament,” Drew said. Diane Conti was not in the field on Drew’s first Club Championship victory. The Championship produced some great golf and all that played are to be congratulated. Pictured are Mike Krick, Head Golf Professional, Tony Bloedorn, Men’s Club Champion, Tina Drew, Ladies Club Champion, Tom Boerger, Senior Club Champion and Gene Pasztor, Super Senior Club Champion.

Within weeks of Clubhouse completion!

MGA Better Ball of Two

The MGA played a better ball of two golf tournament. There were three flights. The teams were also qualifying for the Governor’s Trophy tournament, which is a two man better ball match play event. Flight One winners were Fran Remington and Bill White with 63. Flight Two winners were Pete Goldberg and Joe Danek with a score of 62. The Third Flight winners were Bobby Felicio and Ken Garrett with a 54.

Ace Spotlight

The month of August has heated up with two aces within a couple of days. Jim Bonti (pictured below) scored his ace on Lake #6 on Saturday, August 15th. And, possibly the youngest golfer to have a hole in one at Carolina Trace is Rocco Fancher. He made an ace on Creek #7 on Friday, August 21st. Rocco is pictured with his sister Makayla.

WGA Championship

The ladies played their third major of the year on the 11th & 18th of August. The format was individual stroke play, net scores, within flights. The overall winner could come out of any flight. The 2009 Overall WGA Handicap Champion is Sharon Venice with a score of 66-66 for a total of 132. The flight winners were Carole Philbin, first flight with a score of 134. The second flight champion is Jeanne Colwell with a score of 138. The third flight winner is Chris Jussaume with a score of 140.

Arnold Palmer--Arnie's Army Battle of Prostate Cancer

Mike Krick, Head Pro, his staff and 105 members of the Carolina Trace Country Club Men’s Golf Association joined the fight towards cancer in its annual outing supporting the program of “Arnie’s Army Battle of Prostate Cancer.” Just over $1300 was raised by the participating players. Winners of the event, pictured, were John Kirkman, Dave Marble, Bobby Felicio and Ken Garrett. Also recognized was Ray Nuzzolo who received a Callaway gift card for closest to the pin at 1’4.” Visit www.arniesarmybattles.com-- "Arnie’s Army Battles Prostate Cancer is a unique fundraising and awareness campaign of the Prostate Cancer Foundation. The program is designed to help organizers and participants use golf as a fundraising tool to raise money for better treatments and a cure for prostate cancer. Every dollar raised by Arnie’s Army tournaments goes directly to the Prostate Cancer Foundation where is it deployed rapidly to support advanced prostate cancer research for the development of better treatments and, ultimately, a cure for this disease that strikes 1 out of every 6 American men."

A look inside the Clubhouse...

Book Sale at Lake Fest

The Carolina Trace Ladies 9 Hole Golf Association will sponsor our annual used book sale at the Lake Fest on Saturday, September 5th from 10:00 to 3:00 in the Clubhouse parking lot. We hope you will support our efforts again this year and save lots of money on our low-priced books. We would appreciate the donation of hardback, paperback, and audio books in good condition (except no textbooks, please). Cookbooks, children’s books and recent novels are, especially, in demand. Please bring your books anytime after July 15th to the front porch of Marsha Davis (571 Broadmoor Court in Trentwood) or Nancy Aman (1355 Virginia Circle in Hidden Lake). If you have any questions, please call Nancy Aman (498-3043), Marsha Davis (498-0141) or Donna Heidinger (498-3056).

A day in Margaritaville

More than just golf...competition, laughter and fun at the Ladies' Member-Guest Tournament. They enjoyed a great day on the golf course, then headed to the Marathon Bar for further festivities. Thank you Sharon Morris and Linda Decsi for doing a great job with planning and decorating for this event.

(Head Pro, Mike Krick and GM, Brad Bourret)

MGA 3 T Tourney

The MGA had another great turn out for the 3 T tourney. The field was divided into two flights and the teams rotated through the Blue, White and Gold tees. The format was two best balls of four. Winning the second flight was the team of Scott Schilz, George Keep, Monty Rowe and Charlie Duttweiler with a score of 114 (pictured first). The first flight winners were the team of Rich Pruchnik, Ed Aman, Gene Pasztor and Joe Danek with 115. Closest to the pin honors were as follows: #4 Wendel Dance – 5’ 3 ¾”, #7 Rich Pruchnik – 4’ 10”, #10 Ralph Lamparter – 1’ 10” and #16 David Taylor 3’ 7”. A great day was had by all.

Ace Spotlight

48 days separated our last hole in one from the latest by Connie Puklavetz-- our longest ace drought of the year. Puklavetz broke through on Creek #4 and nailed one Saturday, June 27th. We could hear the cheers all the way back to the Pro Shop. Great shot!

Ladies' Member-Guest Results

Tournament Winners:

Low Gross - Dee Register, Karen Towson, Lyona Beck, Paula Bennett 1st Low Net - Tess Wright, Linda Decsi, Linda Zimmer, Colleen Hayes 2nd Low Net - Gloria Nassar, Carol Abbey, Judy Colwell, Millie Weaver 3rd Low Net - Kathy Krupp, Polly Scalise, Peg Garrett, Judy Blaylock 4th Low Net - Diane Keep, Helen Holdridge, Susan Walley, Sue Hodges

Low Gross 1st Low Net 2nd Low Net 3rd Low Net 4th Low Net

President's Cup

The MGA President’s Cup is the second major event of the year. On Friday, June 12th, players qualified for match play. There were two flights, one played Blue Tees and the other played the White Tees. The finals of the First Flight were played between Tom Boerger and Jim Morris. Tom Boerger outlasted Jim Morris with a hot putter to take the championship (pictured first). The Second Flight match was just as good. John Fancher was victorious over Ralph Martin.

Cindy Feng and Pro Krick Recap

The Women’s US Open Sectional Qualifying was a huge success. I had the privilege to spend a lot of time with a remarkable young lady. Yueer Cindy Feng is just thirteen years old and was one of the six girls that qualified for the Women’s US Open. The story started about a week before the qualifying round. Her Uncle called the Pro Shop and asked for the Head Golf Professional. He wanted me to show her the best way to play the golf course. We set up a time on Tuesday the 9th and Wednesday the 10th. I first met Cindy late Monday afternoon. She had come early to start to practice and become familiar with the greens. I was surprised as anyone to see how young she was. We briefly talked about the practice round and what I thought it would take to qualify. My guess was a few strokes over par. I knew how the course was set up and felt it was going to play long and very challenging for the ladies. Tuesday had arrived and when we got to the first tee I asked her exactly what she was wanting from me. She said she wanted to know what the best way to play the golf course was. We went through each hole and each shot. Example, I told her to always check the hole location before playing certain holes. Like #1, if the pin was in the back or the middle she needed to hit down the left side of the fairway to have a good angle at the pin. We talked about how certain holes will play longer or shorter than the yardage because of elevation changes. We spent most of our time around the greens. I showed her which would be a better side to miss on. I encourage her to always land her chips or pitches on the green so she would get a true bounce. A few of greens have a false front. We talked about the ball rolling out after it passed the cup. On Tuesday we didn’t know the hole locations so we had to look at the whole green instead of just the section where the flag would be. She hit the ball great, not very far, but very straight. Also one of the best short games I have ever seen. Cindy plays out of Champions Gate in Orlando Florida and her golf coach is David Leadbetter. Cindy and her father spoke back and forth to each other in Chinese the entire day. Cindy speaks very good English. I had in my mind I was going to keep my mouth shut on swing tips because I didn’t want give her a different thought just before the qualifying round. On Tuesday’s round she struggled on holes 11, 12 and 13. She would either miss it left or block it right. I finally said something to her on 13 tee box. Her stance was too open and the ball too far forward. If she made her normal release she would hit left or hold off the pull and keep the face open then the ball would go right. She made the change and hits some really good shots. On 14 her dad asked me to give her a routine to ensure consistency in her set-up. With her feet close together, I had her place the club face at the target, and then align her feet. This really helps with both ball position and alignment. She stayed with this routine throughout the reminder of the tournament. Her dad wrote down everything I said. We discussed in detail the greens, par 3’s and approach angles. I told her to always look back down the fairway before she would read a putt. Most of our greens will run in the same direction as the hole. Number 9 green breaks down toward the range, just as the hole plays. Wednesday we knew where the hole locations for the qualifying round would be. The committee will mark them with a small paint dot. This helped a lot; we could narrow the area to study on the greens down a bit. We talked about number six. I told her to feel the wind on five and it would be the opposite on number six. If the wind is blowing I told her to keep it below the tree line or take an extra club and hit it into the bank. During her first round she hit it off the bank, the ball bounced back onto the green to about eight feet and she made birdie. When we were finishing the practiced round we talked about getting off to a good start. She said she always plays better once the round gets going. I told her that six spots were plenty and she had a very good chance to qualify based on what I watched the last two days. I told her, out of the 39 girls, half didn’t belong there. Out of the other 19 girls about one third won’t play well and she really just had to finish in sixth place out of about 12 to 14 girls. Psychologically it is a good way to approach a qualifying round. She shot 76 in the morning round. As we looked at the score there were only about 12 girls in front of her. She told me she really only had one bad hole. She made a double bogey six on number 11. I encouraged her to stick with her game plan. She started the afternoon round on number 10 again. I watched her tee off and then didn’t have a chance to check on her until number 6. Her dad was very excited to see me. He pointed two fingers down. This meant she was two under for the round. She hit it to about three feet on six and made birdie. She made pars on 7 & 8. I watched her play the 9th hole. She hit her second shot to within two feet. Tapped it in for 68 and now had to wait to see if that would get her entry into the Women’s US Open. The scores came in and as each one went up her chances looked better and better. Cindy finished with a score of 144, even par and was third in the qualifier. The Women’s US Open is at Saucon Valley in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania July 9-12. I have decided to go and watch her play in the first round. The entire event was enjoyed by the players and the members. The ladies praised the quality and condition of the course. A great job was done by Tim Hart and his staff. At the end of the tournament, Tiffany Priest, CGA Director of Women’s Golf, asked if we would like to host it again next year. I said absolutely yes! I hope to hear from her in the fall on scheduling a date. I’ll keep you all posted.