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COVER
STORY Most golf courses
require you to be 15-30 minutes early for
your scheduled tee-time. Showing up an
hour early treats you to a relaxed
country-style environment. Purchase a
beverage of your choice from a
well-stocked and full service bar and/or
grab a sandwich or other tidbit from
numerous excellent menu selections. Then
stroll out to the patio on the west side
of the clubhouse and feast your eyes on a
portion of the 350 rolling acres of
Nebraska's heartland. Waiting to tee off
or just admiring the view after a
stressful day, the setting will ease your
spirit and relax your mind. A new Driving Range is
under construction with a tentative
completion date set for the middle of
July. Also, construction has begun on
another nine holes to the northwest of the
clubhouse. Landscapes Unlimited will be
doing the construction with local
architect Grant Wentzel doing the fine
tuning. Grant has placed his signature on
many courses in the area and his work has
drawn praises from everyone in the golf
course industry. In addition, The Players
Club will be the host site for the Street
of Dreams in July. The Players Club will
be participating in special events this
year in giving back to the community in
what they call "Growing the Game". One of
these events is a format called "Family
Links". Chris Jacobson said "we want to
provide an opportunity for families to
enjoy the game of golf on a championship
golf course. We will be setting aside some
Sunday afternoons where a family of four
can play 9 holes of golf, with cart, and
receive a hot dog and soda for $50.00.
There will be fun events, flag prizes, and
new tees for the juniors. The only
requirement will be that one of the
foursome must be a junior, age 16 or
below". Other events scheduled
at the club are the Palmer Cup on
Saturday, August 13th (The Players Club)
and 14th. (Arbor Links), and Saturday,
September 24th, Fall Four Man. For the
couples you'll want to mark your calendars
for Friday, May 27th (Italian Night),
Friday, July 15th (Summer BBQ), and Friday
September 23rd (Nine & Wine). These
events are fun with golf, prizes, and
dinner included. For the couple events,
please contact Sara Schumacher at
sschumacher@playersclubomaha.com or call
her at 963-9950. See the ad in this
issue of Metropolitan Tee Times for the
new Loyalty Guide that is provided by The
Players Club. It is full of special green
fee discounts, food specials, and special
merchandise discounts. When visiting The
Players Club at Deer Creek, you will
definitely be rewarded by one of the best
customers service staff in the area. They
are friendly and courteous and make your
day enjoyable from start to finish. Call
Chris at 963-9950 for tee time
reservations. Future plans for The Players
Club will be to remain as a semi-private
golf course with membership packages
available. It is not known at this time
if, or when, privatization will occur.
FEATURE • The ENSGA
(Eastern Nebraska Senior Golf Association)
is kicking off their 2005 season with
three new golf courses being added to an
already exceptional list of fine golf
courses in Nebraska and Iowa. The dates
and courses are as follows: May 2
Ashland...May 9 Platteview...May 17 Willow
Lakes...May 25 Crooked Creek Lincoln..June
6 Lakeshore Co Bluffs...June 15 The
Players Club...June 23 River Wilds..June
29 Arbor Links...July 13 Oakland...July 19
Woodland Hills...July 27 Tregaron..August
2 Wilderness Ridge...August 10 Table
Creek...August 15 Elks CC
Columbus...August 22-23 2 day The Pines.
Anyone 55 and older can join to play as
many courses as they wish. Most fees
include meals at the course. Contact Al
Karschner at 332-4868 or Bill Christiansen
at 561-9161 for information. • Bob McCormack
has an opening for a couple in the Tuesday
Night Couples League at Warren Swigart.
Play begins at 4:30 PM. Anyone interested
needs to contact Bob at
444-4623. • The 2nd Annual
Riverside Open, sponsored by the Riverside
Grille and Dodge Riverside Golf Club, is
slated for May 28th & 29th. This is a
2 person best ball and Open Championship.
You must sign up before May 14th. Call
Dodge Riverside Pro Shop to book your tee
time, 322-9970 or 328-4660. This event is
limited to the first 50 teams. • I got a note
from Bob Hasebroock, an officer of the
OPGA, Omaha Public Golfers Association. He
sent me a joke and here it is: Do you know
the difference between a bad golfer and a
bad skydiver ??? A bad golfer goes, Whack,
Dang ! A bad skydiver goes, Dang, Whack !
We can only hope Bob is an excellent
officer for the OPGA. But seriously, the
mission of the OPGA is to make golf on
Omaha's Public Golf Courses a more
positive experience while serving as a
liaison between public golfers and the
City Parks and Recreation Department. This
is a fine organization with an investment
of only $5.00 for it's annual fee. Send in
your name, address, phone number, and a
check for $5.00 to Omaha Public Golfers
Association, P.O. Box 241083, Omaha, Ne
68124. Make sure your voice is heard in
the halls of justice. • Blackstone
started it, Sprint pushed it further,
Nationwide provided impetus, and Cox
Communication capped it off. I'm talking
about the Omaha Classic, now the Cox
Classic, that has surpassed the $1 million
mark in charitable donations. And speaking
of the upcoming tournament, scheduled for
August 4th thru the 7th, it is never too
early to get your name in for a volunteer
position. The good jobs go pretty fast.
• Don't forget the
Walt Luksa Memorial Golf Tournament on
Saturday, April 30th at Tara Hills Golf
Course in Papillion. Registration and
Payment is due by April 18th. The fee is
$65.00 per person and includes golf, cart,
prime rib dinner, 19 flag, door and
Hole-In-One prizes. Send registration
forms to Assumption Church Golf
Tournament, 5434 South 22nd, Omaha, Ne
68107. Call Ray & Don Vodicka at
731-1463 for questions and
information. • The Men's and
Women's Nebraska Golf Teams get off to
excellent starts, but, then seem to falter
in the stretch. They seem to play the best
under abnormal conditions; maybe because
of the conditions you have to play under
in their home state. • July 22, 2005,
The Players Club at Deer Creek will host
the 1st Annual Omaha Playboy Golf
Tournament. There will be a private party
for the golfers on July 21, at Harrah's
Hotel and Casino Stir Bar. To learn more
about our tournament, please visit us at
www.playboygolf.com. We are looking for
companies to sponsor holes and other
activities at the tournament. FEATURE By Bob Hall, Well, we made it
through another winter and the golf season
is upon us. Courses in the eastern part of
our state seem to have wintered well.
March has been pretty dry but the moisture
up to that point was good. Unfortunately
the western part of the state has
continued to be dry. We all hope this
changes soon. I am always amused by
the comments of golfers very early in the
year when we first open the golf course.
We haven't had the opportunity to mow
greens or do any of the normal things that
we wish we could. "Course sure is in nice
shape" or "Those greens sure are slow" are
some of the things I hear. I want to say
"We haven't been able to do anything yet"
but usually just a"thank you" or "you're
right about that" is all I can say. When
the course has been sitting there dormant
all winter, there's not much we can do to
improve playing conditions. Speaking of dormant
turf, I hope you all realize that winter
golf in our area is not good for the turf.
Ballmarks, divots, and cart traffic cause
damage that will not heal until the grass
starts growing well. That is usually mid
to late April. That's why some courses
restrict carts to paths early in the year
and why others keep their greens closed as
long as possible. Your superintendent is
only trying to protect the golf course.
I am looking forward to
another great golf season on the beautiful
courses our state has to offer. Hope to
see you out enjoying your game soon.
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