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May
2003
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TIBURON...
This
Shark Still Has Some Bite
When you ask golfers around the state what
they liked best about playing a golf
course, there answers are usually relative
to four criteria; greens, tees, price, and
professional courtesy. Playing Tiburon
golf course continues to excel in all of
these categories making your time a memory
that you can't wait to refresh.
Tiburon's rolling hills, fast greens,
and lush fairways, are punctuated on all
three of their nine hole courses. Over 12
acres of lakes and natural wooded access
create both spectacular scenery and
challenging golf shots. Water hazards,
strategically placed sand bunkers and well
defined out of bounds, provide golfers of
all levels an enjoyable day in the sun.
Each course has its own signature hole;
the one golfers usually identify with as a
love/hate relationship. For the Great
White, its Hole Number 6; a 445-yard
dogleg right nightmare that better keep
your attention, beginning at the tee box.
Trying to hit a fade can leave you in the
trees, or worse, out of bounds. A booming
drive straight out from the tee can give
you a side-hill lie, or worse, your ball
can find the watery grave at the bottom of
the hill. You need to split the fairway
past the top of the hill to give you any
shot at the narrow green that is only 18
feet at its widest. The sloping green is
no picnic and will leave you muttering to
yourself on the way up to Number 7. On
Hammerhead, everyone can agree that Hole
Number 3 can get your heart thumping like
a jack-hammer (See picture above). A
well-placed tee shot, can leave you a 150
yard shot to a green that is well
protected with water along the entire
front and grassy moguls to the rear.
Anything longer off the tee can leave you
with a downhill lie in fairly thick grass
that is difficult for even the best
golfer. The green slopes towards the water
making your chips from the moguls
tentative and demanding. The green itself
poses many breaks and almost guarantees a
minimum two-putt. The Mako Nine the newest
of the three layouts, has a couple of
intimidating holes and any two golfers
can't agree on which is the toughest. Hole
Number 2 is one most golfers are glad to
play and move on to the next hole. A wide
open fairway seems to be an easy target,
but, a slight breeze, a little fade, and
the sloping fairway, can catapult your
ball into fish food. The two tiered green
slopes back to front and pin placements
can be demanding. Bunkers behind the green
are deep enough so when looking up all you
see is the water. A lot of sevens are
carded on this supposedly easy par 4. Hole
Number 4 is no treat either. You need to
be long off the tee to give your second
shot a chance to reach this semi-hidden
green. Anything short prevents you from
reaching the green with the best play of
laying out into the middle of the fairway
your best choice. The sloping green treats
side-hill putts like a mongoose treats a
snake &endash; now you see the break, now
you don't. Putts have occasionally run
right off the green. Take your bogey and
run &endash; making par puts you one ahead
of the field.
The clubhouse at Tiburon is
comfortable, decorative and staffed by
friendly and courteous personnel. The Food
and Beverage department provides a variety
of choices from their grill room.
Receptions and banquets are also available
with no room charge for members,
accommodating groups of up to 200 guests
for cocktail parties and up to 185 guests
for dinner parties.
Members at Tiburon are preferred
customers and receive benefits not
available to the daily fee players. Some
of these are tee times taken two weeks in
advance, merchandise discounts, food
discounts, member events, discount pricing
for their guests, and so many more. It's
no wonder that Tiburon continues to be one
of the best golf courses in the area; not
only to play but a family gathering place
that everyone can enjoy.
Tiburon Golf Club is located at 10302
South 168th Street (1/2 mile north of
Highway 370), Omaha, Nebraska 68136. Call
the staff at Tiburon at 895-2688 and get
that country club service for a daily fee
price.
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NGA: A Handicap Service and a Whole
Lot More
By Angie Timblin
You may or may not know the people who
work on behalf of the Nebraska Golf
Association. But you probably know
something of the work they perform. Look
in your wallet, purse or golf bag and pull
out your handicap card. You probably know
the NGA provides that for you, but this
story is designed to show you that the
organization does so much more.
The Nebraska Golf Association is a
non-profit organization recognized by the
USGA as the governing body of amateur golf
in Nebraska. The mission of the NGA is to
uphold and promote the game of golf and
its values for all golfers in the state.
In fact, 184 member clubs and more than
35,000 NGA members &endash; avid golfers
from across the state &endash; are served
by the NGA. Managed by a Board of
Directors who give freely of their time,
knowledge and energies, and backed by a
committed team of volunteers and staff,
the NGA is able to provide a wide range of
services.
The NGA conducts many amateur golf
championships and special events
throughout the year. These events are
recognized by golf enthusiasts as the best
amateur competitions in the state.
Eligibility is generally based on NGA
membership and specific handicap
restrictions. As the USGA's regional
representative, the NGA also conducts six
local/sectional qualifying events for USGA
championships.
One of the most widely known NGA
services is the USGA/GHIN (Golf Handicap
& Information Service) Handicap
service. GHIN, the largest handicap system
in the nation with more than 1.9 million
golfers using it in 65 golf associations,
provides each NGA member with a handicap
index and GHIN number. The handicap index
allows golfers of carrying ability to
compete on an equitable basis. The index
is portable, so each golfer can determine
their Course Handicap based on the slope
rating from the tees they intent to play.
Handicap computations occur every two
weeks during the golf season, which lasts
from mid-March to late October in
Nebraska.
Beginning in 2003, NGA members will
have the option of receiving their
handicap revisions via an e-mail
communication system. The NGA provides
GHIN software for each club to use on
their computers. The software program
provides quick score-posting methods and
detailed score history information, not to
mention a direct link to the GHIN
mainframe. Tournament Parings and
Decisions on the Rules of Golf are
programs also available to clubs
participating in the electronic
option.
Many of the most recent innovations at
the NGA have begun in the communications
department. Nebraska Golfer magazine,
which has been in the works for over a
year, replaces the former association
publication, the NGA News. The magazine
will feature stories from the state that
would be of interest to local golfers. In
addition, a course directory containing
information from each of the NGA's 184
member clubs will be compiled each year
and printed in the spring edition of
Nebraska Golfer.
The NGA also hosts the most
comprehensive amateur golf web site in
Nebraska, www.nebgolf.org. On March 1,
2003, a redesign of the site was launched
to include a new online tournament
application system, where members will be
able to fill out online forms for each of
the NGA's six championships and events,
with the help of a credit card online
payment system.
As a service to member clubs, the NGA
issues both Men's and Women's 9-hole and
18-hole USGA Course and Slope Ratings. A
team of trained NGA volunteers rate
established golf courses every eight years
and new courses every three years for the
first nine. A men's and women's rating is
given for each tee requested. The rating
process helps provide a fair and accurate
measure for producing handicaps. If
requested, the NGA also offers a pace
rating for each member club. The pace
rating indicates the amount of time it
should take to play each hole and thus a
complete round of golf from a specified
set of tees.
The NGA implemented an education
program in 2000 using state-of-the-art
PowerPoint and video presentations.
Programs have included individual rules
and handicap seminars for member clubs,
regional high school Rules of Golf
workshops and an "All About Golf" Expo,
GHIN Workshops, Course Rating calibration
seniors and USGA regional workshops.
The NGA Foundation and Scholarships
Fund gives support to every collage golf
program in the state. Financial support is
also given to the Nebraska Golf Hall of
Fame, the Nebraska Section of the PGA, and
the Nebraska Women's Amateur Golf
Association, as well as many other
worthwhile programs promoting the game of
golf. A recent partnership with the
Nebraska Senior Golf Association will also
aid the NSGA in terms of administrative
assistance and tournament support.
The Nebraska Junior Golf Association
was formed in 2000 to give all junior
golfers their own identity. An advisory
board comprised of NGA and NWAGA officials
oversees the organization. NJGA members
receive a membership bag tag, a Rules of
Golf booklet, eligibility to enter in NJGA
championships and events, two NJGA
newsletters and information on national,
state and local tournaments. On July 18,
Wild Horse Golf Club in Gothenburg will
host the inaugural North/South Junior Cup,
a contest that will pit the 24 best boys'
and girls' golfers in the state against
each other in a match play team
competition.
As you can see, the Nebraska Golf
Association is more than just a handicap
service.
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FROM THE
LOCKERROOM
By Bob O'Keefe
Publisher
• International qualifying events
for the Open Championship are to be held
on five continents for 2004, giving more
players from around the world the chance
to gain direct entry into golf's oldest
championship from their home territories.
The international final qualifying events
will be played in Africa, Asia,
Australasia, America and Europe for the
first time in the build-up to the Open at
Royal Troon on July 15-18, 2004.
• If the fairways and greens
haven't been to your liking this Spring,
then you can't be playing golf in
Nebraska. Most courses have replenished
their water reserves and are enjoying one
of the better Springs in recent years.
• With the first tournament having
been played at Ashland Country Club on May
5th, the Eastern Nebraska Senior Golf
Association wants those seniors age 55 and
above, that there are 17 more tournaments
to be held in 11 cities for the 2003
season. Some of the courses to be played
are Stone Creek, The Players Club,
Oakland, Quail Run, River Wilds, just to
name a few. With meals at most events, all
prices include golf and carts, with best
score, door and hole-in-one prizes at all
events. September 15th is scheduled for
the final two day event at the Field Club
Golf Course in Omaha. With annual dues of
$15.00, this is a great way to spend a day
on the course. Send your check to ENSGA,
PO Box 97, Boys Town, Nebraska
68010-0097.
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TENTH ANNUAL KEEP
OMAHA BEAUTIFUL CHARITY GOLF
CLASSIC
The challenging Shadow Ridge Golf
Course is the setting for this years
exciting and fun-filled Keep Omaha
Beautiful, Inc., Charity Golf Classic.
With eighteen holes of golf including
cart, lunch, and opportunities to win
$10,000 cash, a golf resort vacation, a
set of golf clubs, and a raffle contest
offering many fabulous prizes, this years
June classic is quickly becoming the 'The
Golf Deal of the Year'. Local radio
personality Fred Brooks will be on hand
during the complimentary buffet and
awarding of raffle prizes. Whether you
want to serve as a Fairway Sponsor,
contribute a flag prize, or play golf in
this years classic, you only need to call
444-7774 and ask for an entry form. With a
1:00 PM tee time, you and your boss can
take Monday, June 30th off, and have your
board meeting on the course. Set your date
on the calendar now and remind your boss
that this is a charity tournament with an
Omaha goal.
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P.O.
Box 9085, Station C, Omaha, Nebraska 68109
Phone: (402) 734-2476 • Fax: (402)
734-2554
E-Mail: Metroteetimes@cox.net
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