THE FARMGOLF NEWSLETTER
Founded in the Year 2000
Volume 5, Issue 3 July 21, 2003
The Whole Truth and Nothing But the Truth about FarmGolf
Green-Smith Win U. S. FarmGolf Open
Bodkins-Sublett Win British FarmGolf Open
Course Upgrade - 3 Sand Traps and 3 Ponds
New Course Set For New York City
U. S. FarmGolf Open Results of June 15, 2003
(FGP) Inclement weather was the norm as the 2nd annual U. S. FarmGolf Open got underway. After 3 holes, play was suspended due to rain. The rain delay lasted for almost one hour. In addition, electrical power to the FarmGolf complex was temporarily out of service. This did not pose a significant problem, however, as beer coolers use no electricity for the beer to flow out of the tap. Electricity was luckily restored, prior to the beer's temperature rising to an unacceptable level.
At the end of the first round, and the beginning of the first beverage intermission, the M. Green-D. Smith team was tied with the N. Creed-B. Smith team at -3. This was the first major tournament that the greens were mowed with the new Jacobsen greens mower. It had been predicted earlier in the week, by the Barbour Democrat sports writers, that all final scores would be over par. All golfers agreed that the greens were the fastest in FarmGolf history.
Five teams were entered this day, with newcomers Chris Bowers, Mike Richardson and amateur Kent Smith making their debut. The weather affected total crowd turnout, as only 2,500 paying customers were in attendance. As play concluded late in the evening under threatening skies, only one team had an under par total. The winners, M. Green and D. Smith were the first two-time winners of any major, after previously setting the two-man course record of 9 under par for 18 holes at last year's U. S. FarmGolf Open.
The following were final scores for the 2003 U. S. FarmGolf Open tournament:
1st Place - David Smith and Mike Green - 2 under
2nd Place - Josh Halfin, Jedd Schola and David Miller - Even
3rd Place Tie - Curtis Bodkins, Dan Papez and Kent Smith (A) - 4 over
Brian Smith and Neil Creed - 4 over
5th Place - Evan Heatherly, Chris Bowers and Mike Richardson - 5 over
Sand Traps and Additional Ponds Recently Completed
(FGP) All three sand traps have been completed with local golf course workers, Neil Creed and Mike Green providing the manual labor to supplement the work of heavy equipment foreman, Ed Jones, who manned the Bobcat loader, hauling a FarmGolf record 18 tons of sand in 1.5 hours.
At the direction of Ed Price, Golf Construction Foreman from Spencer, WV and from Diversified Enterprise, Inc., the sand was properly filled and raked to near perfection. Pictured below is the new sand trap below Hole No. 2. The other two traps are located adjacent No. 1 Green.
Click on picture to enlarge
Upon completion of the Sand Traps Project, a second construction job was immediately funded by FarmGolf. This project provided for the addition of three ponds, and was completed on July 12, 2003. Local Construction Foreman, George Proudfoot of competing golf construction company, Coin Contracting, Inc., set another FarmGolf record for most ponds constructed within a 48-four period by constructing 3 complete ponds during this time frame. The ponds are described and illustrated as follows:
Pond 3 - To the far right of Hole No. 2
Click on picture to enlarge
Pond No. 3 affects the golfer who has a big slice to the right. With the existing Hickory tree on the left and the existing mini-pond (Pond No. 2) lying on the short side, this upgrade makes the hole even more difficult for the inaccurate FarmGolfer. The most horrendous golfer could actually reach the two existing ponds, this pond and Pond No. 5, described below, with an errant shot.
Pond 4 - To the right on the long side of Hole No. 3
Click on picture to enlarge
This pond, recently permitted by the US Corps of Engineers and the WV Public Land Corporation, is approximately 70 feet long by 25 feet wide. This pond structure will mainly affect the all too-powerful FarmGolfer. Situated in-stream and surrounded by large trees, this pond offers viewers one of the most picturesque sites on the FarmGolf complex.
Pond 5 - To the extreme far right of Hole No. 2 and extreme far left of Hole No. 1
Click on picture to enlarge
Most golfers who land a ball in Pond No. 5 will do so with a grossly missed drive to the left from the No. 1 tee box. Only a truly bonehead hit from the No. 2 tee box could get you here from the second hole. The main reason for constructing this pond was to eliminate a wet area that was difficult to maintain. Ponds 1, 2 and 3 overflows, will all be collected in this pond, which will once again show FarmGolf's commitment to protecting the environment.
British FarmGolf Open Results of July 20, 2003
(FGP) A record eight (8) teams entered play in this year's British FarmGolf Open. Sunny and hot weather conditions existed the entire day. For the first time, a FarmGolf tournament was open to amateurs with the team of Kent Smith and Chad Smith taking the early lead in the first round.
Other newcomers included the "Elkins outlaw", Rex Phares, who was briefly caught in possession of a fourth club, receiving a penalty stroke for his team! This was the first penalty stroke assessed in the history of FarmGolf. Also, Greg Tucker, Jim McCracken, Dan Stalnaker and Paul Bastin made their FarmGolf major debuts.
The second round saw the 2003 FarmGolf Masters winners, Bodkins and Sublett, take a slight lead, then put the tournament away with the best two-man 6-hole round in FarmGolf history. A new course record of 5 under par broke the previous record by one stroke. This team became the third two-man team to score in the 50s for an 18 hole event. Check the Records page to view the complete listing of individual and team course records.
Complete scores for the 2003 British FarmGolf Open follow:
1st Place - Curtis Bodkins and Scott Sublett - 8 under
2nd Place - Amateurs Kent Smith and Chad Smith - 3 under
3rd Place - Brian Smith and Paul Bastin - Even
4th Place - Mike Green and David Smith - 4 over
5th Place - Evan Heatherly and Jim McCracken - 8 over
6th Place - G Sparks, Mike Logsdon and Dan Stalnaker - 10 over
7th Place - David Turner, Greg Tucker and Rex Phares - 11 over
8th Place - Bill Bowers, David Miller and Lynn Phillips - DNF
New FarmGolf Course to be Constructed
(FGP) Recently a deal has been struck between New York City and FarmGolf to construct a 6-hole course in Central Park. The Commissioner and his Special Assistant, Linda Riffle, will travel to New York City and complete all necessary agreements and attend ground-breaking activities from July 24th through July 27th. An in-depth summary of the trip and the new course will be included in the August Newsletter.
The installation of this facility will be surely be a major sight-seeing stop for all visitors to the city in the near future. FarmGolf is truly making a big step with this proposed development, letting millions of people be within a "subway ride" to the world's fastest growing sport.
New Webpage Listing the Winners of All Past FarmGolf Major Tournaments Has Been Added to the FarmGolf Website
(FGP) A new webpage now lists all past winners of the FarmGolf majors. This page is titled Majors Winners and can be accessed from the FarmGolf HomePage by clicking on the link at the upper left side of the page in the Course section. As of press time, there have been a total of seven (7) majors in FarmGolf history. A breakdown of the past winners:
2002 FarmGolf Masters - Bill Bowers and Mike Green
2002 U. S. FarmGolf Open - David Smith and Mike Green
2002 British FarmGolf Open - Evan Heatherly and Neil Creed
2002 FarmGolf PGA Championship - Brian Smith, Scott Sublett and David Miller
2003 FarmGolf Masters - Curtis Bodkins and Scott Sublett
2003 U. S. FarmGolf Open - David Smith and Mike Green
2003 British FarmGolf Open- Curtis Bodkins and Scott Sublett
The total numbers of majors won by individuals in the preceding list of teams is also listed on this page and is as follows:
Mike Green - 3
Scott Sublett - 3
David Smith - 2
Curtis Bodkins - 2
Bill Bowers - 1
Evan Heatherly - 1
Neil Creed - 1
Brian Smith - 1
David Miller -1
Upcoming FarmGolf PGA Championship Will Be Played on August 17th
(FGP) The fourth and final major of the year is planned to be a 3-man event, as was the case in 2002. This final event allows a third individual to have a better chance of adding a prestigious FarmGolf major to their golfing resume. The third team member, as per the bylaws of FarmGolf, has to be ranked below the Top 10, and all teams must be approved by the Board of Directors before play begins.
FarmGolf Rankings Expand to Top 40 FarmGolfers in the World
(FGP) As was the case in 2002, the phenomenal growth of FarmGolf requires that we keep up with the times and expand our rankings from 30 listed golfers to a total of 40. This will bring back those who have dropped from the listed rankings and help them in their dating endeavors and increase the likelihood of "groupies beating down their door, once the ranked FarmGolfer leaves the course."