Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, July 11, 1993 TAG: 9307110035
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: E9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The sauna-like temperatures that have stifled Roanoke the past couple of weeks have turned many of the area golf courses into veritable ghost towns during the afternoon.
"There's absolutely nobody here between 1 and 3 p.m.," said Monty Goff, Countryside's head professional. "In early afternoon you can head straight to the tee. Everybody is either playing real early or real late, with nobody in between."
Blue Hills' head pro Billy King reports a similar pattern.
"The overall volume of play is still holding up pretty good; they're just playing at different times of the day - early or late," King said. "I don't think anyone wants any part of early afternoon.
"I've also noticed that more people are riding golf carts that don't normally ride. The heat is getting to some of the older fellows."
The heat wave, which has cooked up temperatures approaching 100 degrees, also has played havoc with course maintenance crews, who are working overtime trying to prevent the greens from becoming "browns."
"We're on a heavy schedule as far as watering during the night," Goff said. "If it gets any worse, we may have to crank the sprinklers out during the day and hose the greens down for five minutes or so."
Goff said watering the greens heavily during the day is like playing with fire.
"If you water heavy during the day, it has like a reverse effect," he said. "It bakes the greens even more. The key is keeping the greens cool, not wet, during the day."
King, who has been associated with Blue Hills since 1957, said he never has seen a hot spell to match this one.
"I can't ever remember it being this hot this long for a long time," he said. "Somebody, somewhere, needs to turn on the air conditioner."
\ STATE OPEN: King, Dicky Linkous, 1985 winner Tom McKnight and '82 champion Bill Sibbick head the Southwest Virginia qualifiers in the AMF-Signet Open, which begins Thursday at Richmond's Willow Oaks Country Club.
King, who won the title in 1980 and has contended several other times, said his hopes rest on his putting.
"I'm playing well, but we just have to wait and see how I putt," he said. "Putting is the difference between winning and losing. All those guys can hit it."
Linkous was the low pro in his last start - the Greater Blacksburg Open, finishing one shot behind amateur Mike Krulich of Bluefield.
McKnight has been the low amateur finisher in the Open in six of the past nine years. His 1985 victory was the last by an amateur.
PGA touring pro Bobby Wadkins will be the prohibitive favorite in the field.
\ BEATING THE ODDS: Friday, June 26, produced a golfing feat that undoubtedly will be discussed forever in the the household of Roanoker Ellsworth Snyder.
Less than a hour after Snyder's brother, Charlie, made an ace on the 151-yard third hole at Roanoke Country Club, Snyder's son, Thad, accomplished another rare feat, holing a 3-wood for a double eagle-2 on the 524-yard second hole at Countryside.
The parlay carries almost incalculable odds. The odds against making a hole-in-one have been figured at 11,000-1. The odds against making a double eagle are roughly 10 times that. So figure the chances on two family members doing each within a 60-minute span.
\ ASSISTANTS ON MOVE: Pennsylvania native Tom Purnell has been named an assistant to first-year head pro Chris Rouse at Botetourt Country Club. Purnell caddied for Arnold Palmer at Palmer's Laurel Valley (Pa.) club.
Mike O'Keefe has resigned his position as assistant pro at Roanoke Country Club and has applied to regain his amateur status.
\ A DIFFERENT BALLGAME: Misery loves company, so consider the plight of NFL player Ed McCaffrey. The New York Giants receiver used 67 balls in posting scores of 125-155 (136 over par) at the recent Cadillac NFL Golf Classic.
\ SAND BLASTS: Troutville's Scott Griffin, runner-up in the recent VSGA Junior Match Play tournament, and Roanoker Ryan Ketron top the list of area youngsters competing in this week's Bobby Bowers Memorial at Springfield Golf and Country Club. . . . The team of Roger Lamm Jr., John Jennings, Dick Davis and Rick Jennell shot a 14-under-par 57 at Countryside to win the overall title of the recent Don Holliday Memorial. Doug Kenney, Howie Burgess, Fred Duncan and Bill Trent won the morning session with a 60. . . . Work began this week on the new back nine at Mariners Landing, the latest course to open at Smith Mountain Lake. Mariners Landing head pro Stan Jones said the new nine should be completed by the end of the summer of 1994. . . . Jimmy Williams, the head pro at Blacksburg Country Club, finished fourth in a recent Mid-Atlantic PGA event in Stanardsville.
by CNB