kc golfer magazine april 2011

KCGOLFERMAGAZINE.COM 3

KC Golfer Magazine is published monthly by MG Publishing, LLC.

For advertising, sales or media kit information, please contactCasey Kershner at 877.309.0370,or e-mail [email protected]

Please email press releases, letters to the editor, and other contentto Roger Hunt: [email protected]

KC Cart Girl Photography by Dawn Boomsma (www.surfdawn.com)

KC Golfer is published eight times a year and wholly owned by MG Publishing, LLC.Reproducing any portion of this magazine— text, photography, or illustration—without written consent from MG Publishing, is prohibited and may result in legalconflict. MG Publishing will consider contributing editorial proposals([email protected]), but will not incur any liability asit pertains to the article or photos submitted by the contributor ifpublished in KC Golfer Magazine. The staff and owners of KC Golfer Magazine arenot responsible for any hardship or loss by any person or persons as a result of thecontent associated with this publication or its web site www.kcgolfermagazine.com.The staff and owners reserve the right to refuse to accept inappropriate material.

© 2011 KC Golfer Magazine and MG Publishing, LLC.

CONTENTSENHANCE YOUR GAMEGolfers Around Town . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Dream Bag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6Celebrity Focus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Play KC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12Get Fit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14Charity Aware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Cart Girl Spotlight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21Improve Your Game . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22Imbibe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24Par 3 and Executive KC Courses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26Body Healing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28Meet your GM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30Cigar for the Course . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32Destination Golf Courses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34Real Estate Round Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

APRIL, 2011

Player Type: Golf Enthusiast.Quote: “Glad I made that putt!Tough 201 yard par-3 hole.”Location: Deer Creek Golf Club,Overland Park, KS, Hole #4.Date of photo:March 11, 2011.Dawn Boomsma Photography

Bill WerthOn the Cover

For Great Golf Deals,& a CHANCE TO WIN AnADAMS GOLF DRIVER, visitKCGOLFERMAGAZINE.COM

4

Driving into the Wind

Jeff ThomassonPlayer Type: Golf Professional.Location: Ironhorse Golf Club,Leawood, KS, Hole #1.Date of photo: March 22, 2011

KC Golfer Magazine Photography


Out of the Sand

John HerrmanPlayer Type: Casual Golfer.Location: Deer Creek Golf Club,Overland Park, KS, Hole #8.Date of photo: March 11, 2011

Dawn Boomsma Photography

If you’ve watched any golf onTV or wandered throughany golf shop, you’vealready seen the white-headed TaylorMade R11.The reasoning behindthat matte white finish is

to eliminate glare, and,when paired with a black

face, helps golfers get the clubaligned. But before you think

the performance of this club isonly skin deep, let’s take a look at

the rest of the club. There is a lot oftechnology packed in with Flight Con-

trol Technology (adjustable hosel) that canchange loft and face angle into eight posi-

tions, a new Adjustable Sole Plate that canchange the face angle even more from neutralto two degrees open or closed, and their Move-

able Weight Technology that allows you to bal-ance the clubhead or put weight on the toe orheel as needed. With all this adjustability, Taylor-

Made claims up to 100 yards of side-to-side trajectory change.Whether it’s the paint job or the adjustability, this is a club worthchecking out. With a 440cc head size, it’s probably more of aplayer’s club, but anyone should feel free to give it a swing. The fair-way wood version of the R11 has both the Flight Control Technol-ogy and the Adjustable Sole Plate, delivering up to 60 yards ofside-to-side changes in flight. As a fairway wood, there are five dif-ferent loft options, and all come with that distinct matte whitefinish. The R11 is a premium driver at $399 or $499 for the TPversion, while fairway woods run $299. The Martin City SportsComplex just opened their TaylorMade Performance Lab if you areinterested in getting some help with your new R11.

6

Dream BagTim

Carriga

n

Outfit Your Bag with the Best of the BestIt is now April and by this time, most die hards have already played a few rounds. For them and anyoneelse still getting ready for the season, dreams for the 2011 golf season are probably starting to takeshape. Maybe you want to shoot a new low score, win the club championship, win more than you lose, or justhave a lot of fun. Whatever those dreams are, these new clubs should factor in if those dreams have any-thing to do with equipping yourself with the latest and greatest that golf manufacturers have to offer.

The next club in our dream bag thismonth is a hybrid, and the Titleist910H is what many consider a greatimprovement over its predecessor,

the 909H. The new club features anew adjustable hosel, one of only a

handful of hybrids that utilize this tech-nology to help golfers adjust loft, lie, and

face angle to get the flight and trajectorythey need. Titleist’s version of an adjustable

hosel, however, is unique and more expansive inthat it provides sixteen different settings. If you

don’t think that provides enough changes for oneclub, you can also get an optional weight kit and swap

out the interchangeable sole weight on the bottom ofthe club with anything from 2 to 12 grams. That muchweight change can make a sizeable difference in the club’soverall swingweight and feel. The 910H comes in four loftsfrom 17 to 24 degrees and will run you $229.

In our iron category, we’ll focus this month on the new Ping AnserForged irons. Ping has long been known for making great cast irons, sothe introduction of this forged offering might signal a new move in theirmanufacturing. This is no run-of-the-mill forging though. It incorporatesa heavy tungsten sole with a cavity-back design to add forgiveness to anotherwise better-player type iron. The sole of the club is interesting be-yond the tungsten material used – it’s also actually hollow. So while youcan’t see it and certainly wouldn’t even suspect it, there is a hollowcavity that further adds forgiveness while softening the feel. That kind ofhidden technology is what makes this classic-looking club special. Theprice is also a bit special, running over $1300 for a set from the3-iron to pitching wedge. Even if you can’t afford them, itdoesn’t hurt to dream and give them a lookthe next time you go golfshopping.


Which brings us to the wedge,and one of the top wedges in thisnew groove era is the Callaway X-series JAWS CC. The “CC” stands forCondition of Competition, meaning theyconform to golf ’s new groove rules – a requirement of clubs manu-factured as of the start of 2011. To address those new rules, and de-liver a lot of green-biting spin, Callaway and their chief designer RogerCallaway added more grooves to the clubface and made them deeper,but narrower. While most of us don’t need to worry about the newrules for our typical Saturday foursome competition, these newwedges are approved for Tour and other major competitions.Whether you play competitively at that level or not, these are greatwedges that combine a lot of Callaway’s tried and true wedge designfeatures with an innovative groove configuration. So – you can belegal and get a lot of bite while playing the latest and best Callaway has to offerfor about $120. There are fourteen loft and bounce options with two differentfinishes. Demo days are a great time to make sure you get the right set of loftsto cover all types of shots and distances with your wedges. A great place to getthat help for these wedges is the Golf Stop’s Callaway Performance Center at119th and Metcalf.

The final club in our dream bag is the NikeMethod Core putter. The original Methodputter gathered a lot of attention when it first

came out thanks to its use in majorwins by Lucas Glover and StewartCink. The new Method Core usesthe same groove pattern as its pred-ecessor, but does so with different

materials in the face. Using alternatingaluminum and polymer grooves, Nike says

its testing confirms it performs just as well asthe Method in terms of promoting forward roll for

less skidding, but with a slightly different feel. Theresult is a putter with similar performance and a firmer feel,

but at a much lower price point due to a lower cost of manufac-turing. A price of $129 to the Method’s $249 will likely make the Method Corea very popular flatstick. It comes in five head designs from a mallet through blade.

Remember those cool shoes that Freddy wore in last year’s Masters? While thatboosted the popularity of the Ecco Street and Street Premiere shoes, these aregolf products that have features that run more than skin deep. While lookingcool and, in Freddy’s case being easy on the back, they are also functional golfshoes that can be worn both on and off the golf course. With a distinctly non-traditional look, these are great golf shoes that hold the turf almost as well as anyother soft spike shoe. The Street Premiere is made of distressed leather in fivecolor combinations centering on white, brown, or black. The Street runs about$20 more at $160 and is made of camel leather in beige, brown, or black designs.

KCGOLFERMAGAZINE.COMDEALS & GIVEAWAYS

More KC Cart GirlPictures and Videos Online atKCGOLFERMAGAZINE.COM

8

Casey Kershner: When you started announcing high school hockey games, didyou ever, in your wildest dreams, think your career path would take you to where youare today?

Kevin Harlan: Some kids dream of being a pro athlete or doctor, my dream was tobe a play-by-play broadcaster. I was drawn more to radio where you use your imagina-tion through words to conjure up what is happening. My hope, at that time, was to workthrough the ranks. To be honest, my goal was to be the voice of a big university on theradio, like Cawood Ledford, the longtime voice of Kentucky. Growing up, I listened toCawood, and wanted to be a broadcaster, like him, at Kentucky. There were a lot of greatbroadcasters I looked up to at an early age, guys I followed like Cawood, and JimDurham with the Chicago Bulls. There were some TV broadcasters too, like Keith Jack-son, who covered college football from 1952 – 2006. I was enamored with these guys.

CK: At what age did you know sports announcing was your career passion?KH: Probably my freshman or sophomore year in high school, while I was still

playing sports. I played football, hockey, and I was on the golf team. Our schoolstarted an FM station, ran by students, which covered the city of Green Bay. I woulddrift down there after school, to the radio station, sometimes during the middle ofmy freshman year. This was really when I started to gear myself towards radio broad-casting. I became very interested in it.

CK: What was your experience like at the University of Kansas? By the way, con-grats to your Jayhawks in the Big XII tournament. I am a Kansas State Universityalum, and my Wildcats didn’t hold up their end of the bargain for a great show-down with KU in the tourney.

Celebrity Focus

Always Proving Himself and Taking Nothing ForGranted, Kevin Harlan Rises to The Top

Left: Kevin HarlanBackground: Alvamar Country Club,One of Harlan’s Favorite Coursesto Play after Graduating College

A Passion for Sports Broadcasting and Family Leads to SuccessKevin Harlan, and announcing sports, is like Fred Couples swinginga golf club. It is smooth and easy, like it is just part of the game. Harlanrecently connected with sports fans in the United States, and around theworld, when he broadcast Super Bowl XLV on Westwood One, the NCAAMarch Madness Championship games on CBS, and NBA games on TNT.He is a phenomenal sports broadcaster, and will most certainly go down inhistory as one of the best.

Harlan, a Kansas City resident, was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Hebegan positioning his career at an early age announcing football, basketballand high school hockey games. From the early years, to where he is today,Harlan will be the first to admit that he has been blessed to run into theright people at the right times, and with his passion for sports broadcastingand hard work ethic, he made his opportunities successful ones.

Gary Bender, born in Ulysses, Kansas, and a University of Kansas alum-nus, was with CBS doing NFL play-by-play, and knew Harlan’s voice had in-credible potential in sports broadcasting. He influenced Harlan to take a stepout of his comfort zone, leave his family in Wisconsin, and travel to the mid-dle of the United States to learn under Tom Hedrick at KU. Hedrick was abroadcaster for Super Bowls, I, II and IV, and took his passion to KU toteach journalism and announce KU games.

Harlan’s path has taken him to be one of the most recognizable andrespectable sports broadcasters in the country, and I was lucky enough totalk to him on a Sunday morning during the last day of NCAA conferencechampionships.


KH: My experience was wonderful in every way. A guy at KU, by the name ofTom Hedrick, guided me along. I met Tom the middle of my senior year in highschool, and he took me around KU, and Lawrence. I was taken back on how beau-tiful the city of Lawrence was, and on top of that, I was about to receive a great jour-nalism education from a nationally known journalism school. College, for me, haddifferent spokes, like going to class during the week, being a part of a fraternity,taking in the social experience, and broadcasting KU games every available oppor-tunity. I was lucky enough to have a very vibrant college life on campus, and offcampus too, because of all the broadcasting experience. Tom was the voice of theJayhawks at that time, and I began working with him, and filling in for him. Be-fore I started college, I had already gained a lot of broadcasting experience in GreenBay, and Tom saw that, and he brought me in kind of as his right-hand man. As afreshman, I was filling in on radio stations, doing halftime reporting on the KUfootball network, doing sideline reporting during the football games, and the postgame shows. Tom, the fact he took that kind of interest in me, was like a second fa-ther. We had a great relationship, from the beginning. He would even invite me tohis house on Sundays for dinner.

CK: Where did your career path take you after graduating from KU, and whendid you get the big break in your career?

KH: I felt like I was always kind of proving myself because I was so young. Inever took for granted that this is the ticket to bigger and better things. My first jobout of college was in the NBA with the Kansas City Kings. I went right from col-lege to a major league play-by-play job. The guy who was doing the Kansas CityKings, right before I took the job, left for the 76ers, and they were looking for some-one young and incredibly cheap. I was a good fit, at the time, for all those things.It was incredibly rare that I would get a major league job out of school at the ageof 21. It has always been a helping hand along the way, and an incredible fortunateseries of events, that would lead to an opportunity. You know, I really never felt likeI could exhale and relax. With the Kansas City Kings job, I felt I had been blessedto get the chance, and I took the don’t blow it approach. I always took that approach,coupled with hard work. I take the same approach with every opportunity.

CK: What was it like announcing Super Bowl XLV this year? It was probably aspecial experience since your roots go back to the Green Bay Packers, with yourDad, who had been the President and CEO.

KH: It was great experience, announcing the Super Bowl! I truly didn’t care whowon the game. This was an assignment I dreamt of since I was 14 years old. Peopletend to think it was more meaningful because of my family history. But, the big pic-ture was that I was doing Monday Night Football with the single biggest broadcastin the country, the Super Bowl. It could have been the Colts and Giants, and itwould not have felt any different than doing the Packers and Steelers. I was far moreinvolved doing the game than attached to the Packers playing. My main concernwas that I wanted to make sure I was on my game.

CK: What is one, or a few, of your memorable moments announcing sports?KH: NCAA Final Fours, NBA Playoffs and everything from basketball buzzer

beaters to game-winning NFL touchdowns. The body of the whole experienceblends together, so to be honest, there are so many memorable moments. I havebeen to a lot of places broadcasting fun games for both radio and TV. I have beenlucky enough to do the NCAA basketball tourney since 1998, the NBA Playoffssince 1996, and the NFL since 1985.

CK: Who is one of the most influential people you have met in your career?KH: Tom Hedrick at KU, aside from my dad who continues to be such an im-

portant person now. My dad molded me. There are so many different analysts Imet during my career path. Len Dawson definitely comes to mind too. I was 24when I got the Kansas City Chiefs job in 1985. Len was incredibly nice to me. Hemade me feel like an equal when I walked into that booth, and that was so impor-tant at that time in my life. Clark Kellogg and Bill Raftery, with CBS, have bothbeen such nice people to work with too. Doug Collins, with TNT, taught me aboutthe NBA game. He always gave me little things about life. There are so many namesI could mention, executives too. I could not have this fortunate career withoutmany, many people, who believed I could do a job, giving me a chance.

– continued next page –

For Great Golf Deals,& a CHANCE TO WIN AnADAMS GOLF DRIVER, visitKCGOLFERMAGAZINE.COM

10

CK: What advice do you have for anyone who wantsto be successful in their career?

KH: From a strictly career standpoint, things I wouldtell my kids, and my dad has taught me over the years,there is nothing that will overmatch being excited orjuiced about starting another day with your job. I amsure there are so many people that dread going to workand cannot embrace the opportunity.

There is a simple equation to making a very good liv-ing, and it doesn’t matter your career, just do whateverit takes to find that job that is your passion. Really or-ganize your life to find something you enjoy doing. Peo-ple, who are successful, are the ones who put time andeffort into something they enjoy. Really organize yourlife to find it; something you enjoy. If your job feels likeyour hobby, then you got a hole-in-one. I will also tellyou a good marriage is as important as all the other stuffI just said. The most important thing for me is my mar-riage. From my perspective, in my life, it encompassessuccess.

CK: How many years have you lived in Kansas City,and did you ever think you would still live in Kansaswhen you left Wisconsin in the late 70s?

KH: I was at KU from 1978-1982. Gosh, I didn’tknow what was going to happen after that, but I was fo-cused on my broadcasting career. I knew I loved thearea, Kansas City, so, I guess just out of coincidence, Imet my wife here. When that happened, I started see-ing things through a different perspective. I began tothink of schools and churches and stuff like that. BeforeI met my wife, Ann, it was just all about my job. I havebeen here since 1982, except for my first year with theMinnesota Timberwolves. I worked nine years with theTimberwolves, but the first year is the only year we livedin Minneapolis. After that, we moved back to KansasCity, because we missed it so much. I commuted mynext eight years while working with the Timberwolves.I could live anyplace, Honolulu, Miami … literally any-where. But me and Ann choose to stay here. Our im-mediate family history is here. The house we are in iswhere we raised our kids, which has sentimental valuethat cannot be replaced.

CK: How do you make it work … the balance withyour family and your job, with all the travel?

KH: My family is far more important than anythingelse. First and foremost it starts with my wife. Most peo-ple throw that around pretty cheaply, but I can tell you,in all sincerity, if you want to have a family as big as fourkids, what it comes down to is that it requires a veryspecial woman to keep everything going. She is the hubof our family, a great wife and an incredible mom. Thereisn’t even a close second. You try to make everythingwork, and with all my travel, I want my kids to be ableto look back and know their dad was there for the im-portant things.

The casualties are my friendships outside of home be-cause it is family first. My friends are my friends forever,and we still connect, but not as much with everythingelse in my life.

CK: Are any of your kids going to follow in theirdad’s footsteps?

KH: We have three girls who are 22, 21, 17, and ourboy is 15 years old. Out of that group, as of right now,I would say, maybe my youngest daughter has shown

an interest in doing it. Maybe not sports, but some typeof broadcasting. It is a very unforgiving business andnot necessarily genuine. It is such a subjective business.She is 17, and I would never douse her enthusiasm, butfor every person who makes it to the network level, thereare thousands who don’t. All you see are the people whomake it, but who you don’t see, are those who don’t. Shehas it all, the looks, talent and smarts. She is fantastic.There are a lot of ups and downs in this business, andemotional swings. It definitely is not for the faint atheart. I have had close friends hit the pitfalls, and it is abad bump and painful thing to watch. She is my daugh-ter, and she will make the right decision. I will supporther no matter what she decides to do.

CK: I know you mentioned to me that playing golfisn’t something that fits in your schedule now, but youdid say golf is something you used to play quite a bit.Can you tell me a little about your golf experience?

KH: My Dad taught me to play. He was the citychampion in Des Moines, Iowa, so he was a very goodgolfer. In the summers, while I was ball boy with thePackers, my parents would drop me off at the course formost of the day, and Dad would pick me up thatevening. So, I used to play a lot of golf. I ended up play-ing on the high school golf team. But, when I beganworking with the Packers, at training camp, and broad-casting more, that got in the way of my golf game. But,when I got out of college, and was still single, me andmy buddies, we would play golf all the time. I alwaysthought it would be so awesome to live on Alvamar GolfCourse. Then, eventually, I joined Wolf Creek GolfClub, and loved it. When I started having kids I startedto play less and less. How was I going to explain to mykids, my three girls, I am a member of an all-men’s-club?Now, I play once a year at the most, with my dad andbrothers in Wisconsin at a charity event.

My dad has had a lifetime of wonderful golfing ex-periences, and the top ones, he would say, is playing golfwith his sons later in life.

CK: Do you have a favorite player on Tour?KH: I always admired Fred Couples. His swing is so

smooth and so easy. Jim Nantz, CBS’ lead play-by-playannouncer, was roommates with Fred at the Universityof Houston, and Jim always talked about Fred. But, Ithink Jack Nicklaus will go down as the greatest golferever. When basketball has ended for the season, andthere is no football on TV, I can’t think of a better wayto spend my Sunday afternoons than watching golf.This is so soothing, and it is usually when I catch up onsome sleep!

CK: Don’t you think your voice would be great forthe game of golf too? Don’t you think you could take yourfamous basketball quote “right between the eyes” to thegolf course? I think The Golf Channel could use a KevinHarlan as a guest announcer.

KH: The mood and feel is such a completely differ-ent type than the games I do, but I think I could switchgears and do a pretty good job. I don’t know what thelisteners would think since my commentating is a littlemore revved up, but it would be fun. The day of the probroadcaster is coming to a close. Verne Lundquist, whodoes a couple of tournaments, will be one of the lasttrue pro broadcasters.

CK: I know you haven’t played a lot of golf in KansasCity, but do you have a favorite course? Maybe one youwould like to play later in life.

KH: I like the three I am close to, which are IndianHills Country Club, Mission Hills Country Club andKansas City Country Club. Each of these courses hasbeautiful clubhouses, and the way they greet you whenyou walk in the front door is just a delight. The layoutof each course is absolutely beautiful. Right out of col-lege, when I had way more time to play, Alvamar GolfCourse, and Lawrence Country Club were my favorites.

CK: A few final questions. What do you like aboutKansas City?

KH: I have lived here since 1982, so it is home. I justthink it is such a comfortable city to be in, and you can’tput a price on that kind of feeling. In my business, thereis a lot of moving around, but we consider one of thereal lucky things is that we have been able to stay inKansas City. I like it that people go to K-State, KU andMU and come back here to live. That this is where a lotof people grow up and choose to live. It is just the per-fect place for so many reasons. This is home. People arelucky to have a place that they really think is home. I amproud to call it my home.

CK: Do you have a favorite place to eat in KC?KH: I love Kansas City barbecue! There are so many

great places that come to mind that I can’t mention justone. Listen, I have never had a complaint with food.

CK: By the time this is in print, there will already bean NCAA Champion. Let’s see how close you can get topicking the Final Four, and the winner. So, who do youthink will be in the Final Four, and who will be crownedthe NCAA Champion?

KH: Well, I think this is going to be an incrediblydifficult tournament with a wide range of parity and nogreat team. Ohio State, Florida, Duke, and KU are myFinal Four picks. These are veteran teams. Ohio Statehas a great center and seniors, and KU is playing with achip on their shoulder. I would be surprised if one ofthese four teams does not make it. You know what, ifJacob Pullen, for K-State gets hot, and they navigate acouple wins, you just never know what is going to hap-pen. Guard play, experience and how many NBA play-ers a scout would tell you are on that roster are three keythings to going deep in the tournament. Guard play isso huge in this tournament. You need that spectacular“oh-my-gosh-guard,” and experience is bullet proof.

I will go with Ohio State as the NCAA Champion.They have 3-point shooting, a great kid they bring offthe bench named Aaron Craft, and a special big man inJared Sullinger, and they have all played big-time games.I have to be a pro first, but my heart is with KU.

Contributing Writer Casey Kershner

12

Staley Farms Golf ClubA Lifestyle.

We’ve all heard the rumors. Staley Farms GolfClub has some of the most challenging greens in KC. I asked JonVodehnal, General Manager of the club, about this. He looked me inthe eye and smiled. “It’s a wonderful challenging golf course,” he said.“And yes, the greens really set it apart. ey are the highlight of thecourse.” With a good number of bunkers, native grasses, and a coupleof ponds, bring your A-Game when you come out to play a round.

Staley Farms does have large fairways, bent grass from tees to greens,and outstanding facilities. Actually, Staley Farms GC is one of onlyfive courses in the KC metro area with complete bent grass luxury.ey are in good company with courses like Loch Lloyd and ShadowGlen. “Any time someone comes out to play, they feel pretty goodabout themselves tee to green, because it’s easy to hit the large fair-ways,” Vodehnal said. “e golf ball travels a long way on the bentgrass, and you’re usually playing out of the short grass. But the chal-lenge is when you get up around the greens.”

e greens and golf course may be one of the best features over here,but Staley Farms has more going for it than golf. at may sound blas-phemous, true, but with a great outdoor pool, basketball court, fitnessfacility, sand volleyball, and top-notch clubhouse packed with casual-fine dining, banquet facilities, pro shop, and areas to relax, you andyour family can enjoy the luxury without even grabbing your putter.

“We call it the Staley culture,” he said. “It’s a melting pot of mem-bers, where it’s one big family.” What it is at Staley Farms is a little com-munity. “We aren’t just selling golf. It’s a lifestyle, a way of life. You haveyour schools here, you live here, you stay and play here,” Vodehnal said.“It’s all inclusive. And we have a lot of young families in our commu-nity. Our focus is moving toward the family atmosphere.” And withnumerous social events at the club, it’s easy to meet new friends, too.

When you walk into the clubhouse, the first thing you’ll notice isthe rustic elegance. With stone and heavy wooden beams, the club-house feels like a lodge, and the people are friendly. It’s a comfortable


place. A place where you can relax by the fire during a cold snap, enjoya master-chef inspired meal with friends, or grab a tee time. e staffwelcomes you, knows you, and keeps you coming back. Over here atStaley Farms, when you walk in the clubhouse, you’re not entering abuilding, but a lifestyle.

e golf course opened in 2002 in the northland. Back then it wasa bit isolated. Today it’s easy access to Liberty and to Barry Road andZona Rosa. ey built the fantastic clubhouse five years ago, and it’sbeen a mainstay of social fun ever since.

Since it’s a community up here, the entire family can enjoy mem-bership. ey offer golf and tennis instruction, summer swim pro-grams, workout activities, and everything you need to keep fit for yournext round of golf. is year they are implementing a new “Staley KidsClub,” starting in June. “It will be somewhere between 11am until4pm, with elementary education teachers administering the program,”Vodehnal said. is program will offer crafts, games, art, sports and

fun for children. “It’s going to be a life-building skills class for kids,”he said. Sounds like a great time for parents to play golf, eat lunch, orenjoy some free time by the pool.

Overall, the golf and lifestyle melting pot called Staley Farms is agreat place to stay active, meet with friends, and enjoy life. It’s not a“stuffy” club, and has new members with new attitudes. Just ask anyof the original members who joined when the club first opened. Manyof them are still members who never want to leave.

“It’s not just one thing about this facility that would make someonejoin,” Vodehnal said. “It’s a great golf course, a great clubhouse, but thepeople that make it up are the reason that members stay. It’s thatlifestyle. e togetherness. e staff and members make it the excep-tional place it is.”

For membership information, or to take a tour of the facilities,contact them at (816) 734-3839, or visit www.staleyfarms.com.

14

Finally…the first signs of spring.We can always count on a few things to get us feelinglike it is the beginning of the Winter Thaw . . . MarchMadness, the wearing of the green on St. Pat’s Day, see-ing the green grass starting to show on the local golfcourses, and of course the Masters commercials on TV.If you have not been working on your golf game thiswinter (and seriously what else was there to do?), youstill have time, but it’s running short.

Last month we started a discussion about some ofthe best Off- (and Pre-Season) Training Techniquesto employ, to get you ready for the upcoming season.If you missed the article, you can head over tokcgolfermagazine.com to catch up. We introduced anddescribed the first 3 Stages of a sound golf performance-training program:

Warm-UpSkill and Power TrainingMajor Movement Resistance Training

This month we focus on the next 3 Stages—MinorMovements, Core Training and Interval Training.

Stage 4 – Minor Movements (Supersets or Circuits)

An enormous amount of research has been recentlyunveiled on the effectiveness of metabolic resistancecircuits as related to performance training, strength gainsand fat loss. Made popular by programs such as P90Xand Cross Fit, using terms such as muscle confusion, andbody weight training, Metabolic Resistance Trainingconsists of any exercise, which is intense enough to elicita metabolic disturbance within your body that will leaveyour body burning fat for 24-36 post-workout. This isthe type of training that will have you looking and mov-ing like an athlete.

Here is a great Golf Specific Metabolic ResistanceSet that you can implement very easily into your dailytraining program. Do these 3 exercises for up to 10 setsfor a GOLF BODY BLAST:

Medicine Ball Power Smash –Take a medicine ballthat bounces and hold it above your head. Make sureyou engage your core to stabilize your lower body andquickly smash the ball down into the ground trying tomake it bounce as high as possible. Repeat.

Reverse Lunge with Extended Arm Turn – Fromstanding position as if on two railroad tracks, hold adumbbell or kettlebell in your right hand, step your leftfoot back into a lunge, making sure to maintain thealignment of your right hip, knee and ankle joints (theknee and foot should be in line with the hip and the kneejoint should be directly above the ankle joint). Reachyour left hand to the floor near your right foot (or if youcannot reach the floor—place your hand on a box/yogablock placed near your foot). Keeping the shoulderblades pulled back and the right arm straight, turn thetorso open and reach the arm up toward the ceiling in abig arcing motion. Lower arm, turning torso back overthe thighs, and push off the right leg to return to yourstaring position. Repeat 8 – 12 times per side.

Squat Pulls – Attach one end of the FMT to thelower part of a door. Grab the soft grip on other endwith your right hand and place your left hand on thefar end of the longer soft grip. Get into a good golf pos-ture. Starting with no slack in the tubing, extend yourleft arm out toward the door and move into a quartersquat position, as you stand up, pull/row back withyour left arm, rotating your chest to the left and reachyour right arm forward, as if drawing a bow. Return toyour starting position. Repeat for 8 – 12 times. Makesure to do both sides.

Stage 5 - CORE Training

The core muscles – not to be confused with Ab-dominals – consist of all the muscles attached to yourtorso. These include the muscles of the shoulder andhip girdles as well as the Obliques, Rectus Abdominus,and Transverse Abdominus. These muscles are essentialto maintaining good golf posture, efficient power trans-fer and creating separation of the upper and lower body.

Try these core exercises to help improve your golfgame:

Stability Ball Plank Crunch - Begin exercise byrolling out onto a stability ball into the plank position.With the ball centered on both legs just below kneelevel begin the drill by slowly pulling the knees towardsthe chest and then back to starting position. Make sureto maintain neutral spine posture in the lumbar spinethroughout the entire drill. Repeat 10 – 15 times.

BOSU Plank Knee Drive with Twist - Assume aproper starting position on the BOSU ball with shoul-ders located directly over-top of the hands and lowerback in a neutral position. Begin movement by driving

the left knee toward the chest and then slowly movingit across the mid-line of the body towards the oppositeshoulder. Slowly return the left knee to starting posi-tion in exactly the opposite fashion. Repeat exercisepattern in opposite manner. Always maintain neutralspine posture during the exercise. If you do not have aBOSU, you can always use a small step or a bench tosupport your hands. Repeat 8 – 15 times per side.

Stage 6 - Interval Training

Interval Training can be any type of athletic move-ment that involves brief bouts at near-maximum exer-tion interspersed with periods of lower-intensityactivity. Traditionally, interval training was limited tocycling, walking, running or other exercise done on apiece of “Cardiovascular Training” equipment, howevermany trainers are going “Old School” when it comes tointerval training and incorporating fun favorites likewind sprints, burpees, and heavy rope work into theirprogram design and getting the same results:

Burning more CaloriesImproving Cardiovascular/Aerobic CapacityAvoiding Boredom

The great news is that no matter if you have beenexercising for years, or are ready to just get started, in-terval training and taking some time to reorganize yourworkouts with our 6 Golf Training Program Stages willhelp boost your game and fitness to the next level.

And please do not forget these famous quotes:

“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over and expect-ing different results.” (Albert Einstein) and “Practice doesnot make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect.”

Our Team at Elite Golf and Fitness and the InsideSports Clinic continue to be among the leadingfitness, golf, and medical professionals in the world. Formore information on more Golf Training Exercisesplease visit our website at www.elitegolfnfitness.comand stop by the ONLY 3-D Diagnostic Studio andTraining Facility in the Midwest, powered by theTitleist Performance Institute. We are located “inside”Will Shields’ 68 Inside Sports Training Facilities at11301 W. 88th St. Overland Park, KS 66213. Call913-226-7092 for more information or to schedule avisit.

Janine

Youn

g SPRING TRAINING


Get Fit

If you are a member of theKansas City Golf

Association, you are eligiblefor our Corporate Discount

Membership Rates.

Medicine Ball Power Smash

Squat Pulls 1– Right Side

Squat Pulls 3 – Left Side

Squat Pulls 2 – Left Side

Reverse Lunge with Extended Arm Turn

We’ve all seen prints and postersof dogs playing poker, dogs enjoy-ing a game of billiards, and dogsplaying golf. I’ve been tempted topurchase one of these works of art,but haven’t found the vintage piece

I’m looking for yet. It’s probably truethat if I did hang a framed work of

some canine poker players, it wouldquickly be moved to the doghouse, and I’d be

moved along with it. So instead, money betterspent is actually supporting a program that rescues

dogs and cats and provides them with loving families whodon’t even notice or care that their pets have been sneaking out

to play a quick nine holes or a game of Texas Hold ’Em.All kidding aside, one of the local shelters that helps link aban-

doned pets with new owners, e Humane Society of GreaterKansas City (HSGKC), holds a golf tournament every year,and the participation has been great.

Christine Salyer, the Corporate Tournament and Food and BeverageDirector for Orion Management Solutions (www.orion-mgmt.com), a

company that specializes in golf and manages Adams Pointe, CardinalHill, Heart of America Golf Academy, Minor Park, Shawnee Golf Club

in Topeka, and Swope Memorial, introduced the idea of a golf tour-nament to raise money for the HSGKC. And even though she works

for a golf company, she organizes the tournament strictly as a vol-unteer, on her own time.

Why does she get so involved in the HSGKC? “I wanted todo something to help animals. ey are a passion of mine,”she said. “So in the year 2000 I volunteered for the Dog andJog event, and ever since then, I’ve been really involved withthem.” Don’t let her fool you, she’s not just an ordinary vol-unteer. Christine is a volunteer extraordinaire, raising thou-sands of dollars for the charity each year through thetournament she initiated in 2006.

Christine came up with the idea for the HSGKC golftournament, and it’s been another way to get a new group of

people – in this case golfers - exposed to what the HumaneSociety does. rough these tournaments they’ve gotten new

The Humane Societyof Greater KC Golf Tournament

Charity Aware

A Shelter-Adopted GermanShorthaired Pointer

volunteers and donors, and raised awareness aboutthe homeless animal situation in KC.

Every year with Christine’s help, they’ve sold outthe available golf spots to raise money to help dogsand cats find new homes. Christine, by the way, hasadopted three cats, all of them gray. “I don’t knowwhy I have an affection for gray cats, but I do.”

e Humane Society of Greater Kansas City(www.hsgkc.org) is located in Kansas City, Kansas,and has been working with the community forover 99 years. It’s a no kill shelter, so they keepanimals until they find them a home, no matterhow long it takes. “It’s not uncommon for theshelter to open in the morning and have someonefind a box of kittens out front, or a dog tied to atree,” Christine said. “You’d be surprised, but ithappens almost once a week.”

You may think that an animal shelter would bedark and dreary, but the HSGKC is quite the op-posite. It inspires people. “e Humane Society isnice, a clean facility,” Christine said. “It’s bright,airy, cheery . . . a good place for the animals. Agreat place to adopt.”

In 2009 the HSGKC introduced their “Ray ofHope” program working with the KCK AnimalControl. Since then, they have helped dramati-cally reduce the euthanasia rate at the KCK

Animal Control Facility from 70% in 2007 tounder 1% in 2010. “ey are trying to get thisprogram to be a role model for other cities andcommunities,” she said.

e HSGKC doesn’t receive any taxpayer orother animal welfare money. Since they get 100%of their funds through donations, the golf tour-nament really helps. Last year’s tournament aloneprovided enough money to save approximately100 of the 1938 homeless animals they rescued in2010. Considering they go through 90 pounds ofdog food, 60 pounds of cat food a week, and 175pounds of cat litter a week, that’s a significantamount of golf-inspired aid.

Christine loads the golf tournament itself witha ton of prizes and fun, and they bring animals outfrom the shelter to mingle with the golfers, withsix to ten dogs prior to the event, then a couple morestaged throughout the course. “We have a dog rid-ing around with our photographer, so every four-some gets their picture taken with the pup,” she said.

ey hold a silent auction, a live auction, havedrinks, lunch, dinner and awards, and enlightenpeople about the HSGKC. Adams Pointe does agreat job hosting tournaments, and the golf courseis also expecting a new fleet of golf cars comingthis season.

At the moment, the HSGKC is looking for anew corporate sponsor for the event. “If we canfind a presenting sponsor to pay for the rounds ofgolf, then all of the entry money will go to the Hu-mane Society. at would be incredible,” Chris-tine said.

Email [email protected] to sign up forthe tournament, or visit www.hsgkc.org for vol-unteer or donation information. And if you havea “dogs playing poker” print you want to throwout, look me up. I’d still like to have one, but I’drather donate to the Humane Society of GreaterKansas City instead of buying one of those mas-terpieces.

—Roger Hunt


For more information, to donate,or to adopt a pet, visit www.hsgkc.org

Tournament InformationWhere: Adams Pointe Golf ClubWhen: September 17, 2011

SHINE4 years, Lab/Shepherdmix, male, sweet, needsto be the only pet in

the home.

SYDNEY4 years, short hairbrown tabby mix,female, independentand likes other cats.

SHERBERT1 year, Shepherd

mix, female, sweet andloving, was found living

on the streets.

ROSEBUD2 years, medium hairdomestic mix, female,sweet and playful.

GUS5 years, Dachshund,male, happy-go-luckypersonality, loves

treats!

Golfers at the 2010 HSGKC Golf Tournament at Swope Memorial GC

Christine Salyer hasbeen with OrionManagementSolutions, a man-agement companyspecializing in thegolf industry, forover nine years. Shevolunteers for theHSGKC, andorganizes their golftournament in herspare time.

To sign up for the tournament, email Christine [email protected]

Adopt one of these pets today! For less than the price of a fancy, new putter, you’ll have a loving new friend.

Cart Girl SpotlightSWOPE MEMORIALGOLF COURSEYears as a Cart Girl? 2 years

Home Town: Shawnee, Kansas

Why do you like being a cart girl?I work with an awesome staff, I get tobe outside all day, and I am able to in-teract with people in a relaxed setting.

Interests: K-State sports, shopping,spending time with family and friends.

What you will be doing in 5 years:Elementary school teacher.

Biggest Tip: $100 bill.

Worst Pickup Line: “Can I take yourpicture? I want to show Santa what Iwant for Christmas.”

Favorite Food: Pizza.

Funniest thing that happened onthe golf course: During a tournament,the steering went out in my cart andI shot up into the rough. We had toassemble a makeshift beverage cartwith a regular golf cart and a bunchof coolers. I cruised around thecourse like that the rest of the day.

Favorite golfer: It’s hard to choosejust one, but I love when my dadcomes out to golf!

Lauren More photos and video of Lauren online at www.kcgolfermagazine.com

22

Improve Your Game

“No one ever swunga golf club too slowly,” wrote thegreat Bobby Jones.

Unfortunately he was wrong.e great golfers have always

swung more quickly and aggressivelythan middle and high handicappers. If you don’t believe me, take a stopwatchand time a typical tour player’s swing from takeaway to impact. e elapsed timewill be between 0.93 and 1.2 seconds. Jones, the greatest player of his time, tookonly 1.17 seconds to hit the ball. at’s just a hair slower than today’s greatestplayer, Tiger Woods, who generates clubhead speed of as much as 135 milesper hour in only 1.06 seconds.

Now take that same stopwatch and time the swings of your average week-end golfer – your 5 handicapper, your 15-handicapper, your can’t-get-it-airborne 30 handicapper. You'll find that these nonprofessionals take anywherefrom 1.3 seconds to a full 3 seconds to send the ball on its way.

Conclusion: Almost everybody swings a golf club too slowly.at’s the way that our international best selling golf book – Tour Tempo –

starts off.By the way, you might not know me. John Garrity, Senior Writer for Sports

Illustrated, and I wrote Tour Tempo - the first definitive work on tempo in thegolf swing. It explained exactly what tempo is and included a CD that en-abled you to immediately learn how to swing to the Tempo of the Tour Pros.When our readers did that, they made immediate improvements in thelength and accuracy of their golf shots, which resulted in better scores. It hasnow been translated into Japanese and Spanish language editions. A quickCliffsNotes on Tour Tempo. My research (and a subsequent study by Yale sci-entists) proved that virtually all tour golfers have the same tempo: a 3-to-1elapsed-time ratio of backswing to forward swing, measured to impact. isratio is expressed in frames of broadcast-standard video – e.g., 27 frames tothe top of the backswing and nine frames down to impact for a relatively slow,Bobby Jones-type swing (a “27/9’ in Tour Tempo parlance).

Ernie Els in his prime was a 24/8. Jack Nicklaus was a brisk 21/7. TigerWoods, at his best, a 24/8. It might interest you to know that the informa-tion in our book was verified by an independent joint study by the depart-ments of Applied Physics and Biomedical Engineering at Yale University. escientists from Yale took students (varying from tour professionals to the av-erage weekend golfer) of Bill Greenleaf, Mike Hebron, and David Leadbet-ter – and had them swinging clubs that had electronics embedded in the shaftof the golf club. is gave them sampling rates on the order of 250 Hz, yield-ing eight times more detail than that obtained from the conventional videothat I used. (See www.tourtempo.com/yale.pdf ).

We now have smartphone apps available in iPhone and Android versions.On them, we have updated the long game tones – by adding one more fastertempo – and now have included the Tour Tempo tones for all facets of the shortgame, putting, chipping, pitching and bunker shots. After the publication ofour book, in the course of developing our Micro Player, we discovered that theshort game had its own swing ratio – different from the long-game tempo.

My son, John Jr. and I conduct our unique Tour Tempo VIP Golf Schoolsin Lawrence, KS at the Alvamar Golf complex, one of the finest practicefacilities in the Midwest, the home of the KU golf team.

Ok, I guess I have to come clean – we’re speed freaks! Jr. (despite being 6'0"and 165 lbs, and 42 yrs old) has attained clubhead speeds over 140mph andball speeds of over 197mph. His best in ReMax competition is 402 yds.

Padraig Harrington, Phil Mickelson, Tom Watson, Garrett Willis, andBrian Gay are among the players that we’ve personally instructed/and/or haveused our products to improve their games. Others include ReMax Long Drivechampions such as Jason Eslinger, Ben Witter, and Pat Dempsey. Also, DanRooney, founder of the Folds of Honor foundation, peak performance strate-gist Tony Robbins, and players from every major tour including the European,and two women’s US Open champions including one of the best LPGAgolfers of all time, Jan Stephenson.

Until next time, a little tempo quiz:Who has the quicker tempo, Greg Norman or Ernie Els? If you’ve read ourbook, you already know the answer.

You’ll find out more about the once ‘mysterious’ subject of Tempo in thegolf swing and in coming articles we’ll explain more about how to instantlyimprove your golf game. You can find us online at www.TourTempo.com.

How’s Your Swing Tempo?

John

Nov

osel

24

Imbibe

On a very recent wine tripto California, I had the op-portunity to visit the Simi

Winery in Healdsburg, California. My visit there was my first to a majorwinery and also the first on my week long vacation. It was fabulous. Thewinery has an interesting and deep-rooted California history. Not only wasit historical and beautiful, but the hospitality was superb.

After arriving, we were taken on a tour of the facility. The building thewinery is housed in is an old, beautiful stone building built partly byChinese railroad laborers and partly by Italian stone masons. After seeingthe facility, including the tanks and barrels pictured here, we were treatedto a tasting of the different wines that Simi offers. Some of these I have hadbefore, and some were offerings that aren’t available in Kansas. One ofwhich was a fantastic Central Coast Pinot Noir which they had just madefor the first time this year. Hopefully, one day, this wine will appear in KC!Another wine we tasted that day was the Simi Landslide Cabernet Sauvignon. It wasn’t my first time to have it, but it is always one of my favorites.

Luckily, we don’t have to go to California to enjoy the great Simi wines. Landslide Cabernet is a delicious Simi wine available in Kansas, and currentlyin stock at Ranchmart Wine and Spirits. It is a single vineyard wine made up of interesting elevations and soils. This cabernet includes all five Bordeauxvarietals which include Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec. It is a big, bold red that would be great to drink alone orpair with your favorite meats. Come in to Ranchmart and pick up a bottle to try tonight!

—Monica Reynolds

WalterB

etha

y

Mon

icaRe

ynolds A California Road Trip

in Search of Great Wine

Ranchmart Wine and Spirits • 3748 West 95th Street, Leawood, Kansas • www.ranchmartwineandspirits.com • 913.381.9463

26

There’s no doubt about it. Golf requires a serious time commitment.Five-to-six-hour rounds seem to be the norm today, even with increased industryand course emphasis on speedy play. With business, family and other personal com-mitments, finding time for a round of golf is getting increasingly difficult for manyplayers.

For some golfers, the answer is to play some of their golf on par-3 or “executive”courses. The Kansas City area has at least thirteen such courses, both public and private.

Shorter courses have more advantages than just speedy play. They can be idealvenues to help beginners learn, not only the game, but also etiquette, without thepressure they might feel on longer courses. They’re great venues for youngsters, andmany seniors find shorter courses ideal to satisfy their need for a friendly game. Plus,shorter courses are economical too, with fees usually less than longer, championshipones.

The National Golf Foundation in Jupiter, Florida is the keeper of facts importantto the golf industry. In 2010 the NGF reports that of 15,890 public and privatecourses in the United States, 1,855 were classified as either a par-3 course or an ex-ecutive course. An executive course is defined as “a shorter version of a regulation golfcourse with a par rating typically between 60 and 66 for 18 holes, usually built ona more compact tract of land than a regulation course.” Par-3 courses are describedas “a course with either 9 or 18 holes with a par rating of 54.”

Kansas City Area CoursesPar-3 courses – Most of today’s par-3’s aren’t necessarily the “pitch and putt”

courses of old, although these type of courses still exist. Many of this era’s par-3 coursescombine short to moderate length with a few hazards, to keep the game interesting.They are often maintained to the same standards as adjoining championship courses.There are at least six par-3 courses in the area, each with its own level of difficulty.Public Fee courses – Drumm Farm, Overland Park, Fred Arbanas Golf Course, TheOrchards and Maple Creek. Sadly, a popular long-time par-3 fee course, Southview,closed after the 2007 golf season. Private courses – John Knox Village.

executive courses - Artfully designed and carefully groomed, many of thearea’s executive courses feature outstanding vistas and challenging holes requiring con-siderable skill. The Kansas City area has at least five courses that fall into this category.Public Fee courses – Smiley’s Sportland, Heart of America Golf Course, Teetering Rocks,and Oak Country. Private courses – BrookridgeWest Golf Course.

There are at least two other area courses that don’t quite fit neatly into the above cat-egories. The venerable UnityVillage Golf Course in Lee’s Summit, dating back to 1924,is an 18-hole semi-private facility. Memberships are available and limited public playis permitted. The Falcon Valley Golf Course in Lenexa is a 9-hole, par 36 facility that isof championship length and caliber. Background on both courses is included here togive the reader a complete overview of all “short” courses, either in length or numberof holes, in the area.

Let’s take a closer look at the area’s par-3 and executive courses.

In aHurry?Check Out a Par 3 or Executive Course.

Executive Fee CoursesDrumm Farm Golf ClubAddress: 15400 E. 34th St., Independence, MO 64055Phone: (816) 350-9900Contact: Dustin Newman, General ManagerEmail: [email protected]: drummfarmgolfclub.comTotal Length: 1,674 yds.Hole length range: 102-302 yds.Layout: 9 holes. (6) 3-par holes, (3) 4-par holes. Par 30.Course features: Numerous bunkers.Club rental: Yes, Motorized carts: YesRates: 9 holes – Adult, $14, Jr., $12. Additional (9) holes,$8.

Features: Championship 18 hole course available. Private andgroup lessons. Practice area including putting and chippinggreens. Pro shop, meeting and banquet rooms, grill.

* Drumm Farm Golf Club also has an 18-hole course.

Heart of America Golf Course & AcademyAddress: 7501 Blue River Rd., Kansas City, MO 64132Phone: (816) 513-8940Contact: Craig Martin, General Manager, PGA ProfessionalEmail: [email protected]: hoagolfacademy.comLayout: (9) hole (The Rock Course) par-3 course, par 27.(9) hole executive course (The River Course), (2) par-3holes, (6) par-4 holes, (1) par-5 hole, par 35

Total Length: 2,649 yds (executive course)

Course features: river crossings, bunkers, mounds (executivecourse).

Club rental: Yes, Motorized carts: YesRates: (Par-3 course) adult - $12, Senior - $10, Junior -. $8.Motorized cart - $5 (9 holes). (Executive Course) adult- $15; Senior - $14, Junior - $11. Weekend rates slightlyhigher. Motorized cart - $7 (9 holes)

Features: The area’s only par-3/executive course layout.Lessons, leagues, team building events, pro shop, snack bar,meeting rooms, 36-stall driving range, putting, chipping,practice bunker areas. “The Hill,” a three-hole learning cen-ter, is designed especially to teach young golfers. Heart ofAmerica is the home of The First Tee of Kansas City.

The Island, 18th Green atOak Country Golf Course

In aHurry?Check Out a Par 3 or Executive Course.


Smiley’s Golf ComplexAddress: 10195 Monticello Terrace, Lenexa, KS 66227Phone: 913 782 1323Contact: Jeff Tull, ManagerEmail: [email protected]: smileysgolf.comTotal length: 3,402 yds,Hole length range: 76-325 yds.Layout: 18 holes. (12) par-3 holes, (6) par-4 holes, par 60Course features: Bunkers & water.Club rentals: Available, Motorized carts: Not available.Pull carts: Available.Rates: (18 holes) M-F: Sr./Jr. - $13; Adult - $15. Week-end/holiday: Sr./Jr. - $15; Adult - $20. $49.95/monthlyannual contract available includes unlimited golf, practicefacilities & unlimited mini-golf.

Features: Lighted 180-station driving range including 12heated and enclosed stalls for year ‘round practice. 9 tar-get greens. 3 putting greens, 2 practice bunkers, chippinggreen. (2) lighted 18-hole mini golf courses. Arcade &pro shop. Group & individual lessons.

Teetering Rocks Golf CourseAddress: 12040 E. 86th St., Kansas City, MO 64138Phone: (816) 356-1111Contact: Tom Poppa, General ManagerEmail: [email protected]: teeteringrocks.comTotal Length: 4,300 yds.Hole length range: 108-360 yds.Layout: 18 holes. (9) par-3 holes, (8) par-4 holes, (1) par-5hole. Par 64.

Course features: Water on 5 holes, signature heart-shapedgreen.

Club rental: Yes, Motorized cart rental: Yes.Rates: 18 holes: Adult, $29 with cart, Jr./Sr., $25 with cartFeatures: Pro shop, putting & chipping green, banquetfacilities.

Oak Country Golf ClubAddress: 8800 Scott Drive DeSoto KS 66018Phone: (913) 583-3503Contact: Tom Anderson, Co-OwnerEmail: [email protected]: oakcountrygolfcourse.comTotal Length: 4,000 yds.Hole length range: 85-488 yds.Layout: 18 holes. (8) par-3 holes, (8) par-4 holes, (2) par-5holes. Par 66.

Course features: Water and mature trees. Area’s only islandgreen.

Club rental: Yes, Motorized cart rental: Yes.Rates: Weekday: Adult - $23. Sr./Jr. - $20 includes motor-ized cart. Weekend: Adult - $27. Sr./Jr. - $24. All rates in-clude motorized cart. Walking & 9-hole rates also available.

Features: Pro shop, snack bar, putting & chipping green.

Orchards Golf CourseAddress: 3000 Bob Billings Parkway, Lawrence, KS 66049Phone: (785) 843-7456Contact: Ed White, OwnerEmail: [email protected] Length: 1,775 yds.Hole length range: 97-318 yds.Layout: 9 holes. (5) 3-par holes, (4) 4-par holes, par 31Course features: zoysia fairways, meandering creek.Club rentals: $5 per person for 9 holes.Motorized cart rental: $5 per person for 9 holes.Pull cart rental: $2.Rates: 9-holes. $10. Additional 9 holes, $6.Features: Putting green, snack bar.

Athletic & Golf Club at Maple CreekAddress: 5330 NE Oak Ridge Drive, Kansas City, MO 64119Phone: (816) 459-8400Contact: Bradley ScottEmail: [email protected]: greatlifegolf.comTotal length: 1,310 yds.Hole length range: 90-230 yds.Layout: 9-holes. (7) 3-par holes, (2) 4-par holes, par 29Course features: Creek on two holes.Club rental: Yes, Motorized carts: Cart rental, $7/9 holes.

Rates: $15/9 holes. $29/monthly family rate provides un-limited golf and fitness at this facility and other corporatefacilities.

Features: (2) miniature golf courses, leagues.

Executive Private CoursesBrookridge Golf & Fitness West Golf CourseAddress: 10500 Antioch, Overland Park, KS 66212Phone: (913) 648 5326Contact: Tommy Gross, Head Golf ProfessionalEmail: [email protected]: brookridgegf.comTotal Length: 2514 yds.Hole length range: 152-463 yds.Layout: 9 holes. (4) par-3 holes, (3) par-4 holes, (2) par-5holes, par 34

Course features: zoysia fairways, bent grass greens, sandbunkers, large trees, native grass.

Motorized carts: Yes.Rates: $99/mo. annual family membership includes 9-holegolf, swimming and health club facilities.

Features: Group and individual lessons available. Additional18 championship holes available for $385/mo. annualfamily membership. Includes 27 holes of golf, swimming,health club. Practice range, putting green, chipping areaavailable. Clubhouse, full-service snack bar.

* Brookridge Golf & Fitness also has an 18-hole course.

Par-3 Fee CoursesFred Arbanas Golf Course at Longview LakeAddress: 11100 High View Drive, Kansas City, MO 64134Phone: (816) 761-9445Contact: Jeff Sedorcek, Head Golf ProfessionalEmail: [email protected]: jacksongov.org/golfTotal Length: 1,497 yds.Hole length range: 131-225 yds.Layout: 9 holes. (9) par-3 holes, par 27.Course features: sand bunkers, water, native grass.Club rentals: Yes, Motorized carts: Not available on par-3course

Rates: 9 holes: Adults -$12, Jr./Sr. - $10. Additional 9 holes,$5.

Features: Group and individual lessons available. 18 addi-tional championship holes available. Practice range, put-ting green, chipping area. Clubhouse, meeting rooms,full-service snack bar. Owned and operated by JacksonCounty, MO.

* Fred Arbanas Golf Course also has an 18-hole course.

Sykes/Lady Overland Park Golf CourseAddress: 12501 Quivira Rd., Overland Park, KS 66213Phone: (913) 897-3809Website: www.opkansas.orgContact: Tim Eleeson, Director of GolfEmail: [email protected] length: 1,093 yds.Hole length range: 74-162 yds.Layout: 9 holes. (9) par-three holes, par 27Hazards: Some bunkers.Rates: 9 holes: Adults - $15, Jr. $10, Adult (with patroncard) $13, additional 9 holes, $3.

Club rentals: Yes, Motorized cart rentals: Yes.Features: Group and individual lessons available. 27 addi-tional championship holes available. Practice range, put-ting green, chipping area. Clubhouse, meeting rooms, full

service snack bar. Owned by City of Overland Park, KS.* From www.opkansas.org: “The Sykes/Lady Overland ParkGolf Course has three configurations on the regulationcourse that you can play: South/North, North/West andWest/South. Each configuration has five tee complexeswhich accommodates any players’ skill level.” This is in ad-dition to the par-3 course.

Par-3 Private CoursesJohn Knox Village Golf CourseAddress: 600 Northwest Shamrock Ave., Lee’s Summit, MO64081

Phone: (816) 524-8400Contact: Steve Nelson, Golf Course CoordinatorEmail: [email protected]: jkv.orgHole length range: 66-97 yds.Course layout: 9 holes. (9) par-3 holes, 27 par.Course features: (1) lake.Motorized cart rental: Yes.Rates: John Knox Village Golf Course is a private course forthe use of residents only. A limited number of tee times areavailable for prospective residents and guests of residents.

Features: Snack bar.

Semi-Private Executive CoursesUnity Village Golf CourseAddress: 1901 NW Blue Parkway, Lee’s Summit, MO 64065Phone: (816) 251-3582Contact: Max Yost, Golf Course ManagerEmail: [email protected]: unity.orgTotal Length: 2452 (red tees), 2937 (blue tees)Hole length range: 205-496 yds.Layout: 9 holes. (1) par-3 hole, (7) par-4 holes, (1) par-5hole.

Course features: bunkers, native grasses, mature trees.Club rentals: Yes, Motorized cart rental: $9 for 18 holes.Rates: Semi-private course. $125 annual membership feeentitles holder to $12 18-hole green fee. Prospect/guesttee times are available. Fees are $15 for $18 holes.

Features: Paved cart path on all holes. Annual membershipincludes swimming pool pass. Discounted spouse anddependent children annual memberships available. Excel-lent course for beginners and seniors.

Regulation 9-hole CoursesFalcon Valley Golf CourseAddress: 9801 Falcon Valley Drive, Lenexa KS 66220Phone: (913) 780-5976Contact: Paul McKeown, Co-OwnerEmail: [email protected]: falconvalleygolf.comTotal Length: 3366 yds.Hole length range: 150-543 yds,Layout: 9 holes. (2) 3- par holes, (4) 4-par holes, (2) 5-par holes, 36 par.

Course features: Craig Schreiner design. Zoysia grass fair-ways, bunkers, water, trees. Course rating – 126.

Club rentals: Yes, Motorized carts: Yes.Rates: 9 holes – M-F, Adults, $26 (includes power cart);Jr./Sr. - $22 (includes power cart) Weekend rates higher.Additional fee for second 9 holes.

Features: Area’s only 9-hole championship style course.Pro shop, meeting room, grill, putting green.

—Mike Brown

About the Author – Mike Brown is a retiredadvertising executive and native Kansas Citian.

He claims to be “about a 14” when thefairways are hard, the greens are soft

and the wind is at his back.

Please call the golf courses directly to verifypricing, availability, and other information beforeplaying. We do our best to check all informationbefore going to print, but KC Golfer Magazine isnot responsible for inaccurate pricing or information.

Fred Arbanas Golf Course at Longview Lake

28

Body HealingDan

ielLau

ghlin Shoulder-ing

Through Your SwingI was golfing with a friend of mine lastyear and off the third tee of a long par four, I heard thistremendously-loud pop as he went into his backswing.As he finished his follow through, he grabbed his leftshoulder and began rubbing it as he watched his ballsail off into the left rough. I asked him, “Did that hurt?”and his response was “Yeah, but usually when my shoul-der pops, it means I’m in a good position for my back-swing.” I sat there for a moment trying to piecetogether what he just said, thinking about how muchshoulder stability can truly affect your swing.

e shoulder is a complicated joint with several dif-ferent entities controlling its motion, especially when itcomes to the golf swing. Unless there is a traumaticevent, most shoulder injuries are usually caused by poormechanical motion of the shoulder. When there is poormechanical motion, different areas of the shoulder be-come overstressed and overused resulting in injury.

Let’s discuss the shoulder in three different parts: eshoulder joint itself, rotator cuff, and the shoulderblade. In the golf swing, all three of these parts need tobe working together.

e shoulder joint, or glenohumeral joint, is a balland socket joint which means it has the ability to rolland spin in the joint. is rolling and spinning is con-trolled by several factors and for the sake of this article,

we are going to focus on three: e labrum, the rotatorcuff, and the shoulder blade.

• e labrum is a piece of cartilage that sits in the socketportion of the joint and acts like a little suction cupto increased the surface area contact between the balland socket (humeral head and glenoid fossa).

• e rotator cuff is comprised of four muscles whosemain job is to hold the humeral head in place (i.e.keep the ball in the socket) during shoulder move-ments. What many people don’t realize is that all fourof these muscles actually attach to the shoulder blade,which brings me to our main focus.

• e shoulder blade is an area of the shoulder oftenneglected. Almost all shoulder injuries (rotator cufftear, labral tear, tendinitis, bursitis) can be attributed tosome form of scapular (shoulder blade) instability.Clinically, we have found scapular instability andweakness typically accompanies these types of injuries.

Now, what do you do with all of this information?e key is that the shoulder blade controls the shoulder.If you keep the shoulder blade strong and stable, it al-lows your shoulder joint to move properly andsmoothly. Try the following two warm-up exercises tohelp loosen your shoulders as well as improve yourscapular strength and stability before teeing off.

As always, if you are having any pain or discomfort,hold off on these exercises until you visit your physicaltherapist or golf fitness professional. One other tip forthe year, in order for all this shoulder stuff to work, youhave to start in a good postural position. Make sure yourefresh on your posture by revisiting Janine Young’s KCGolfer Magazine article from October 2008, or check-out www.mytpi.com and visit swing faults.

Exercises: ese are easy to do as part of yourexercise routine and especially as a quick warm-upon the tee.

A. Start in your golf posture with your 7-iron, rotateinto your backswing and freeze. Check to see if yourleft arm is straight, then drop your right hand awayfrom your club and hold the pose with just your leftshoulder. Focus on keeping your left elbow straight andmaintaining your golf backswing posture.

B. Shoulder rotation with stretch: Start by holdingyour golf club in front of you with your elbows bent to90 degrees. Rotate your arms so your hands end up byyour ears without arching through your low back.Focus on squeezing your shoulder blades to help main-tain your posture.

Daniel Laughlin has a Doctorate inPhysical erapy and is TPI certified.

Sport + Spine • 7279 W 105th Street, Overland Park KS 66212 • 913.642.7746 • www.sportspinekc.comBe sure to visit a physical therapist or golf fitness professional for your personalized plan to avoid injury and make this your year in golf.

A B

30

Meet Your GMBryan Minnis: Alvamar Country Club

When did you start playing golf? Age four.

Who taught you the sport? My father andgrandfather.

What clubs do you play? Ben Hogan Apex AnniversaryEdition Irons, Srixon Driver, Titleist 3-wood, Srixonwedges, Diawa Pro-Balance Putter.

How did you get involved in the golf industry?After playing briefly in Ben Hogan & Western Statestour events I moved to Phoenix Arizona to teach atStonecreek Golf Club.

Your favorite part of managing a golf course:e people we serve!

Your favorite personal golf moment: Seeing mygrandfather make an albatross in Alice, Texas at theage of 70.

Favorite golfer: Bobby Jones.

Best round, and where: 62 at Falcon Golf Club inGoodyear, AZ.

Favorite hole on your course and why: #9 (Alvamar’sPrivate Side). Great risk reward with all the elementsthat make a hole special like hitting from a chute andchoosing to try and carry a hidden pond or laying upin the fairway short of a treacherous creek then facinga difficult uphill second shot to a well-protected greenwith a slippery false front.

Funniest thing that happened on the golf course:ought I made my first hole in one at the PhoenicianGolf Resort on a 121 yard downhill par three thatrattled the pin and appeared to go in, only to findthat it hit the bolt cap on the top of the pin and wentover the green into the flower bed. Very embarrassingconsidering the monstrous celebration that had takenplace on the tee box with my buddies prior to findingout that my ball was not in the hole. Oh yeah, didI mention there was a gallery that was laughinghysterically as well?

What is your strength when playing golf? Iron playand putting.

Did you play professionally, and where? Yes. I playedsome events on the Ben Hogan Tour, Western Statesmini-tour, and in the Southwest Section PGA.

What are some things golfers should expect whenplaying your course? Hit it straight off the tee evenif you have to put the driver away sometimes. Beprepared to hit the ball away from some flagsticks asour greens can be cruel from some locations.

32

LynBe

yer

Golfers: It’s time. Winter is over! I’ve seen a lot ofgolfers on the driving range, but don’t forget the chippingand putting. It’s the finish that counts.

This month’s cigar is the CAO Lx2. I realize that it soundsmore like a new golf ball or club, but it’s really a great smoke. The name stands for “ligero x 2” because it contains ligero leavesfrom the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua. The strength is on the full side of medium, embellished by a very tasty, oily wrapper.

To begin the season, Cigar & Tabac, Ltd. is offering a buy 3 get 1 free on all CAO cigars. Also, buy a box and take an extra 10%off, plus your choice of an Lx2 ashtray, cigar case or CAO hat. It’s just time to celebrate the start of a new season with a new cigar.

Best Ashes,Lyn BeyerCigar & Tabac, Ltd

Cigar for the Course

Cigar & Tabac, Ltd. • 6898 West 105th Street, Overland Park, Kansas • 913.381.5597

Destination Golf Courses

DEALS & GIVEAWAYS

More KC Cart GirlPictures and Videos OnlineKCGOLFERMAGAZINE.COM

36

Real Estate Round UpMike

Holmes

The Advance Tee Time“I want the best rate possible.”As a mortgage lender that’s a phrase Ihear almost every day. What consti-tutes the “best rate possible?” Like yournext golf shot there are a lot of factorsto consider. Just like yardage, wind di-rection, and pin placement affect your

golf shot, there are several factors that will determine what “the best rate possible” isfor an individual borrower.

Most fixed-rate mortgage loans are packaged into pools of mortgage-backedsecurities which are then offered to the investment community using Fannie Mae orFreddie Mac as the conduit. Both “Fannie” and “Freddie” are government-sponsoredenterprises chartered by Congress with the mission to provide liquidity and afford-ability for our housing and mortgage markets. As a result, “Fannie” and “Freddie”must determine the quality of the investment by setting underwriting standards thatwill help insure the debt security will not default.

Prior to the “housing/mortgage meltdown,” the mortgage rate available was deter-mined almost completely by what the investment community decided, on an hour-to-hour basis, and would provide an acceptable return on investment when compared toother vehicles available (i.e. invest in the stock market versus the bond market).

Essentially, anyone who qualified based on general underwriting guidelines wouldbe able to secure the rate available at that time. As the housing industry turned down,

the mortgage defaults increased, and “Fannie” and “Freddie” rolled out new risk-based pricing guidelines. Now, instead of just the investment community deter-mining rate availability, the individual borrower’s credit profile is used as adeterminant. Among the factors that now go into assessing what rate will be avail-able, the borrower’s credit score is the most important. On conventional fixed-rateloans, a borrower with a credit score of 740 or greater will be able to obtain morefavorable terms than someone with a lower score. As an example, a borrower with acredit score of 740 might qualify for a note rate of 4.75% while another borrowerwith a credit score of 680 would be looking at 5.00%. While there are other factorssuch as loan-to-value, length-of-rate lock, etc., that go into the final rate quote, theborrower’s credit score is by far the most critical.

As a result of risk-based pricing, it is more important than ever that anyone con-sidering purchasing a home or refinancing their current loan contact a reputablemortgage lender so that all aspects of their credit profile can be reviewed and an ac-curate rate quote provided. e experienced and licensed Loan Officers at AdvanceMortgage Corporation will always be glad to provide this service on a no cost or ob-ligation basis.

Mike Holmes – Senior Loan Officer – Advance Mortgage Corporation7500 College Boulevard, Suite 1150 – Overland Park, Kansas 66210

[email protected] – 816-810-5585NMLS: 262072 | Kansas: LO.0017166 | Missouri: 470-MLO

kc golfer magazine april 2011

Documents