Sports

Over the last eight months, something quite remarkable has been happening at Valley Gardens Golf Course. In a stunning display of skill, grace and dumb luck, one of our long-time regulars, Bruce Barlow, has recorded four hole-in-ones since October 27, 2014. The last two occurring within a month of each other, making aces on May 3 and June 7 this year.According to his playing partner Wayne Negro, the last one was a beautiful shot with a slight draw that looked like it was going in as soon as it left the club. He also said that Bruce didn’t think it was such a great shot, yelling for the ball to “Get up!” because he thought it was too short.Adding these four aces to his previous hole-in-one from three years ago, Bruce is garnering quite a reputation around the course. When asked about the secret to his success, Bruce listed two factors.“One, it’s important to be able to kind of hit the ball,” Barlow said, “and two, you have to hit it kind of at the green. Do those two things and you have a chance.”Sounds simple when he puts it like that, but take it from me and the rest of the ace-less, making a hole-in-one is far from easy. To give some perspective to the rarity of this feat, according to a study commissioned by Golf Digest, the odds of an average player making a hole-in-one are around 12,000:1. The same report estimates that an average player needs to play about 3,000 rounds to make a hole-in-one. For Bruce to make four over such a short time period is downright miraculous.Even on a shorter course like Valley Gardens, a hole-in-one is a rare treat. Besides Bruce’s two (on holes #3 and #8), we’ve seen six others this year. In order of appearance: Susi Downing (#3), Linda Jensen (#3), Rock Velasquez (#3), Steve Hall (#9), Jeff Conrad (#7), and Brian Reynolds (#9). For an instant, these golfers achieved perfection. They made perfect swings. At that moment, not Tiger or Phil or Jack or Arnie could have done any better.One of golf’s greatest traditions is the obligatory round of drinks that come with a hole-in-one. So if you’re thirsty, come hang out when Bruce is playing, and, if his luck continues, he might just buy you a drink.

On the golf course, it doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from. Once you pay your green fee and step inside the ropes, you’ve entered a shared space, and whether you realize it or not, opted into a collective action agreement — a sacred pact dating back centuries. Everybody must do their part to avoid the “Tragedy of the Commons” and preserve the beauty and sanctity of the golf course.Some of these obligations are maintenance responsibilities, which include replacing divots, fixing ball marks, and raking bunkers. Imagine how poor the conditions would be if no one did their part. Greens would be bumpy and covered in ugly dead spots, the fairways littered with divots, and the bunkers unplayable wastelands of ruts and footprints. Like a camping trip or a beach day, good stewards leave no trace of their visit.In addition to course maintenance, the collective action agreement also obligates golfers to follow certain rules of etiquette. While golf is an individual sport, it is played in the company of others. On the first tee, golfers shake hands with one another and wish each other a good round. They stand very still and quiet while others are playing their shots. On the green, they are careful not to walk across other players’ lines. Golfers never root for another player to mess up. This is a lesson that I teach my juniors right away — beat the course, not other players.If you are an inherently competitive person, it is easy to become caught up in your own game and let your behavior and actions interfere with those around you. From the PGA guide on course etiquette, “Displays of frustration are one thing, but outbursts of temper are quite another. Yelling, screaming, throwing clubs or otherwise making a fool of yourself are unacceptable and, in some cases, dangerous to yourself and others.” It’s also worth noting that such displays do nothing to improve your game.Pace of play is an important component of etiquette and often an area of contention on the golf course. Much like driving on Highway 9, in golf, you can only go as fast as the person in front of you. Because of this, the collective action agreement requires golfers to either keep pace with the group ahead, or let faster groups play through. There are many actions golfers can take to avoid slow play.Arrive at the course at least ten minutes prior to your tee time, so you can begin on time. Move at a reasonable pace between shots. Walk directly to your ball and be ready to play when it is your turn. One of the biggest time wasters I see is golfers taking excessive practice swings. Limit yourself to one or two. It should only take 30 to 45 seconds from the time you select your club until you hit the ball. As you approach the green, leave your equipment in a place that is in route to the next hole and grab only the clubs you need to finish the hole. Once everyone is on the putting surface, the player whose ball is closest to the hole removes or tends the flagstick. The first person who makes their putt should pick up the flagstick and be ready to place it in the cup after everyone has finished.Mark Twain called golf “a good walk spoiled” and it can certainly seem that way if you are uncomfortable with how to behave on the course, or feel like you’re being rushed. But if you take a step back from your own game to gain perspective on how your actions are part of the collective whole, it becomes much easier to find your place and your pace on the course. 

Falcons and Cougars head to CCS Track and Field Championship 

Human beings have free will. We get to choose between Sugar Pops or oatmeal for breakfast. We determine the route we take to work and the type of car we drive. From sun up to sundown, we are faced with choices.Because of scarcity of time and money — and space in our stomachs — we simply cannot do, buy, or eat everything we want to. We are forced to make trade-offs.The same holds true during a round of golf. Starting on the very first tee, golfers must weigh the trade-offs and decide a course of action. Often these choices are characterized as “risk and reward.”As in real life, the decisions we make on the golf course are heavily shaped by our past experiences. In the words of the great orator, President G.W. Bush, “Fool me once, shame on, shame on you. Fool me, you can't get fooled again!”To put this into golf context, let’s look how I decide what club to use on the first hole at Valley Gardens. It is a 246-yard par 4 with a well-guarded green.When I first played the hole, like most golfers, the possibility of hitting it onto the putting surface — and maybe in the hole — was too much to resist, and I attempted to drive the green. My ball ended up in the right rough, leaving me a very difficult second shot over the greenside bunker. The hole fooled me.I’d like to say I learned my lesson after the first try, but my ego prevailed, and in subsequent rounds, I continued to go for the green. Occasionally, I’d hit a good one and make a birdie or an easy par, but more often tee shots were finding greenside bunkers and the rough.Finally, I realized that choosing to go for the green was like buying a lottery scratcher — it’s fun, sometimes you win, but it’s no way to make a living.There is an old saying in golf that goes, “The middle of the fairway is a lonely place.” It holds true because golfers almost always make the decision to go for distance over accuracy, and, despite President Bush’s advice to the contrary, get fooled again and again.Even though I am fully capable of hitting the green, I now choose to use a 7 iron off the first tee. Yes, the possibility of making a hole-in-one no longer exists, but neither does the possibility of a short-sided second shot, and that’s a tradeoff I’m willing to make. Steve, Fernando and Luis spend all that time mowing and maintaining the fairway, the least I can do is use it — and replace my divots.Golf has a way of making everyone — even the world’s best players — look foolish sometimes. That is the nature of the game. But don’t let your decisions make the game any harder than it needs to be. Whether on the tee or from behind a tree, you have the free will to decide your course of action. You can decide to play the lotto, attempting the improbable, or you can play it safe, find the short grass, and shoot lower scores.-Bob Chase is a Professional Golf Instructor and the Director of Golf at Valley Gardens Golf Course in Scotts Valley. He previously worked as an Assistant Golf Professional at Pasatiempo Golf Club in Santa Cruz. He has a BA in Political Science from UC San Diego and is pursuing an MBA from Santa Clara University. He lives with his wife, Mary, in Ben Lomond.

There is a new game in town that gives tennis a run for its money.

It is simply amazing how something as pointless as hitting a little white ball can provide valuable insights into life situations that really matter. Nowhere is this clearer, than in the power of your setup.

I have the pleasure of watching our community play golf. I see the swings, and hear the tales of agony and success.

Scotts Valley local Andrew Tsaranou, 12, triumphantly won the USA Taekwondo California State Championship in Fresno on April 11 and 12.