So That's What We Should Be Playing? - I don't know.  "Play It Forward" came to  Saxon Woods and the tees were pushed up about 300 yards.  It was great fun and I shot my best score of the summer, but it took a while to get used to it.  Especially on the front where I just pulled driver and tried to hit closer - didn't really work out so well.  But on the back I started hitting different clubs off the tees, finding fairways and stalking putts.  Maybe that was the biggest difference: normally the misses that make the round are off the tee - but when I look back on Saturday, it was the lipouts that I want a mulligan on.  Is that how the Pros think?  By the end I really enjoyed the short course - can't tell yet if it would be a satisfying full-time diet though. (Scores should be posted from the White Tees.)  

Course conditions were back to our 2011 season-defining combination of Wet & Wonderful.  I can't imagine how miserable we would be if they hadn't improved the drainage last year.  And we can only dream how great it will be in a firm, dry fall.

The President's Cup is down to the Final Four - results on the tournament page - but our quarterfinalists are a diverse group - Fred Appel, Tom Gramolini, Dan Hamerslough and Ron Sanossian - representing all the Club's Handicap levels.  This really is a tournament for the whole club.

Lastly -  Did anyone else see the half dozen Wild Turkeys (area of 8th green) or the young hawk(s), probably Red Tails, hunting aggressively for ?prey, nesting material, any ideas?

Note that next week the tee times move up 20 minutes.  First group goes off at 6:00 a.m.

This Week At A Glance

From the First Tee	Saturday, July 16th	Matches This Week
	First Tee Time: 6:00 Forecast: Sunny, Hot	President's Cup Final Four     Gramolini v Hamerslough 6:27     Appel v Sanossian 6:36

Reminders - everyone's handicap is on the Tee Times/Handicaps page; Comment Box is on the "About Us" page; All members' contact info is in the Members Only section (ask webmaster for password if you can't find it.)

Living in New York can seem like an unending series of compromises and costs. But there is an upside.  

We make unlimited concessions to the volume (& quality) of people surrounding us and pay a premium price for just about everything (including the right to be with/without all those other people.) However we also get the New York Times as our hometown paper.

Politics aside (easy for me to say) the NYT is likely the greatest daily paper on the planet. Amazingly, it is also among the best weekly golf publications. I get them all: Golf World, Golf Weekly, Global Golf Post, Golfing Weekly – some of which I’ve recommended previously. And the NYT Monday golf pages are a match for them most of the time. NYers don’t know how good they have it – and this week, it’s even better.

Today’s (7/17) issue of the NYT is a golf lover’s delight:  four full pages of golf stories (out of an eight page sport section!) – news coverage, personal interest, background research, world perspective and really good writing.

So I encourage you to visit regularly (see On Par link to right), subscribe if you can, but spend some time with today’s pages.  They are a full half hour of fascinating reading on our favorite subject.  Enjoy.

Northern Ireland’s McIlroy Transcends Boundaries

By NIALL STANAGE

The stories of the United States Open golf champion Rory McIlroy and the former boxing champion Barry McGuigan reflect the changes in their country.  Read More

• ·          Slide Show: Rory McIlroy’s Changing Homeland

Tailoring the Tees to the Players-Bring the Fun Back to Golf
By LARRY DORMAN
In order to reverse a decline in amateur golfers, Adams golf founder Barney Adams is trying to convince players to choose tees that correspond to their ability, and not their ego.  Read More

Open Course Softens Since the Last Visit, but It Can Still Bite
By LARRY DORMAN

Royal St. George’s will test players at this week’s British Open, especially if the wind starts to blow.  Read More

In a Rush to Finish the U.S. Women’s Open, and Poised to Win
By KAREN CROUSE

Hee Kyung Seo will become the eighth South Korean woman to win a major if her score holds up at the 66th United States Women’s Open.  Read More

O’Toole Prepared for Reality of L.P.G.A. Tour on a TV Show
By KAREN CROUSE

The fits and starts of the United States Women’s Open have not bothered Ryann O’Toole, who was able to draw on her experience last year as a contestant on the Golf Channel’s “The Big Break.”  Read More