Liberty Country Club News and Views   Vol. 1-3

We have it on good authority that Spring will follow Winter this year!

As we woke up to what will hopefully be the last snowfall of the season, winter weather certainly continues to hold on this year. And, as another golf season rapidly approaches, we hope that you will join us at the Liberty Country Club as often as possible. Our plan is to post a regular newsletter as a link on facebook, through our e-mail system, and on our website libertycountryclub.com. If you are a regular facebook user please like us at Liberty Country Club or send Bruce Gregory a friend request and you will be able to link to the newsletter each time it is posted. 

April 1st will be the date the clubhouse will open on a daily basis in 2013. Please call ahead for clubhouse opening times prior to the 1st. We have been, and will continue to open as the weather permits until the 1st of April.

 

Dues are Due 

A minimum of 1/2 of your dues are due by April 15th with the balance due by May 15th. If you have already paid your 2013 dues, thank you! At $565 for a single membership we think we offer the area's best golf value.

New in 2013 for those age 24 and under

The millennial card is what we will be calling a new offering for young adults age 24 and under. It will be offered in addition to our offerings of $280 for college students without a parent member ($100 if parent is a member).

Young adults who wish to participate simply purchase a card for $35. We will give you a punch card good for 10 buckets of range balls and you will be entitled to $10 green fees throughout the season. If you would decide to join later in the year, we will credit you up to 1/2 of the dues due based on the number of $10 green fees you paid. As an example, you purchase a millennial card in April and by the end of May you have played 10 times ($100 in green fees) we will credit you $50 toward your dues membership should you choose to join for the remainder of the season.  

 

Let us help you improve your golf game.

In each of these newsletters we will post links to articles that others have posted that may be of interest to your golf game. Below are 5 of the most recent.

Top 5 issues killing golfers over 50
Hip rotation help
Short Game Tip
How to Execute a few Short Game Shots
Mental game putting tips

2013 Standing Tee Times

There are some changes to the weekend starting schedule in 2013. If you had a standing tee time in 2012 we have attempted to keep it the same or within a few minutes of what it was. Please check with us to see what it will be for the coming season.

The changes that have been made will enable us to offer more open times on Saturday and Sunday mornings and reduce the number of front nine / back nine times that alternate each week. Generally, if you have a starting time before 8:00 am you will alternate front to back as you have been doing. If you have a standing time after 8:00 am you will always start on the front 9. And, depending on the afternoon outing schedule, there will be open times at either 10:00 am on the front 9 or from 8:00 am to 9:00 am on the back 9 each week.
There are still some standing tee time available, please see us if you want one or won't be using yours in 2013.

What is the best time to play?

Will you play your next round in the morning, or will you take advantage of the extra hour of sunlight and play in the evening? Is there an optimal time to play?
To maximize your performance and lower your scores, we’re offering the following tips.

Dobson Ranch Golf Course in Mesa, AZ, at sunrise.

Early to Bed, Early to Rise…Early to Golf?
Gary Player once said, “If there’s a golf course in heaven, I hope it’s like Augusta National. I just don’t want an early tee time.”
But not everyone agrees with The Black Knight’s perspective. In fact, many golfers prefer early morning tee times – and often have no choice, due to their work schedules.
For some golfers, the positives of morning tee times are obvious: lower temperatures and humidity, less crowds, and improved course conditions. But there are some negatives to playing at the break of dawn, too.
According to The New York Times, Dr. Charles Czeisler, professor of sleep medicine, Harvard University, believes golfers should not play early in the morning.
“From a circadian rhythm standpoint, 6:30 in the morning is the worst possible time to play golf,” said Czeisler. “You will be less flexible, your coordination will be off a little, your judgment will not be as good, and your short-term memory would be affected.”
The circadian rhythm, your body’s “internal clock” so to speak, is influenced by darkness and light over a 24-hour period. This natural rhythm, which helps to control humans’ activity levels, leads to peaks in mental and physical capability, varying according to the time of day.
Consequently, during an interview with Golf Digest, Darrel Drobnich, the former chief program officer for the National Sleep Foundation, recommended that golfers either play between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m., or later in the afternoon.
“There are two periods of the day when the body has less alertness,” Drobnich said. “One is midnight to 6 a.m. (and) the other is 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.”
According to The New York Times, Czeisler agrees, advising golfers to begin their rounds either around 9 a.m., or 4 p.m.

Rivers Edge Golf Course in Needles, Calif., at sunset.

Twilight Golf: The Best Option?
Further evidence has proven that late afternoon and early evening tee times are ideal, when physical performance is optimized to its fullest potential.
The New York Times has reported that past studies have shown athletes’ strength, flexibility, and mental capacity peak between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Meanwhile, according to The Wall Street Journal, Michael Smolensky, an adjunct professor of biomedical engineering at the University of Texas, Austin, has revealed that physical performance tends to rise to its highest aptitude between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. In addition, he has found that muscles and joints are up to 20 percent more flexible in the evening, thereby minimizing the risk of injury.
Of further interest, Boris Medarov, an assistant professor of medicine at New York’s Albany College, has discovered that lung capacity function increases by nearly 18 percent at 5 p.m., when compared to earlier in the day.
But, if you have no option other than early morning golf, Shawn Youngstedt, associate professor, exercise science, University of South Carolina, has realized you can still make the most out of your tee times – by resetting your circadian system.
“There is empirical evidence that bright light in the morning will help adjust the body clock,” Youngstedt said. “It does not take a lot and can affect mood, behavior, and function.”

And ... a parting shot

On occasion, a drain tile clogs or an irrigation line blows that can cause a hole to form. Check out this guy's problem by clicking the link below.

Wow, and we thought some of our tile blow holes were big!