THE MOST AMERICAN of celebrations is right around the corner.
Why risk potential injury with legal and illegal fireworks? Go out and play a round of golf at a North Olympic Peninsula course on the Fourth of July instead.
Instead of blowing up small portions of this great nation, why not hack out small chunks on your local fairway? (Replace all divots!)
I’m no Jeff Renner or Steve Poole but a glance at the upcoming forecast does spur some thoughts of summer . . . 62 to 68 degrees and sunny over the long weekend.
I’ve got a new driver and 3-wood to use and some new golf shoes to break in.
Cedars youth camps
Cedars at Dungeness Golf Course in Sequim will hold golf camps for kids ages 5 to 9 and 10 to 16 from Monday, July 25, to Wednesday, July 27.
The younger camp will run from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. the first two days and 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
A five-hole tournament capped off by a pizza party and awards presentation will be held the final day.
For the older players, the camp will run from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Monday and Tuesday and 2:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesday.
A 4- to 9-hole tournament based on age will be held on the final day followed by a cookout and awards presentation.
Cedars staffers will instruct golfers in both age groups on putting, chipping, the full golf swing and course etiquette.
Cost for either camp is $75 and includes teaching fees, green fees, the party and awards, snacks and a gift.
To sign up, phone 800-447-6826 or 360-683-6344.
Space is limited to 45 students per camp on a first-come, first-served basis.
Port Townsend Junior Golf Camp
Port Townsend Golf Club assistant pro Gabriel Tonan has started the first of three summer golf camps he’ll conduct this summer.
If you are reading this before 9 a.m., roust the kiddos out of bed and get them up to the course. They can take part in today’s clinic and Thursday’s.
If you miss these dates, don’t fret, there will be camps from July 26-28 and Aug. 23-25.
The camps will run from 9 a.m. to noon each day and include lunch from the course’s Hidden Rock Cafe.
Clinics are $45, and those interested can phone the golf course at 360-385-4547.
Cleveland/Srixon demo
A representative from Cleveland/Srixon Golf will be on hand at Port Townsend Golf Course from 3:45 p.m. to 5 p.m. on July 12.
There will be a Foresight Sports Game Changer II Launcher Monitor present to capture and analyze swing speeds and find the proper lie angles and distance gaps that are, like the proverbial snowflake, unique to each golfer.
Attendees will get a free sleeve of golf balls for coming out to the event.
SkyRidge tourneys
SkyRidge Golf Course in Sequim has two tourneys on tap in July: the sixth annual Lavender Festival Golf Tournament on July 16, and the Clallam Links British Open on July 17.
â– The Lavender Festival event is a two-person scramble format fundraiser for the Disabled Veterans of Foreign Wars.
A 9 a.m. shotgun start will kick off what will be a good day for a good cause.
Cost is $45 per player, with Captain Henry’s gourmet blackened salmon dinner with all the fixings served following play.
Carts are $15 per seat, and a $10 honey pot will be available.
Those wearing Lavender Festival buttons will receive $2 off their cart fee.
â– The Clallam Links British Open will begin after the final round of The British Open ends in England.
It’s an individual medal play competition that will start with lunch at noon and tee times at 1 p.m.
There are three divisions: men with a 0-15 handicap, men with a 16-and-over handicap and a women’s division.
The men will play from SkyRidge’s black tees on the front and green tees on the back. Women will play from the silver tees on the front and purple on the back.
Players can form their own foursome for play or have the clubhouse do the matching.
There will be a $1,000 payout based on a full field.
Cost for the tourney is $50, with half going for golf and the other going for a honey pot.
To sign up for either SkyRidge event, phone 360-683-3673.
Clallam Amateur set
The deadline to sign up for the annual Clallam Amateur is Monday.
The 54-hole medal play competition July 8-10 will include three divisions and three courses: Peninsula Golf Club in Port Angeles on Friday, Sequim’s SunLand Golf and Country Club on Saturday and Cedars at Dungeness Golf Course for Sunday’s final round.
The event is open to all amateurs living on the North Olympic Peninsula with a valid USGA handicap.
Players will compete for $3,000 in prize money (based on a full field).
Entries are $160 per person and include three meals, a tee prize, range balls and three rounds of golf. There will also be daily honey pots and KPs to compete for.
Tournament entry forms are available at all three courses.
Entries will be taken until Monday or when the field is full.
Save the date
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Foundation will hold its first golf tournament at Discovery Bay Golf Club outside of Port Townsend on Saturday, Aug. 27.
The four-person scramble will tee off at 1 p.m. Registration will start at 11:30 a.m. Cost is $300 per team or $75 for individual golfers.
If you are a single, event organizers will match you up with some playing partners.
Teams will compete for prizes. Teams comprised of police, sheriff, fire and other law enforcement disciplines will compete for a traveling trophy for the lowest scoring public safety team.
The cost includes green fees, carts, a raffle ticket, lunch and afternoon appetizers.
For more information, phone 360-379-1602 or 360-437-1355.
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Foundation recently gave its first scholarship to recent Chimacum High School grad Dani Kaminski-Southard.
She’s going to attend Washington State University this fall.
I can’t help it. . . Go Cougs!
Women’s amateurs
I’m not sure if you have heard of the golfing Lee family out of Silverdale, but you’ll be hearing more and more from Erynne and her younger sister Katie in the next decade.
Erynne, a recent Central Kitsap High School graduate and the Class 4A state tournament champ, won the state Women’s Amateur Championship at the Home Course in DuPont by two strokes (215-217) over her younger sister.
The elder Lee will attend UCLA on a golf scholarship in the fall.
But before she heads to Westwood, she will trip to Colorado to represent the state in the U.S. Women’s Open on July 7-10 at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs.
I see a long and lucrative LPGA Tour career in the future for both Lees.
Sequim High School graduate and Sonoma State golfer Zoei Zbaraschuk finished 27th, with rounds of 84, 85, 83 to finish with a total of 252.
In the state Women’s Senior Amateur Championship, Mary Ryan of Renton finished first with an even par total of 216.
North Olympic Peninsula competitors included Sequim’s Kathy Langston, who tied for 21st with a 232; Port Townsend’s Barbara Bailey, who finished 26th with a 234; and Sequim’s Pat Harrop-Schumacher, who scored a 238.
Men’s Amateur
On the men’s side, Jared Bossio of Olympia won the state Men’s Amateur Championship at McCormick Woods in Port Orchard with a four-day score of 8 under par (280).
The University of Idaho golfer followed up his state amateur win with a victory Sunday in the Tacoma City Amateur.
No competitors from the North Olympic Peninsula played in this event.
The state Senior Men’s Amateur will be held Sept. 27-29 at Bellingham Golf and Country Club.
Entries are still being taken for that tournament. For more information, visit www.thewsga.org.
Tseng is on top
There’s another 22-year-old golfer from a small island nation who’s abilities out on the course are worthy of some headlines.
LPGA star Yani Tseng, the defending tour player of the year, won her fourth career major Sunday after dominating the LPGA Championship and winning by 10 strokes.
She has eight LPGA Tour wins in her career, half of those majors.
All she needs to complete the career grand slam is a U.S. Women’s Open victory.
The record is 15 major victories by American Patty Berg from 1937 to 1958.
Annika Sorenstam has the most in the modern era with 10.
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Michael Carman is the golf columnist for the Peninsula Daily News. He can be reached at 360-417-3527 or at pdngolf@gmail.com.