I ENTERED THE age of the smartphone by purchasing a used Android phone recently.
I’m young enough to have never lived in a home without a computer but I’m getting old enough to be just enough out of the loop to have avoided “needing” one of these devices.
Running out of gas at Sequim Bay State Park and a flat tire at Gardiner during two rare commutes home to Port Townsend in my car (I usually take the bus) convinced me of the need for a phone with mobile Internet.
Now if I break down I can have help sent to me and while I wait I can while away some time with some fun golf applications.
There’s no shortage of golf games, either the normal par 72 variety or those of a mini-golf bent.
GPS rangefinders abound, those of the paid or free variety, and most have the North Olympic Peninsula’s courses dialed in.
I would still trust these at your own risk, they may not be dialed in as precisely as a hand-held expensive GPS rangefinder.
One application I can’t get just yet on my Android is the new Tiger Woods: My Swing for iPhone and iPod Touch.
The application allows users to capture video of their own swings and compare it to positions Woods advocates.
Woods goes into more detail about it at http://tinyurl.com/6a756qx.
While I do believe its silly to try and mimic Woods’ swing, if you can get a pointer or two from it that helps your game, then its worth the $9.99 price.
All the proceeds will be donated to the Tiger Woods Foundation.
Discovery Bay events
The spring season is getting into gear at a revamped Discovery Bay Golf Club.
Discovery Bay’s men’s club will hold its inaugural Spring Kickoff and Weekly Handicap Competition events at 9 a.m. Wednesday, April 6.
The men’s counterparts, the Discovery Bay Ladies Club, will begin its season on Thursday, April 7.
Players will meet at 9:30 a.m. with tee times starting at 10 a.m.
The ladies recent met to elect new officers.
Barb Aldrich will serve as captain, Janet Nelson as assistant captain, Marianne Ott as treasurer and Mary Pat Griswold as secretary.
Leonard Johnson, proprietor of the Mystery Bay Seafood Co., will open The Half Shell Grill at Discovery Bay for breakfast and lunch seven days a week starting next week.
In addition to fresh local seafood and shellfish, the menu will also feature a variety of items catering to the likes of golfers and the public in general.
Johnson’s been catering up a storm for local charity auctions and gala’s in recent months, so you know he is a well respected chef in the community, capable of taking care of business in a culinary sense.
New PGA pro Mark Wurtz is wasting no time getting started in his new position at Discovery Bay.
The former touring pro will be conducting spring tune-up clinics beginning the week of April 18 and continuing through the first part of May.
The clinics are divided into both beginner and intermediate level with men’s and women’s sessions.
Each clinic involves two two-hour sessions with a maximum of eight participants in each session.
Cost is $40 per person per clinic with balls and equipment (if needed) provided by Discovery Bay Golf Club.
Clinics will be held on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
The first session will be devoted to developing short game skills (chipping and putting) with the second session emphasizing the fundamentals of the golf swing.
According to course operator Michael Asmundson, “Mark prides himself on being able to take a student’s swing and improve upon the existing swing rather than formulate a completely new swing that may not fit one’s personality or physical ability.
“He has a sincere belief in making golf fun for everyone by keeping the swing as simple and easy to understand as possible.”
If you’re interested in anything happening at Discovery Bay, phone the clubhouse at 360-385-0704.
SkyRidge happenings
SkyRidge Golf Course will ring in spring with a two-person Spring Opener Scramble on Saturday, April 16.
The 9 a.m. shotgun start event is $100 per team.
This includes your golf, range balls, KP’s and lunch after play.
There will be gross and net divisions for the event as well.
DECA tournament set
Port Angeles High School’s DECA marketing club will host its third DECA Golf Scramble fundraiser at Sequim’s SkyRidge Golf Course on Saturday, April 23.
The four-person scramble will begin with a 9:30 a.m. shotgun start.
Fees are $200 for a team or $50 per individual.
The fee is $20 for high school students with ASB card.
The tournament includes 18 holes of golf, range balls, prizes from local businesses and a mulligan table.
Golf carts are also available for purchase for $12.
Proceeds from the tournament will go toward traveling competition expenses for Port Angeles DECA students.
DECA is a student-led organization that allows students to travel to conferences and competitions to demonstrate and expand their knowledge in the fields of marketing, business and entrepreneurship.
To play in either the spring opener or the DECA tournament, call SkyRidge at 360-683-3673.
If you can’t play, but would like to donate to DECA, contact Lora Brabant, Port Angeles DECA advisor and marketing teacher at lbrabant@portangelesschools.org.
Funds raised, Ramey
More than $6,000 was raised for scholarships, youth projects, and camp visits for children with special needs as Port Townsend Golf Club hosted the 14th annual Northwest Kiwanis Golf Tournament last Saturday.
Golfers were allowed to buy three pieces of string and two mulligans in this tourney.
They could use the string to move their ball the length of whatever portion they cut.
So golfers left with knee-knocking 20 inch putts could cut off 20 inches of string and knock home the putt.
Players could only buy nine feet worth of string, so they had to be careful with its use over the 18 holes of the tournament.
As a result, scores go lower than normal
I don’t normally single out players lucky enough to knock in a hole-in-one but Port Townsend’s Roger Ramey is a special case.
Playing in the Kiwanis Tournament, Ramey rapped a 5-iron into a slight wind from about 170 yards on the Par 3 No. 7/16 hole.
“It was on line for the flag the entire way,” Port Townsend assistant pro Gabriel Tonan said.
“It landed just short of the green on the fringe, took a bounce and a smooth roll and disappeared [into the cup].”
Ramey, who owns Penny Saver in Port Townsend, gets my hearty congratulations.
His store’s deli sandwiches? Well, they get my hearty appetite on a regular basis.
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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.