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GREATEST GOLFER LIVE | '15 Open champs back; Long drive signups; protect the field
Here's the latest on Greatest ...
The 7th Annual Greatest Golfer of the Valley ramps up Aug. 15-21 with a championship scramble, long drive and adult individual tourney play. It will engage almost 500 golfers in one week, with folks coming home from California and the Carolinas to play.
It's the Greatest Week in the Valley as it closes summer and launches football, the county fair and school.
The Vindicator is a proud partner with Farmers National Bank, Superior Beverage, Covelli Enterprises and Flynn Automotive Group.
Watch this link the next month to stay up on all the Greatest latest.
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• 200 adults and counting
Greatest 2016 topped 200 golfers this weekend, which is about normal for Aug. 1.
We are getting lots of questions about when is deadline and which division should I be in?
You are best if you are registered by Thursday, Aug. 11 as that is when we lock in space with courses.
You might get into Greatest after then, but it’s not guaranteed.
Once you are in, we will gladly change your division right up to the day before tee off if your handicap changes. It’s just the right thing to do for the field.
So if you’re registered as a 13 hcap, but the Aug. 15 hcap postings drop you to a 12 (and into another Greatest bracket), we will happily move you.
• Women’s Open expands
Our Ladies of Greatest have known how hard we’ve worked over the years to try to promote the division and expand play.
We are trying something new for the Women’s Open to help the field.
Effective now, we will accept all women amateurs who wish to come here and compete — no restrictions on residency anymore with that division only.
It’s a one-year try, and we’ll see what it does for the division. It comes at the suggestion of last year’s champ, Ariel Witmer.
Please promote/recruit.
• The Long Drive Competition
Reminder that Tippecanoe Country Club will again host the Greatest Long Drive championship at 6 p.m., Aug. 18.
There is a registration link here:
http://www.vindy.com/golf/longdrive/
It’s free to watch that evening on the club’s awesome back patio.
So, swing with us if you got 320 in the bag. Visit with us if you want to watch.
• Read Greatest roster; Protect the field
This is a critical period for Greatest golfers and the event as players properly align themselves in the correct division.
Our skill verification process has grown over the years, and we will spend many hours on the phone in the next two weeks calling around.
We’re proud that at last year’s Greatest, each champion was well within USGA’s format for reasonable performance of their stated level of play.
All players are encouraged to review all Greatest divisions NOW and alert us confidentially to any discrepancies in placement. Email tfranko@vindy.com.
Rosters are found on vindy.com/golf http://vindy.com/golf and then clicking the MENU box in the top left corner.
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• MUSIC & GOLF
We’re fans of “local” here at Greatest headquarters — whether golf, news or even arts.
One local artist we’ve partnered with over the years is singer-songwriter JD Eicher of Canfield. JD has a new album out, and one of the new songs serves as the music we use in our 2016 Greatest TV commercials.
Well, we made a whole video of the song — featuring your Greatest golfer moments from the last two years, as well as JD.
• CONGRATS TO VIVO, KREPS & Co.
It was a Boardman High School sweep this weekend as Cade Kreps and Jenna Vivo won the Flynn Auto Greatest Golfer titles in the u17 boys and girls divisions.
In the boys 14-U finals, Michael Porter took second with an 84, while Luke Nord finished third with a 93.
Conner Stevens won the boys 14-U and Olivia Taylor won the girls 14-U.
• COURSES
Here’s the projected course plan for the 2016 Farmers National Bank Greatest Golfer of the Valley adult tourney Aug. 19-21.
Practice rounds are available at the host courses. Call the pro shop in advance to learn of each course’s specifics of times and prices.
All men’s divisions, except Open, will play normal men’s tees. Senior Open will also play from the normal men’s tees. Seniors 10+ will play normal senior tees.
Mill Creek North, Aug. 19
8 a.m.-9:30: Men's Open and 17+ divisions
1 p.m.-2:30: Men's 9-12 Division
Mill Creek South
8 a.m.-9:30: Seniors, Seniors 10+ Super Seniors, Ladies, Ladies 9+
1 p.m.-2:30: Men's 5-8 Handicap, Men’s 13-16
Saturday, Aug. 20:
Avalon — Men's Open, Ladies Open, Ladies 10+
Oak Tree— 5-8 and Super Seniors, division
Youngstown — 13-16, Seniors, Sen 10+
Tippecanoe— 9-12, 17+,
• FASTER PLAY
As a way to speed up play on Friday and Saturday when the fields are thick, Greatest will be “Must cart; no caddies” on those days.
Caddies and walking will be invited for Sunday play at The Lake.
Of course in carting Friday and Saturday, if you desire some space, feel free to cart your bag and enjoy occasional bagless walks in smaller gaps.
• FOR OPEN DIVISION, a VINTAGE threesome makes it to Sunday finals:
We have noticed a tug-of-war with the best male golfers in our Valley who are veterans of the links. They want to compete with the young bucks in Open, but over 3 days with them, it is a tough grind.
Some opt out of Greatest altogether. Other Open guys ponder managing their way to a 5 handicap and playing in the 5-8 division.
We want to incentivize those guys to stay in Greatest, stay in Open and not opt out or wander up.
So here’s what we’ll try this year:
If you are 50+ and playing Men’s OPEN, but fail to make the Sunday leaderboard, you have a chance to play Sunday.
Three tee spots for 50-over Open players will be created to celebrate the commitment and the sticktoitiveness of their play.
Of course, if a 50+ player pulls a Bernhard Langer-Augusta feat and is on the leaderboard, that player will stay there as per normal.
We’ll try this this year.
This salutes the venerable guys and gives them some Sunday incentive. Greatest Sundays at Lake are pretty special. We think it also protects the 5-8 hcap division.
So we’ll try this this year.
• RECRUIT
We all work hard to make Greatest go: the course managers: you players, and of course us here at The Vindy.
Can you help recruit? You are our best salespersons for Greatest.
Do you know that amid all our competing last year, we also scored rather awesome in our divisions?
All of our winners in all of our handicapped divisions were all spot on to the low number of the division.
Let people know that, to combat the fear of padded scores.