5
By Rick Zurak When you look at what’s up in 2007 on the local golf scene, you may end up saying “What’s up with that?” Take, for example, the courses with new names. Hunter’s Pointe in Welland is no longer Hunter’s Pointe. How about Lochness Links? No, I’m not kidding. It’s cer- tainly a name you will remember. Not far from there is the former Country Lane. That’s right, former, because Coyote Golf and Country Club is its new name in Port Colborne. Funny, I didn’t know the Lochness Monster or coyotes lived so close to Buffalo. In these days of new courses, name recognition may be the name of the game. Speaking of new cours- es, Diamond Hawk, across from the Buffalo International Airport in Cheektowaga, opened its doors last year to rave reviews. Watch for even more people to be impressed in 2007, as the course is now more mature and a beauti- ful new clubhouse was added. PGA professional Jim Furlong has added leagues, a junior program and much more. If you didn’t get to Diamond Hawk last year, put it on your calendar for this year. They have a great golf course, two-way driving range, a sweet new club- house with restaurant and bar, not to mention rates that are attractive to all income levels. Not far from Diamond Hawk is the brand-new Harvest Hill in West Seneca, home of the First Tee Program for juniors. The target date for opening is July 4, but word is already out that Harvest Hill is a gem just waiting to show off its glimmer to the public. A 21-hole (18-hole championship course and three-hole practice course) facility will include a mon- ster-sized driving range with a hitting area no less than 100 yards wide by 50 yards deep. If you are a res- ident of West Seneca or Orchard Park, you are about to have a great golf destination in your own back yard. Akron appeared to be the new headquarters of great golf just two years ago. That’s when Arrowhead and the Links at Ivy Ridge both opened their doors. And 2007 will see Rothland managed by Arrowhead’s owners. Director of golf Jeff Randall is now running it, as well as the entire complex including Arrowhead and Bright Meadows. With the 27 holes at Rothland, champi- onship 18 at Arrowhead, plus a nine-hole course and nine-hole par-three course at Bright Meadows, Randall now has the job of managing one of the biggest golf facilities in Western New York. Add to the mix the Timberlodge banquet facility at Arrowhead, and it’s quite the complex. The Links at Ivy Ridge continues to be known for its excellent hospitality and red carpet treatment to its customers. The golf course speaks for itself, with a great track full of rolling hills, mounds, heather and as much chal- lenge as you wish to bite off. Did I mention great conditions and a flat-out fun course to play? If you still haven’t played Ivy Ridge, what are you wait- ing for? It’s arguably the best public golf course in the Buffalo area. If it’s a challenge you want, the Buffalo Tournament Club enters its first full season of 18 holes with two series of tournaments. The Monday Tournament Series is an amateur event held on Mondays starting June 4 and running through August 27. It is a two play- er better ball, 18-hole for- mat where teams accumu- late points throughout the season. If you want to take your game beyond the Monday charity tourna- ment game, this may be the deal for you. The BTC is also hosting the continued on page 8 Diamond Hawk Ravenwood Peninsula Lakes

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Page 1: Ravenwood - Sports and Leisure Magazine...Sexy square drivers If you haven’t seen the Callaway FT-I or the Nike Sasquatch Sumo2, then you’ve successfully avoid-ed every golf medium

By Rick ZurakWhen you look at what’s

up in 2007 on the localgolf scene, you may end upsaying “What’s up withthat?” Take, for example,the courses with newnames. Hunter’s Pointe inWelland is no longerHunter’s Pointe. Howabout Lochness Links? No,I’m not kidding. It’s cer-tainly a name you willremember. Not far fromthere is the formerCountry Lane. That’s right,former, because CoyoteGolf and Country Club isits new name in PortColborne. Funny, I didn’tknow the LochnessMonster or coyotes livedso close to Buffalo. In thesedays of new courses, namerecognition may be thename of the game.

Speaking of new cours-es, Diamond Hawk, acrossfrom the Buffalo

International Airport in

C h e e k t o w a g a ,opened its doorslast year to ravereviews. Watch foreven more peopleto be impressed in2007, as the course is nowmore mature and a beauti-ful new clubhouse wasadded. PGA professionalJim Furlong has addedleagues, a junior programand much more. If youdidn’t get to DiamondHawk last year, put it onyour calendar for this year.They have a great golfcourse, two-way drivingrange, a sweet new club-house with restaurant andbar, not to mention ratesthat are attractive to allincome levels.

Not far from DiamondHawk is the brand-newHarvest Hill in WestSeneca, home of the FirstTee Program for juniors.The target date for openingis July 4, but word is

already out that HarvestHill is a gem just waiting toshow off its glimmer to thepublic. A 21-hole (18-holechampionship course andthree-hole practice course)facility will include a mon-ster-sized driving rangewith a hitting area no lessthan 100 yards wide by 50yards deep. If you are a res-ident of West Seneca orOrchard Park, you areabout to have a great golfdestination in your ownback yard.

Akron appeared to bethe new headquarters ofgreat golf just two yearsago. That’s whenArrowhead and the Linksat Ivy Ridge both openedtheir doors. And 2007 willsee Rothland managed by

Arrowhead’s owners.Director of golf JeffRandall is now runningit, as well as the entirecomplex includingArrowhead and BrightMeadows. With the 27holes at Rothland, champi-onship 18 at Arrowhead,plus a nine-hole courseand nine-hole par-threecourse at Bright Meadows,Randall now has the job ofmanaging one of thebiggest golf facilities inWestern New York. Add tothe mix the Timberlodgebanquet facility atArrowhead, and it’s quitethe complex.

The Links at Ivy Ridgecontinues to be known forits excellent hospitalityand red carpet treatment to

its customers. The golfcourse speaks for itself,with a great track full ofrolling hills, mounds,heather and as much chal-lenge as you wish to biteoff. Did I mention greatconditions and a flat-outfun course to play? If youstill haven’t played IvyRidge, what are you wait-ing for? It’s arguably thebest public golf course inthe Buffalo area.

If it’s a challenge youwant, the BuffaloTournament Club enters

its first full season of 18holes with two series oftournaments. The MondayTournament Series is anamateur event held onMondays starting June 4and running throughAugust 27. It is a two play-er better ball, 18-hole for-mat where teams accumu-late points throughout theseason. If you want to takeyour game beyond theMonday charity tourna-ment game, this may bethe deal for you. The BTCis also hosting the

continued on page 8

Diamond Hawk

Ravenwood

Peninsula Lakes

Page 2: Ravenwood - Sports and Leisure Magazine...Sexy square drivers If you haven’t seen the Callaway FT-I or the Nike Sasquatch Sumo2, then you’ve successfully avoid-ed every golf medium

By Ronald S. MontesanoThe hottest thing in

equipment in 2007 is notthe equipment itself.Nope, it’s not the equip-ment itself, but rather, theprocess by which youacquire the equipment.Gone are the days of off-the-rack club purchases.What clubsmiths learnedyears ago has beenembraced by the namebrand companies: person-alized club fitting, taken tothe nth degree. No longerare your clubs custom-fit-ted with just a tape meas-ure and a guess at the flex.Today, professional clubfitters and pro shopemployees utilize incredi-bly sophisticated machinesto determine club headspeed, launch angle andshaft flex movement atvarious points throughoutthe swing. In addition,technology melds the prin-ciples of the club with thegolfer’s swing successesand flaws, to build a com-plete profile from which toextract proper club headdesign, shaft compositionand flex, and grip style.

Ironically, as club fittingis moving toward science,some operations still see itas something more akin tosorcery. Case in point: Thereputable websitewww.golf.com teams upwith HotStix to do a mea-

ger, online club fitting.Basing its suggestions ongender of golfer, handicaplevel, current ball and driv-er preferences, and littleelse, four clubs wereselected for me to pur-chase. Are you kidding?Talk about smoke and mir-rors. Now, if I were in aHotStix lab environment, Ibet the results would bequite different. So what isthe moral of the story?Don’t skimp! Go to yourlocal Golf Galaxy, GolfDiscount, or GolfHeadquarters to get fittedon a launch monitor at thevery least. If you’re rollingin dough or simply addict-ed, fly to a HotStix or MaxOut Golf Labs site andhave the coterie of fittersexamine your swing andstyle, and build you a driv-er or a set of clubs.Sexy square drivers

If you haven’t seen theCallaway FT-I or the NikeSasquatch Sumo2, thenyou’ve successfully avoid-ed every golf medium —television, internet, maga-zine — around. Builtostensibly for the averagegolfer, the Nike clubgained instant recognitionwhen K.J. Choi won inTampa last fall on the PGATour. Built on the lines ofthe traditional, pear-shaped driver clubhead,the square driver simply

extends and squares-offthe geometric pattern. Thesound of the ball on club-face is shattering, but cur-rent test results from majormagazines and websitesindicate an increase inaccuracy. What is interest-ing about the square driv-ers relates to non-squareheads whose lines seem toimitate those of the squareheads. If you look at thetop of a Cleveland or aTaylorMade design,although the back end ofthe club head is rounded,the visual leads you tocomplete the quadrilateral,giving you yet another pairof square heads.Blades, game improve-ment and super gameimprovement

When tennis racketswent from wood tographite a generation ago,oversize and super-over-size heads were the talk ofthe town and the tabloids.During the last few sea-sons, a new style of clubhead has entered the realmof golfing lingo and prac-tice. The popularity of thetraditional blade was sup-planted by the cavity-backiron of Ping and others inthe late 1970s. In the newmillennium, the supergame improvement is therage; the club head sizedifference is not so greatfrom GI (game improve-

ment) to SGI (supergame improvement),but the levels of forgive-ness, face-balance andfeel are greatlyenhanced. The essentialpoints of an SGI iron arelower center of gravity andwider sole. The lower cen-ter of gravity helps to getthe ball up off non-centerhits. The wider sole per-mits the club to “bounce”off the turf instead of dig-ging in (for a fat hit),thereby sending the ballairborne in a forwarddirection despite an off-center hit.Revenge of the mallet

Although Tiger Woodsstill employs a traditionalcavity putter (based on thePing Anser classic modelof the 1960s) from ScottyCameron, the majority ofputters on the markettoday are neo-malletdesigns. The traditionalmallet, most recognized asRay Cook and Ram Zebramodels, took on theappearance of enormousdollops of metal on theend of a club shaft. Manyplayers, most notablyRaymond Floyd, NancyLopez, and Bobby Locke,had incredible successwith the traditional malletputter. Five years ago, clubmakers began experiment-ing with neo-malletdesigns. The oversized

h e a dwas pre-served, but theguts of it wereremoved. The result was alarge putter head withopen spaces, a seeminglylarger face and sweet spot,and a softer strike plate. Alittle-known fact is that thedepth of the putter headcan be no larger than thewidth of the face; the newgeneration of mallet put-ters presents the illusion ofbreaking this United StatesGolf Association caveat.For my money, if you planto invest $400 in a newdriver, invest the sameamount in a club that youmight hit twice as oftenduring a round: your put-ter. The best new idea isthe Nike Unitized series.Unitized seems to meanseamless oneness fromclub face to end of shaft, asif Nike were to make aone-piece club. Whether itworks scientifically or not,I found the feel to be supe-rior, and putting is allabout feel.Golf Simulators

As ifthe technol-

ogy used to build and fitclubs wasn’t sophisticatedenough, the digital age hasbrought golf simulators tonew levels of precision andappearance. In fact, it ishighly probable that infuture generations, golferswill compare notes on thereal Pebble Beach versusthe simulated PebbleBeach. After all, why pay$1,000 for lodging, flight,greens fees and food to flyto Monterrey, Calif., whenyou can go to The FrogHair or Tee It Up and pay$50 for a simulated round?The new generation ofsimulators mimics windconditions, rough length,visual stimuli and anti-stimuli, and rub of thegreen. Golfers can tee upfor a practice round, com-pete against friends in thesame room, or join anonline league and vie forvictories against far-awayopponents.

April 2007 SPORTS & LEISURE MAGAZINE Page 3

Page 3: Ravenwood - Sports and Leisure Magazine...Sexy square drivers If you haven’t seen the Callaway FT-I or the Nike Sasquatch Sumo2, then you’ve successfully avoid-ed every golf medium

Cattaraugus CountyCourse location Phone Daily/Weekend rateBirch Run Allegany (9) 716-373-3113 $11/14Cardinal Hills Randolph 716-358-5409 $18*/20*Elkdale Salamanca 716-945-5553 $28/38Holiday Valley Ellicottville 716-699-2345 $30/40Ischua Valley Franklinville (9) 716-676-3630 $10/12St. Bonaventure Allegany (9) 716-372-7692 $12*/15*Turkey Run Freedom (9) 716-492-2888 $11/11Water Way Hills Hinsdale 716-372-9144 18/18

Livingston CountyCourse location Phone Daily/Weekend rateBeards Creek Leicester 585-382-3113 closed for 2007Brae Burn Dansville (9 ) 585-335-3101 $9/12Caledonia Caledonia 585-538-9956 $26 inc cart & lunchConesus Conesus 585-346-2100 $16/23Keshequa Mount Morris (9 ) 585-658-4545 $7*/8*Lima (Charleston Pines) Lima 585-624-1490 $19/25Lima (Island Oaks) Lima 585-624-1490 $19/25Livingston Geneseo 585-243-4430 22/24Old Hickory Livonia 585-346-2450 $16/21Triple Creek Nunda 585-468-2116 $14/15Woodland Hills Nunda 585-468-5010 $8/8

Chautauqua CountyCourse Location Phone Daily/Weekend rateBemus Point GC Bemus Point (9) 716-386-2893 $10/12Cassadaga Lakes Cassadaga (9) 716-595-3003 $11/12Chautauqua GC Chautauqua 716-357-6211 $36/46Hillview GC Fredonia 716-679-4571 $20/20Peek’n Peak Upper Course Findlay Lake 716-355-4141 $109/119 inc cartPeek’n Peak Lower Course Findlay Lake 716-355-4141 $38/45Rose Brook Irving 716-934-2825 $17*/22*South Hills Jamestown 716-487-1471 $18/20Sugar Hill GC (9 hole, exec.) Westfield 716-326-4653 $13/15Tri-County Forestville 716-965-9723 $45/50 inc cart

Genesee CountyCourse location Phone Daily/Weekend rateBethany Hills Bethany

(Exec., par 69) 585-591-2763 $13*/13*Batavia CC Batavia 585-343-7600 $25/30 inc cartChestnut Hill CC Alden 585-547-9699 $29/39 inc cartDavis CountrysideMeadows Pavilion 585-584-8390 $16/18LeRoy C.C. LeRoy 585-768-7330 $15/26Terry Hills Batavia 800-825-8633 $36/43 inc cart

Monroe CountyCourse location Phone Daily/Weekend rateBraemar Spencerport 585-352-5360 $13/15Brockport Brockport 585-638-6486 Call $25/30Buttonwood Spencerport

18 hole (par 3) 585-352-4720 $13*/13*Cardinal Creek Clarkson 585-637-4302 $10*/10*Chili Scottsville 585-889-9325 $18/20Churchville Churchville 585-293-0680 $16/17Cragie Brae Scottsville 585-889-1440 $15/20Deerfield Brockport 585-392-8080 $17/20Durand-Eastman Irondequoit 585-266-0110 $16/17Eagle Vale Perinton 585-377-5200 $30/35Executive South Henrietta (9,par 3) 585-334-1300 $7/8Genesee Valley Rochester 585-424-2920 $16/17Island Valley Fairport

(9, par 3) 585-586-1300 $11/12Lake Shore Greece 585-663-0300 $32.50/32.50Latta Lea Greece(9,par 3) 585-663-9440 $8.50/9Mill Creek Churchville 585-889-4110 $54/64 inc cartPerinton Perinton 585-223-7651 CallPinewood Spencerport (9) 585-352-5314 $12/18Riverton Henrietta (9) 585-334-6196 $13/15Salmon Creek Spencerport 585-352-4300 $20/24Shadow Lake Penfield 585-385-2010 $25/31Shadow Pines Penfield 585-385-8550 $25/31Shadow Lake Penfield (Exec. 9) 585-385-2010 $12/12Shore Acres Greece (Exec. 9) 585-621-1030 $10/12Southern Meadows Rush (9) 585-533-2440 $9/10St. John Fisher Rochester (9) 585-385-8458 $10/11Twin Hills Spencerport 585-352-4800 $22/27Webster East Webster 585-265-1920 $37/45 inc. cartWebster West Webster 585-265-1920 $21/21 Wildwood Rush 585-334-5860 $41/45 inc cartWoodcliff Perinton (9) 585-248-4880 $11/13

Erie CountyCourse Location Phone Daily/Wkend rateArrowhead Akron 716-542-4653 49/59 inc cartAudubon Amherst 716-631-7139 $11r,21nr/11r,21nrAudubon Par 3 Amherst 716-631-7124 $5r,9nr/5r,9nrBeaver Island Grand Island 716-773-4668 $18/22Bob-O-Links Orchard Park

(par-3) 716-662-4311 $12/14Bright Meadows Akron (9) 716-542-2441 $19/24 inc cartBrighton Tonawanda 716-695-2580 $15r;23nr/18r;27nrBuffalo Tourn. Club Lancaster 716-681-4653 $44/49Cazenovia Buffalo (9) 716-825-9811 $9/11Concord Crest East Concord 716-592-7636 $17/17Dande Farms Akron 716-542-2027 $22/26Delaware Buffalo 716-835-2533 $12/15Diamond Hawk Cheektowaga 716-651-0700 50/55 inc cartEden Valley Eden 716-337-2190 $15*/17*Elma Meadows Elma 716-652-5475 $16/19Evergreen Amherst (9) 716-688-6204 $11*/13*Glen Oak Amherst 716-688-5454 $42/52 inc cartGrandview Angola (9) 716-549-4930 $11*/13*Greenwood Clarence (9) 716-741-3395 $10/11Grover Cleve. Buffalo 716-836-7398 $14/16Hamburg Hamburg 716-648-4410 $15r;23nr/16r;23nrHarris Hill Bowmansville

(9, par 3) 716-684-4653 $10/10Harvest Hill Orchard Park 716-662-2198 TBAHolland Hills Holland 716-537-2345 $22*/22*Kis-n-Greens Alden 716-937-4741 $17/20The Links at Ivy Ridge Akron 716-542-6342 $47/53Oakwood (9) Amherst 716-689-1421 $5r,12nr/5r, 12nrPine Meadows Clarence (9) 716-741-3970 $10*/12*Rolling Hills Chaffee (9, par 3) 716-496-5016 $9/10Rothland Akron 716-542-4325 $22.50-$29/36 inc cartSheridan Tonawanda 716-875-1811 $15r;23nr/18r’27nrSouth Park Buffalo (9) 716-825-9504 $9/11South Shore Hamburg 716-649-6674 $22/28

April 2007SPORTS & LEISURE MAGAZINE • Page 4

Page 4: Ravenwood - Sports and Leisure Magazine...Sexy square drivers If you haven’t seen the Callaway FT-I or the Nike Sasquatch Sumo2, then you’ve successfully avoid-ed every golf medium

Wyoming CountyCourse Location Phone Daily/Wknd. rateArchie’s Chip & Putt (11 hole, Par-3) Java 585-457-9505 $10/10Byrncliff Varysburg 585-535-7300 $28/33Ironwood Cowlesville 585-805-0350 $19/23Quiet Times Attica (par 62) 585-591-1747 $14/14Spruce Ridge Arcade (9) 585-492-4122 $11*/11*Rolling Acres Pike 585-567-8557 $16/18Rolling Acres Pike 585-567-8557 $16/18

CanadaCourse Location Phone Daily/Wknd rate

(Can.$)Beechwood Niagara Falls 905-680-4653 $45/52Coyote Golf & CC Port Colborne 905-835-2234 $28/30Eagle Valley GC Niagara Falls

(Par 63) 905-374-2110 $22/22Fort Erie Golf Club Fort Erie 905-991-8883 $23/25Grand Niagara Resort Niagara Falls 905-384-4653 $115/125International Stevensville 905-382-2000 $35/40Legends on the Niagara (Ussher’s Creek) N. Falls 866-465-3642 $115/125 inc cartLegends on the Niagara (Battlefield) Niagara Falls 866-465-3642 $115/125 inc cartLinks of Niagara Niagara Falls 800-790-0912 $43/49LochNess Links (formerly Hunters Pointe) Welland 905-714-4659 $75/75Niagara GC Niag.-on-the-Lake

(9 holes) 905-468-3424 $25/30Niagara Falls GC Niagara Falls 905-358-5846 $38/41Oak Hall Par 3 Niag. Falls (9) 905-358-6418 $11/12Oaklands Niagara Falls 905-295-6643 $27/30Peninsula Lakes Fonthill 905-892-8844 $74/84Queenston Ont. (9 ) 905-262-4528 $12/13.50Rio Vista Fort Erie (9) 905-871-0921 $13/22Rockway Glen GCSt. Catharines 877-762-5929 $42/50Rolling Meadows Niag. Falls 905-384-9894 $40/46Royal Niagara Niagara-on-the-Lake

866-ROYAL-18 $95/110 Inc cartSt. David’s Niag.-on-the-Lake

(9 holes) 905-262-4522 $12/13.50Thundering Waters GC Niagara Falls 905-357-6000 $99/99Whirlpool GC Niagara Falls 905-356-1140 $64/74Whiskey Run Port Colborne 905-835-6864 $34.50/34.50

Seneca CountySilver Creek Waterloo 315-539-8076 $15*/20*

Ontario CountyBig Oak Geneva 315-789-9419 $14/15Bristol Harbour Cananadaigua 585-396-2200 $54/69 inc cartCenterpointe Canandaigua 585-924-5346 $25/37 inc cartOzzie’s Corner Golf Course Hamlin 585-964-5440 CALLParkview Fairways East Bloomfield 585-657-7539 $19/26Ravenwood Victor 585-924-5100 $47/57Reservoir Creek Naples 585-374-8010 $42/47 inc. cartVictor Hills Victor 585-924-3480 $23/27Victor Hills (Exec. 9, Par 3) Victor 585-924-3480 $10/10Winged Pheasant Farmington 585-289-8846 $18/21Winding Creek(Exec. 9) Victor 585-924-0280 $8/10

Niagara CountyCourse location Phone Daily/Wknd. rateDeerwood N. Tonawanda 716-695-8525 $13r;24nr/13;24nrGothic Golf Lockport (9) 716-438-5477 $9.50/10.50Hyde Park Niagara Falls 716-297-2067 $16r;18nr/18r;21nrNewfane Pro-Am, Newfane (9, par 3)716-778-8302 $9/9Niagara County Lockport 716-439-7954 $18/22Niagara-Orleans Middleport 716-735-9000 $16/20Oak Run Lockport 716-434-8851 $19/21Shawnee Wheatfield (9) 716-731-5177 $12/12Willowbrook Lockport 716-434-0111 $25/29

Orleans CountyHarbour Pointe Waterport 585-682-3922 $15/15Hickory Ridge Holly 585-638-4653 $16/21Ricci Meadows Albion 585-682-3280 $20/20 inc cartWhite Birch Lyndonville

(Par 3) 585-765-2630 $6.50/7.50

Yates CountyLakeside Penn Yan 315-536-7252 $35/35Majestic Hills Naples (9) 585-554-3609 $9*/9*

Due to space constraints, complete pricing information for each golf coursecould not be printed. Several courses offer season passes, senior and youth dis-counts and variable pricing throughout the day, week and weekend.Weekday fees are listed in front of the slash (/), followed by weekend and holidayrates. Some weekend prices are for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, while others arefor Saturday and Sunday only. Fees which include carts are denoted by “inc. cart.”An asterisk (*) denotes 2006 prices, as not all golf courses are yet open for the sea-son and could not be reached for their updated pricing information. Resident pricesare indicated with an “r,” and most require an ID card. Non-resident prices areindicated by “nr.” Prices for 9-hole courses are for 9 holes only, but some coursesoffer discounted rates for completing the course twice. All prices for Canadian golfcourses are in Canadian funds (Can).

Wayne CountyCrooked Pines Macedon 315-986-4455 $18*/22*Erie Falcon Newark (9) 315-331-2370 $13/15Greystone Walworth 315-524-0022 $38/45Sodus Bay Heights Sodus 315-483-6777 $45/47 inc cartTaranwould Newark 315-331-9128 $17/20Wayne Hills Lyons 315-946-6944 $32/35 inc. cart

April 2007SPORTS & LEISURE MAGAZINE • Page 7

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Professional Business GolfChampionship. Everyonefrom law enforcement toconstruction workers tomedia are welcome to com-pete in a two player betterball event in any one ofeight events. The weeklywinners will meet Sunday,Aug. 19 for a grand prizevalued at $500. Get thedetails at www.btc.com orby calling (716) 681-GOLF.

Down the road inRochester you need to takeadvantage of the FingerLakes Golf Trail featuringRavenwood, BristolHarbour Resort, Mill Creekand Greystone. This is thebest public golf in theRochester area and betterthan most private countryclubs. How about threerounds at the courses ofone’s choice and two-nighthotel starting at $195 perperson? Mill Creek has anawesome new clubhouselocated at the highest pointof elevation in MonroeCounty. Bristol Harbourfeatures some of the bestviews anywhere, withBristol Mountain on oneside and Canandaigua Lakeon the other. You get agreat look at the rolling

layout of Ravenwood

along side the New YorkState Thruway in Victor.Try that golf course fromthe tips. You’ll get a goodtaste of how they can hoststate and national quali-fiers. I got a great feel ofwhat everyone was ravingabout when I playedGreystone last summer.The combination of theirninth and eighteenthgreens alongside a lakewith the clubhouse highatop the hill is a setting likeno other.

To the south, we go for a40-year celebration atByrncliff. Another getawaythat’s not far away,Byrncliff has made majorimprovements during its40 years of existence andfeatures a golf course thatappears easy on the score-card, but is a lot tougher inperson. With a 25-roommotel, full restaurant andbar, swimming pool, putt-putt course and more,Byrncliff has become a trueresort and conference cen-ter. Their two-day golfpackage with hotel andmeals for $125 soundsgreat to me.

Slightly further south isCattaraugus County. Didyou realize that Holiday

Valley, Elkdale, CardinalHills, Turkey Run, IschuaValley, St. Bonaventure,Birch Run and Water WayHills were all virtuallywithin shouting distance?The county did, and hasdecided to let you knowthat they are officially agolfing destination for allof Western New York. Andthe hills and mountains ofthe Southern Tier’s coursescan make for some veryentertaining golf.

The PGA’s NationwideTour returns to Peek’nPeak from June 25 to July1, and 2007 marks just thebeginning of a new dealbetween the Peak and thepros. The resortannounced a new five-yearagreement that will keepthe pros coming to thePeak through 2011. Thenext generation of PGATour players will play for anew $600,000 purse thisyear, escalating to$725,000 in 2011. Asidefrom its 36-hole golf lay-out, the Peak now featuresa new spa with treatmentsgalore and a total bodywellness program. So nowyou can escape the dol-drums and relax both onand off the course.

Last but not least,we return across theborder, not for morenews on the LochnessMonster, but toremind you that someof the best golf in thisarea is across thebridge. The NiagaraFalls Golf Club volun-teers to host you withthe addition of moregolf course cottages.They have packagesthat include the casi-no, Marineland, awater park and variousattractions including othergolf courses. Most attrac-tive to golfers would be theNFGC’s central location togreat places to play likePeninsula Lakes’ 27-holespectacular layout. PenLakes is one of thoseplaces that you may nothave played in a few yearsand will have you wonder-ing why you didn’t getback there sooner. TheLegends on the Niagara36-hole wonder playedhost to the LPGACanadian Open. That hap-pened for a reason. It’s 36holes of true champi-onship golf. The GrandNiagara Club shouldsomeday host the

Canadian Open, becauseit’s that’s good. The ReesJones design takes the cakeas the best track in thisarea. Take advantage oftheir weekend twilightspecial; you can thank melater. Also on my calendarfor 2007 is ThunderingWaters. The John Dalydesign has not had thepleasure of my company,but from what I’ve heard, Ineed to get there and so doyou. If you take a few daysto enjoy the NiagaraPeninsula courses be sureand take in a few of my olefavorites like Beechwood,The Links of Niagara atWillow Dell and ICC. Youcan’t go wrong with any ofthose friendly parkland-

style courses. The Links ofNiagara has a new headpro, Chuck Gates, he maynot be a Lochness Monsteror a coyote, but his knick-name is “Gator.” And afterwatching college sportsthis past year, we all knowthis is the Year of theGator. Have a great season!

Rick Zurak is the host ofthe Western New York GolfReport, Tuesdays at 7:05p.m. on Time WarnerChannel 20. He also is thedirector of the New YorkState Junior Golf Tour atwww.halfpricegolf .com.Contact Rick at [email protected], especial-ly if you have a good golfstory.

New course from page 1The Links at Ivy Ridge