Golf Notes: The Toptracer System
Last Friday, former Little River Men's Club Champion Tim McLaughlin traveled across the great divide from Cloverdale to Little River, as he usually does once a week, to compete in the Stableford format. This week, Tim had some exciting information to share. The Healdsburg Golf Club at Tayman Park, just down the road from Cloverdale, has a Toptracer system on its driving range. The Toptracer system traces the arc, direction of the ball, accuracy, and distance.
The information is recorded on a screen at the driving range stall. After
you hit your ball, you can watch your ball fly on the screen. There is also an option to play eighteen courses virtually on the screen. You can play the Old Course at St. Andrews in Scotland or Pebble Beach, Spyglass, or the London International Course. After you choose your course, you can select your tees and line up your shot on the screen. When you hit your ball, you will see it on the screen going in the direction you selected for your chosen course. You also have the option of just playing the front or back nine or just a few holes. The range at Healdsburg is open every day except after 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday when it is closed for maintenance for the rest of the day. The guys representing the Men's Club at the next NCGA qualifying level may be playing Spyglass, Pebble Beach, or Poppy Hills. They might be tempted to play their prospective course on the virtual. Last Friday, Tim said he had not experienced the Toptracer yet, but he may have by now.
The following Little River Woman's Club-sponsored Tuesday nine-hole tournament will be played in June. The first ninehole event was played on April 9th. Down the road, the event will be played every other month. Diane Maxey, part of the Women's Club organizing team, said that the following format is under contemplation. It could be Pizza Tuesday, and the format could be three clubs. The threeclub golf game demands that all players select only three clubs for the ninehole round. Interesting and challenging. Which three would you choose?
Officially, summer is not here until June 20th, but last Friday, under the coastal blanket of fog, many golfers were saying, “Looks like summer is here.” Driving from six miles inland to the golf course, I left my house under a deep blue sky, but a mile from the coast, the blue evaporated into deep fog and remained so for the entire eighteen holes of golf. Oh well, we Coast'ies are used to the foggy summers. We know to always have a sweatshirt or windbreaker on hand.