Vikings Upend Lions

While area golfers are bemoaning the fact that winter just doesn’t want to let go, Morrisburg Golf Club greens chair, Shawn Hummel has been using the time to get all his ducks in order.

Hummel has been busy over the past few weeks, getting the work lined up to repair the two Morrisburg Golf course greens hardest hit by disease last summer. 

According to Morrisburg Golf Club president Jason Broad, the par three second green is to be resodded at a cost of $8,000 while the worst hit number three green, in addition to resodding, will be re-configured with new soil and  proper drainage put in to the tune of $25,000.

The Morrisburg club executive has lined up a qualified company and for “warranty purposes we are having them do all the work,” says Broad. “For the year, they will put us on a program. They are also going to work with us on a proper maintenance program for our other greens.”

Where disease had impacted portions of other greens, particularly the first and fifth, work was done last fall that appears to have had favourable results.

“Last fall Mick Mabo (club vice-president) and Lee Beaupre (greens staff employee), moved a lot of the best sod there was left from the third green to number one and five. It looks to have caught well and is starting to come on now,” says Broad.

As for the time line, Broad says, work is to begin on the third green immediately, up to the placement of the new sod. “We need the soil to reach a temperature of 50º F to have the sod laid, so this cold spring has really delayed everything.”

Once the desirable soil temperature is reached the new sod is laid, Broad says golfers can expect a minimum of four weeks before play can resume on the two greens. 

Drainage put in last year, has helped in several problem areas and up until the heavy dump of rain and ice rain this past Friday, April 12, the course was drying up very well. The grass was showing the benefits of Monday’s sunshine and warm temperatures and what was brown on the weekend was now beginning to green.

“The clubhouse is officially opening Sunday,” said Broad. “And if we don’t get to much rain the rest of the week, Shawn is planning to put the pins in on Friday.” 

Club vice-president, Barry Henderson has been busy getting the clubhouse in order, and advises that should the pins go in, the clubhouse is booked for a private function on Saturday. This will not affect play, but will temporarily restrict afternoon access to the clubhouse.

Sunday, he points out, “it’s wide open” and we are offering an 2013 Season Opening Special of $10 per person which will include both breakfast and golf from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m.

The club’s first ladies night is set for Wednesday, April 24, while the men will kick off their season on Thursday, April 25. The junior program starts in mid May.

Last fall, the Morrisburg club members, realizing the potential negative impact of the diseased greens, decided to reduce 2013 membership rates, in a effort to hold onto members and attract new members. With single memberships starting as low as $450 and a very attractive $75 for junior members, the club is hoping to hold its own through a difficult time.

Also the club will run without a head greenskeeper as it enters into a new setup that involves ‘greenskeeper sharing’ with other clubs. “This is a new trend that small golf courses are trying in an effort to cut costs,” says Broad. “So at this point we are not hiring a full-time greenskeeper. We want to look at it in an effort to keep our costs low. We can always undo or go back.”

“The cost to redo the third green is $25,000,” says Broad. “It’s frightening isn’t it. Most of the cost is for the materials, including tile drainage, soils, sand, irrigation and sod. I don’t think many people are aware of what golf course greens are worth.”

“The executive has been very busy getting ready for the season, and Shawn (Hummel) has had a lot on his plate, getting everything arranged for the greens. He’s done a lot of work.”

For more information or to pay memberships, please contact the Morrisburg Golf Club at 613-543-3282 or drop by the clubhouse beginning this Sunday, April 20.

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The weather may have been cold, but the baseball action was definitely hot when the 10th annual Casey at the Bat fast ball tournament took place at the Williamsburg diamonds, May 24-26.

Friday night, under grey skies, the tournament opened with two special presentations. 

On behalf of the Fast Ball Tournament, Lyle Schell presented Lisa Casselman, of the Dundas County Hospice, with a cheque for $1,200, the proceeds from the 2012 tournament. 

“With this cheque, we have now gone over the $10,000 mark in donations since the first Casey at the Bat 10 years ago,” Schell said. “We have made donations ranging from the cancer society to high school bursaries to the hospice.” Proceeds from the 2013 tournament, still being tabulated at press time, will be going to the Dundas County Hospice.

Then long time ball player and fan, Bert “Knappy” McIntosh, stepped up to the mound. Displaying the same form he must have had when he played ball with tournament namesake, Casey Schell in the 30s and 40s, Bert made the ceremonial toss.

The tournament hosted 10 teams this year. Eastmain, a Northern Quebec team, travelled 16 hours to take part in the event. Also entered in competition were the home team, the Williamsburg Cigars, Donnacona. Quebec, the Quebec Jrs,, the Napanee Jrs., the Ottawa Blitz, the Barrhaven Blues, the Domville Jrs., the Lyn Seniors and a team from Cornwall.

The home town Cigars gave ball fans plenty to cheer about all weekend long, despite the very unseasonable cold weather, and the constant threat of rain showers. 

In their 6:30 p.m. opener against Domville, the Cigars swept the decks with a score of 5-0. They repeated the magic with a score of 9-0 over the Eastmain team on Saturday.

Saturday afternoon, the Cigars played an exciting game against the Ottawa Blitz, highlighted by a home run from Matt Alkerton, and some strong pitching by Corey Alkerton. Williamsburg took the win 7-1.

On Sunday morning, the Cigars faced Lyn, and fought to a tough 7-7 tie.

The tournament was set up with two divisions of five teams each, round robin format. There were three games on Friday night, with 12 games scheduled on two playing fields on Saturday and eight games Sunday. The semi-finals and the finals took place on Sunday, late day.

Sunday afternoon, the Cigars, who placed first in the Casey Division, followed by the Blitz in second spot, took on the 2nd place finisher in the Sib Division, Donnacona. (Napanee was in first place in the Sib).

It was a hard fought contest against the strong, and scrappy Quebec team (they hit four bombs): unfortunately, the Cigars went down to a 8-1 defeat. This eliminated them from the final games of the tournament.

“We had a great team,” Schell said. “The guys all played their best.”

The final and deciding match was played between Donnacona and Napanee, and was won by Donnacona 11-2, with the Quebec team belting out four more home runs.

Donnacona is the team that eliminated the Cigars in the 2012 tournament. “I’m seriously thinking that maybe I won’t invite them next year,” Lyle Schell remarked, grinning.

Top pitcher honours went to Gregg Garrity of Donnacona, as did the top hitter nod to Mathieu Roy. 

Napanee player John Hass was named the tournament’s most valuable player.

[…]

  His passion is basketball, his expertise is track, but his desire is to develop young athletes and coaches through his coaching.  “What I get out of coaching is my relationship with kids,” says Seaway […]