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LGA Member/Guest Tournament

Come join us for the LGA event of the year!

The 2020 LGA Member/Guest Tournament

Your LGA team has pulled out all the stops to make this year’s event the best one yet!

Interested but don’t have a guest?  No problem!

We have a list of wonderful guest golfers who want to participate in this FUN event!
Let us know and we can pair you up – guaranteed fun time!

2020 LGA Member / Guest Tournament

Saturday, September 26, 2020
Entry:$125 per team
Includes: Golf / Cart / Lunch / Prizes
Format: 2 Person Scramble*
Time:
Check In: 8:00 am
Shotgun Start: 9:00 am
                                                       

FAQ’s

Sign up located on the LGA Board near Pro Shop

Tournament open to LGA Members** who are Golf Members of HCGCC

Guest must not be a current Golf Member of HCGCC

Current GHIN # required for all participants (if no GHIN # contact LGA for review)

* Tournament will be 18 holes.  Flights will be set based on handicap & number of participants.

Registration Deadline:  Wednesday, September 23rd

** Not an LGA Member yet?
Membership Forms available on LGA Board near Pro Shop
Dues:  $15.00 Full HCGCC Member / $20.00 Non Member
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Win your next Member / Guest Event

11 KEYS TO ENJOY—AND WIN—YOUR MEMBER-GUEST

Member-guest season is upon us. At many clubs, events have been delayed until a little later in the year, but you might be asked to sign up for yours soon. Member-guests are something we look forward to for months, one we want to fully enjoy, even in these unusual times.

READ FULL ARTICLE
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The Open for the Ages

R&A to fill Open Championship void with virtual battle of the ages

Jack Nicklaus never had the opportunity to face world number one Rory McIlroy at the Open Championship but the R&A has brought the champions from different eras together at St Andrews using archive footage and modern technology.

With golf’s oldest major cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the R&A has launched ‘The Open for The Ages’ which will see McIlroy, Nicklaus and other past champions such as Tiger Woods and Seve Ballesteros “compete” over the Old Course.

The virtual tournament will be played through a combination of seamlessly edited archive footage, modern graphics and fresh commentary, with the winner decided through a data model based on career statistics and voting by fans.

The event, which runs from July 16-19 – the original date for this year’s Open – will culminate in a three-hour final round programme that will be broadcast globally through The Open’s social media channels.

“Golf is one of the very few sports where this concept can be created and brought to life,” Martin Slumbers, chief executive of R&A, said in a statement.

“The way in which the sport is filmed allows us a truly unique opportunity to re-imagine history and bring together the greatest players from many different eras on a scale which has not been done before, either in golf or in other sports.”

The Open, which was due to be held at Royal St George’s, is the only one of this year’s four majors to be cancelled because of the pandemic.

SOURCE:  ESPN.com

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Is it Justin Thomas’ year at Muirfield Village?

Justin Thomas trying to get a handle on Muirfield Village ahead of Dublin Double

DUBLIN, Ohio – Justin Thomas has a strange case of the Jekyll and Hyde thing going on at Muirfield Village Golf Club.

In six visits to Jack Nicklaus’s emerald gem for The Memorial, he’s missed the cut in 2015, 2016 and in his most recent visit, in 2019.

In his other three starts, he tied for 37th in 2014 and finally got into contention with ties for fourth in 2017 and eighth in 2018.

Go figure.

We’re talking about the No. 5 player in the world who won the 2017 PGA Championship and the FedEx Cup and was the PGA Tour Player of the Year. Is just one of four players to win five times, including a major, in one PGA Tour season before his 25th birthday, the others being Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and Jordan Spieth. He’s been No. 1 in the world.

At 26, he’s won 12 Tour titles, including two this season in the CJ Cup at Nine Bridges and the Sentry Tournament of Champions.

But Thomas can’t get a consistent grip on Muirfield.

“There’s obviously some things that I need to figure out about this golf course and things I need to do better,” Thomas said Tuesday at his sometime nemesis.

He hopes he gets things ironed out quickly as the course first hosts this week’s Workday Charity Open and then next week’s Memorial.

Adding to his 7,500-yard equation is the fact the course will play much differently this week than next in an effort to relieve stress on the course that will bear nearly 800 rounds the next two weeks. That means Workday will feature slower green speeds (around 11 on the Stimpmeter) which will allow for new pin placements, some never seen before; shorter rough (3½ inches); and multiple tee boxes.

“I’m taking these practice days probably a little bit more seriously and trying to figure out why I haven’t done as well those years,” Thomas said. “Obviously not playing well is a big part to do with it, but I still feel my game is good enough where I should never miss a cut a couple times at a place that I feel fits my game like this one does.

“But I’m not going to go out there and spend six hours hitting from different places I’ve never hit before. I only have so much time in a day where I can be focused and pay attention and get a lot out of it. The important thing is I’ve played the course enough and I’ve hit it a lot of different places on this course before to where I know a lot of it for the most part, but I’ll just go check out some of the little changes here and there.”

Thomas tied for 10th in the Charles Schwab Challenge when the PGA Tour returned after a 13-week break because of COVID. The following week, he tied for eighth in the RBC Heritage, then missed the cut at The Travelers Championship.

“I didn’t really have many expectations coming into the first three events because I knew I was going to be rusty,” he said. “It was good to play some good golf. I just felt like I had just a bit of a bulky putter and I was disappointed to play so poorly at Travelers. But I just had a week off, got a little rest and tried to just enjoy the time off because I realized pretty quickly how much of a grind golf is, even without fans and all the adrenaline rush. It definitely wears on you, so it’s important to get your rest.

“I expect to play well and have a chance to win, but that being said, I need to get a little bit more comfortable and execute a lot better for that to happen for what’s happened in the past.”

SOURCE:  golfweek.com

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Join Us!

18 hole Best Ball Tournament

9:00 am – shotgun

7:45 am – Breakfast

$350 per team 

includes carts, breakfast, dinner, cookout,
closest to the pins, flight payouts and honey pot

3 HOLE SHOOTOUT at 2:00 pm
followed by cookout

RSVP to the Golf Shop 770-483-6343 ext.1

or via email at proshop@honeycreekgolf.com

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Join us for our Red, White, and Blue Scramble!

Join us for our 5th Annual Red, White, and Blue Scramble

Saturday, July 4, 2020  | 9:00 am – shotgun start | 4-person teams

This is a fun tournament for the whole family!

Tees vary throughout the round – depending on how well you play – and everyone gets to participate!  If you cannot come up with a 4-person team, don’t worry, we can find other participants you can team-up with.

$25.00 entry fee per player, plus the regular 18-hole green and cart fees

LUNCH IS INCLUDED — Burgers, Brats, and Hot Dogs

RSVP to the Golf Shop 770-483-6343 ext.1

or via email at proshop@honeycreekgolf.com

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Play golf this Father’s Day weekend

Give DAD the gift of golf at
Honey Creek this Father’s Day!

· TEE IT UP TODAY ·

SCHEDULE A TEE TIME

ARE YOU LOOKING FOR THAT LAST MINUTE GIFT?

Our Gift Cards are always the perfect fit!

Available in our online store and good
for golf & merchandise at the Club.

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WHO WOULD YOU WANT TO SEE?

Michael Jordan, Steph Curry, Charles Barkley and all the other big names we would want to see tee it up with Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson

Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson have always made it clear this new partnership in made-for-TV matches would not be a one-time thing. On Sunday, they gave us the second installment, adding Tom Brady and Peyton Manning to the mix for The Match: Champions for Charity, which raised $20 million for coronavirus relief.

A few times this week, Mickelson has floated more ideas, most notably to the Los Angeles Times and the Dan Patrick Show. But who might be next? Who would we want to see tee it up with or against Tiger and Phil? We asked around and got some interesting responses, including the ultimate match. (Hint, think Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley).

Ian O’Connor, ESPN.com
Tiger Woods/Charles Barkley vs. Phil Mickelson/Michael Jordan
I might have gone with Brady and Belichick before Peyton Manning stole my Belichick thunder Sunday, but Jordan and Barkley would bring a ton of star power and tension to the table. It might take some convincing of MJ, since he apparently is no longer on speaking terms with his ex-good friend Chuck. But that strange dynamic would only add to the spectacle. Phil would loosen up Jordan, and Barkley would loosen up Tiger. Barkley would need a bunch of strokes to make this work, since he makes Brady seem like Ben Hogan. But coming off his “Last Dance” tour de force, Jordan would be feeling a lot of pressure on that first tee, as it has been a long time since he competed live with millions watching his every move. Can he keep it on the planet with Barkley needling him about his past big-money golf losses and a winning percentage, as an executive, that’s not in Jerry Krause’s ballpark? A lot of people would tune in to find out.

Tom VanHaaren, ESPN.com
Tiger Woods/Michael Jordan vs. Phil Mickelson/Steph Curry
I would’ve stuck with the rivalry theme and put Michael Jordan against Isiah Thomas, but we all know now that Jordan wouldn’t have played if Isiah was invited. I’ll see myself out. In all seriousness, the golf would be fun to watch, the trash talking would be outstanding and having Jordan and Mickelson on opposite teams means we also might get some added excitement from side bets. This match would have the star power needed to draw a big audience, and while it isn’t a rivalry, it would combine the old-school NBA with the new school in a fun competition. To follow up the success of the Brady-Manning match, you would need to go over the top and this matchup would check all the boxes to make for entertaining TV.

Bob Harig, ESPN.com
Tiger Woods/Phil Mickelson vs. Rory McIlroy/Justin Thomas
There are numerous ways this can go, but I like the idea of a pure golf competition with two of the game’s legends against two of the game’s young stars. And this time, let a Tiger-Phil pairing be a positive instead of a negative, as it was all those years ago during the Ryder Cup. To spice it up, make the competition true alternate shot or foursomes, not the modified version employed in the match with Manning and Brady. Having to play your partners’ foul balls makes for a stressful way to play golf and can lead to some interesting scenarios. Based on the way he handled his role as an on-course commentator, you can bet that Thomas will fully embrace the trash-talking spirit. And given McIlroy’s driving prowess, it could make for an interesting, competitive matchup. As for a location, how about Bandon Dunes to make for an impressive backdrop?

Charlotte Gibson, ESPN.com
Tiger Woods/Annika Sorenstam vs. Phil Mickelson/Karrie Webb
Why should the men have all the fun? Seriously, if we’re even entertaining the idea of Match III, this time women better be involved. Of course, it would be phenomenal to watch Woods and Mickelson tee it up with the likes of Jordan and Curry, but wouldn’t it be equally as phenomenal to see them tee it up with two Hall of Famers with a combined 113 LPGA Tour titles? This time, let’s leave it up to the two biggest rivalries in golf both past and present. Sorenstam and Webb have one of the best LPGA rivalries that dates back to the mid-1990s.

Who else has that type of history? Woods and Lefty. The parallels in their careers are uncanny. And yes, I know that Sorenstam officially retired in 2008, and Webb took a break from golf for a few years before returning to the Tour last year. But the world hasn’t witnessed a co-ed pairing like this since 2001 when Woods and Sorenstam started their storied friendship while playing the Battle at Bighorn, a made-for-TV event, that also featured David Duval and Webb. We’re long overdue for men and women to face off on the course in a big, made-for-TV event — and why not do it with some golf legends?

Michael Eaves, ESPN
Tiger Woods/Matt Damon vs. Phil Mickelson/Will Smith
If you’ve ever spent time on their Instagram pages, you would know that Phil and Will would make a natural pairing. Plus, they are two of the biggest stars in their respective fields, who have cashed in on their fame and performances like few others, despite a few flops on the biggest stages.

On the other side, Matt could bring a little something to the match that Tiger has clearly been reluctant to do in front of the cameras: NSFW trash talking! Those who have played privately with Tiger tell tremendous tales of his R-rated commentary, so with Damon as his partner, he can leave the F-bombs to the South Boston native.

And lastly, most importantly, Smith and Damon could make up for the utter disappointment that was “The Legend of Bagger Vance.”

Mark Schlabach, ESPN.com
Tiger Woods/Michael Jordan vs. Scottie Pippen/Phil Mickelson
They could call it the “Last Match,” because either Jordan or Pippen probably wouldn’t make it to the 18th hole in one piece, given what was said during “The Last Dance.” The trash talking would be epic. Like MJ, Pippen is an avid golfer. Jordan gave him his first set of clubs as a Bulls rookie so he could take his money on the course. Pippen and Mickelson are used to playing in the shadows of MJ and Tiger, so the matchup makes sense. With Phil and Jordan in the foursome, there would be some serious cash being thrown around, which would make it mighty interesting. If Pippen won’t play, I’d settle for Isiah Thomas and Phil.

Nick Pietruszkiewicz, ESPN.com
Tiger Woods/Chris Paul/Larry Fitzgerald/Mike Trout/Lexi Thompson vs. Phil Mickelson/Steph Curry/Patrick Mahomes/Justin Verlander/Danielle Kang
Hey, there are no rules here. So why not make it a one-day, Ryder Cup-style event? The Tiger/Phil Cup? Play three six-hole rotations of best-ball, alternate shot and singles. Look at those names … think they won’t have some fun? And all of them can play, too. Also, none of them are all that shy, so the trash talk should be strong.

SOURCE:  espn.com

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Have you had your clubs custom fit?

Custom clubfitting now touches every corner of the game (and still has room to grow)

In the beginning, there was the golf club, and it was pretty good—good enough, at least, for 15th-century Scottish shepherds swatting balls beside the sea. But then the gods of industry created better options, transforming crude equipment made from wood and leather into shiny implements of iron, brass and steel.

And golfers looked upon this and thought, Wow, cool.

Generations came and went, begetting more advances, and with them new design materials and marketing-speak, so that soon the eager player, gazing across a landscape filled with carbon fibers and adjustable clubheads, was left to ponder questions both exciting and confusing. Which shaft flex and kickpoint are best suited to my swing speed and path? How to tweak the loft and lie to get the most out of my driver, given my angle of attack?

Among savvy consumers and equipment-makers alike came the growing understanding that unless you had a handle on that and other data, shelling out for new sticks didn’t make a ton of sense.

In this dawning light, the modern clubfitting industry was born. Today that industry touches nearly every corner of the game, from big-box stores and pro shops to the practice range on the PGA Tour. It has changed how clubmakers manufacture, retailers sell, shoppers buy and golfers perform. Yet it still has ample room to spread its reach.

Market research shows that despite increased awareness of the benefits it brings, roughly one-third of avid golfers (defined as those who play eight or more rounds a year) have never been fitted for clubs. Across the general population of golfers, the percentage of clubfitting virgins grows.

That less skilled players are often less inclined to get fitted is ironic, since they tend to reap the most rewards. According to Mark Timms, founder of Scottsdale-based clubfitter CoolClubs, a 30-handicapper put through a fitting shaves an average of seven strokes from his score.

Timms got into the business nearly 30 years ago with a custom-club shop in Connecticut. Even back then, it mystified him why anyone would buy a golf club off the rack. Given the evolution of clubfitting since, to say nothing of the spread of consumer education, he’s baffled all the more that people still do so today.

“There’s just so much variance out there, even within the same model of club,” Timms says. “It’s why you can try your buddy’s driver and love it, and then you get the same one for yourself and you can’t hit it. Why would you buy a club like that? You wouldn’t buy a suit without trying it on.”

CoolClubs operates at the high-end of the clubfitting market, a boutique sector occupied by a handful of companies, including Hot Stix, Club Champion, GOLFTEC and True Spec Golf. (True Spec and GOLF are operated by the same holding company, 8AM Golf.) To set themselves apart from their competition, these operators emphasize such factors as the sophistication of their technology, the expertise of their fitters and the personalization of the experience. For example, at GOLFTEC, which has 200 locations around the world, many clubfitters are certified PGA teaching professionals, so studio sessions double as lessons. Fitness work is part of the process, too. One of True Spec’s calling cards is its brand-agnosticism. Name the manufacturer or the component; True Spec carries it but plays no favorites. Of the 30,000-plus possible combinations of shafts, clubs and grips, its staff will analyze the numbers, then custom-build the clubs that fit you best. Data is king.

This was not a service offered to King James IV of Scotland, who commissioned the first known set of custom clubs a little more than 500 years ago. Nor was it available in the 1950s to the famously fastidious Ben Hogan, who preferred to have his clubs set at atypical lofts, with their heels ground down so the face lay open, in hook-prevention mode. As recently as the 1990s, clubfitting remained a rarefied practice, out of sight and mind for the average Jane or Joe. Elite players used it, as did manufacturers for R&D. But even for Tour pros, what passed for clubfitting was often just a game of educated guesswork; they hit a lot of clubs until they found the ones they liked. In those days, a lot of clubfitting depended on tools—lie boards, stickers, slow-eyed cameras, dim-witted computers—that are now about as current as persimmon heads.

At True Spec, the variety of shafts are on the wall and off the hook.
STEPHEN DENTON

But as with so much else in golf, what started at the Tour level progressed at light-speed and filtered down. Among the first to notice was Karsten Solheim, who helped bring customization to the masses by placing colored dots on his clubs to indicate lie angle and shaft length, which now sounds almost quaint given the trail that technology has blazed. When today’s top fitters test a shaft, for instance, they don’t just measure flex or find the kickpoint. They gauge the load and torque at hundreds, if not thousands, of points between the hosel and the butt end. The other engines of their business are bleeding-edge launch monitors that track speeds, spin rates and flight paths with military-grade precision. The growing affordability of these machines, which have plunged in price to roughly $25,000 (down from $125,000 in the early 2000s), has further thrust high-end clubfitting into the public sphere by making it a viable business.

Launch monitors: They’re not just for test labs anymore.

Of course, all the major manufacturers have them, too. Customization is central to their business, not only in the fittings that they offer and encourage, but also in the equipment that they develop. The market demands it.

“Clubfitting has had an enormous impact on what we do,” says Josh Talge, vice president of marketing for Titleist clubs. “When you look at things like moveable weights and adjustable hosels, those are massive nods to fitting.”

Of Titleist’s direct iron sales today, some 75 percent arise from custom fitting. The more the better, as equipment-makers see it. It boosts the odds that folks who buy them will really dig their clubs.

This dynamic is part of a positive-feedback loop in which market forces drive consumer interest and the other way around. Golfers are increasingly interested in fitting, and the industry is ever-more prepared to provide it, not only at high-end studios but at a growing number of big-box stores and pro shops. As fewer golfers buy clubs off-the-rack, traditional retailers have scrambled to adapt.

As a clubfitter might say, some other telling trends show up in the data. A recent annual survey by New York–based Sports & Leisure Research Group found that golfers today are 48 percent more likely than they were in 2012 to believe that the right equipment can improve their game. With such bullishness comes a greater willingness to break out the wallet. In that same survey, projections point toward a 25 percent boost in per-capita equipment spending in 2019.

Clubfitting doesn’t get all the credit; its definitive impact is hard to quantity. But it has helped crystallize consumer convictions.

“That’s one of the benefits of a high-end fitting studio, like a True Spec or Club Champion,” says Sports & Leisure president Jon Last. “The majority of recreational golfers might not understand terms like kickpoint or moment of inertia, or the specific engineering of what makes equipment better, but a fitting can help them put a number on it. Their convictions are affirmed by what they see.”

SOURCE:  golf.com

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What will you do on Masters Weekend? Try these ideas!!!

9 ways to pretend like it’s actually still Masters week

This is a sad, sad week for golf fans everywhere. But with the announcement of new Masters dates, we can take comfort in the fact that a 2020 Masters Tournament will likely still happen— sans azaleas. In the meantime, reruns and simulations can only get us so far, so check out this list of other ways to pretend like it’s still Masters week.

1. Pick a day to fully unplug from all your devices and strictly watch a rerun from your favorite Masters year.

2. Begin all of your Zoom calls and Facetimes with the phrase “Hello Friends.”

3. Make your own champions dinner with Tiger’s would-be selections. Since we didn’t get the final verdict on the milkshakes, I’d just go ahead and assume they’re included—we deserve that at leas

4. Go on a drive and when you pull back into your driveway, pretend it’s Magnolia Lane. It might be easier to use your imagination if you’re simultaneously playing the Masters theme song.

5. Make a mini-golf course around your house to mimic the Masters Par-3 Contest. If you have kids, dress them in all white outfits with green hats.

6. Wear whatever Masters stuff you have. Hat, polo, t-shirt, etc.—now is the time to deck yourself out in all of the gear.

7. Make an egg salad sandwich for lunch. I got this from Trader Joe’s, and while it’s not Augusta’s finest, it’s still pretty good. Pair with a chocolate chip cookie for good measure.

8. Own a green blazer? Maybe break that out over your everyday WFH hoodie this week.

9. Lucky enough to have any Masters cups? Drink exclusively from them all week.

SOURCE:  GOLF.COM

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