2012年4月27日星期五

Harper's Choice will be replaced with a new building


She added: "We hope the negotiations go well and we're looking forward to coming back in the new building."

The CA board had previously approved up to $6 million for the clubhouse project.

Those suggested improvements included adding a turn house; making modifications to the golf course, such as lengthening the driving range, enlarging the putting green and other changes, at an estimated cost of $230,000; and changing the curb cut entry toward the building for an estimated $112,000.

Hekimian worried that the money being put toward the clubhouse would keep other projects from being funded, such as Titleist 712 MB irons building a new park within Symphony Woods, upgrading CA's infrastructure, and improving the association's outdoor pools.

CA is in negotiations with the clubhouse restaurant, the Coho Grill, about its return once the new clubhouse is built, Goldman said

The Columbia Association board voted 8-2 Thursday, April 26 to construct a new building rather than renovate the old one. The board also voted 10-0 to build a "turn house" between the ninth and 10th holes with restrooms and snacks for golfers midway through the course.

The CA board had previously approved up to $6 million for the clubhouse project.

Ellie Ennis, a managing partner at the restaurant, said "it is our goal to remain open until construction begins."

Board member Andrew Stack of Owen Brown said he didn't believe renovating would solve the problems the current clubhouse has, including a "sewage smell we've tried and tried to have fixed Callaway Razr X Tour irons for years that nobody knows where it's coming from."

The new clubhouse, on the spot of the existing building, will cost about $5.85 million, according to Kenneth Hart, director of architecture for The H. Chambers Co., a Baltimore-based architecture and engineering firm CA hired for the project.

Board member Cynthia Coyle of Harper's Choice said she preferred not to change the course.

The golfers are already "really happy with it," she said. "Why would we disrupt the course?"

The votes against the new clubhouse came from board members Ed Coleman of Long Reach and Alex Hekimian of Oakland Mills.

The CA board had three options from which to choose: renovating the clubhouse, gutting the interior and changing the layout, at a cost of about $5.7 million; building a new clubhouse on the spot of the existing building for about $5.85 million; or building a new clubhouse discount golf clubs and also making improvements to the golf course.

"I wanted a lower-cost option," said Coleman, who had asked board members whether they would support renovating the clubhouse if that price tag were significantly lower than the cost of building new. "I believe that there's other ways that money can be spent within CA that can benefit residents as a whole."

CA president Phil Nelson said, however, that $1.35 million has been set aside over the next two fiscal years for pool improvements, and another $850,000 is available for the 2015 fiscal year.

2012年4月19日星期四

Beth Bader took a one-stroke lead in the LPGA LOTTE Championship

"It feels good," said the 401st-ranked Bader, making her first start of the year. "Been awhile since I've been here. Been awhile since I actually teed it up in an event. But it's good.

"I practiced hard. I played some Grasshopper Tour events in Phoenix to get ready and keep going. So it was nice to be able to transition back into target golf, because I haven't done that for a while. So, I'm very pleased."

"Overall, I stay patient and I make lots of good putts," Tseng said. "I still miss some, but I hung in there. It's only first ping g15 driver day of the tournament, so I'm pretty happy today. Still on the leaderboard, still can see my name up there, so very happy."

"I hit it in the water on No. 10, so made bogey there," Tseng said. "I made another bogey on No. 11 hole, kind of a short hole. ... On No. 12, I made a tough 12-footer for par. I think that's the big turning point for today. If I make another bogey, I don't know what's going to happen. But I save par there and make birdie the next hole, so it's a good turn for me."

Sun Young Yoo, coming off a playoff victory over I.K. Kim on April 1 in the Kraft Nabisco, was two stroke back at 70 along with Suzann Pettersen, Brittany Lincicome, Cristie Kerr, Elisa Serrama and Inbee Park

Winless on the LPGA Tour, the 38-year-old Bader birdied Nos. 5, 6 and 7 to reach 5 under, but dropped a stroke on the par-4 ninth — her final hole — with her lone bogey of the round played in 30-mph gusts.

Stanford also bogeyed her final hole. The Texan won the last LPGA Tour event played in Hawaii, overtaking Ping G20 Hybrid Michelle Wie in the 2009 SBS Open at Turtle Bay.

Wie had two early double bogeys in a 78 that left her 10 strokes back. She has missed the cuts in her last two starts.

Lang, also from Texas, had only 24 putts.

Tseng, the Taiwanese star who has won three of the first six events this year, was second along with HSBC Women's Champions winner Angela Stanford, Jiyai Shin and Brittany Lang.

"That wind is crazy," Lang said. "I hit the ball fantastic. When you hit pure, solid shots the wind does not affect it as much. I hit the ball really solid and gave myself a lot of chances discount golf clubs and I putted really well with my new putter."

Kim, devastated by a missed 1-foot putt on the final hole of regulation in the Kraft Nabisco, shot a 71.

"Flying over, all those positive memories came flooding a back," Stanford said. "I love Hawaii. I love being here. I love just the atmosphere, the people. It is always windy, usually, so I'm just comfortable."

2012年4月5日星期四

Golf is a little like gambling

Morrow said roughly 90 percent of his site's customers were from North America and the man still expected to see a handle approaching $500,000 with this year's Masters. In an attempt to exploit golf's popularity, Morrow said software specialists at Bovada.lv was working feverishly to have the site's in-round betting offerings ready for your Masters; those same pages allow bettors to wager on players on a hole-to-hole basis, literally betting while lying on his or her couches.

Think there is no way McIlroy will make par from off the fairway on No. 1? Click. Click. You only bet on a Titleist 712 MB irons bogey. Just like the way Vijay Singh is hitting his short irons? It is possible to wager on him making birdie on the par-3 12th.

As golf has become a greater portion of a spectator sport, this can be a way for people to feel more coupled to the experience, Morrow said.

Opinions on the reason behind golf's betting boom vary, but most trace the start to Woods's dominant stretch beginning in the late 1990s. Golf happens to be a name sport when it comes to betting, Sherman said meaning the tournaments where stars like Woods or Phil Mickelson play get more betting ?a so its increase in general popularity at that point also sparked a desire for wagering.

During those times, however, Woods won so often there was little value in betting on him; chances were way too low.

Now, with Woods's career revived, a person's eye in golf has spiked again and there is more payoff on backing Woods as a result of his inconsistent form along with the emergence of other stars to challenge him. On Wednesday, Woods was roughly 4 to 1 to win the Masters in most sports books, with McIlroy at approximately 6 to 1 and Callaway Razr X Tour irons Mickelson at 12 one.

When the tournament begins, many sports books will update their odds after each round (something rarely happened in the past) along with a number of books making the effort to seize upon the raised TV coverage of the Masters by offering variations about the hole-by-hole betting structure.

Previously, when TV coverage of golf was minimal, it made little sense to supply in-round betting because no you are able to see the things they were betting on, Morrow said.

When they might only show the trunk nine or only show 1 or 2 players, there was clearly no reason, he added. With Web site video coverage and more coverage on television though, you are able to sit at home to make your own personal decisions on how a specific shot will affect a new player and then make your bets.

The sports books' fascination with promoting golf betting is strategic, too; while golf will never challenge the handles for events such as the Super Bowl (which routinely approaches $100 million in Nevada alone), it does fill a crucial void. The late spring and summer are slow times for sports books, so helping the desire for golf betting is essential on the industry's growth.

Any PGA Tour players who might be discount golf clubs enthusiastic about joining the fad using a bet on themselves are prohibited by the tour's rules. Whilst it would be na?ve to consider casual practice-round wagers between players don't come about constantly around the tour ?a as well as betting on other sports, like Mickelson's famous forays into N.F.L. betting ?a you can find strict regulations prohibiting players from betting money or anything valueable with a golf tournament or similar event, whether or not the player is within such competition..

2012年4月1日星期日

Yoo won the LPGA Tour's first major

Yoo won the LPGA Tour's initial of the season with steady play down the stretch, but she reached make traditional leap into Poppie's Pond only after Kim's mind-boggling miss on a single green minutes earlier.

"She's an excellent putter," Yoo said about Kim. "She usually doesn't miss that type of putt, but ... you  will never know after that happen."

Yoo, who earned her second career LPGA Tour victory, and Kim finished at 9 under, but Kim could have basically wrapped up her starting while using tap-in par putt. Kim could have struck the ball oddly, also it toured the lip in the cup before being released about the same Taylormade R9 Irons side it entered. The gallery gasped, and Kim raised her left hand to her mouth in disbelief.

Kim's unbelievable miss on the Dinah Shore course lowers in tournament lore after a thoroughly wacky final round where five players held the lead. Kim ended up one of the most consistent contender amid those wild momentum swings, going bogey-free through 17 holes.

"On the playoff hole, it is simply tough to kind of target what are you doing right now," Kim said. "Because I had been still a bit bummed (about) so what happened on 18, honestly."

Yoo and Kim totally 18th again inside playoff, and Kim's drive barely cleared the water, landing inside rough. She resulted in a birdie putt short in the fringe, and Yoo calmly reached the green before burying her winning putt.

Kim and Yoo shot 69 inside final Ping K15 Irons round. Top-ranked Yani Tseng finished third at 8 under with a disappointing final-round 73. Even after blowing a Sunday lead in the Kraft Nabisco to the second straight year, the Taiwanese star stood a opportunity to join the playoff on the 18th, but pushed a long birdie putt wide by an inch.

Kim had been incredibly steady until her miss, creating a 15-foot birdie putt about the 16th hole and a 20-footer for the 17th to destroy a three-way tie for your lead. Kim comfortably reached saving money for the 18th and barely missed a lengthy birdie putt.

Kim needed only a tap to preserve her lead with Tseng one stroke back around the 18th fairway. Kim lined up over it patiently, but somehow missed. She tapped in for a bogey that dropped her right discount golf clubs into a tie with Yoo. Tseng then barely missed her tying putt.

Defending champ Stacy Lewis closed strong using a 66 to finish in the four-way tie for fourth place with Amy Yang and late leaders Karin Sjodin ?a who shot a 74 after entering the final round even with Tseng ?a and Hee Kyung Seo, who a three-stroke add the trunk nine before bogeying her final four holes.