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Folds of Honor on Labor Day weekend schedule

August 31, 2018

Thousands of golf courses across the country support the Patriots Golf Day fundraisers during Labor Day weekend. The Folds of Honor organization, a 501(c)3 charity, has raised more than $24 million since 2007 for college scholarships for spouses and children of fallen and disabled military service members.

This year’s Sussex County course participants include American Classic Golf Club, Baywood Greens Golf Club, Hooper’s Landing, Kings Creek Country Club, Rehoboth Beach Country Club and The Rookery’s two courses.

At the 2018 PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, Fla., I met Sarah Duncan, a regional development officer for Folds of Honor. The 2011 graduate of Auburn University is a direct beneficiary of the scholarship program.

“My father was an F15 pilot, and lost his life in a training exercise off the North Carolina coast when I was 6 years old,” she explained. “We learned about the scholarships while I was in college, and I received my scholarship for my last two years at Auburn.” 

Duncan’s younger brother will receive $5,000 scholarships for each year he is at university. More than 16,000 students have benefited from the program.

Much of the money comes from donation boxes at the pro shops during Labor Day weekend. Duncan said they also tap into the corporate sector, with sponsors such as TopGolf, Top Flite and Titleist. 

Another major fundraising event for Folds of Honor takes place on Memorial Day weekend. The organization holds a pro-am tournament in Tulsa, Okla., that raises serious money.

For more information or to make your own donation, go to foldsofhonor.org, or contact the organization by mail at 8551 N. 125th East Ave., Owasso, OK 74055.

Guarinello makes second hole in one

Congratulations to Norman Guarinello of Lewes for his second-ever hole in one, which he made Aug. 15 at Mulligan’s Pointe Golf Club. He used a 9-wood for the 135-yard ace on the third hole. Guarinello said, “It was a terrible-looking shot but it got in the hole.” 

So once again we are reminded that looks aren’t everything.

Lucky Cup Tournament

Mulligan’s Pointe held its Lucky Cup Tournament Aug. 25-26, a 36-hole individual stroke competition, flighted by handicap.

Oscar Pickenheim won the men’s championship, with Todd Slacum in second. Dru Boswell finished third, Sonny Macklin took fourth and Rich Smith finished fifth.

Maxine Ansbach won the women’s championship, with Linda Townsend in second and Sandra Harrison in third.

K-Motion: high tech for golfers

I met the folks at K-Motion at the 2018 PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, Fla. Its 3-D motion capture technology and software for the golfing community is called K-Player and K-Coach. 

The K-Player package includes a vest, belt and glove that capture data on seven to eight different elements of the golf swing. As COO Michael Chu explained, “We collect multiple swing reports and develop an average, so you’re not working off a single swing.”

Chu called it the Train to Your Best feature. It measures where and what the golfer is doing at address, at the top of the swing, at impact, and at the finish. 

The K-Coach element helps the teaching pro assess the K-Player data and develop a teaching program tailored to the student. It does this with Dinging. During a teaching session while wearing the equipment, the student hears distinct sounds when a part of the swing is not done properly. The visual cues from the screen images provided with the equipment, combined with the sounds, act as an effective biofeedback loop.

The software helps the coaches develop drills for the students. The teaching can be done on either a direct or a remote basis using the K-Coach system. 

Chu said a new feature tracks the golfer’s wrist angle. How, when and where the wrist flexes and rotates during the swing can make a huge difference. 

These devices aren’t cheap. A fully loaded Coach system costs $5,495, and the Player part is another $2,495. The reps said the teaching pros usually purchase a couple of the Player systems for loaning to their pupils. 

Local club competition results

The Kings Creek CC Ladies 18-Hole group played an individual low net game Aug. 23.

MaryAnn Vietch won the first flight, with Donna Deely in second and Nancy Froome in third. Anne Farley won the second flight, with Debbie Grant in second and Faye Slatcher in third. Yona Zucker won the first flight, with Prabha Karapurkar in second and Carol Simon in third.

The Kings Creek CC Ladies 9-Hole group played their individual low net game Aug. 22. Carole Ellison won first place, with Tina Brown in second, Trish Galioto in third, and Lisa Gercenstein in fourth. Beth Magnus won closest to the pin on the 14th hole.

The Rehoboth Beach CC Ladies 18-Hole group played a team low gross/low net game Aug. 22.

Barbara Collins, Bailey Scheurer, Sally Fogarty, and Jeanne Allen won first-place gross. Scheurer was also closest to the pin on the 19th hole, at 17-feet-9-inches.

Ann Cunningham, Pris DeSena, Carol Perry and Judy Holtzclaw won first-place net, with second net earned by Suzanne Moore, Gina Bergin, Daisey Hudson and Carole Medd. Cyndy Simeone, Reagan Roberts, Sharon Emerson and Becki Hertrich finished third net.

  • Fritz Schranck has been writing about the Cape Region's golf community since 1999. Snippets, stories and anecdotes from his columns are included in his new book, "Hole By Hole: Golf Stories from Delaware's Cape Region and Beyond," which is available at the Cape Gazette offices, Browseabout Books in Rehoboth Beach, Biblion Books in Lewes, and local golf courses. His columns and book reviews are available at HoleByHole.com.

    Contact Fritz by emailing fschranck@holebyhole.com.

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