A sense of scale

A practice putting green can look like a semi-neglected afterthought at some golf clubs.

That cannot be said for the massive new putting green at Lancaster Country Club, home of the 2024 U.S. Women’s Open. 

The green was part of a $21 million renovation and restoration project begun after hosting the 2015 event. That work included new buildings, removal of hundreds of trees and significant bunker reworks, including five bunkers rebuilt as originally designed by course architect William Flynn.

As with other features on this 427-acre parcel, things just seem to have a different sense of scale. The new putting green measures about 16,000 square feet, or almost four-tenths of an acre. It blends into the back tees for the 412-yard par four first hole. 

By my reckoning, the elevation change for the green is at least 2 feet, which may not sound like much. However, stimpmeter readings for it and the Women’s Open greens ran in the high 11s. That presented more than enough challenge for a warm-up session, even if the slopes were not as steep as some green locations out on the course.

The sheer size of the practice area makes many things possible, especially the ability to accommodate dozens of nervous golfers simultaneously. It also means golfers can practice the potentially long putts seen during competition. 

Under normal circumstances, I don’t often see golfers practicing 60-foot downhill putts, but for the Women’s Open, it was worth the trouble.

I watched Korean golfer Hae Ran Ryu putt three balls in succession at a hole 35 feet from her spot. The balls maintained a left-bending arc as each finished within 3 feet of the target. The 2023 Louise Suggs LPGA Rookie of the Year then tried her luck at a hole sitting uphill 70 feet away. She came close with the first two and sank the third.

LPGA star Rose Zhang attempted three 40-footers across a slightly sloped space. Two finished inside 3 feet and the last finished within a foot.

Major winner Hannah Green seemed relaxed, especially compared to many of her competitors. I watched her make at least 10 straight 3-footers in a clock-like procession around one hole.

I could not hear if she was whistling a happy song as she went around, but it would have made sense if she did.

Japan LPGA golfer Mao Saigo has won multiple tournaments on her home tour. However, she showed that even great right-handed golfers can struggle with putts that slide to the right toward the hole. 

As her caddie and I watched, Saigo missed several 3-footers as they broke off more than she planned. She next tried three putts of the same distance but straight downhill, making all of them. She also had no problem making the next three putts, all of which were left-breaking – a right-hander’s favorite challenge.

I felt a certain kinship with Saigo, especially on those right-turning sliders.

Senior Olympics winners

Congratulations to Sandra Oropel of Rehoboth Beach and Lisa and Jim Hutchins of Milford for their winning performances in the Delaware Senior Olympics golf competition, held Sept. 10 at Wild Quail Golf & Country Club near Camden. Their victories qualified them to represent Delaware in the June 2025 Senior Olympics in Des Moines, Iowa.

Lisa is a volunteer assistant coach for the Cape Henlopen High School golf team. Jim was a longtime member of Shawnee Country Club.

Blue Tees Ringer GPS 

The folks at Blue Tees Golf sent me one of their new Ringer GPS units to try. It was a pleasant experience. 

The oval device is about 3.5 inches long and half that in width. A magnetic strip makes it easy to attach the Ringer to a golf cart’s roof strut or other suitable surface. The magnet is strong enough to withstand the usual bumps and bobs out on the course.

It comes pre-loaded with 40,000 golf courses. Once on the tee, turning it on activates a satellite search and eventually connects you with the course and tees you are using.

The system connects to the Blue Tees app, providing access to a Bluetooth player and music controls as well as other options such as driving distance data and advanced scorekeeping.

From my perspective, however, the best feature of the Ringer is the simplest one it offers – a straightforward notation of front, center and back distances. I particularly liked the large font it uses for this display, which I am sure is a nod toward the older demographic, such as yours truly.

The device can be found at blueteesgolf.com and many golf outlets, such as the PGA Superstore locations or carlsgolfland.com. Although it’s listed for $199, I saw several places currently offering it for $169.

Local club competition results

The Kings Creek CC Ladies 18-Hole league played their season-ending tournament Sept. 19, in which points for participation during the season were deducted from the gross and net scores. 

Donna Deely won the gross championship with an adjusted gross score of 83. Sally McGovern won the net championship with an adjusted net of 64.