"If I could have breakfast with that view every day, I would!  The food is as good as the view - EXCELLENT!  Thanks!"  A. Rouse, Director of San Ramon, CA

The Mercy Auxiliary Scramble Tournament on May 17, turned out great as always. Lalo Rodriquez and his team of banditos won low gross with a 15 under par 55. They must have bought a ton of mulligans.
David Turk and his partner Tiger won the Player’s Championship Sweeps. David had a net 66 and Tiger did OK as well.

Steve Hector “Beat the Pro” on May 20^th and, of course, the Pro requested a rematch. If you see the Pro hitting huge piles of range balls, you’ll know why.
 
George Bourke did not record a “hole-in-one” in the month of May. Usually, he gets an ace the day he
returns from Arizona. However, we heard he had quite a birthday party in the lounge. His family thinks the world of him and so do we.
 
We are really going to miss Amy Fischer. She handles all the weddings we have here at MSR and many other special events as well. Her new responsibilities involve motherhood and she will have plenty to keep her busy. Rebecca Brown will take over as our new Events Coordinator around the first of June.
 
Terry Bertolucci found a very rare golf ball on the course recently. It was a yellow Bridgestone imprinted with the name “Forrest Gump”. Mr. Gump must have played here in the dark.
 
By the way, sunflower seeds are not permitted on the golf course. Anyone suspected of spitting those nasty shells on our greens will face severe penalties. Golf is a game of honor and respect.
 
 

Even the best of tour players manage to find their ball in deep rough now and then. Usually, they do the smart thing and hack the ball out with a wedge of some kind and go for the shortest route back to the fairway. High handicap golfers, on the other hand, tend to try for much more than that, which is one reason their
 handicaps remain so high.

Jack Nicklaus has offered the following suggestions.
On any shot from deep rough, take the shortest possible route back to the
fairway. Use a 9 iron or wedge to hack the ball back to the short grass. Open the club face slightly to offset its tendency to snap closed as the deep grass wraps around the hosel at impact. Hold on extra firm with your left hand from start to finish to maintain control of the clubface.
 
Keeping your eyes on as much of the ball as you can see, swing back steeply, then hit down as hard as you can with your right hand, moving the leading edge of the clubface through the grass behind and under the ball. No need to follow through.
 
 

Come by the Pro Shop and check out all the new golf merchandise.
We have new Taylor Made R1 drivers, #3 woods, Rescue clubs, and demo clubs. We also have new golf bags, Taylor Made Lethal golf balls, Titleist Pro V1, Bridgestone B330, and much more. We  have new lines of men’s and ladies golfwear, golf caps, visors, and golf shoes. If there is something you need that is not in our current inventory, just let us know and we will have it for you within ten days.

If you do feel lucky, then pull out your driver or #3 wood and try to drive the green. It’s only 276 yards from the blue tees and 256 from the white tees. What’s the worst that could happen?
You might slice your ball up on that side hill to right of the fairway. The native grasses are only knee deep. If you don’t find your ball, you’ll have to go back to the tee and hit three.
If you do find your ball, you might be standing on a ant hill and decide to take relief with a one stroke penalty. You might even hook your tee shot into the hazard left of #3 fairway and try to guess where you think it entered the hazard. By the way, #3 fairway is very narrow and between the fairway and green are some deep bunkers.
 Rick Merritt and John Redmond are among the few who can drive the green and walk away with an eagle or birdie. You need courage and a little luck, along with a good golf swing, to drive the green on #3. The risk is there and so is the reward. Play a conservative shot to the center of the fairway, knock a short iron on the green, and you’ll usually post a par and sometimes a birdie. But what the heck, sometimes it’s just plain fun to go for the green. It’s just no fun losing another Pro V1.