Image Up Advertising & Design

An avid church-goer is playing a round of golf on the Sun Lakes Championship Course when he arrives at the 11th hole. is is a 349-yard par four with a lake along the right side. e layout tempts the man to blast one long over the water to land just le of the big tree. But, he knows all to well that no matter how great he is playing, it's dicult to pull o. He tees it up from the white tees, gets ready to hit, and, at the last minute, looks toward the heavens and says, "God, I have been a good and decent man. Please, just this once, let me hit a shot that will carry the lake." As he is about to swing, a loud, deep voice booms from the heavens and says, "Use a new ball, they go farther." e pious man steps back, thinks about the heavenly advice and goes to his bag and gets a new ball. He takes his stance and once again the voice from the heavens instructs, "Take a practice swing rst." e golfer is now completely blown away by this divine advice and he dutifully steps back from the ball and takes the practice swing. He takes his stance again and gets ready to hit. e heavenly voice booms again, "On second thought, better use the old ball." | SUN LAKES LIFESTYLES | NOVEMBER 2024 | 17 Fall is the time of year to aerify the greens on both courses. Hopefully by the time this article is published the weather has cooperated and the greens are mostly healed. While many golfers express their disappointment following aerification of our greens, keep in mind it is this maintenance procedure that provides us with the conditions to which we are accustomed. It takes a lot of work and a dedicated staff to maintain a golf course. Days with shotgun starts are especially hectic. Greens need to be cut in the morning, especially this time of year to remove dew and maintain healthy greens to decrease potential disease. Working early helps minimize disruptions for both golfers and the maintenance crew. Many golf courses have a maintenance day to allow a course to be closed one day each week to allow for more involved maintenance. Sun Lakes is open for golf seven days a week and there are no plans to change this, but be mindful that more involved maintenance may involve some disruptions to golf from time to time. Maintenance days with delayed tee times occur on Tuesdays for the Championship Course and Wednesdays for the Executive Course. These days are primarily used for special maintenance and spraying of greens providing the crew extra time to stay ahead of golfers. The next time you play a round think about the work that went into producing the playing conditions you enjoy and thank the crew for their work. November starts membership renewal for most of our golf clubs. If you are new to Sun Lakes or joining a golf club for the first time, some clubs have early sign up for 2025 that includes the participation in their club events for the remainder of 2024. See the Sun Lakes CC website or Lifestyles for information about our various Golf Clubs. Membership forms can be found in the Pro Shops or you can contact the individual club Membership Chair. Early renewal and sign-up helps the clubs prepare for the upcoming year and put together their new club membership booklets. Many of our clubs start off the year with tournaments in January. To be eligible for 2025 club sponsored play and tournaments, you need to be a member in good standing. ~ Mike Callahan, callahm56@yahoo.com Call some friends, head on over to the Main Clubhouse, enjoy your favorite drinks and a fine dinner, and share some fun stories... Sun Lakes is buzzing with rave reviews about our beautifully upgraded and expanded Lounge, where our design team has pulled off a miraculous transformation from ugly duckling to beautiful swan. The Food & Beverage team is presenting a unique menu of tasty appetizers and smaller portion dinners certain to please any palate. You will love meeting friends, sipping a special cocktail or two, then proceeding to the "new look" Restaurant upgraded with gorgeous carpeting, paint, artwork … AND its own fabulous fine dining menu. See you there! For info, contact Chairperson Michele Walter, at (951) 202-8009; crystalwater@dc.rr.com. ~ Jerre Blodgett. jb@jbblodgett.com Golf Advisory Marketing Advisory Now back to the topic of fun stories. Have you heard the one about…?

• Cover