TEE TO GREEN

Local golf courses, like everything else, have been affected by the unusual weather of the last few months.

Rain, more rain, cold temperatures, more rain and more cold, dreary conditions have slowed the annual progress of local courses, but now, officials say, it's just a matter of time before they're where they need to be.

"Our golf course is not typical for this time of year," said Byron Lewis, assistant pro at Conway Country Club. "We lost some grass in some of the fairways due to standing water, and we've not have our typical warm spring, so everything's going to be on the thin side, but as soon as the weather catches up, we should be fine.

"It's been such an oddball spring with all the water and cool temperatures. There's just been constant saturation."

He said CCC officials were keeping carts off some areas and had brought in sod to fix some immediate problems in the fairways, especially with the big Harley O. Weatherly Four-ball looming this weekend.

John Brainerd, assistant manager at Centennial Valley, said the inclement weather had cut down on some play, but that wasn't all bad.

"A lot of times that allowed our crew to get out and do some work they might not have been able to do otherwise," he said.

Mike Prall, assistant superintendent, said the Centennial course had come through its standing water thanks to good fairway drainage.

"There may be a couple of holes that were slow to come back, but everything now is doing very well," Prall said. "It's just a combination of the water and cool temperatures. The evenings are slowing us down. If we could just get the temperatures to stay steady above 60 in the evenings, things will start growing."

Jeremy Wallace, general manager at The Links at Cadron Valley, said his course's Bermuda grass would thrive in the coming summer heat.

Central Arkansas Golf Academy's driving range was under water literally during the flooding several weeks ago but has recovered.

CCC CAMPS

Conway Country Club has scheduled two different junior camps for the summer. Both members and non-members will be welcome.

The first, called Fun Camp, will feature five-day sessions five different weeks. In addition to golf, those will also feature tennis, basketball, kickball and swimming.

"We'll just go out there and have fun with them," Lewis said, referring to himself and pro Scott Shelby. "Golf will be included everyday."

Fun Camp sessions will be June 9-13, June 16-20, July 14-18, July 21-25 and Aug. 4-8. Lewis said he and Shelby were still deciding on ages for those camps, but each session will cost $100 for members and $125 for non-members.

The club's junior golf clinics will be held monthly on four consecutive weekend days: June 7, 8, 14 and 15; July 5, 6, 12 and 13; and Aug. 9, 10, 16 and 17. Each day's session will run from 3:30-5 p.m.

"That will be strictly golf," Lewis said. "We will cover everything from basic instruction in all aspects, etiquette, rules of the game. It will be the same thing we've done the last couple of summers, just over a different stretch of time."

Price for the golf camps are $65 for each monthly session for members; non-members will pay $75.

Call the CCC pro shop at 450-9159 for more information about either camp.

CCC EVENTS

Conway Country Club's regular MGA events continue every Tuesday night with nine holes of stroke play beginning at 5:30 p.m. Lewis said they typically drew between 25 and 35 golfers. Any member of the MGA is eligible; call the club to join the MGA or to sign up for the Tuesday events.

The annual Wampus Cat Tournament, a fundraiser for the Conway Public Schools Athletic Department, will be played at Conway Country Club on June 4. Entry fee for the three-person scramble is $195 per team. Hole sponsors are also being sought. Entry forms are available at the pro shop. Call the Conway High Fieldhouse at 450-4827 for further information.

UPCOMING ASGA EVENTS

Up next on the Arkansas State Golf Association designated schedule is the ASGA Senior and Super-Senior Match Play at Rolling Hills Country Club in Cabot May 20-23; followed by the RidgePointe Stroke at Jonesboro May 24-25 (amateurs, mid-seniors, seniors); the Summit Bank Classic, formerly the Lions Classic, at Hot Springs Country Club May 31-June 1 (amateurs, mid-seniors, seniors and super-seniors) and qualifying for the Southern Amateur June 3 at Chenal Country Club in Little Rock (designated for amateurs only).

(Golf writer Donna Lampkin Stephens may be reached at donnaken@mac.com).