Between tournaments to watch, others to play in and a bunch of rain, August has been a tough month to find time to practice. Fortunately, most of the tournaments we’ve played in have been scrambles so the bad shots don’t show up on the scorecard. But they are there and that means it’s time for a tune up.

That’s where a lot of us find ourselves in August. A bad habit creeps in and the scores start going up.

We have a lot of company. Look what happened to the top PGA players. Davis Love missed the cut and Tiger Woods didn’t finish high enough to make a dent in Love’s $300,000 lead in the money standings. With Love just over $5 million and Woods just under, both are having great years, but Jim Furyk whose $4.4 million in winnings includes the U.S. Open check would probably win Player of the Year. Another win or two by either Love or Woods and we could have a Player of the Year without a major win. This competition will make the late season play more interesting. But the way things are going we could have some newcomers winning, shutting out the big names.

What has been fun to watch is the speculation about Woods catching Nicklaus record of 18 majors. He’s already ahead of Nicklaus’ pace, but this year’s winners demonstrated just how deep the talent is on the tour and how easy it is to have a score balloon with a couple of missed fairways. Tiger got to the top by working harder than the other players. Now, they have followed his lead and we’re seeing players like Fred Couples back in the hunt. The depth is going to make Nicklaus’ record more difficult to reach, but it’s making the chase a lot more interesting.

One of the players with a great shot at Player of the Year has taken himself out of the running. Kenny Perry, who has three wins and five top 10s, is taking the next five weeks off to coach his kid’s golf team. His $4 million is good for sixth on the money list at present, but unless he finishes well up in the NEC today, there are several players who could pass him.

Following the tour is fun, but watching closer to home is even better. Tuesday was a day to visit Biddeford-Saco CC to catch the finish of the New England Junior Championships. The defending champion Maine team had a tough second round the first day and never figured in the competition. Oxford’s Joe Baker fired a closing 1-over-par 72 to finish eighth as the team’s low scorer. Jesse Speirs, the defending individual champ opened with a 1-under 70, but then shot 80-79 to finish 15th, a shot behind teammate Will Robinson.

The winning Connecticut team had five players in the top 13. Maine finished fourth, but with Speirs returning next year and a bunch of youngsters ready to move up, the team is optimistic.

Spectators on the veranda had a great view of the ninth green. Those who left the ball on the lower front level had a tough time getting the ball close for an easy two putt and any above the hole had trouble keeping in on the upper level with the flag. Several of the greens on the front nine remind us of Donald Ross who designed such difficult greens on most of his courses.

The back nine by Silva follows the Ross tradition. The course was a good test for New England’s top juniors.

Joe Baker will soon be joining his high school team at Oxford Hills. Speirs was planning on taking some time off after playing in eight events in just over a month. After getting some coaching from Woodlands pro, Paul Piveronas, the Maine junior champion will head for a tournament in Alabama.

Fox Ridge was busy of late with the Golf Maine tournament a week ago Saturday and a March of Dimes event Monday, which attracted 128 golfers and raised close to $20,000.

Monday was the annual Special Olympics tournament at Springbrook, where our Maine Golf Hall of Fame Team finished out of the money, but $2,000 was raised for the Special Olympics. I took advantage of the opportunity to have Al Biondi take a look at my swing and I now have the drill I need to make the correction. Fifteen minutes under the eye of a pro is far more valuable than a day on the range without instruction. Now all I have to do is do it. Maybe the next time out will produce a better score and fewer balls will be left around the course.

He wanted me to try some new Wilson balls. The new Total Performance Sonic claims to have long range and military precision. I told Al, if the swing change didn’t work they would simply go further into the woods.

E-mail updates on the new course at Sunday River are getting more interesting. Five holes are complete and five more under construction with work about to begin on Nos. 10 through 17. A drawing of the new clubhouse is on the Website (www.sundayriver.com) and that construction is scheduled to get underway in September.

The event to watch this week is the Maine Senior Amateur which will start tomorrow at Portland CC and wind up Tuesday at Fox Ridge.

Dave Irons is a freelance writer who lives in Westbrook.

Copy the Story Link