Page 42 - The Golf Guide, Winter 2017

Out of the Bag

For years now, many golfers complain that they don’t have the time to play as much golf
as they’d like. Musket Ridge Golf Club in Myersville, MD, is doing their part to nip that
problem in the bud! Golfers can play and pay for just the number of holes they play by
using the Quick.golf app. “We want golfers to play when they can, as much as they can,
even if it is not 18 or even 9 holes. People have time constraints, so we are excited to
test this. If it leads to more play, we’ll embrace it. If not, we’ll keep looking for ideas.
We are eager for golfer feedback,” says Damon DeVito, managing director of Affinity
Management. Golfers who go to musketridge.com can learn more and can register for
free. The app will display whether Quick.golf is open for play. It could happen during the
last couple of hours of the day or the lunch period or first thing in the morning. The web
app will tell golfers when they can come out and play just a few holes.
Diana Murphy has been nominated to serve a second one-year term as the 64th president
of the United States Golf Association by the USGA Nominating Committee. In addition,
three candidates have been newly named for the 15-member Executive Committee:
Thomas Barkin, Stephen Beebe, and William Siart. Their collective experience
encompasses expertise in strategic planning and nonprofit leadership, as well as a passion
for environmental sustainability. If elected at the USGA’s Annual Meeting on Feb. 4,
2017, in Washington, D.C., they will replace retiring members William Fallon, Malcolm
Holland, and Asuka Nakahara. The committee also chose Mark Newell, a four-year
Executive Committee member, as president-elect.

Fire destroyed the clubhouse at Willow Springs
Golf Course in West Friendship, MD, on November
20th last year. Howard County Fire and Rescue
said it happened shortly after 6:00 a.m. that
Sunday morning. Crews arrived on the scene and
found the two-story building fully engulfed in
flames. Additional crews from Carroll County and
Sykesville Fire Departments had to be called in to
fight the blaze. The building was unoccupied and no
injuries were reported, though the clubhouse was
a total loss. The golf course and driving range have been closed since, and as we went to
press, we have not received word on a re-opening date.
One of the top courses in the four-state area, The Timbers at Troy in Elkridge, MD, is
undertaking a major renovation project. The golf course improvement project that began
back in October of last year will include completely restoring all course bunkers with
the new Better Billy Bunker System, installing a more efficient irrigation system, and
repairing existing cart paths. The course is owned by the Howard County Parks and
Recreation Department and managed by KemperSports. Along with upgrading the Ken
Killian design, which opened in 1996, the golf management company also hired a new
director of agronomy, Jeff Berg, who will oversee the project and remain on staff to ensure
course conditioning at Timbers is maintained to best-in-class standards. "We are proud to
partner with the Howard County Parks and Recreation Department on these significant
enhancements at Timbers at Troy,” said Steve Skinner, CEO of KemperSports. The new
irrigation system meets KemperSports proprietary Green to a Tee environmental best
practices and will reduce water use by an estimated 20 percent or more annually. Berg
joins the Timbers at Troy team after serving as general manager and superintendent at
Goose Creek Golf Club in Leesburg, VA, for more than 14 years.
Nemacolin Woodlands Resort will open the new Pete Dye-designed Shepherd’s Rock
Golf Course this July. High atop the Allegheny Mountains in the Laurel Highlands
of Southwestern Pennsylvania, the 7142-yard Shepherd’s Rock course will offer
extraordinary golf in a spectacular setting. The rolling bucolic terrain fully utilizes Dye’s

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