Lest you get the idea that the club is giving away its product, you must look beyond the headline to discover that this offer is unlikely to result in any parade of riff-raff through the gate at 3311 Salem Avenue.
First of all, the $149 annual fee allows golfers to play only on weekdays, and it carries a two-year obligation that must be paid up front. Secondly, these conditional golfers are required to pay the $22 cart fee with each round they play, even if they prefer to walk.
For those who also want to play on weekends and holidays, Miami Valley is offering a two-year, seven-day plan for $249 annually.
“Our members have never had to get tee times,” MV vice president Ed Mercer said a few days ago. “These people do.”
Mercer said the club will reserve times on its tee sheet for regular members and will have some restricted hours (Monday outings and club events) when the course is not available.
Neither the conditional golfers nor their family members will have access to the club’s amenities like the swimming pool and the tennis courts. If these golfers bring a golfing guest, the usual guest fee ($50 plus cart) will apply.
Mercer said he doesn’t expect the plan to be available next year.
“It will only be available for a limited time,” he said. “We’ll look at it every week and cap it at a certain point.”
Another trip for Walton
On the heels of his recent appearance in the U.S. Senior Open, Tim Walton of Kettering has qualified for another significant event.
Walton finished fourth in the Southern Ohio PGA Senior Professional Championship at Piqua Country Club on Aug. 4 by posting a score of 142 (73-69) and earned one of five spots in the Senior PGA Professional Championship on Oct. 6-9. The site of the event has not been announced.
It will be the second appearance in that event in three years for the 52-year-old Walton, who teaches at Rollandia Golf Center. Walton played in the 2009 event at Port St. Lucie, Fla. He qualified for the PGA Professional National Championship in 1988, 2001, 2006 and 2008.
Chip shots
• Before beginning his high school season last week, Michael Bernard tied for 13th in the Junior PGA Championship at Sycamore Hills Golf Club in Fort Wayne, Ind. Bernard had rounds of 76, 70, 75 and 72 for a 293 total — 11 strokes more than winner Cody Proveaux of Leesville, S.C.
• Daryl Nels of Beavercreek just missed qualifying for the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur, which will be played Sept. 10-15 at The Honors Course in Chattanooga, Tenn. Playing in the sectional at Noblesville, Ind., on Aug. 8, Nels shot 79 to tie for the third and final qualifying position. She was beaten in a playoff and is first alternate.
• Lee Rinker, the former Country Club of the North pro, had a strange set of scores in the 3M Championship at Blaine, Minn., last week. Rinker shot 70 in the first round, posted a shocking 83 in the second round and bounced back in the final round with a 7-under-par 65 — the second best score of the day. In the second round, Rinker played the last eight holes in 9-over par. Overall, he had two birdies, three bogeys, three double bogeys and a quadruple bogey.
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