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USDGA News...
  USA
Golf Teams Ready for 2010 World Deaf Golf
Championships!!!
Congratulations to the US Deaf Golf team golfers
who’ve tried out for the team at 2009 United States
Deaf Golf Championships (USDGC) at Windsor, Colorado
last July. The World Deaf Golf Championships will
take place at St. Andrews, Scotland on August 9 to
13, 2010.
For more information, go visit 2010
WDGC's web site -
www.wdgc2010.com
Now, we have official representatives on
the USA Deaf Golf Team who will
participate in the World Deaf Golf
Championships on August 9-13, 2010 in
St. Andrews, Scotland, a fitting venue
as the historic birthplace of the sport.
Let us give them a round of applause and
we wish them good luck.
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USA Deaf Men's Team |
USA Deaf Women's Team
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 USA Deaf Seniors' Team |
They
are representing as follows:
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Men’s Team:
Brandon Babineaux – Texas
Doren Granberry –
California
Dano Aldaz – Colorado
Mike Houston – Texas
Daryn Taylor – Florida
Jed Barish – Texas |
Women’s Team:
Patty Sue Ploysa – New
York
Lauri Ponikiewski –
Michigan
Susan Zupnik – New Jersey
Melissa Stockton – Utah
Lynn Williams –
Massachusetts |
Seniors’ Team
Tim Dapp – Maryland
Jose Sermeno – Arizona
Joe Rourke – Colorado
George Dyess - Florida |
We
like to ask if your company, friends, family or
relatives can help make a financial donation for the
USA golf team. USA will be defending its team title
from last event in 2008 at this upcoming Scotland
event. The USA team-operating budget for the eighth
World Deaf Golf Championships will be unusually
large as compared with those of the previous trips.
We figure it will cost each player few thousand
dollars to cover travel, lodging, meals and other
miscellaneous expenses.
Please come support us -
Sponsor form
 More
details can be found in our website (WDGC
2008) from the World Deaf Golf Championships
last year at the Joondulap Resorts in Perth,
Australia. The USA Men’s team won the team
championship for the third time in a row and won 6
out of 7 times. The women’s team won in second
place last time but was in first place 3 out of 4
times.
Our
Association is affiliated as a national sports
organization with the United States Deaf Sports
Federation. USDGA is a nonprofit organization with
a 501©(3) exemption, and donations to USDGA are tax
deductible. We would appreciate the earliest
notification from your company as soon as possible.
You can email to Bernie Brown, USDGA Treasurer at
this address,
BerniePBrown(at)gmail.com. For
supporting the team apparels, please contact Susan
Zupnik – USDGA Team Director at zup14(at)aol.com
We
thank you for giving our letter your full
consideration. Best wishes, and we salute your
company, friends, family and relatives for its
profound contributions to the game of golf.
For more information,
go
to 2010 WDGC on our web site.
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The
Torrance Course is
one of two courses
that are part of the
Fairmont St Andrews
Resort and
officially opened in
October 2001.
Designed by Gene
Sarazen and Sam
Torrance, this
exciting
championship course
is a great test of
golf with stunning
views across the bay
towards St Andrews
and Carnoustie.
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2010 WDGC
in Scotland: New Website Launched!!!
The
World Deaf Golf Championships is
renowned as the premier
international deaf amateur golfing
championship with an Individual Men,
Ladies and Seniors Championship held
over 72 holes. Each nation can also
enter the Team Championships (both
Men and Ladies) which runs
simultaneously.
The 8th
World Deaf Golf Championships will
be held in St. Andrews, Scotland for
the first time, a fitting venue as
the historic birthplace of the
sport.
Please go visit the new website:
www.wdgc2010.com
2009 USDGC Results:
Congratulations to the Champions
Brandon Babineaux finally wins his
first USDGC
Hall of Famer Patty Sue Ploysa wins
her third Ladies USDGC
Tim "Happy" Dapp breezes through his
first Senior USDGC win
Check out the Leaderboard
Final round saw hardly
change on USDGC leaderboard.
Brandon Babineaux kept the
lead on though Bill Roberts
shaved off 3 strokes off his
lead while Brandon was
breezing for his perfect
game until bogey and double
bogey on the last two
holes! Doren Granberry had
been having problems with
his tee shots and was losing
his ground until he scored
birdie putt at 18th green
for a tie with Keith Worek.
Reporter says Doren’s 77
game is unbelievable, thanks
to his short game skills!
Keith was the opposite as he
missed several makeable
putts for a 79 game.
Tim “Happy” Dapp stuck to
his consistent golf game
with his 84-86-80-82 for his
large lead over the field.
He was a mediocre golfer
when he represented USA team
in 2008 Australia WDGC but
held key role in winning
Men’s division. Pat Cullen
came in 2nd place, shot
90-87-86-90.
Patty Sue Ploysa was able to
fend off Lauri Ponikiewski’s
challenge with her 84 to
Lauri’s 88 game. Being 65
years old, she is believed
to be the oldest champion in
USDGC history! Susan Zupnik
placed third with her final
85 game.
Scotland
Trip in 2010 and 2010 WDGC
Silver Springs,
MD - USDGA is pleased to announce the 2010
Scotland Deaf Golf & Tour package and itinerary
for fans, recreational golfers and championship
golfers. All of these packages cover 12 days’
golf and tours for the respective groups.
Championship golfers will be selected from the
United States Deaf Golf Championship event to be
held in Colorado. They will use the USA Team
Golfers’ 12 day package as shown. It is
possible that a fourth package will be provided
for championship players who wish to spend only
8-9 days in Scotland.
2010 Scotland Flyer
2010 Scotland Registration Form
Calendars for:
USA Golf Teams
Recreational Golfers
Fans (non-golfers)
Please note some of
the details and prices may change over the next few
months. Due to limited number of spaces, it is to
your advantage to make a $500 deposit to secure your
spot as reservations are on a “first come, first
served” basis.
For questions,
please contact Bernie Brown, USDGA Treasurer at
berniepbrown@gmail.com
or Jason Scarth, travel agent for Britannia Golf, at
Jason@britanniagolf.com
2010 WDGC Poster
President's Message: 2009
is just Around the Corner
Rochester, New York -
With 2009 just around the corner, I want to look
back on 2008 briefly. I am truly aware this year
has had been difficult economic times for everyone
and that every effort should be made to hold down
expenses and unnecessary spending. This situation
also impacts the golf businesses in the country.
Numbers of memberships in semi/private clubs and
played rounds are decreasing. More private golf
clubs are starting to be open to public by having
outings. Also, gas prices limited golf
vacations/trips. Now for the new year of 2009; let's
hope for an improved economy with our new U.S. of
America President Obama.
I want to apologize that
our USDGA web site has been down for some months.
We have just switched to a new web hosting service.
Now, the web site runs smoother and I am very happy.
There are several news/articles we need to catch up
on and post to our web site. I hope that you enjoy
reading them. Thanks for your patience!
There are two very
exciting things I want to say.
1) Plans for the 2009 US
Deaf Golf Championships are underway. Keep your eyes
open (www.usdeafgolf.org/2009USDGC)
for more information to come in March/April. I
recommend that you watch out for airfare costs - buy
tickets as early as possible as the cost may go up
later. Who knows. Please keep this in mind.
 2)
Another exciting event is the plan for a Scotland
trip in 2010. WDGC (World Deaf Golf Championships
will play in Scotland in 2010. Sam Torrance Golf
Course about 10 miles from St. Andrews will be
played. There are very nice and attractive places to
visit. Bernie Brown and Susan Zupnik are working on
a trip/tour package. Right now, they are just
gathering information, such as hotels and costs, for
USA players and fans. USA players will be the TOP
players from the 2009 US Deaf Golf Championships.
Fans are any people, including spouses of the USA
players and friends. Think of the Old Course you
want to play? Please check our web site again later
for more information.
Now, that is the new
year of 2009, be in good health. PRACTICE HARD.
President of US Deaf
Golf Association
A Site of 2009 US Deaf Golf Championships
Selected
June
17, 2008
Rochester, New York - It took a while to search and
select a golf course for the 2009 US Deaf Golf
Championships. Although a list of criteria, which a
selected golf course shall satisfy, was given to Joe
Rourke, the chair of the 2009 Championships, it was
still no easy task! Several nice golf courses in
Denver area were very attractive but didn't meet the
criteria. For instance, one course could not be
available at the specific date/week USDGA would like
to play. Joe became frustrated and decided to try
some courses north of Denver.
 Later
in April, Joe found Pelican Lakes Golf & Country
Club in Windsor, Colorado. It is just north of
Denver, about a 45 minute drive. The Pro Shop there
was very friendly. The criteria was met, all went
along. They have an 18-hole championship course and
a small 9-hole, which will be excellent for the
Shootout contest.
On USDGA's recommendation, Susan Zupnik, the
Director of USA Women Team, and Bill Roberts, a
USDGA Board member, went to Denver to visualize and
compare three golf courses. All of the three courses
were very nice but hardly comparable. For criteria
requirements, the Pelican Lakes Golf & Country Club
was the better one to select.
Susan said that she was impressed with how the
course is played and the staff at the clubhouse. The
clubhouse is a nice and big one, a great place for
deaf golfers getting together, eating and drinking.
The course has characteristics of both Links and
traditional style courses. Water comes into play as
well as being surrounded by trees and beautiful
homes.
Pelican Lakes Golf & Country Club - This course
boasts five enormous lakes and beautiful views of
the Rocky Mountains. This wide-open layout is
plentiful with pine trees, and includes several
dogleg fairways. The large, undulating greens are
very responsive, encouraging aggressive approach
shots. This water-logged course is deceptively
playable. This golf course boasts more shoreline
than any other courses in the world at 7.5 miles.
Don't let this intimidate you, though. The fairways
are generous, and the course is very playable. The
finishing hole is a challenging 449-yard, par 4,
which is bordered by tall pines on the left and
out-of-bounds on the right. This hole requires an
approach shot over a river to a green peppered by
sand bunkers.
Design
Year Built: 1999
Designer: Ted Robinson & Ted Robinson, Jr.
Greens Grass Type: Bent Grass
Fairways Grass Type: Bluegrass
Water Hazards: Yes
Sand Bunkers: 71-80
Yardage Markers: Electronic Range System
For
additional information go to
www.watervalley.com
New 2009 USDGC logo
Unveiled
 Denver,
Colorado - It is customary to create a new logo
for the next US Deaf Golf Championships. The
important key is that characteristics of the new
logo shall be able to be identified. These include
the name and characteristics of the golf course
where US Deaf Golf Championships would play on, year
and, if possible, famous location.
In Denver, Joe Rourke, who is the chair for 2009 US
Deaf Golf Championships, has unveiled a new logo.
The new logo represents a pelican; this is what you
would see pelicans at Pelican Lakes golf course.
Notice that the logo has a background of mountains
that represent the Rocky Mountains. This indicates
that the 2009 US Deaf Golf Championships would be
played in Colorado where you can see distant
mountains. Very nice mountain scenic view!
Joe wants to emphasis that the work
of the new logo was done by his wife Nancy. Nancy
has very good artistic skills and tools in her PC.
Keith Worek, President of US Deaf Golf Association,
was very pleased with her work. He also want us to
know that she plans to create and launch the
new official web site for the 2009 US Deaf Golf
Championships in the end of 2008 or early in 2009.
The web address would be www.usdeafgolf.org/2009USDGC.
Press
release from Colorado...
March 2, 2008
Yesterday, weather in the
Denver
metro area was sunny with temps in the 70's,
seeing large crowds of golfers flocking to golf
courses in the area. At the same time, the 2009
USDGC committee was hard at work meeting with
sponsor and event planning corporations in
preparation for hosting the 2009 USDGA
championships. To our surprise, this morning
brought us an inch of fresh snow and temps in
the low 30's... Did I mention we were in the
70's yesterday???
Some
recent updates that I would like to share: 
 We
had a booth at the Denver Golf Expo representing
the
Colorado Deaf Golf Association and
the US Deaf Golf Association for 3 days
(February 8th through the 10th.) The Expo went
very well, drawing 12,000 spectators and
attendees over the weekend. We experienced
tremendous results from being involved with The
Denver Golf Expo: We were
able to get very good exposure to our
Organization, gain lots of interest from the
metro Denver area, drew interest from numerous
golf courses in the area who really wanted to
host our event, made contacts with many possible
sponsors and corporations (Cleveland Golf, Mc
Getrick Golf Academy to name a few...) Contacts
with rules officials... etc. We were prepared
as a committee and had many packets of
information put together for the Expo which
included: Information on our Championship,
history, contact information, how to become
involved, sponsor opportunity flyers, that was
handed out to all in attendance at the Expo.
As of right now, we have narrowed our selection
for the host golf course to 2 or 3 possible
sites for our 2009 events. We hope to have an
official announcement on where it will be hosted
by the end of March. I have confidence in my
great committee to make the 2009 USDGA
championship very successful. Our goal is to
take this event to the next level and grow, and
to build on the successes of the last
championship in
St. Louis.
Our
Goals for 2009:
- To bring more talent and competition to
the 2009 USDGA Championships
- To keep costs down for entry fees, to provide
the best deal
- To get more sponsors
In
conclusion:
We are excited to be hosting the 2009 USDGA
Championships here in
Colorado!
More good news and announcements coming soon...
Stay tuned!!!
Happy Golfing,
Joe Rourke
Chairman of the 2009 USDGC
President of the
Colorado
Deaf Golf Association
2007 US Deaf Golf Championship's Daily
News…
July 12, 2007
Go see Championships Daily News and
Leaderboard!!!
Missouri Deaf Champion Enters Hall of Fame
December 2, 2006
 Recently, 7 time Deaf National Champion Bill Roberts was
elected into the Missouri Ozarks Golf Hall of Fame. The ceremony and dinner honored this distinguished
fifth class of inductees that included: Perry Leslie, Clair Goodwin, Rick Grayson and Mr. Roberts. “This
year’s induction class is a great blend of people who have not only played the game very well but who have
also promoted the great game of golf and helped a lot of people in the area,” said Rick Grayson. The Ozarks
Golf Hall of Fame was started to honor area golfers and promoters of the game. Roberts, a Bolivar native, is
a seven-time winner of the National Deaf Golf Championships and is a past winner of the Springfield City
Championship. He won the National Deaf Title in 1990, 91, 96, 97, 99, 01, 03, and at last years tournament
he lipped out a 10 footer for eagle on the last hole that would have given him an eighth championship and
four in a row. He lost in a playoff to Doren Granberry. The USDGA is proud of Mr. Roberts and his
induction into the Ozarks Hall of Fame is well deserved. He represents the Deaf Community with the highest
of standards and integrity on and off the golf course. Congratulations again to Bill Roberts from Deaf
golfers across the country and from the USDGA and its membership.
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