Golfdom, January 2012

Practice Makes Perfect Continued from page 23 facility Its more of a destination Because of the practice areas popularity the club offers a 90 day package that includes 72 buckets of balls complimentary walking privileges on Orange County Nationals 9 hole executive course and a reduced rate for walk on golf at the championship course You dont have to play 18 holes to be considered a golfer said Walker Golf practice is taking on a more important role as an alternative to traditional golf rounds I would think that you can practice mostly and still consider yourself a golfer Congressional Country Club Its something that our members wanted And it definitely gets a lot of use throughout the course of the year So says Congressional Country Club Director of Golf Course Maintenance Mike Giuffre of the clubs short game practice area Congressional last revamped its driving range in 2005 adding target greens to the range floor In the late summer of 2009 its short game practice area underwent a major upgrade too Until then it consisted of just one putting green and one chipping green with limited fairway grass from which to chip We blew it all up and started over Giuffre said Congressional constructed a new 8500 square foot putting green and we put in a pitching area and a chipping area Giuffre said We added more fairway grass along with the rough so they can practice shots off of both fairway and rough conditions The chipping green has three bunkers and consumes 12000 square feet What we had before just didnt provide members with all the avenues to practice all the different shots that they were interested in doing Giuffre said The renovations were a good move he added especially because in todays society more and more people are working longer hours So this is a chance for them to get in a few shots and still feel like theyre working on their game Here to stay Giuffre said Congressionals observance that more people practice today than they did 10 years ago and more often was the driving force behind Congressionals upgrades Its like the old adage If you build it they will come he said Practice is good for the game Zontek said And like it or not this practice thing isnt going to go away soon Its really not Its going to progress 24 Golfdom January 2012 PHOTOS COURTESY ALAN WALKER MIKE GIUFFRE BOTTOM Orange County Nationals 42 acre circular driving range left is the largest in the country Its par 29 short course below is pretty sweet says OCN Director of Golf Alan Walker As part of its practice area upgrade Congressional Country Club added a second 8500 square foot practice putting green in 2009