Great weather, lush fairways and fast greens…all that was needed to complete the perfect picture was a golf tournament…and we had just the tournament…the Club Championship. 

Billy Benson won the Club Championship over this past weekend with rounds of 74-74 to post a four shot victory over his closest competitior.  The field was tighly bunched after the first round with Billy Benson, former Club Champion Chan Badger and new member Larry Bare all tied with 74 and Shane Simmons in with 76.  Chan opened the 2nd round with three birdies in the first four holes to put him one shot up on Billy and five on Shane, but by the turn, it was Billy up by one on Chan and four on Shane.  The last nine holes was vintage Billy Benson.  Steady play closed the door on his competitors and the result was his 12th Club Championship title.  When asked about the tournament and another championship, his response reflected his class by saying “I was very fortunate.”  My take is that the harder he works on his game, the more ‘fortunate’ he gets.

The Ladies Club Championship produced its fourth different champion in the last four years with Libby Cockerham claiming her first Club Championship at Jefferson Landing.   Four shots back after the first round, Libby used a strong start, birdieing two of the first three holes, to quickly close the gap on first round leader, and former Club Champion, Jan Gambill.  Libby took the lead for good on the 10th hole and never looked back and finished four shots ahead of defending Champion Linda Rodgers.  Libby’s vistory was that much more impressive when you consider that she accomplished this feat in the midst of building and moving into a new home just days before teeing it up. 

In the net divisions, Jim Dodd won the Gold Division and Geoff Pratt took the Blue Diivision; Elaine Mott played two solid rounds to take the Ladies Division net.  

Congratulations to all of our champions!

Football season is right around the corner and in this part of the country Mountaineer football rules.  The YOSEF Club held their annual golf tournament today and the talk was all about going for 4 staright National Championships.  Pollsters give ASU the preseason #1 ranking and everyone is looking forward to meeting the other National Champion in the opening game just six weeks away.  For those not able to get to the game, the Club will provide the venue for local fans to cheer on the team. 

Today’s golf tournament provided the perfect start to the season. 

One of the most remarkable feats of golf is to shoot your age.  (I always shoot my age but, unfortunately, I still have holes left to play)  Billy Benson, a very accomplished player and eleven time Club Champion at Jefferson Landing, accomplished this feat for the first time in his golfing career shooting 65.  Nines of 33 and 32 included eight birdies and a single bogey as a result of a 360 degree lipout.  One of the finest gentleman I have ever had the privilege of playing golf with…congratulations Billy Benson on a great round of golf.  Billy will make an attempt for Club Championship number 12 later this month…we’ll keep you posted.

Making a hole-in-one is a big deal.  While it requires a little bit of luck, there is at least some small part of the process that can be attributed to skill.   Well the gods of golf are smiling favorably on our home as Linda hits a solid 7-iron into the cup on the 129 yard hole #2.  Club Champion in 2007, most imp[roved player in 2007, now her first ace in 2008…what’s next?

For a family who has logged a cumlative total of more than 125 years of playing between the four or us, this would appear long overdue.  Son Clayton made the first ace in the family just a little over a month ago while playing in Florida.  With half the family completing the feat within a month, hope springs eternal for the remaining two to accomplish a family sweep in 2008. 

Struck up a conversation with a player making the turn.  It was the first time for playing the course and a 38 made for a good front nine.  We talked about the coming nine and I cautioned that the back nine plays a little bit more difficult with a number of creek crossings and some added length.  Apparently the back nine went even better and the player shot 34 for an even par round of 72. 

Not bad for the first time ever seeing the course…even better when you consider that the player was a young lady just 12 years old. 

It was a real pleasure to meet Victoria Allred, along with her mom, dad and sister, and see her play such an incredible round of golf.  I discovered that this competitive young woman plays on the Peggy Kirk Bell junior girls tour.  After leaving here she went and played in another event and shot 79-75 and won that event.  If you are interested in golf and wonder where the future stars are coming from, you might want to write this player’s name down and watch for her in the future. 

We had a visit from several members of the North Carolina Golf Panel over the last two days.  All of them had played the course in past years but none had seen it in the last 12 months.  Everyone commented on the overall conditioning and Mother Nature helped out with temps in the low 70’s.  Two of the panel said that the course was in the best condition they had ever seen it in.  Greens were smooth and fast…just what the doctor ordered.

Dogs are supposed to be pretty smart…especially those that come from the pound and are reputed to have some street smarts.  This isn’t necessarily the case when dog meets skunk.  Our dog, Bailey, chases down a skunk and gets the expected spray in the face and decides a second encounter must be in order.  The skunk does his thing a second time and dog retreats.  Learning the ways of the mountains prepares you for these types of problems.  Friendly neighbors provide a home remedy that bathes the dog in tomato juice and baking soda and the clean up begins.  The first problem is getting close enough to the dog to start the process only to find that not all tomato juice is created equal.  Once tomato juice goes bad it reacts like a can of soda that has been shaken before opening.  Within a few minutes the situation is a dog that smells like a skunk, his owner who also now smells like a skunk, both covered in tomato juice, attempting to cover said dog in baking soda.  So far, so good.  Once applied, we decide to let it sit and do its’ thing but the dog has other ideas.  Bailey spots another skunk and it is deja vu all over again.  By the way, all the tomato juice did was dye our blond dog red…still stinks.  Like all red-blooded Americans we consult the internet for any remedy that will provide relief and we find a new recipe…one quart of hydrogen peroxide, 1/4 cup of baking soda, teaspoon of Dawn dishwashing liquid mixed together and sponged on dog.  Let sit for 10-15 minutes and hope that the dog doesn’t see another skunk during that time.  Hose off, dry off and pooch is good to go.  This worked pretty well with the added benefit of the hydrogen peroxide returning Bailey to his original color. 

Well, after a week of the new website being up, we’ve received a great response from our residents, staff and guests.  I’m so glad everyone likes the new design!  It was a long time coming, but this new site really captures what Jefferson Landing is all about.

To bring you up to speed on what’s been going on in the community:

Many of our out-of-town residents are returning to find the community bustling with construction activity.  We have new townhomes underway in the Stonehaven and Eastpoint neighborhoods and a new, six-residence condominium is nearing completion at Birkdale.  It’s very encouraging to see how quickly everything’s going up.

Custom single family homes are coming out of the ground as well.  It’s truly the most construction activity this community’s seen in its 18 year history!  I must say, Jefferson Landing is still going strong to defy current real estate conditions. 

As a relative newcomer to the world of blogs, I thought I would get the ball rolling by introducing our new Jefferson Landing website. We wanted this new site to be easier to navigate and provide better information about our community and club than our old site offered – and I must say it does just that! Then on as regular a basis as I can muster, I will fill everyone in on what happens here and what all we do up here in the mountains.

When you look around our new site, there are a couple of interesting features I want to point out. First is the current golfing conditions. As a point of reference, we think a “bad day” on the course is still a better day than most anything else, so it’s going to have to be a really, really bad day before we say no golf.

Second, be sure to check out the Events Calendar. One of my family’s favorite events coming up is Christmas in July. From happenings in Jefferson Landing to fun events around the area, there’s always something to do here.

I hope you enjoy the new site. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to contact me.