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weekender april 26 1986 p25 golf guide 86 c for markham and stouffville private once again buttonville golf and country club will be the home of george knudsons golf school the school will also look after the toronto stars fresh air fund clinic this year the facility features an 18hole 6500yard an increase of 200 yards from 1885 with a par71 and manager bob weir said its in good shape for membership information phone 4777711 the club is located on woodbine ave north of hwy 7 sleepy hollow country club has added a pond to hole 11 to go with the water that comes into play on nine other holes according to spokesman erwin j wallisch the added pond will make the hole difficult for the long hit ters because they may drive the ball into the water the course features an 18hole 6142yard layout with a par 70 for men and 72 for women pro bob kennedy will be conduct ing lessons the course is located north of stoufviue on hwy 47 for membership information call 640- 2426 york downs golf and country club has three nine- hole par36 courses the north lay out is 3447 yards the souths 3458 yards while the wests 3449 those lengths are not exagger ated either the three layouts have been increased this year to make it more difficult for the golfer said associate professional david raymer water will come into play twice on the north and south layouts and four times on the west course york downs is on 16th ave west of kennedy rd in unionville phone sports scene by francis king sports editor a quirky game why did man and woman decide to punish the human race by inventing the game of golf im positive that ever since the first day we picked up a stick and started whacking little balls around weve looked up to the heavens and demanded an answer to that question after all were talking abouta very strange sport here based on a seemingly illogical thinking process and certainly prone to strange happenings consider bill cosbys thoughts on the game you had the ball he once pointed out to an audience it was in your hand you were home free but then you put the ball down and hit it away with a stick all right you didnt want it anymore but then you picked up your sticks and chased after it consider some of these strange happenings a balleating tree markham mayor carole bell stumbled upon just such a creature during last summers economist and sun tribunecanadian tire tournament she teed off at one hole in the stouffvilles sleepy hollow course and sent her shot straight into a balleating tree the ball was never found so it was undoubtedly digested by the foliage its a wonder carole didnt hear a burp as she walked away golfcrazy wildlife were talking about foxes the fourlegged ones that live around the 11th hole at unionvillcs windmills golf club weekender reporter greg coates and i had the chance to watch a pair of these little suckers in action last summer they stole out onto the green picked up two balls there and simply strolled off into the surrounding bush with em it was through wildlife that weekender news editor don atanasoff finally found out what he had in common with millionaire baseball star dave winfield both have killed seagulls in pursuit of their favorite sports don and onetime markham jr a waxer coach bill gunter were playing at the newmar ket golf and country club ab out two weeks after the famous winfield gullkilling incident when this happened don had just teed off at the third hole he tells the story best i hit a towering wood shot and the bird collided at the apex of the drive he recal led it spiralled down like a wounded fighter plane and was dead on arrival theres no doubt golf is a quirky sensitive sport a light breeze damp ground bent knees loose grip or even an arched eyebrow according to frustrated duffer ray reny can send an otherwise good shot off into the woods but thats part of the challenge most of us wouldnt have it any other way because overcoming all the chances to screw up is what gives us such a triumphant feeling and not only that but such triumphs and quirky encounters with mother nature make for great storytelling opportunities after wards and thats half the game right there don atanasoff a vicious birdkiller 4773105 for information the largest of the local golf clubs is spring lakes golf club lo cated on the north side of stoufviue rd 1 km west of hwy 48 the facility features three regula tionsize golf courses made up of two par72 layouts 6910 and 6520 yards and a 6230yard par70 links the club will be opening may 1 for membership information call 6402266 water comes into play on seven holes of the whitevale golf clubs 18hole layout which also includes four parfive holes the course is 6500 yards and a par72 for more information call 2941056 those who golfed at the meadowbrook golf and country club in the early part of last season but not in the latter stages will notice that the 17th fair way has been changed to a dogleg format and along with that a new driv ing range was built to go along with the 18hole 6720yard layout with a par 72 for men and a par 73 for women there is also a 9hole par- 27 links meadowbrook is on warden ave south of the stouffville sideroad for more information phone 887- 5801 cedar brae golf tennis and country club located on steeles ave e features a 18hole 6800yard par71 layout for more information call 2934161 thirtyfive golfers can drive to their hearts content at fairwood fairways on hwy 48 north of steeles ave for the thirdstraight year the 100 memberships a 25 hike from last year have been sold out but for payasyoudrive its 375 for a bucket of 80 balls and 250 for a bucket of 40 fairwood pro mary anne maile will start conducting lessons in may a single 40minute lesson is 25 while a series of four is 80 and for those who would like to improve their putting game in the strangest of circumstances fair- wood has an 18hole minigolf course for more information phone 2948248 theres room for 70 golfers at the don mills golf centre driv ing range fees are 375 for 72 balls and 275 for 3540 balls thats the same as last year the centre is on woodbine ave south of hwy 7 for more informa tion call 4756969 the driving range at unionvil le fairways has both matt and turf tees for golfers and the fees are 450 for 80 balls 4 for 65 balls and 3 for 40 balls the range is on kennedy rd south of hwy 7 for more informa tion phone 4771148 our cover subject practice makes perfect markham mayor carole bel knows the practice makes perfect saying well so she took the time to try out her game on the putting green before a recent town of markham tournament mayor bell once had her game interrupted by a balleating tree see sports editor francis kings column for the details sjoerd witteveen smith a yd institution by robert donnelly since the inception of the york downs golf and country club back in 1923 there have only been two golf pros and norm smith has been one of them smith a pro for more than 40 years succeeded willie freeman in 1953 and has been involved in every aspect of the club since that includes a move in the 1970s from bathurst st in north york to york downs current 27- hole spread on 16th ave in union ville his start with the game was at age seven when hed play a few holes with his grandfather at the toronto golf club before heading to his grandparents home for supper living so close to the toronto course it wasnt long just five years before he began caddying two years later he was an active player at the club my dad gave me his set of hickoryshafted golf clubs that he cut down to size smith recalled i worked my way up from there smith turned pro at 19 and was president of the canadian profes- sional golfers association cpga in 1960 he has also work ed as a pro in both burmuda and the barbados smith has been playing the canadian and ontario seniors circuit for ten years he admits he still gets a tad nervous prior to tournament action now 60 he ex pects to retire from york downs in 1989 so he can spend more time with his family reflecting upon his vast experi ence playing the game which spanned almost five decades he said i have given most of my life to golf now its time to do other things