The Sullivan County Democrat two-man Better Ball championship is quickly approaching tee time August 12-14 at the Villa Roma Country Club in Callicoon. This championship golf tournament and the tournament committee headed by Democrat Publisher Fred Stabbert III and Villa Roma Director of Golf Matthew Kleiner were able to squeeze in 8 extra players, which expanded the field from 128 to 136 golfers.

The total makes this 2022 tournament the second largest tournament the Democrat has ever hosted.

As always, the Democrat tournament attracts some of the finest golfers the Mid-Hudson has to offer.

Sean Semenetz will be playing with his long time partner Joe Winski and the two have won the Democrat tournament seven times.

This is a no handicap tournament where every team shoots a qualifying round on Friday to get placed into flights.

This tournament is all about great golf, great friendship and great competition.

The skills and championship qualities of the 136 tournament players will truly be tested on this par 71 - 6534 yard course, which has a 71.4 rating and a slope rating of 125.

Interesting yardage with statistics for the first nine holes of this championship course finds hole No. 1 with a yardage of 365 yards and a par 4, hole No. 2 with a yardage of 213 yards and a par 3, hole No. 3 with a yardage of 408 yards and a par 4, the fifth hole is 408 yards with a par 4, the 5th hole totals 395 yards with a par 4, yardage reaches 400 for the par 4 sixth hole, next is a par 3 (171 yard) seventh hole, the eighth hole is 495 yards and is a par 5 and the ninth hole takes a par 3 and is 203 yards long.

The back nine starts off with hole No. 10 with a 385-yard par 4, use the power stroke next on the par 5 eleventh hole with a total of 545 yards. Hole No. 12 is a 356 yard par 4, hole No. 13 is a par 3 with a total of 174 yards, a par 4 totals Hole No. 14 with 332 yards, another par 5 with 513 yards takes in hole No. 15, hole No. 16 is 430 yards with a par 4, a par 3 with 180 yards takes in hole No. 17 and 435 yards and a par 4 totals the 18th hole.

The total yardage for the back nine is 3,351 while the total yardage for the 18 holes of golf at the Villa Roma is 6,534.

This par-71 course has bent grass in the fairways and greens and was built in 1986.

Trump calls PGA “Disloyal” in a post

Former President Donald Trump called the PGA “very disloyal” in a post he wrote on Truth Social on Monday, saying that professional golfers who do not take advantage of the money offered by the new LIV Golf Tour will lose out.

LIV, which is backed by Saudi millions, has given large and guaranteed payoffs to professional golfers who have bolted the PGA for the new tour, including stars such as Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson, Mediaite reported.

Trump wrote on Truth Social that “all of those golfers that remain ‘loyal’ to the very disloyal PGA, in all of its different forms, will pay a big price when the inevitable merger with LIV comes, and you get nothing but a big ‘thank you’ from the PGA officials who are making millions of dollars a year.”

He added that, “if you don’t take the money now, you will get nothing after the merger takes place, and only say how smart the original signers were.”

The PGA moved its 2022 Championship from Trump’s golf course in Bedminster, New Jersey, over his alleged role in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack at the U.S. Capitol, Newsweek reported.

Trump’s golf course will host the LIV Golf International later this month.

Golf Tip by Robert Menges

What tee to play from

Most golf courses have different tees to play from on each hole. They are called “Tee Markers” and are set up on the teeing area. In the past, most courses had red tees for women, white tees for amateurs and blue tees for advanced players.

Courses today refer to the tees as forward, middle and back tees while some courses have as many as five different tee boxes to choose from.

One problem I see with most golfers is trying to play a golf course that is too long for them. I believe a golfer should pick out a set of tees to play from that will allow them to enjoy the golf course and not get frustrated.

Some courses will recommend what tee you should play from based on your U.S.G.A. handicap, but all golfers do not have a handicap so they do not understand what this means.

On a typical scorecard you should be able to find out the total yardage of the course from each different set of tees.

The P.G.A. of America and the United States Golf Association started a program called “Tee It Forward.”

Basically, this was designed to get golfers to move up to the tees that are best suited for his or her game. The program encourages golfers to play a course yardage based on how far they hit the ball off the tee.

For example, if you drive the ball 250 yards off the tee you should play a course that is 6200 to 6400 yards in total distance for all 18 holes. As your driving distance goes down in length, you should play from the tees that make the course shorter in length. In doing this, it will allow the golfer to reach the green in less shots, thus making the round much more enjoyable.

You can look up The Tee It Program to get a chart on the recommended yardages you should play based on your driving distance. If you play tees that are suited for your game you should see lower scores and enjoy yourself on the golf course.

Twin Village

Monday Mens

1. Kinne & Stabbert 132.5
2. M. Brock & N. Brock 129.0
3. Reed & Odell 128.5
4. Tallman & Ackerly 128.0
5. Husson IV & Husson III 123.5
6. Rampe & Clancy 123.5
7. Green & Clark 123.0
8. Thomas & Hendrickson 122.5
9. T. Gilmour & D. Gilmour 114.0
10. S. Ryder & P. Ryder 111.0
11. Murphy & Frey 110.0
12. Tucker & Smith 109.5
13. Townsend & Murphy 106.0
14. Wood & Brosius 104.5
15. Harris & Spalding 90.5
16. Templin & Lee 84.0

Thursday Travel League

1. Thomas & Husson 152.5
2. Sullivan & DeVantier 140.5
3. Benzenberg & Benzenberg 138.0
4. Martin & Favre 136.5
5. Bowers & Edwards 134.0
6. Gilmore & Gilmore 131.0
7. Ackerly & Schmidt 124.0
8. Stevens & Holmequest 121.5
9. Bernstein & Loughlin 121.0
10. Collura & Fisher 117.0
11. Hutchins & Reichmann 116.0
12. Bowers & Hoxie 110.0
13. Dewitt & Depew 109.5
14. Taggart & Mershon 105.5
15. Coney & Mace 94.0
16. Cunningham & Poli 87.5
17. Todora & Cawley 85.5
18. Winters & Petraglia 85.5
19. Corley & Heavey 82.0
20. Astacio & Stanley 71.5

Tennanah Lake

Thursday Mens Palmer Div

1. Roseo & Tallman 133.0
2. Forsblum & Gabeline 118.0
3. Stock & Wolcott 114.5
4. Seibert & Bridges 107.5
5. Bowers & Green 107.0
6. Parucki & Drown 100.0
7. Giordano & Nogin 99.5
8. Walsh & Simpson 96.5
9. Calkin & Schumacher 94.0
10. Haas & Tucker 82.5
11. McGreevy & Estabrook 82.0
12. Cassevah & Strauss 53.5

Swan Lake

Tuesday Night Birdie Division

1. T. Ditmar & J. Moylan 94.5
2. N. Bell & M. Freaney 93.0
3. M. Welsh & S. Duquette 81.5
4. P. Clifford & A. Hauser 81.0
5. D. Luczynski & M. Garigliano 81.0
6. C. Hicks & B. Garber 76.5
7. M. Williams & D. Divita 75.5
8. T. VanKeuren & T. VanKeuren 75.0
9. D. Byrne & T. Byrne 73.5
10. A. Torrens & M. Lagatutta 72.0
11. A. Atkins & R. Festa 67.5
12. H. Keherley & J. Rhupert 64.5
13. N. Huggler & M. Murphy 61.5
14. K. Erlwein & B. Meyer 55.5
15. T. Merklin & S. Austin 45.5
16. J. Merklin & P. Heisler 44.5

Tuesday Night Par Division

1. P. Fanning & A. Marciano 85.0
2. J. Tanous & J. Wilhelm 82.0
3. W. Herzog & K. Clifford 80.0
4. J. Sazoff & A. Riente 78.0
5. M. Diehl & A. Bradley 77.0
6. K. Wheeler & S. Hamlin 72.0
7. L. Whipple & L. Whipple 71.5
8. J. Frankie & R. Frankie 70.0
9. C. Roth & C. Roth 66.0
10. C. Schadt & W. Mall 65.5
11. P. Donovan & K. Scheibe 63.0
12. J. Finn & J. Russell 62.5
13. J. VanKeuren & T. Nieman 59.0
14. T. Gallo & C. Roth 57.0
15. E. O’Malley & T. Ellison 56.0
16. J. Rusin & R. Ellison 55.5