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The annual All-City Golf Tournament will be held August 10 & 11, 2019. The competition will be held on Saturday at Walla Walla Country Club and will conclude on Sunday at Veteran’s Memorial Golf Course. A hosted BBQ Buffet will be available following play for all players on both days. Tee times begin at 8:00 am on both days with the format being 18 hole stroke play at each course.

The entry fee for members of WWCC, Wine Valley and Veterans season ticket holders is $75.00 while all other contestants’ entry fee is $100. Eligibility for play in the All-City Tournament is listed on the entry forms which is available online.

Both courses are in great condition and this is a perfect time to play in a fun tournament and play with some old and new friends! Championship Tees (6700- 6500 yards) Open Division playing @ 6200 yards, Seniors Division 50 & Up playing @ 5880 yards, and Ladies playing @5315 yards. Entry forms are available in the Pro Shop. If you have questions about the tournament, ask anyone in the Pro Shop.

By Roy Elia

A stretch of three consecutive birdies on the front nine Sunday afternoon helped carry three-time defending champion Michael Ciez into the winner’s circle after the second and final round of the 67th Annual All-City Golf Championship at the Walla Walla Country Club.

Ciez grossed a field-best score of 139 for 36 holes. He carded a 3-under-par 69 on Sunday after an opening-round 70 on Saturday at Veterans Memorial Golf Course.

Tyler Daniels, who entered Sunday tied atop the Championship Flight’s leaderboard with Ciez, fired a one-under 71 to finish two shots back.

Ciez and Daniels both opened round two with pars on the first hole and birdies on the second.

Daniels nudged his way in front of Ciez with a birdie on No. 3.

Both golfers registered par 3s on the fourth hole before Ciez stroked a 15-foot, chip-in birdie from just a yard off the right side of the No. 5 green.

“I knew I couldn’t putt it, so I tried to chip it as close as I could and it went in,” Ciez said.

The chip, coupled with a Daniels’ bogey, put Ciez in the driver’s seat for good.

Ciez and Daniels both birdied the sixth hole, but the margin edged up to two shots after a Ciez birdie at No. 7.

The lead fell back to one following a bogey by Ciez on the ninth hole.

Ciez regained control of the tournament with pars on the first four holes of the back nine and a birdie putt on No. 14. He played even-par golf on holes 15-17 prior to an anti-climatic bogey at the last.

While Ciez shot an even-par 36 on the final nine holes, Daniels and two others in the final group — Eric Kimball and Carl Wheeler — went over par. Daniels had a 37, Kimball penciled in a 40, and Wheeler shot 41.

“I just wanted to put the ball in play and not put up a big number,” Ciez said. “I didn’t want to put up bogies. That is the worst thing you can do in golf.

“This (All-City victory) was more special because in the others, I was confident I would win,” Ciez said. “I didn’t have that sense this year. This was the most nervous I’ve been on a golf course in a long time.”

“I knew I had my work cut out for me,” Daniels said. “He (Ciez) is a good player. I had too many bogies (4). You’re not going to beat him making bogies.”

Kimball ended the weekend with a 146 total and Wheeler put up a 151. On the positive side, Kimball (138) and Wheeler (143) finished first and tied for third, respectively, in the Championship Flight’s low-net category.

“Ciez played a solid round,” Kimball said. “I expected him to play well.”

“I was grateful to watch some good golf,” Wheeler quipped when commenting on the final round. “I had a front-row seat. The guys hit the ball really well. I tried to stay out of their way.”

Todd Kimball nipped Barry Wofford (147-148) to win the Open Flight gross title. Allen Stanley (129) was low net.

Howard Crosby and Dave Boldman claimed senior division crowns. Crosby tallied a low-gross total of 144 while Boldman set the low-net pace with a 122.

Kendall Dunovant and Patty Cook were the weekend’s top women’s performers. Dunovant swung her way to a gross tally of 158 and Cook put up a 144 for low-net honors.

For full article please go to http://www.union-bulletin.com/sports/ciez-successfully-defends-all-city-titles/article_cfd76978-6308-11e6-a7c1-cb26893ae13a.html 

It’ll be a different kind of pitching for Veterans Memorial Golf Course for about a week this summer.

With the Gentlemen of the Road Stopover expected to potentially double Walla Walla’s population for a few days, local officials need a lot of real estate for camping.

And they’re planning tents to be pitched for as many as 22,000 campers at the municipal golf course.

Walla Walla Parks and Recreation Director Jim Dumont said the course will close Monday of the music festival week. The production company, Madisen House Presents, will begin setup to accommodate the visitors.

If Brookside Golf Course in Pasadena, Calif., can pull off Rose Bowl parking on its golf course, there’s no reason Walla Walla can’t do it, too, he said.

And organizers have contingency plans for every element of the site. With a goal to leave the place in the same condition in which they found it, they would cover the expense of any damage, he said.

The plan is to fence off all greens, traps and tee boxes to protect them. Watering will continue and take place at night as usual. The greens/tee boxes will be watered daily. The city’s irrigation system has a valve and head at each sprinkler that allows them to be isolated.

The holes north of the railroad tracks will not be used, so they will have normal irrigation runs, Dumont said.

The only areas that won’t be watered will be the fairways and the rough, where campers will be set up. Recovery there will be made through water and fertilizer, as the grass is resilient.

City officials don’t believe the move will be detrimental to the operation.

Dumont said the city’s contracted course operators, Early Repass Golf, will be paid by the festival organizers for the closure.

He said there was no public process to discuss the closure with the general public because that would have required notifying the public before the festival was announced, jeopardizing Walla Walla’s landing of the massive event.

The overall financial impact in the community — a conservative estimate of $12 million is expected to be infused here during the weekend — is greater than the revenue from operations of the course.

Source: http://union-bulletin.com/news/2015/mar/07/vets-golf-course-makes-plans-host-thousands-festiv/

WALLA WALLA — Mike Ciez found a tree on the right side of the green with his third shot at the par-5 No. 18 Sunday at Walla Walla Country Club in final-round action at the 65th All-City Golf Championships.

The tree deflected the ball on the right edge of the green, and Ciez knocked it down to end his final round with a birdie.

The last-hole bird gave Ciez a 3-under 69 for the round and a two-round total of 135, nine shots better than par.

And Ciez held off all challengers in final-day action to successfully defend his 2013 All-City title.

“I didn’t hit the ball that great,” Ciez said of his second round following his 6-under 66 Saturday at Veterans Memorial. “I never made my putts. I hit a lot of decent shots that set up a lot of pars.”

Ciez, in pursuit of Mike Early’s 1981 record of 11-under for the tournament, started off with birdies on one and four, but made bogey on six and eight to go out at even-par 36.

Ciez was bogey free on the back and scored birdies on 10, 14 and 18 to come home with his 69.

“I didn’t make the birdies I needed to,” Ciez said. “I had a couple of bogeys on the front nine, but I finished two behind Mike Early’s record. Those two bogeys would have tied it. I had a chance, but I had a lot of fun. I made a nice birdie on the last hole and that saved me a lot of grief.”

Ryan Baumgart, after a 1-over 73 on Saturday, fired a 1-under 71 Sunday to take home second place with a two-day total of even-par 144, nine shots back of Ciez.

Baumgart got birds on seven, 10, 14 and 18, but bogeys on six, nine and 12 prevented any serious run at Ciez.

Bill Boggs, playing in the last group with Ciez, gave the leader a battle through 10 holes.

Boggs left an eagle attempt balancing on the lip of the cup at 10 and settled for a birdie to go 2-under and clip one stroke off of Chiez’s first-round lead. That hole turned out to be the last birdie of the day for Boggs as Ciez put his second title away.

Boggs saw his birdie putt on 18 go in and out and settled for a 3-over 75 and third place with a two-day total of 3-over 147.

“Through 10, I was relying on the putter quite a bit,” Boggs said of his round. “I hit my eagle putt on 10 a little too soft and left it about an inch off on the right. Then I hit a couple of errant shots and didn’t make some 8-to-10-footers that I made on the front side to keep somewhat in sight of Mike. I was trying to make a birdie on the last hole and end on a positive note and end the train wreck that occurred on the back nine.

“But overall, I’m happy with 72-75 for two days,” he said. “It was fun. Mike is consistent and solid all the way through.”

Tyler Daniels was the only player other than Ciez and Baumgart to break par Sunday among the championship contenders. Daniels’ eagle on 10 sparked his round of 3-under 69 as he finished tied with Chris Smith for fourth. Both fired two-day totals of 148.

In open division play, Todd Kimball’s two-day total of 143 took home low-gross honors.

Barry Wofford’s 147 topped the senior gross scoreboard.

Elton Edwards’ net of 127 earned top open division handicap money, and Bill Ayotte claimed top net honors for the senior division.

In women’s play, Joan Schille’s 164 took gross honors and Sarah Michelson claimed top net honors with a 136.

The 2014 tournament grew to 83 participants, and 37 players reaped rewards for their gross or net play.

“I’m glad we had more (golfers) than we had last year,” champion Ciez said. “The first one (his 2013 championship) was more nail biting. This one was more just playing golf. It’s nice to be the two-time in a row, but we’ll see what happens next year. I would like to see more competition out here. I think it (the tournament) will be bigger next year.”

Ken Morgan of the Walla Walla Union Bulletin

65th All-City Championship

Championship Flight

Michael Ciez 66-69—135

Ryan Baumgart 73-71—144

Bill Boggs 72-75—147

Chris Smith 73-75—148

Tyler Daniels 79-69—148

Sean Taylor 71-78—149

Mason Palmer 75-75—150

Bill Herron 78-77—155

Jeff Neher 81-75—156

Matt Chestnut 79-77—156

Carl Wheeler 81-76—157

Eric Kimball 80-78—158

Jorge Martinez 80-78—158

Blake Edwards 80-82—162

Shane Smith 81-81—162

Derek Heitzmann 78-84—162

Zach Armijo 82-86—168

Dakota Baker 88-88—176

Lupe Perez 88-91—179

Howard Crosby W/D

Open Division

Low Gross: Champion: Todd Kimball 143; 1, Ramon Montoya 148; 2, Mike Lemm 153; 3, Jim Michelson 155; 3, Scott Sterner 155.

Low Net: Champion: Elton Edwards 127; 1, Tim O’Donnell 131; 2, Scott Adams 135; 3, Brian Bruggeman 139; 4, Mike Clark 141; 5, Scott Bieber 143; 5, Chris Long 143.

Open Senior Division

Low Gross: Champion: Barry Wofford 147; 1, Bill Fleenor 149; 2, Ronnie Smith 156; 3, Larry Loomis 158; 4, Don Bush 162.

Low Net: Champion: Bill Ayotte 132; 1, Stan Latham 135; 2, Kenny Beck 138; 3, Wayne Dickey 142; 3, Jess Bickford 142; 3, Bart Harvey 142; 3, Dan Huntley 142; 7, Dave Thomas 145; 7, Dennis Lund 145.

Women’s Open Division

Low Gross: Champion: Joan Schille 164; 1, Vicki Handyside 180.

Low Net: Champion: Sarah Michelson 150; 1, Judy Johnson 153.

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Jim Buchan of the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin

WALLA WALLA — I took a walk down memory lane recently with a couple of old pros.

At the invitation of Chris Repass and Jim Henderson, I took advantage of the opportunity to play 18 holes at Veterans Memorial Golf Course, the public track where I learned to love the game so many years ago. It was a fun afternoon.

Repass, of course, is one of the two new head professionals at Memorial along with his partner, Mike Early. Repass and Early are native Walla Wallans who returned home in January after many long years toiling as golf professionals on the west side of the state.

Henderson is a former head professional at Memorial who held down the job for several years back in the 1970s after taking over from his father, the late Babe Henderson. Babe served as Vets’ head pro from 1957 through 1975.

Jim was his dad’s assistant pro for several years before accepting the head position. And it was he who gave Repass his first golf lessons way back when.

I had the opportunity to play many rounds of golf with both Jim and Chris during my early years in Walla Walla. Jim, of course, was already a working pro at the time and Chris was one of the area’s young lions, helping Wa-Hi to three consecutive conference championships and earning a scholarship to play golf at Washington State University.

I was fortunate enough to play with Repass one hot summer day in 1973 when he shot a course-record 8-under-par 64 at Memorial. He was 19 at the time.

Chris still hits the ball as crisp as ever. And he was eager to show off his golf course, which had sadly fallen into disrepair under the previous operators.

Eager with good reasons.

The old course is quickly rounding into top-flight form. Perhaps better than ever, Henderson suggested, because of an irrigation system that wasn’t in place back when he was running the operation.

I’ve only played Memorial a couple of times in recent years, and I found it not only to be a well groomed layout but challenging as well. It played longer than I remembered, possibly because of that irrigation system. And when you stray off the fairways, left or right, you are likely to pay a price.

I heard a lot of wood-chopping the day I was there. And did some of my own.

Repass and Early are working hard to restore membership and increase play. And although the prior operators provided little in the way of records from which to draw comparisons, they believe they’re headed in the right direction.

“We have 105 members, who are our annual ticket holders,” Repass said. “I would have to say that is more than double what they had last year. So far we have exceeded expectations.”

After averaging 90 rounds per day earlier in the year, Memorial is now averaging closer to 115 rounds per day, Repass said.

Mike Rostollan, the Walla Walla Community College golf coach who helped run the Memorial course on an interim basis for several months before Repass and Early got to town, estimated there were about 15,000 rounds played at Vets in 2013.

“That’s not nearly enough,” Repass said. “But if we can get it up to 24-to-25 thousand …”

In Memorial’s heyday, he said, the course averaged more than 40,000 rounds of play per year.

“With all of the new competition in the area, those type of numbers might not be attainable,” Repass said. “But we would like to hope so.”

The new operators are encouraging play by offering Twilight League competition on Tuesdays, Ladies Day each Wednesday and informal men’s days each Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday morning.

“Those guys are pretty organized,” Repass said of the men’s day players. “We just set aside four or five tee times for each of those days, and at least once a week one of us tries to play with them.”

It’s that personal contact that hasn’t gone unnoticed by Mike Spanish, one of Memorial’s longtime players who often participates in the men’s day competition.

“They play a round of golf with you,” Spanish said of Repass and Early. “They’ll give you a tip if they think you need it, just like it used to be. And I’m seeing a lot of players who left the course coming back.

“And the course is in great shape,” Spanish added. “The greens are receiving the ball, and I can actually pinch the ball on the fairways again. I love it, and they are just getting started.

“And best of all, they are there every day.”

Another building block at Memorial has been a plethora of tournaments the new head pros have scheduled.

“We had an opening-day scramble in March, a masters tournament in April, a two-man best-ball and a Chapman in May, and we just had our six-six-six tournament,” Repass said. “And we also just had the Mid-Columbia Seniors, which brought in 150 players from throughout the Columbia Basin.

Memorial is also offering clinics for kids and special rates for seniors 62-and-over, young-adults 19-to-25 and veterans.

“We’re offering youth sessions in June, July and August — each session two hours a day, five days a week — through the YMCA,” Repass said. “That’s 10 hours of lessons each session, and kids can sign up through the YMCA.”

The special rate for veterans has been particularly popular, Repass said. It is offered every Monday and enables veterans to play for half price.

“It’s for anyone who has served even for one day in the military,” Repass said. “And we are getting a good response.”

Plans are also in the works to open a full-service restaurant in the near future, Repass said. In the meantime, the three main food groups — hotdogs, popcorn and cold beer — are for sale in the pro shop.

“It seems to be getting better and better on a daily basis,” Repass said of the progress being made as Memorial reinvents itself. “We haven’t had too many bad comments, and a lot of people have thanked us for getting the course back in shape.

“It’s a friendly place, and the people working here enjoy it. We are starting to be discovered again.”

And as for all of those trees that kept getting in my way the day we played, Chris had a simple solution.

“There are no trees in the fairways,” he reminded me.

Source: http://union-bulletin.com/news/2014/jun/28/memorial-back-its-feet-under-new-operators/