Great news for golfers in Suffolk. I saw flyers yesterday promoting the Suffolk Amateur Golf Championship July 22, 23 and 24.

The 54-hole stroke play event will take place on Nansemond River Golf Club, Suffolk Golf Course and Sleepy Hole Golf Course. I assume you'll play one round on each layout, ala Pebble Beach.. The tournament will be preflighted based on handicap.

Cost for the event is just $200, which is a real bargain when one considers green fees for the three courses. Probably only about $75 is going for prize money and incidentals.

I wish I could play in it, but I likely will not. Had this been 10 years ago I would have been all over this, but if I tried to play 54 holes over three days, I'd be dead.

I can barely play 18 anymore. I've got 11 or 12 in me and then I start spraying shots everywhere and lose concentration. Typical score cards for me look like 37 going out and 47 coming in n there's always about a 10 stroke difference.

The deadline for playing in this event is July 18. Call 539-4356 to register. It should be a great success and a lot of fun, though it's likely to be miserably warm, but that normally doesn't deter committed linksters.

I'd recommend making the second annual Suffolk Amateur Golf Championship a springtime event.

Regardless, this was a great idea on someone's part and officials of three courses should be congratulated on working together to promote golf in Suffolk.

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