By Duncan Nixon
Correspondent
The Lake Monticello Golf Course may have been under snow recently, but Fluvanna County golfers are ready for the 2019 season.
Lake Monticello golf contracts run from March 1 to Feb. 28, so serious Fluvanna golfers need to sign up for the coming season. The handicap fee also needs to be paid by golfers who plan to play in men’s or women’s leagues.
As usual, there is a lot of activity on the schedule at the Lake Monticello course, the only course in Fluvanna County. The first event on the schedule is the annual St. Patrick’s Day tournament March 16. This is a tournament with a four-man captain’s choice format, which is the most common format for charity tournaments. In this format the best of the four players’ drives is selected and all players hit their second shots from there. This procedure is followed with all players hitting or putting from the best result after four shots or putts.
On March 23 the Black and Blue tournament is scheduled. This traditionally is a tournament between two teams selected from those who sign up by Mark Marshall, the PGA pro, and his assistant, Dan Henry. A junior girls’ tournament is slotted for March 30-31.
On Sunday, April 14, the Master Pro-Am is scheduled. The men’s and seniors’ match play qualifiers are due to be played April 20-28. The annual Habitat for Humanity charity event is April 27.
May is a busy month. The Fork Union Military Academy (FUMA) golf tournament is set for May 4. The most prestigious event of the year comes on the weekend of May 11-12, when the Faulconer Invitational will be held. This tournament brings top amateur players from all over Virginia to the difficult Lake Monticello course for a competition that is part of the Battle trophy series of tournaments. May concludes with the Fluco girls’ softball tourney May 19 and the flag tournament May 25.
June brings the annual men’s member guest June 8-9, the Lake Monticello Fire and Rescue tournament June 15, the U.S. Open Pro-Am June 16, and the Red, White and Blue tournament June 30. The Red, White and Blue tournament is played on a weekend close to the Fourth of July and players tee off alternately from the red (women’s) tees, the white (regular men’s) tees, and the blue (men’s championship tees).
Golfers who play in the various leagues at the Lake Monticello course are anxious to get back into action. The senior men’s Gray Foxes competition will begin in March. There is an 18-hole league that plays Thursday mornings and a nine-hole league that plays Friday mornings. Competitors in these leagues must be 50 or over and a yearlong contract is not required to compete. However, players must have established handicaps, which means the annual handicap fee must be paid. A variety of competitions are played weekly, with payouts to the top performers in two or three flights, which allows players of all ability to win money.
The ladies have 18-hole and nine-hole leagues, as well. Both of the leagues play Tuesday mornings. These leagues also require that participants have established handicaps. These leagues also play different competitions each week with pay-outs to the top performers. The ladies emphasize that players of all ability levels are welcome. In addition, ladies who are just starting out or just returning to the course can ease back into play by joining the Pink Flamingos.
There are also a couple of evening nine-hole leagues at the Lake. On Mondays, a mostly couples competition is followed by a dinner at The Pub. On Wednesdays, a number of top players compete in a nine-hole event in which real money is in play.
