Zen Golf makes
believers of Singh, Howell
By David R. Holland,
Senior Writer
RANCHO SAN MARCOS, Calif. (May 22, 2003) -- It doesn't take a genius
to know that golf is a hard game and if you can clear
your mind and focus you have a much better chance to
execute.
But Dr. Joseph Parent, author of Zen Golf,
provides some keys to mastering the mental game. Vijay
Singh was so impressed he regularly seeks Parent's
advice and so does Jaxson Brigman, who plays on the Nationwide Tour.
 "Charles Howell told me he used some of my techniques
during the U.S. Open at Bethpage Black," said Dr.
Parent, who is based out of beautiful Rancho San
Marcos in the mountains above Santa Barbara. "Howell
said he was in a fairway during the competition,
remembered a chapter in the book about staying
positive and re-focused on his round."
When Dr. Parent observed Singh one day at Riviera he
noticed that he was discussing the shot with his caddy
right up to the point where he pulled the trigger.
Parent suggested he finish the conversation and then
take a quiet moment to focus on the shot.
Singh's caddy believes in the Parent methods. Vijay
asked to see Parent's swing one day at Pebble Beach.
"I promptly hit a nice one with a draw after using my
best Zen-golf techniques," Parent said. "I handed
Singh's club back and his caddy said, 'Doc, I'm a
believer, because you didn't make that great of swing,
but found a way to hit it on target.' "
Dr. Parent conducts seminars at Rancho San Marcos with
a goal to help golfers play with more consistency,
less frustration and lower scores. He has taught
mindfulness and awareness training, meditation,
motivational psychology, and stress reduction
techniques over the last 25 years.
 Parent is most gratified when a seminar participant
says, "This has to do with a lot more than golf,
doesn't it?" For more information, call the Mental
Game Mastery office at (805) 884-1978, or log on to
mentalgamemastery.com. You will also find more
information about his book on the web site.
Landmark's Hemet Golf Club a Bonanza
Hoss Cartwright would be proud. Landmark's Hemet Golf
Club opened for play on land in Hemet that was once
the Blocker Ranch, previously owned by Dan Blocker,
who played "Hoss" on the TV show Bonanza.
This par-71 course is a definite Bonanza for golfers
in the beautiful area north of San Diego. It was built
within an age-restricted village under development by
the K. Hovnanian Companies. The club uses a Bonanza
theme, stuffing the clubhouse with western furniture
and naming the holes and restaurant details after
characters in that popular series.
Since green fees vary from $45 Monday through Thursday
and $60 Friday through Sunday, Landmark at Hemet has
some of the more affordable green fees in Riverside
County. The course is rolling with wide fairways, fair
greens and 54 sand bunkers. Seven holes stroll through
the scenic edges of colorful foothills, revealing the
natural beauty of the terrain and spectacular
snow-capped peaks of the San Jancinto Mountains.
Lee Schmidt and Brian Curley designed the course which
is part of Landmark Golf -- also associated with Oak
Quarry in Riverside and Landmark Golf Club in Indio.
Schmidt-Curley Design also authored Crosby National
Golf Club in Rancho Santa Fe, a high-end private club.
It also put its stamp on Marriott's Shadow Ridge in
Palm Desert, Talega in San Clemente and Goose Creek in
Mira Loma.
For a tee time at Hemet Golf Club call (909) 926-4653
or log on to hemetgolfclub.com or landmarknational.com.
Tahoe Mountain Club in Truckee is environmental-friendly
What better place than Truckee, in the scenic Sierra
Nevadas, is there to build an environmental-friendly
golf course? That's where the Jacobsen Hardy Golf
Course Design team has joined up with East West
Partners.
The new course will join two others owned by East West
in the area -- Coyote Moon, designed by Sacramento
native Brad Bell and Old Greenwood, a Jack Nicklaus
Signature Course. Gray's Crossing development will
also be part of the scheme.
The 6,740-yard, par-72 Old Greenwood course sits on a
600-acre piece of land that features towering
Ponderosa and white pines along rolling land.
East West also says PGA Tour player Jacobsen has
agreed to serve as Director of Golf for Tahoe Mountain
Club. Some of the team's course designs include The
Oregon Golf Club near Portland, Oregon; Cypress Ridge
Golf Course near San Luis Obispo, California;
Blackhorse Golf Club in Cypress, Texas; and Bear Ridge
Golf Club in Waco, Texas.
Gray's Crossing is a new community in Truckee, located
on rolling hills just north of Interstate 80. It will
have a "small town" atmosphere and include single
family homes around the golf course, and studio lofts,
cottages, townhomes and condos around a village.
 East West Partners is best known for the world-class
Beaver Creek Resort in Colorado. Log on to tahoemountainresorts.com for more
information.
Gold Rush Golf Resort in Sutter Creek
California's Gold Country is one of the more fun
places to visit and discover the history of the Gold
Rush, including historic Sutter's Mill where in 1848
John Sutter discovered gold on the banks of the South
Fork of the American River.
By 2005 visitors might just have Gold Rush Golf Resort
to enjoy too. It is being developed with the city of
Sutter Creek, located about 40 miles southeast of
Sacramento, and would be built on a 833-acre parcel
known as the Noble Ranch.
The Sutter Creek Planning Commission approved the
plan, but as usual in California, there will be
opponents concerning the impacts on traffic and nearby
roadways. The city wrote a draft plan that calls for
the development team to shell out $1,144 per vacation
rental unit to the city for road improvements. And the
property must also be annexed into Sutter Creek for
proper zoning.
The Noble Ranch land is located northwest of the
intersection of Highways 88 and 104, southwest of
Sutter Creek. When finished, the entrance to Gold Rush
Golf Resort will be off Highway 104. The proposal
includes an 18-hole golf course, driving range,
clubhouse, 300 vacation-ownership units, a 52-room
resort hotel, swimming pool and tennis courts.
Thanks to an initial payment made by Claveran Group,
of Pleasanton, the city of Sutter Creek purchased the
property for $3.15 million in 2001. The city wanted to
use the land for disposal of treated wastewater.
Claveran suggested using the treated effluent on a
golf course.
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