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Radio stations making their play on golf courses Radio promotions are putting a new spin on golf in the Rogue Valley. If you're not puttin' to the oldies, perhaps you're beating the ball around the course courtesy of Beat 93, or, thanks to the KCMX stations, you're using less-than-top-of-the-line balls during X-Out play. More and more golfers are tuning in to evening golf sponsored by Marathon Media stations four nights a week at Quail Point and Cedar Links courses. They're finding the price to be right, food to be delectable and prizes to be had, if not so much for golfing talent then for luck of the draw in raffles. "It's a fun night of golf, not a competitive night of golf," says Peggy Atwood, the head pro at Quail Point. Quail Point has Monday Night Madness, sponsored by KBOY, and Ladies Night Out, sponsored by Beat 93. Cedar Links has the X-Out play put on by Light 102 and KCMX-AM on Wednesdays, and Friday's it's Kat Country's turn with a night formerly billed as the Kattyshack Open. The cost at Quail is $10 and includes Papa John's pizza on Mondays and Noho's Hawaiian Restaurant catering on Thursdays. The fee at Cedar is $14 provides players with food from its restaurant. For all of the nine-hole tournaments, the winning team gets a gift certificate but everyone is eligible for prizes donated by sponsors. The emphasis is on low-cost golf fun and camaraderie. "We do a scramble," says Mike Rowland, director of sales for Marathon Media, who brought in the idea when he transferred from Safford, Ariz., several years ago. "It's fun and we want to keep the fun in it. We don't do the blood-and-guts tournament. You bring a good buddy out and go out and play." Scott Lusk, the pro at Cedar, says it's a nice tournament for couples who don't ordinarily play together or for less-experienced or less-accomplished players. "People come out and try it, and we get a lot of repeat business once they have," he says. Wednesday and Friday nights are notoriously slow in the golf industry, he adds, so these tournaments are a boon. Quail Point gets a full field of 60 players on Mondays and is approaching that on Thursdays, the first time the course has had a women's-only event. "That's been extremely popular," says Atwood. Cedar is attracting similar numbers. Cedar, an 18-hole course, is able to keep one of its nines open for public play and still hold the radio-station tournaments on the other. Quail must close off tee times a couple of hours before the tournament starts to allow time for the course to clear. For those who want to participate, it's a good idea to call the course by noon of the day of play to get signed up. * * * THE MILLION-DOLLAR Shootout that has become a rite of summer is expanding this year. Instead of one site, the event will be held at four golf facilities over two weekends this month. And it's now called the Pepsi Cola $5 Million Shootout. Qualifying next week at Quail Point Golf Course and Grants Pass Golf Center is Friday from noon to 5 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. A week later at Oak Knoll and Eagle Point golf courses, the times are the same Friday and Saturday, followed by the finals Sunday, which start at 9:30 a.m. with registration. There also will be chipping and putting contests. Fifteen finalists will shoot from 165 yards for five $1 million purses. For those who don't get a hole-in-one, there's a vacation package to Sunriver Resort in Bend for the first person to land within a 3-foot circle around the hole. Eight finalists in the putting and four finalists in the chipping will compete for $5,000 prizes. Proceeds go to the National Kidney Foundation. For information, call the host courses or Marathon Media at 779-1550. * * * The Rogue Valley was well-represented at the Oregon Golf Association Women's Best-Ball Tournament Wednesday and Thursday at the Westin Salishan in Gleneden Beach. Carmen Akins, heralded here for five holes-in-one in the past year, teamed up with Jan Young of Portland to win the first-flight gross title at 147. In the same flight, Trina Rasmussen and Darci Trimmer took home top net honors at 136. Reach sports editor Tim Trower at 776-4479, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.