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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend July 24, 2005 Eagle Point was nice way to end journey By TIM TROWER Mail Tribune When temperatures climbed into the 120s this week in Lake Havasu City, Ariz., it seemed like a good time to get away. But traveling was the furthest thing from the minds of residents Jim and Marilyn Lusk. They had just gotten off the road, having completed a dream journey that covered parts of three years. Their goal was to travel the country and, as avid golfers, they sought to play a golf course in each of the 48 contiguous states. When they chose Eagle Point Golf Course for their Oregon adventure, it was, in essence, their crowning achievement, the last of the 48. Advertisement Anyone who was at the course on Sunday, July 10, might have seen a couple in knickers bearing a sheet cake with "Lower 48" written in green icing. "They just kind of adopted us," Jim says of the staff and patrons at Eagle Point. "They were very sweet and made our stay very pleasant." The retirees — Jim taught fifth- and sixth-grade social studies and Marilyn was a college nursing professor — played in eight states two summers ago, then got serious about their venture last summer. In 2004, they played 34 rounds in six weeks, covering primarily the Northeast and zigzagging through the northern states. Twenty-six courses counted against their total, bringing it to 34 by the time they started this summer. This time, they played 21 times in five weeks and knocked off the remaining 14 states. The Lusks started on June 9 in Las Cruces, N.M., worked through the South, up the East Coast, then across the country, making time to visit family and friends during their 8,600-mile tour. Their choice of Eagle Point as a final destination was all about logistics: They picked a route that served them well, then consulted a Golf Digest list of courses to find suitable ones along the route. After playing Indian Canyon in Spokane, Wash., they headed south for the Rogue Valley course they knew nothing about other than it had a commendable 4½ -star rating. The Lusks carried with them a decorated scrapbook, and in it they included scorecards, pencils, pictures of them with their playing partners — they sought to be paired with locals at every stop — and notes about each course. Marilyn’s journal entry for Eagle Point was: "Golf Digest rated 4.5, our experience was 5-plus. We had the time of our lives on the last of our 48 states. We were treated to lunch afterwards. TV came. We could not have had a finer day with the weather, golf and a great twosome, Randy and Jason. They were a little skeptical about playing with a girl, but I showed them! "I can’t believe we’ve actually done it." Jim, a scratch golfer now but normally, he says, the owner of a 3 or 4 handicap, shot 79 from the gold tees, which is about what he averaged for the 48 states. Marilyn came in at 92 from the women’s, a couple strokes higher than her trip average. "I remember the course very well," says Jim. "There were some very interesting holes. That always makes for a great golf course. You had the feeling of a links course in some areas. The friendliness of the staff goes without saying, and they didn’t have their hands out for a tip all the time. I threw ‘em a tip anyway, which I had to fight them to take." On the back nine, they were greeted by a couple of local television crews. And after they celebrated with the locals, they hit the road again for California. Though they’d already crossed California off their list, they played Pebble Beach on the way home. It was just one of many highlights and adventures. In Louisiana, they drove a ways to get to a restaurant strong on local flavor — something they tried often to take advantage of — but were stymied by a ferry that had broken down. In South Carolina, they played, then departed and were 100 miles down the road before Marilyn realized she’d left the scrapbook in the women’s locker room. Rather than back track, they called the course and had it mailed ahead. "For five days, I was on pins and needles," says Marilyn. "It was irreplaceable, all that stuff from different courses." In Delaware, they found a course with absolutely no rating and, skeptical, they booked a backup tee time elsewhere. However, Baywood Greens in Long Neck proved to be the nicest they played. (They only played about three courses they likely wouldn’t play again.) "They have done everything to perfection," says Jim. "It was just unbelievable, and it was one we’d never heard of." Hedges were trimmed in the form of animals, like deer and rabbits; brass fixtures were all about; there was an island fairway ; and they even had covered rest areas with couches and stuffed chairs for those who had to sit a spell after a hole. In New York, they played America’s first golf course, Saint Andrews Golf Club in Hastings-on-Hudson. Aware the starter wears knickers, they got him a pair as a tip. He in turn carried on a tradition begun in 1888 — the year the course opened — whereby players would drink brandy from bottles in a wicker basket. There was a basket behind the fourth green, says Jim, and the starter came out and gave them drink. In Washington, Marilyn recorded the first eagle of her career, knocking in her approach shot from 120 yards. "I was shocked our bodies held up as well as they did," says Jim. Now there’s time for rest. SOME PEOPLE collect hats, logo golf balls and the like. Norm Homeier is collecting course records. Homeier, already the owner of the course record at Cedar Links, shot 63 at Stone Ridge Friday to better by one the blue-tees record of 64, set by Robert Burkett, an assistant pro at the course. Homeier made 10 birdies and one bogey (No. 10). The former assistant pro at Cedar Links set that course’s professional record of 61 in 2002. THE NEW TRACK at the Rogue Valley Manor, Centennial, is looking more and more like a golf course. Course builders began hydroseeding a couple of weeks ago, and although grass isn’t showing all over, the dye in the seed mixture has turned much of the property green. Holes 3, 5, 6 and 7 have been completely seeded — tee to green — and the seed is germinating on a handful of holes. Cart paths are being completed slightly ahead of the seeding, and the paths on the first nine should be completed by today. Ground will also be broken soon on the 10,000-square-foot clubhouse, which is expected to be completed by the time the course opens in the spring. Have a golf story idea? Reach sports editor Tim Trower at 776-4479, or e-mail Eagle Point was nice way to end journey ">[email protected] . 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