With the opening of the front 9 of the Carolina Colours Golf Course, a group of members decided to begin a Friday afternoon mixed golf event, to be followed by drinks and dineer at the Pavilion (hence Nine and Dine).   In keeping with the nine motif, 9 couples (mostly married) played a modified nine hole scramble, beginning at 2:30, on a very hot afternoon.  The Trimmer/Czernik team shot a 35, to tie the Stoll/Zimmerman team.  The heat made the after nine and before dine coctail period particularly refreshing.

The next mixed event will be an 18 hole round on Saturday, August 21 at 9:00 am.  Any member wishing to join the group should contact Jean Stoll at stolljean45@gmail.com.  Grab a partner and join the fun.

Hot off the Press!  Carolina Colours, New Bern, NC, community newsletter…  Enjoy Colourful Happenings, the monthly Carolina Colours community newsletter. The newsletter reports gatherings and happenings in the New Bern NC community during the month.  Learn about how Carolina Colours neighbors live, work and play. Colourful Happenings newsletter content includes info on people, social, golfing, dining, recreational, charitable, historical, cultural events, holiday get-togethers and simply everyday life.

On Friday afternoon, July 30, a capacity group of 60 Carolina Colours Golf Club members and special guests participated in a shot gun afternoon blitz to open the front 9 of the course.    After watching the course construction for the past 18 months, anticipation was high, and with good reason.  The tee complexes were universally found to be exceptional, while the greens rolled true.  With six teeing grounds, players could chose their ideal length, hoping to avoid the bermuda rough, which was gnarly.  Scores were all over the board, but appreciation of the layout was widespread.  Most of the players teed it up again Saturday and or Sunday.  Many of the players toured the back 9, which is a truly beautiful site in the midst of the woods and wetlands, and now eagerly await its opening this fall.

Many players remarked on the balance of the holes on the front.  With two 3′s, one short and one long; two 5′s, with very different challenges and opportunities; and five 4′s, long, medium and short, no two holes play alike, but all feel a part of a well designed whole.

With cocktails and diner at the clubhouse following golf,  the good times continued into the evening.  Truly a remarkable and memorable day in the on going history of Carolina Colours.

For those of you who are not from North Carolina, a pig pickin’ is a type of party or gathering held primarily in the Carolinas which involves the barbecuing of a whole hog (source:Wikipedia).  Up North, we called them “pig roasts” where they generally consist of digging a big hole, lots of firewood, and lots of guys who stayed up all night drinking and tending to the pig.  Depending on the size of the pig, this method took a good 18 hours or so before you could enjoy the meal.  Thankfully, the good folks of North Carolina know how to do a pig pickin’ the right way–that means, you contact a local butcher who cooks the pig at his place and delivers it on a trailer, complete with all the “fixins” (bakd beans, cole slaw, potato salad and rolls).

On Saturday, July 10th, Carolina Colours residents hosted our 2nd annual Pig Pickin’ at our Social Pavilion.  Special thanks to Mary Ann Ohsol and Diane Barnett for leading the charge, and the rest of the Social Committee for assisting.

It’s a good thing we held it indoors this year since Mother Nature decided to “crash” the party with thunder and lots of rain.  More than 120 Carolina Colours residents, property owners, friends and family members joined us for a fabulous party.  Attendees brought  a variety of delicious appetizers and desserts to complement the pig.  The Southern hospitality has definitely spread throughout our community.

Although the games were essentially rained out, we did manage to hold a “putting contest” on our practice putting green.  We also held an impromptu game of Bocce Ball in the ballroom.

Great fun was had by all! We are looking forward to more events planned for the the remainder of 2010,  Check the website peridically for a listing of upcoming events.

Mary Ellen Dorsey, Co-Chair of the Social Committee

Those of us in Carolina Colours should be pleased that the Land Trust recently proteced 135 acres in our county of Craven, which is adjacent to 163 acres previously protected.  These acquistions help to protect the headwaters of Anderson Creek, and to provide a buffer around the Cherry Point military base.  This tract is also near th Land Trust’s Magnolia Farm Preserve, and the Croatan National Forest.

The Land Trust has now protected 45,388 acres in North Carolina!  Carolina Colours is pleased to donate a membership in the Land Trust to each purchaser of developer owned property in Carolina Colours, adding to the 2110 household members of the organization.  We hope that our owners elect to continue their membership long into the future, as the special nature of eastern North Carolina is enhanced with each new acre protected.  For more information, visit www.coastallandtrust.org.

On May 28th, on a very windy day, a difficult pitch shot contest was held, with the teeing ground behind the Pavilion, requiring a shot over the pond and to a very tough pin position on the 18th green.  The men faced a 97 yard shot, while the women hit from 72 yards.  The women dominated, with Chris Babich edging out Nancy Pilipow by an inch!  More balls went into the water, or over the green, than settled on the putting surface, leaving all golfers glad that this shot will not have to be repeated when the course opens for play in August.

The Carolina Colours, New Bern, NC, Friday night golf skills contests continued prior (or during) cocktail hour at the Carolina Colours Social Pavilion on May 7th and 14th on the golf club course. On the first of these evenings, a three hole putting contest was held, with two moderately difficult putts, and one very long, tricky one.  Fifteen men competed, with Skip Zimmerman winning with an even par 6, besting several 7′s.  On the women’s side, a 5 hole golf playoff was required before Chris Babich finally defeated Jean Stoll and Marilyn Biers.

On the following Friday a chipping contest was held on the Carolina Colours practice green, an 8500 SF surface.  A very difficult 68 foot chip, with the hole on the backside of what was primarily an uphill shot (and with a nice break thrown in for good measure) was attempted by men and women alike, in one division.  Each player got three tries, the closes of the three counting.  Bill Moloney captured first place, with an excellent chip stopping 2 feet 10 inches from the hole, a virtual gimme.

Please stay tuned to the Carolina Colours blog for updates of Friday night golf challenges and social events and other social events in the community as well in is New Bern, NC and the surrounding coastal region.

Hot off the Press!  Carolina Colours, New Bern, NC, community newsletter…  Enjoy Colourful Happenings, the monthly Carolina Colours community newsletter. The newsletter reports gatherings and happenings in New Bern NC community during the month.  Learn about how Carolina Colours neighbors live, work and play. Colourful Happenings newsletter content includes info on people, social, golfing, dining, recreational, charitable, historical, cultural events, holiday get-togethers and simply everyday life.

Getting a work out …  In preparation for the opening of the pro shop, we had to relocate all of the fitness equipment to the Trent room in the Pavilion. Luckily we happen to have a number of members that appear to have used the fitness center in the past, as they were able to lift and move this equipment with ease.

The “moving crew”:  Gale Biers, Mike Wilson, Tom Trimmer, John Filipow and George Orsega.   Not pictured Jerry Trenholm.   Many thanks to the crew.

- Ken Gerhardt

First of all, I would like to give a special thanks to the 25 very dedicated Carolina Colours residents that came out on Saturday April 24 to help spruce up areas of Carolina Colours that are not normally visited. I know that some people had other commitments and that is certainly understandable. Some folks were under the impression that because we pay dues for cleanup, there is no need to do anything further. However, Earth day is one day of the year when everyone pitches in to do just a little extra. Again my hearty thanks to all that helped out.

- John Filipow

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On April 23rd, eighteen Carolina Colours Golf Club members in New Bern, NC, competed in a chipping contest on the Carolina Colours golf course.  Confronted with a tricky, breaking 29 yard shot, Dave Stoll won the men’s division, chipping to within 6’4″ of the hole.  The overall winner, however, was the women’s division winner, Glenda Trenholm, a relative novice, with an excellent chip ending only 5’5″ from the target hole.

April 30th was a special event.  For the first time (except under cover of night) members were allowed to play the 9th hole, a par 5 that was set up a relatively short 485 yards for men golfers, and 390 yards for the women golfers.  The golfers  were only allowed to walk with their putter and 4 other clubs, so strategy was important.   Eighteen club members gave it a try, and amazingly, only Bill Moloney achieved par (and no, the rest were not birdies and eagles).   Despite a number of good drives, the left side pond seemed to get into the heads of a many members, several of whom pushed their second ball well right, leaving a tough third shot over bunkers, and with water just over the green.  Bogey turned out to be a common number on the score card.  And yes, the pond captured a few errant  shots.

Non golfers also enjoyed the evening as spectators, or playing sports with larger balls, such as bocce and croquet.  Friday nights have seen very cooperative weather in New Bern, NC, allowing a great deal of outdoor fun before settling in with a beverage and dinner in the Carolina Colours Social Pavilion.

Please stay tuned to the Carolina Colours blog for updates of Friday night golf challenges and social events and other social events in the community as well in is New Bern, NC and the surrounding coastal region.