Member Chris Babich recorded the first hole in one on the newly opened Carolina Colours Golf Course on Sunday, August 29.  Using her Ping Rhapsody eight iron on the 112 yard 6th hole, a a well struck shot resulted in her Nike ball finding the bottom of the cup.   All of your members offer congratulations to Chris, one of our members enjoying play at Carolina Colours several days each week.

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.

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.

Adjacent to the golf practice range is a practice bunker, available for both explosive and long shots. Most of us need work on our sand games, and the opportunity to get that work presents itself at Carolina Colours.

Adjacent to the Pavilion (clubhouse) is a putting and chipping green. With two tiers, there is plenty of room for multiple players to practice at once. And finally, there is a small warm up green adjacent to the first tee. As you wait for the foursome ahead of you to tee off, you can get in that final couple of putts, preparing for that (hopefully) personal record round about to begin.

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.

The April 16th Carolina Colours golf skills contest was a very long closest to the pin contest, from the front to the rear of the 18th green.    28 members attempted this uphill, left to right breaking monster, with results ranging from 45 feet short, to off the back of the green.  Amazingly a golfing newcomer, Suzanne Gifford, won the Women’s Division with a putt stopping only 3’11″ from the cup (besting her experienced husband by some 22′).  Jim Orso prevailed in the Men’s Division, with a superb putt that left only a 1’3″ tap in.  All participants enjoyed a preview of what a challenge the finishing green at Carolina Colours Golf Club will present later this summer, when the course opens for play.