RG Tour Profile Players

Sam Vladova _{Wentzville, MO}

I started late as a golfer at 17.  Some of you that know me as tall guy but athletic and that is a plus as I’ll explain.  My best friend got me interested in the game and soon I was hooked.  Growing up in the western suburbs of Chicago I learned at the Downers Grove Park District course.  It’s a 9 hole municipal course that suited my learning process. 

I never had a lesson until recently and learned from watching other players closely that I was paired for a round.  Some old players took the time to coach me and I practiced as much as I could. Through my late 20’s and 30’s I played but not with any great regularity and my handicap was in the high teens to low 20’s.  More recently I have been working on my game especially, short game and course management.  I am currently enjoying a swing change that really put distance on the ball and just trying to work in some consistency with the new feel and trying to reduce the stress on my knees and elbows.  I‘m currently a single digit handicapper fast approaching 50.   I’m glad to say the swing change is working and hope to spend my twilight years enjoying time on the course. 
 
I have two memorable golf experiences to share each occurring in Florida.  On a course in Valrico Florida my best friend and I got caught in a lightning storm at the farthest point away from shelter on the course. I was about to putt and the first lightning strike felled a tree not 50 yards from where we standing!  We dropped everything and ran to our cart.  Before we drove off I ran back to mark my ball.  Probably not the smartest thing as the lighting strikes were often and close but it was for a sand-save which I later came back to drop for par. We laughed at the 19th hole that we cheated that dangerous situation. 
 
On Easter Sunday afternoon in 1998 I was vacationing in Orlando and played Disney’s Magnolia.  I was sitting 3 on the 515 yard par 5 10th  hole.  I found myself about 130 yards from the pin after pushing my drive right and fighting my way back to the short grass.  I hit a towering cut 8 iron off of the sponge like turf that dropped about 8 feet left and short of the pin on the hard green, bounced twice to the right, hit the bottom of the stick and dropped for a birdie.  I persevered my errant tee shot being rewarded I jumped up and down and yelled to celebrate but sadly I was playing by myself the last player on the course for the day with nobody to share the moment. 
 
I like the camaraderie, affordability and flexibility of the RG Tour.  I have a hectic schedule and promised myself a couple of years back I would spend a little more time for myself rather than pressing to build my business for some balance in my life.  I just can’t dedicate one evening a week to a league due to my schedule and I like playing 18 holes instead of just nine.  How many times have you just got warmed up on the front nine and scored low on the back nine?  It happens often enough for me. I like the ability to call a buddy or two during the week to play round of golf with friends and have fun competing against.  All this and the round counts on the tour should we play on a sanctioned course.  Last year I had a great experience in the tour final.  I just made the cut and was the first to tee off in the championship round at Missouri Bluffs.  I felt the butterflies as I stepped up to the tee.  I focused that nervous energy and ripped a 260 yard drive right down the pipe.  It felt great to get a smattering of applause and felt for brief a time what the pro’s feel.  I tipped my cap and that’s what brought me back to the RG Tour this year.

Steve Guess _{Wentzville, MO}

I started playing golf when I was 7 or 8 years old as a way to spend time with my father. But I never really worked at the game until I was 40 years old in 1996 and my job at AT&T transferred me to Houston Texas. A friend of mine convinced me that the only way to play golf in Houston was as a member of a private course. So I somewhat reluctantly shelled out the money to join Kingwood Country Club. Since I am a frugal in nature and was determined to get my money’s worth, I started playing golf every weekend or weekday that I could, plus taking lessons and playing in tournaments. My handicap at the time was 26. By the time AT&T transferred me back to St. Louis in 2000, my handicap was 7 and has been as low as 3. I still belong to Kingwood Country Club in Houston as an out of state member and also have a membership to the Golf Club of Wentzville. 

My favorite golf moment and favorite golf course are one and the same, I was lucky enough to play Pebble Beach golf links on April 4th, 2004. Standing on the 1st tee was the most nervous I have ever been! I would give Royal St. Kitts golf course on the Island of St. Kitts a close second to Pebble Beach as a favorite course. Think Pebble Beach in the Caribbean!

My personal best golf moment came on my birthday, March 18th 2000 when I eagled the 18th hole on the Island course at Kingwood Country Club. It is a 578 yard par 5 where you play a tee shot to an island then hit a second shot to an island green. It is also where they filmed the scene in Tin Cup where Roy (Kevin Costner) knocked the Pelican off the post. I still have a picture of that hole hanging in my home, and the guys I played with bought me a gorilla head cover to mark the event.

The reason the RG tour appealed to me was the reasonable cost, the fairness of the tournament, and the chance to meet and play with other golfers that share my love of golf. I have made new friends and also found a great restaurant while playing in this tournament; I would highly recommend this tournament to anyone who loves the game of golf!