June 2, 2005

POTTSVILLE, PA — In today?s modern, technologically advanced world, information is craved instantaneously. The masses thirst for stories the moment something breaks. What once took hours or even days to deliver the who, what, where and when of a story now requires just seconds to be transferred to media outlets.

Thanks to communication tools like the Internet, a simple click of the mouse is all anyone needs to receive a plethora of knowledge.

And the Carl Spackler Open might be the only golf trip in America using the information evolution. In fact, a simple PDA device can move massive amounts of data around and create reports and sort thousands of statistics in seconds. It all makes you wonder if large golf trips even existed before the microchip.

Next week, the tournament relies heavily on the wireless Internet connection that ties directly into the mammoth Spackler database.  Exactly 247 scorecards will be entered into the system and 8,892 scores will be organized, sorted, and reported in about 5 seconds.

Brian Long, Director of Online Scoring and Greg Garrett, Vice President of Online Scoring, will tee up first each day and enter scorecards just off the 18th green.  Using an expedited scorecard entry process, scorecards will be entered into the computer in about 20 seconds per golfer.  Assuming high speed at Mountain Valley, foursome scorecards could be online before the flag is placed back in the hole on the 18th green.

Besides recording the hole-by-hole scoring next week, the system will track daily Red Tees, daily weather reports, multiple leaderboards, contests, daily skins, course vs field statistics, and long putt information.  Those statistics are driven by player bios and Mountain Valley course information.  Pairing sheets could be available 5 minutes after the last foursome finishes.

"I always knew there was a way to make tournaments automated," said John Dick. "These guys have put together one hell of an event. I could not imagine a 3-round, 30-guy tournament with paper and pencil let alone 68 guys over 4 days.  Simply amazing."

Daily Pairing Sheets will be printed at the Quality Inn after golf each day.  The Quality Inn is fully equipped with high speed wireless connectivity as the contigency plan for poor mountain connectivity.

Mike Certo also loves the scoring technology. "My entire office arrives early in the morning just to review the scores posted," says Certo. "My friends also watch the progress all week. When I return to work on Monday, they already know the facts."

"What we see as players is nothing compared to what must be happening behind the scenes," says John McAninch. "Everyone wants the scores and they want them quickly. Our tournament has exceeded expectations time and time again. I love computers."