Golf707- April 2026: Hall of Fame Dinnner a Huge Success!

By Bruce Meadows

APRIL 2026

Lenny does it again 

   In 2006, former Santa Rosa JC football coach Lenny Wagner scored his first hole-in-one, acing the 13th hole at Foxtail.

  Years went by with Lenny coming close to duplicating the feat, but he couldn’t pull it off, noting “I’ve been very close many times, hit the cup a few times, but it never stayed in.”

 But then on March 17, he took out his pitching wedge on the No. 5 hole at  Fountaingrove, which measured 106 yards, and put it in the cup.

   Knowing Lenny, no doubt he had that “it’s about time” reaction.

Lenny Wagner . . . 

   Little did he know that his next hole-in one would come so soon, but nonetheless, playing the same hole at Fountaingrove and using the same wedge, he did it again two weeks 

   I tried to tell him that a lot – most – golfers never get ONE ace, let alone two or three.  But knowing Lenny, I’m sure he’s plans on adding to his hole-in-one collection in weeks and months to come.

   According to Lenny, “it was a low spinner, 3/4 wedge a little past the hole and to the right. Spun it back and left. We only saw it land and spin, once again the hole was blocked by a trap.” That ace was witnessed by Randy Destruel, Mike Burch, Dave Koch, and Marc Winters

   On March 31, with playing partners Mike Burch and Dave Koch, looking on, Lenny once againused his pitching wedge on the 104-yard hole, noting “it was the same shot essentially as the last one. Pin was a little more left so we could see it go in. Landed it just past the hole and to the right. Spun it left and back to the hole. We saw this one in its entirety,”

  To complete the story, his first ace came on the 146-yard 13th hole at Foxtail North and was witnessed by Miguel Bunting in 2006.

  “Used a 6-iron . . .the hole was blocked by a trap so I didn’t see it go in . . . a slight fade and I knew it was a good shot, but didn’t know for sure until we checked the hole.”

   Not all aces are the result of a good tee shot . . . I know that from experience, but Lenny says all three of his shots “were good ones.”

  He started playing golf “just a little bit” when he was 10 when the dad of a friend — the dad was also a football coach – taught him how to play.

  “I didn’t really start playing regularly until I got out of college ,” he recalled . . . “really had a full year to play though because I always had to take 3 months off for football season. “

  He notes that this is the first time since he was 10 years old that he hasn’t had a football season. 

    “I was able to play golf for a solid year straight and played about 180 times last year. I’m off to a good start so far this year I’ve played 49 rounds since January. “

  He adds, “ I’m enjoying my retirement. Most of the rounds I have played in my lifetime I’ve been with my very good friend Todd Little, who was also my teammate at Sonoma State and coached with me at Sonoma State and at Santa Rosa JC for many years. 

   “We have a bet that if one of us hits a hole-in-one and the other person is there that they have to pay 50 cents a yard to the person who got the hole-in-one. Despite being the player I have played the most rounds with, he has missed every single one of my holes-in-ones and has not had to pay out.

  “Thankfully you can get hole-in-one insurance at Fountaingrove. They had to pay for about 140 golfer’s drinks…. twice!”

  Congratulations, Coach. Keep us posted !!!

 Great night, great crowd . . .

 It was a night to remember at Bennett Valley . . .

 The Redwood Empire Golf Hall of Fame’s first-ever induction ceremony was held at Bennett Valley’s Iron and Vine restaurant March 28.

   It was wonderful to see so many people – we sold out the place with 180 in attendance – some I hadn’t seen for a long time. That was the case for a lot of those in attendance so there were a lot of old relationships renewed and a lot of “golf stories” filling the air.

   A few honorees didn’t make it for a variety of reasons, but the crowd made it known how important those people are to golf in our area.

   Bennett Valley GM Greg Anderson and I put the initial Hall of Fame together, and we plan to add a few names each year. So if the list didn’t have people on it you felt were deserving, let us know.

   And praise goes to BV’s Director of Sales and Marketing Jessica Schroeder, who did much of the behind-the-scenes work that made this possible.

   The plaque bearing the 36 first-year inductees will be on display at the Iron and Vine. Stop by and take a look when you can.

Coming up . . .

At Foxtail GC . . .

Foxtail Junior Club: Tournament Series

Calling all competitive junior golfers (ages 10–18)
Step up and test your game in 10 full 18-hole stroke play tournaments this season at Foxtail. (Dates listed below).

• Win prizes after every event
  • Earn points toward the Player of the Year Trophy
  • Compete against players in your age flight
  • One low price covers the entire series
  $100 includes entry to ALL events

Flights may change based on entries
Flights will based on age of as of 10/24/2026

This is not a beginner program.  Golfers should be able to play 18 holes walking.
Tournament Dates: 4/25/2026 N, 5/9/2026 S 6/13/2026 S, 7/11/2026 N, 8/8/2026 S, 8/22/2026 S, 9/12/2026 S, 9/26/2026 N, 10/10/2026 S, 10/24/2026 N (Bonus Points)

Open to the public. Call 707-584-7766

Sonoma County Amateur Championship

May 16-17

NCGA Point Event. 36 Hole Championship: Foxtail North. Entry $215. Flights: Championship, Mens Net, Womens Championship, Womens Net, Senior (ages 55-64) Flight Gross and Net, Super Senior (ages 65+) Flight Gross and Net, Special Legends Flight played in Super Senior Flight (ages 75+) Gross and Net Winner. No trophy provided to Legend Flight.
Special Practice Round Rates May 11 – May 15 ($55.00 includes shared cart). Skins game 12:00pm on May 14. Must email cgay@playfoxtail.com to RSVP. 

Call 707-584-7766

 Play Your Way to the CourseCo Championship

Foxtail Golf Club is hosting a CourseCo Championship Qualifier April 25, and the winning team will earn the chance to represent Foxtail at Palouse Ridge Golf Club in Pullman, Washington – July 18–19.

The 1st place team qualifies to compete alongside a Foxtail Golf Professional and receives a championship experience that includes:

 Practice Round – July 17
 Hotel Accommodations
 Championship Golf Rounds
 Dinner with participants

Transportation not included.

Qualifier Format: 4-Person Scramble, Championship Format: 5-Person Scramble

 Entry Fee: $86 per player. 8:30am Shotgun North Course
 Loyalty & Annual Members: Register through the Golf Shop to receive your discounted rate.

• Register now and secure your spot.
  All are welcome regardless of gender identity and gender expression. 
• Call 707-584-7766

 We’d love to have you join us . . .

  GOLF 707 currently has sponsorships available. If you’d like to support our online golf column, we would be able to feature your golf course or business in the column on a regular basis 

 If you’d like some details, contact Dave Cox at ysn365.com

Thanks . . . Bruce Meadows

We would like to hear from you . . .

Thanks for your comments, questions and suggestions. I appreciate them and would like to get as many as possible.

   If you have information about anything golf-related, including upcoming clinics, activities, tournaments or sales, let me know.  

 And if you have questions, complaints or compliments about golf in our area, let me know and I’ll make some inquiries. Email me at bmeadows4sports@aol.com