John Heller, Post-Gazette Nine holes were opened in June at the Club at Blackthorne in Penn Township. The other nine are expected to be completed by fall of 2007. Click photo for larger image. Birdies & Bogeys: 5/31/06 This week's Lipouts: 5/31/06 Next on the tee: 5/31/06

Eric Pockl is a busy man. Most days, he's riding the mower or taking care of course maintenance at the Club at Blackthorne, the newest golf facility in Western Pennsylvania. And most days, he's trying to promote awareness and sell memberships for Blackthorne, an Arnold Palmer design in Penn Township.

Pockl is not sure which is a more demanding job.

"We have to get the word out," Pockl said. "Nobody knows we're here."

Pockl is more than just the course superintendent at Blackthorne, which opened nine holes in June. He also is serving as director of golf, which means his top priority is to recruit members and help develop Blackthorne into a private golf community on the order of Diamond Run and Treesdale.

The project actually began in 1993, during the height of golf-course construction in Western Pennsylvania. But Blackthorne didn't really start to fly until the current owners -- Fairway, LLC -- bought the property in 2002 and contracted the Palmer design company in '03 to complete the project.

Nine holes opened last summer, and the other nine are scheduled to be completed by fall 2007. When finished, the course will be built on approximately 170 acres and play at almost 6,800 yards.

"We think we have something special here," said Pockl, a Wheeling, W.Va., native who has worked on the project since 1999. "Now we want to get people to find out about us."

Golf-course construction in Western Pennsylvania -- and most areas around the country -- has been on the decline since 2000, the result of saturation and a steady three-year drop in the amount of rounds played.

After a decade of furious construction in which nearly 20 public and private courses sprouted in the Western Pennsylvania region, Blackthorne is the only course in the area considered to be "in the pipeline" -- a term the National Golf Foundation uses for course either being planned or under construction.

But Blackthorne is hoping to promote awareness and stimulate membership by allowing the public to play on a daily-fee basis for now ($30 for nine holes, $50 for 18 on weekdays; $35 for nine, $55 for 18 weekends).

Blackthorne has an appealing variety of holes, even if the project is only halfway complete. The only elevated tee shots are at Nos. 1 and 3, and in each instance a wide fairway levels off for a relatively flat approach. They have holes with length -- the 457-yard eighth is an outstanding par 4 to rival any in the area -- and the par 3s range from downhill No. 2 (which plays shorter than 184 yards) to the 198-yard seventh (replete with lake and fountain).

Even the shortest par 4 on the front is a gem: The 336-yard ninth plays over a lake and between four large sand bunkers to an uphill green. The hole is so good Blackthorne is considering a switch to make it the signature 18th hole when the course is finished.

"We feel we're finally under way," Pockl said.

Trivia

Senior PGA Championship winner Jay Haas has won three consecutive starts on the Champions Tour, a feat managed earlier this season by Loren Roberts. Who holds the record for most consecutive victories on the Champions Tour? Answer at end.

Man of aces

It isn't as if John Stepinsky of Irwin didn't hit a lot of good shots in the first 40-some years he has been playing golf. You don't carry a 4-handicap, qualify for the 2001 U.S. Senior Amateur or hold the course record at Carradam Golf Club (63) without hitting a number of good shots over the years.

And, yet, Stepinsky, who started playing golf when he was 13, didn't record his first hole in one until 1996 at Carmichaels Golf Course.

"It took me 40 years to get the first one," said Stepinsky, 65, who is retired from Equitable Gas.

Now, they're starting to come in droves.

Stepinsky had a hole in one Wednesday at Pleasant Valley, the third ace he has recorded in the past 12 months.

Last May, he recorded his second hole in one when he used a 6-iron to ace the 165-yard 15th hole at Hannastown. Three months later, he had a hole in one at Cherry Creek, using a 7-iron to ace the 152-yard 10th hole.

A week ago, he recorded No. 4 when he used a 4-iron from 187 yards at Pleasant Valley's No. 6 hole.

"I wasn't even thinking about having three in a year," Stepinsky said. "They were all pretty good shots. I'm glad to see 'em."

Money for birdies

Totteridge pro Sean Farren is one of the best players in the Tri-State PGA section, so his partnership with Rotelli Pizza to raise money for a Christian sports camp is a natural.

For every birdie Farren makes in TSPGA or other sanctioned event this season, Rotelli Pizza will donate $20 (for local and regional tournaments) or $50 (for national tournaments) to SB2Dub Citikidz, an urban-focused ministry that provides summer camps for kids ages 8-18. The idea was hatched with one of Farren's members, Bob Andrews, who owns several of the eight Rotelli Pizza franchises in Western Pennsylvania.

Farren hopes to raise more than $2,000 this summer.

"That puts a lot of pressure on me," Farren said. "So I'll just have to keep making lots of birdies."

Quotable

Gardner Dickinson on golf: "They say golf is like life, but don't believe them. Golf is more complicated than that."

Dissa and data

The Old White Course at the Greenbrier resort in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va., reopened May 12 after a four-year restoration by architect Lester George. The project was designed to reflect the original 1914 design by Charles Blair Macdonald.

Trivia answer

Chi Chi Rodriguez won four consecutive tournaments on the Senior PGA Tour in 1987.