125 join new Golf Fanatics and Travel Club

If not busy enough with a very involved Canyon Lake Newbies and Social Club they founded a year ago, Bradley and Jonda Morton are at it again. This time, they’ve started up the new Canyon Lake Golf Fanatics and Travel Club. The new club already has 125 members.

The club was formed to provide an opportunity for club members to meet some of their neighbors, make new friends and improve their golf game or, for some, learn how to play for the very first time.

To launch the new club, the group got together for breakfast at the Canyon Lake Country Club and then headed out to the golf course for group golf lessons.

Bradley said the motivation behind the new Golf Fanatics and Travel Club stems from a European trip he and Jonda recently took. Bradley says he was fortunate enough to play St. Andrews Royal and Ancient Golf Club in Scotland.

Erin Adams-Halfon and Mark Halfon practice their putting skills at the first event put on by the new Canyon Lake Golf Fanatics and Travel Club at the Canyon Lake Golf Course.

At the Scotland golf course, he was paired with three older gentlemen from Alabama who Bradley said had a great camaraderie after playing for years together. Bradley was inspired by them and set a new life goal of creating that kind of camaraderie and friendship with fellow golf buddies.

The next time he goes to Scotland, Bradley said he wants it to be with a group of fellow golf fanatics from Canyon Lake. A goal was set in motion and the new group was formed.

Erin Adams-Halfon and her husband Mark Halfon said they love finding new groups and clubs on the different Canyon Lake Facebook pages. They found the golf fanatics club on one of the pages and she and Mark became excited to join.

Erin said she has a list of things she wants to do in her own community of Canyon Lake and learning to play golf is just one of them. Joining this group has given her and her husband an opportunity to meet more people and learn golf.

Seven-year-old Sky Varzarschi and parents Sandy and Brian Witzel practice together on the putting greens at the Canyon Lake Golf Course. The family decided to join the Canyon Lake Golf Fanatics and Travel Club to learn more about the sport.

Seven-year-old Sky Varzarschi came out with his parents Sandy and Brian Witzel to learn to golf. Sandy said her son Sky wants to try everything and excel at it all. The new club fit perfectly for their little family, she said.

The club is multifaceted, Bradley said. One of its purposes is to give Canyon Lake golfers a chance to meet and socialize with each other. With that in mind, the group is already planning to travel within southern California once a quarter.

In late October, the club is planning to travel to Indian Wells Golf Resort to play the famed celebrity course there. Once a year the group is planning to travel outside of southern California to areas such as Pebble Beach, Bandon Dunes, Scottsdale, Las Vegas and even Cabo San Lucas in Mexico.

The ultimate goal is to form bonds with each other, much like the three older gentlemen who inspired Bradley to form this group, and to travel to Scotland and play St. Andrews as friends from Canyon Lake.

After a breakfast at the Canyon Lake Country Club, members of the new Canyon Lake Golf Fanatics and Travel Club take to the Canyon Lake Golf Course for golf lessons. The skills levels of the members of the new club vary from brand new golfers to excellent golfers. Photos by Dawn Rankins.

Anyone can join the club, Bradley said. More information can be found on its group page, Canyon Lake Golf Fanatics and Travel Club, on Facebook. All skill levels are welcome.

“The only requirements to join,” Bradley said, “are, you need to have a welcoming neighborly spirit, a passion for golf and travel and a willingness to make lifelong friends.”