Mill Creek Welcomes 2017 RDGA Junior, Sub Junior and Pee Wee Championships
One of the signature views at Mill Creek Golf Club is from the top of the hill behind the green of the par-3 9th hole, above. Sweeping vista such as this - along with a mix of holes featuring both narrow and wide fairways and multi-tiered greens - are the memorable characteristics of Mill Creek, which will be hosting the 2017 RDGA Junior Championships on July 31 through August 2.|
FOLLOW THE ACTION FROM THE 2017 RDGA JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS:
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For being one of the most recent entries on the Rochester-area golf scene - having first opened in 2005 - Mill Creek Golf Club has been "battle-tested" when it comes to hosting major Rochester District Golf Association Championships.
Mill Creek's biggest "RDGA moment" to date came in 2009, when it hosted the RDGA Match Play Championship. That year, Dominic Bozzelli - then a student at Auburn University - won the title before eventually continuing down the path that has since landed him on the PGA Tour.
This year, Mill Creek hosts the 2017 RDGA Junior Championships - the second time that the club has hosted the event since 2005 - on July 31 through August 2. Competing for titles during the week of the Championships will be RDGA Juniors (ages 15-18), Sub Juniors (12-14) and Pee Wees (7-11) for both Boys and Girls.
Although many golfers might think of Mill Creek as a wide-open, championship venue that favors big hitters, however, the course actually offers many nuances and strategies for scoring - especially in a match play format, which is what the Junior and Sub Junior Boys will be playing when they compete for their titles this year.
As far as Andrew Leikvoll, Mill Creek Golf Club's PGA Head Professional, is concerned, players who have an understanding of those subtleties found on the course - particularly if they have played it before - will have an advantage duting the Championship this year.
"It's going to be interesting to see how they (juniors) play the course. Hopefully they get a chance to play a practice round first - especially if they've never played here before," says Leikvoll. "I would definitely put more weight on playing a practice round first. That might make a difference in match play if you're playing against someone who hasn't played here before."
Born in a Golf Course Building Boom, Mill Creek Among Rochester's Newest Facilities
Mill Creek was originally conceived during the last great local golf building boom of the early 2000s - following the success of the earlier Ravenwood Golf Club in Victor, and the never-completed Belfrey Golf Course project in Henrietta.
Built on the former Sackett family farm on rolling terrain south of Churchville, construction of the Mill Creek Golf Club began in 2003 and was completed two years later for a 2005 opening to the public. Prior to the opening of the Championship course, a shorter executive-length course was completed and open to the public and is still in use today.
Designed by the renowned team of Raymond Hearn and Paul Albanese, Mill Creek's Championship Course blends the natural aesthetics of the land with the risk/reward factors of a well-crafted challenge. The intent is to deliver the most memorable experience to golfers of all skill levels.
According to the Mill Creek website, "five sets of tees accommodate the novice and challenge the expert by adjusting the angle and length of the course from less than 5,000 to just under 7,000 yards based on the player’s ability. Each player has a similar experience from tee to green, meshing mature trees and lush, bent grass fairways, greens and bunkers."
By 2006-07, the current clubhouse was completed, including a full pro shop, as well as a restaurant and grill. Later, a large outdoor pavillion was added to accommodate large outings, tournaments and weddings.
New Owners Bringing New Vitality to Mill Creek
Early last year, the husband and wife team of Chris and Leslie Gallea - proprietors of the golf course management firm Gallea Properties - saw a rare opportunity to purchace Mill Creek Golf Club from its original owner and developer and soon began a plan to revitalize parts of the golf course.
"They made their first priority the greens," notes Leikvoll. "The next project is the bunkers, each of which will get white sand."
The Galleas came to the Rochester area from Savannah, Georgia, where they were based at their other primary golf property, Crosswinds Golf Club, since founding the company in 2010. The Galleas brought Leikvoll with them from Crosswinds, where he had been their First Assistant PGA Professional.
The most recent piece of the puzzle to complete their team at Mill Creek included the addition this season of a new head greens superintendent, Robert Zbacnik.
"Robert joined us this spring from Minnesota, where he had done some great things," notes Leikvoll. "So far this year, he's been busy, cleaning up the golf course. It's in great shape this year, despite all the rain we've had."
One of the questions Leikvoll gets asked most frequently - especially with the new management coming in this past year - is about the downhill, par-3, 10th hole, which was originally designed as a left-dogleg par-4. Within the past decade - under the previous ownership - the decision was made to make the 10th hole a scenic par-3, bypassing the old tee that was perched atop one of the highest points in Monroe County and featuring a commanding view that included the distant Rochester skyline that is visible on a clear day.
The reasoning behind the change, which shortened the course from a 7,000-plus yard par-72 to a 6,962-yard (from the back tees) par-71, was playability. As a risk-reward par-4, the hole was simply attracting too many "risk-takers," who would try to bypass the downhill dogleg and drive the green. Invariably, many of these risk-takers would wind up in the deep rough or out of bounds, subsequently slowing up the course's pace of play.
For these reasons, Leikvoll says that the current layout will remain in place for the forseeable future.
"Our plan is to leave it (the No.10 tee) where it is," he says. "It simply improves the pace of play - and we want the course to be as 'user-friendly' as possible."
In general, the layout of the course evokes a classic American-style "links" design, including many visible wild areas between holes, as well as several "blind" tee shots and wide, forgiving fairways.
Perhaps the "signature hole" of the course - if you had to narrow it down to one - is the 542-yard, par-5 11th, which follows a gradual uphill grade back to the top of the hill upon which the clubhouse is located. The sloped fairway is split, not just once, but twice, as players can choose to hit a higher or lower fairway off the tee, as well as another choice between split fairways on the second shot.
Almost every hole on the course, however, features a memorable view of the surrounding countryside - a view that stretches all the way down to the hills of Victor several miles South.
As for the clubhouse and its amenities, Leslie Gallea is managing the scenic restaurant and party pavillion, which has been a popular destination for weddings and parties, as well as post-tournament dinners and outings.
 The clubhouse balcony at Mill Creek provides a scenic
backdrop for diners in the club's restauant.
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"We're continuing to book weddings through the year," notes Leikvoll. "But bookings for tournaments and outings are also up this year - mostly in the fall - and business in the pro shop is up 15 to 20 percent over last year."
Also available is "The Tavern," which offers "a stunning timber-framed space, a handsome mahogany bar complete with two flat-screen televisions and a broad window wall that opens onto a breezy sun-drenched deck overlooking the ninth and eighteenth greens," according to the Mill Creek website. The Tavern offers daily menu options, as well as a popular Friday Fish Fry.
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Another new priority since the Galleas came on board are seasonal memberships, of which there are several options - something that was not a priority under the previous ownership.
Mill Creek is also now catering to "destination" golfers - those players who travel from out of the area (Syracuse, but mostly Buffalo and Toronto, as part of a package plan. Mill Creek is working with Ravenwood and Bristol Harbour as part of the "Finger Lakes Golf Trail."
 The view from the elevated 10th tee at Mill Creek, above, reveals some of the wide open terrain that evokes the links-style design of the course.
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Multiple Formats for the Junior Championship
The 2017 RDGA Junior Championships get under way on Monday, July 31, running through Wednesday, August 2. Essentially a combination of six distinct championships - Junior Boys, Junior Girls, Sub Junior Boys, Sub Junior Girls and Pee Wee Boys and Girls - the Junior Championship takes on several different formats.
The Junior Boys (ages 15-18) and Sub Junior Boys (12-14) compete in single elimination match play brackets over the three-day Championship, with the Junior Boys (who play from the Blue Tees) beginning with a 32-player bracket and the Sub Juniors with a 16-player bracket (and playing from the White Tees). The starting fields and seedings for each of these Championships was determined through an earlier stroke-play Junior Championship Qualifier, held at Timber Ridge Golf Club on July 18, as well as a Junior points system, based on tournament performance so far this year. Play begins on July 31 with two rounds of match play, followed by two more rounds on August 1 and the Championship final matches on August 2.
Although the Junior Girls and Sub Junior Girls used to compete in match play for their RDGA District titles, those formats have changed last year to stroke play. The Girls Junior Championship will feature two 18-hole rounds, on August 1 and 2, while the Sub Junor Girls will play three 9-hole rounds (for a total of 27 holes) over the course of the three-day Championship.
The Pee Wee Championship - which includes both Boys and Girls, ages 7 to 11 - will include two 9-hole rounds, one on August 1 and the second on August 2.
Looking for a Return Engagement
By the time the RDGA Junior Championships conclude on August 2, expect to see champions that are in full command of their games - from off the tee to around the green.
This article was written by RDGA Communications Director Dave Eaton.
The view from the opposite end of the par-3 ninth hole - looking up to the green from the tee - hints at some of the steep elevation changes seen throughout the course at Mill Creek Golf Club.