For the residents of Butler County, it’s payback time.

Cambrian Ridge Golf Director Bryan Reynolds and Sales/Marketing Director Danny Foster say it’s time for the Golf Course to pay back the community for its support this past year, so they are holding the 3rd Annual Greenville / Butler County Appreciation Day, Feb. 8.

&uot;This event is our way of giving back to the community – to show our gratitude,&uot; Reynolds said. &uot;February is a traditionally slow month for us, so it’s a perfect time to invite the area residents out to enjoy the course for free.&uot;

The event features a three-person scramble, in which the players can play the best shot out of three for each hole. Each team consists of three players, and will play 18

holes.

The shotgun start begins at 10 a.m.

&uot;We will have different types of contests throughout the course, including ‘closest ball to the hole’ and longest drive contests,&uot; Reynolds said. &uot;We will have lots of other contests going on that we are still putting together. It will be a lot of fun.&uot;

First prize winners will receive annual passes to the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, which means they can play any of the Robert Trent Jones courses free of charge for one

year.

Each second prize winner will earn a 2003 Trail Card, which is a discount card worth $40.

&uot;The annual passes are $1,200 each, so the first prizes are worth a total of $3,600,&uot; Foster said. &uot;The Trail cards are a great deal, and usually pay for themselves after only a couple of trips to the course. Our greens fees range from $50 to $72, but with the card, you can get

greens fees and cart year-round for $29.95.&uot;

The day’s activities will also include free food, door prizes and Pro Shop specials.

The Cambrian Ridge Golf Course is a part of the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail and

offers three championship nine-hole courses and an executive nine.

Although the entry deadline is Feb. 5, Foster said the tournament limit of 36 teams has been met.

&uot;We always fill up rather quickly for this,&uot; Foster said. &uot;We started putting out flyers

last week, and we’ve already got a waiting list. But if someone is interested, please call and enter. We always have a few drop out each year.&uot;

Entrants must be residents of Butler County to be eligible for the tournament.

&uot;If we didn’t have enough people from the county to sign up, we would open it up to surrounding counties,&uot; Reynolds said. &uot;But we’ve maxed out pretty quickly each year.&uot;

Foster said that there are other events offered by the course that are designed to encourage local players to play the course.

&uot;Every Wednesday we have a Dogfight at 2 p.m., weather permitting, where we offer a discount rate for the round and a chance to win some money,&uot; Foster said. &uot;It’s a great chance to get out and fellowship.&uot;

The golf course also has a range short-course program, which can be purchased individually or for the entire family, that offers a discount on range balls and the short course for a year.

For more information about Appreciation Day, contact Reynolds or Foster at

382-9787.