Greens Fees

County Executive Charles I. Ecker is expected to air a report this week that says the demand for golf in Howard County is so intense the government can build public courses in Elkridge and West Friendship.The courses could draw enough players -- 55,000 rounds a year -- to be fully self-supporting, the study maintains, but self-support would not come cheaply. Greens fees would run $20 to $30 a round.Even at those prices, county officials worry that the Elkridge course may not pay for itself.

Sunday, Sept. 30 Classical music Sundays At Three Chamber Music Series presents pianist Brian Ganz in an all-Chopin program at 3 p.m. at Christ Episcopal Church, 6800 Oakland Mills Road in Columbia. Tickets are $15; free for those ages 17 and younger accompanied by a paying adult. Information: 443-288-3179 or sundaysatthree.org . 'Say Yes to the Dress and Save A Breast' This mother/daughter event, sponsored by the Saint Agnes Breast Cancer Center, takes place at 2 p.m. at Turf Valley, 2700 Turf Valley Road in Ellicott City.

The 10-member Columbia Council slightly increased greens fees at two Columbia golf courses last night, a move some council members hope will improve the facilities' profitability.At Hobbits Glen in Harper's Choice village, the fees for a Columbia Association member will increase from $25 to $28 on weekdays and $30 to $34 on weekends.For Columbia residents playing Hobbits Glen, fees will increase from $50 to $55 on weekends and $35 to $38 on weekdays.At Fairway Hills in Dorsey's Search, the fees for a CA member will increase from $16 to $18 on weekdays and $20 to $22 on weekends.

Concert series The Columbia Jazz Band opens the season for the William Paca Garden Concert Series at 6 p.m. on Thursday, May 19 at 186 Prince George St. in Annapolis. Concert-goers can take advantage of terrace seating or bring blankets and picnic on the Paca House lawn (no bottles or spirits). A cash bar will be available for snacks and beverages, ID required for all beer and wine purchases. Admission is $10, $12 at the door; $5 for children ages 5-15, free for children 5 and younger.

Address -- 545 Bay Hills Drive, Arnold 21012 Phone -- 410-974-0669 Course -- 18 holes. Par 72, 5,057 to 6,423 yards. Ed Ault-designed. Wooded; water in play on 11 holes; zoysia fairways. Tees -- Gold, 6,423; blue, 6,057; white, 5,705; red, 5,057. Cost per round -- Monday-Friday, $25-30. Saturday-Sunday, $35-40. Discounts available for juniors and seniors Monday-Friday. Carts included in greens fees. No pull carts for rent. Services/amenities -- Lessons, snack bar, memberships, putting green, rental clubs, beverage cart on weekends.

Golf tournament -- Archbishop Spalding High School will host the 14th annual Lt. James H. Love Memorial Golf Tournament at 10 a.m. tomorrow at the Queenstown Harbor Golf Courses in Queenstown. Registration will begin at 9 a.m. Tournament and tee sign sponsorships are available and golfers may register in foursomes or individually. Sponsorship costs are $2,500, $1,500 or $700 for a corporate foursome; $500 for foursomes; $125 for individual; and $150 for tee sign sponsorship. The cost includes the greens fees, a bag filled with gifts, lunch, and a social hour dinner buffet.

First, he took on the city's pension boards. Now Mayor Martin O'Malley is taking on the golf board. O'Malley, showing disdain for what he called the board's "country club" mentality, angrily urged the Baltimore Municipal Golf Corp. yesterday to raise greens fees at the city's five public courses to provide more funding for programs for Baltimore's youth. His comments laced with class-conscious rhetoric, O'Malley told the stunned executive director of the private nonprofit group that he was furious that the board would raise green fees to pay for golf course improvements -- as it did Jan. 1 -- but not to increase its contributions to public programs for children.

Just in time for Labor Day weekend, Howard County will open its first full-length public golf course Friday.The Timbers at Troy in Elkridge is a $7.5 million county-funded project that officials predict will start turning a profit in four years. One reason they are so optimistic is that the Baltimore-Washington area has relatively few public courses."That's a pretty undersupplied area," said Angelo Palermo, vice president for golf development at the National Golf Foundation in Jupiter, Fla.Of 309 golf markets in the nation, the 2.5-million-person Baltimore metropolitan area ranks 301st with 5,837 people per public golf hole, according the foundation.

The governor's office said yesterday that no decision had been made about whether to disclose names of his golf partners as requested by Common Cause Maryland, and that Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. is in full compliance with state ethics laws. "The governor's golf outings are on his private time on his private dime," said spokeswoman Shareese N. DeLeaver. "When the governor plays golf, it's for recreation. He is not conducting state business." The Common Cause request was made Wednesday after reports that Ohio's governor, Republican Bob Taft, had not disclosed 52 golf games, dinners or gifts paid for by other people.

After going some 15 years in the 1970s and 1980s with no new golf courses in the area, three daily-fee facilities will open this week, two of them on the same day.Waverly Woods, off Route 99 in Howard County, and Beechtree Golf Club, in Aberdeen, start tomorrow, followed on Wednesday by The Woodlands, adjacent to Diamond Ridge GC in Woodlawn.They join a number of facilities that previously opened in the '90s, including Caves Valley in Owings Mills and Fairway Hills in Columbia.Waverly Woods and The Woodlands are just a few miles apart, and the two courses are somewhat similar in their layouts.

Don't have the time to get the college golf experience in North Carolina, Pennsylvania or Virginia? You might want to try the University of Maryland's golf course in nearby College Park. Located on University Boulevard near the Stadium Drive entrance to the campus, this George Cobb-designed course is celebrating its 50th season of operation and will be undergoing a $3.5 million renovation scheduled to begin in mid-July. Cobb designed more than 100 courses, including the par-3 course at Augusta National with Bobby Jones.

The telephones in Sara Rivera's office at Centro de la Comunidad in Upper Fells Point rang incessantly last week. Hastily scribbled appointments filled the slots on her enormous July calendar, almost all for immigrants who need her help filling out residency and citizenship forms. August's squares are vacant. With costs for many immigration applications - including permanent residency and citizenship - set to surge after July 30, the race is on for immigrants to get their paperwork done now. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced the rate changes May 30, giving immigrants eight weeks to raise hundreds of dollars, complete necessary medical exams and apply before the increase.

Golf tournament -- Archbishop Spalding High School will host the 14th annual Lt. James H. Love Memorial Golf Tournament at 10 a.m. tomorrow at the Queenstown Harbor Golf Courses in Queenstown. Registration will begin at 9 a.m. Tournament and tee sign sponsorships are available and golfers may register in foursomes or individually. Sponsorship costs are $2,500, $1,500 or $700 for a corporate foursome; $500 for foursomes; $125 for individual; and $150 for tee sign sponsorship. The cost includes the greens fees, a bag filled with gifts, lunch, and a social hour dinner buffet.

It wasn't exactly front-page news, but a former congressional press secretary pleaded guilty to four counts of bank robbery last week in Greenbelt, telling authorities he needed money for rent and golf. The first thing that crossed my mind when I read the story in Thursday's Sun: What's the sports world coming to? The second thing that crossed my mind: I didn't know WBAL morning talk-show host Chip Franklin is a former congressional press secretary. I only bring that up because I thought Franklin was the world's most obsessed golfer (30-handi- cap division)

Address -- 545 Bay Hills Drive, Arnold 21012 Phone -- 410-974-0669 Course -- 18 holes. Par 72, 5,057 to 6,423 yards. Ed Ault-designed. Wooded; water in play on 11 holes; zoysia fairways. Tees -- Gold, 6,423; blue, 6,057; white, 5,705; red, 5,057. Cost per round -- Monday-Friday, $25-30. Saturday-Sunday, $35-40. Discounts available for juniors and seniors Monday-Friday. Carts included in greens fees. No pull carts for rent. Services/amenities -- Lessons, snack bar, memberships, putting green, rental clubs, beverage cart on weekends.

The governor's office said yesterday that no decision had been made about whether to disclose names of his golf partners as requested by Common Cause Maryland, and that Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. is in full compliance with state ethics laws. "The governor's golf outings are on his private time on his private dime," said spokeswoman Shareese N. DeLeaver. "When the governor plays golf, it's for recreation. He is not conducting state business." The Common Cause request was made Wednesday after reports that Ohio's governor, Republican Bob Taft, had not disclosed 52 golf games, dinners or gifts paid for by other people.

Address: 811 South Stepney RoadAberdeen, 21001Telephone: 410-297-9700Professional: Dave Altemus, PGASuperintendent: Russ DavisCourse architect: Tom DoakOpened: June 29, 1998Open: All year (First tee-off at dawn)Status: PublicHoles: 18Par: 71/72 (women)Yardage: 7,023 (back tees), 6,616 (middle) and 5,363 (forward)Greens fees: $65 Monday through Thursday; $75 weekends/holidaysCarts: Use of riding cart or Power Caddy included in greens fee.Tee-time policy: Times reserved up to eight days in advance.

Address: 6001 Hillen Rd.Baltimore 21239Telephone: 410-254-5100Professional: Jim Deck, PGACourse architect: Gus HookOpened: 1934Open: All year (First tee-off at dawn)Status: PublicHoles: 18Par: 71Yardage: 5,294 (forward tees), 6,003 (middle), 6,728 (tips)Course rating/slope: back 71.8/119; middle 68.0/114; front 64.3/102Greens fees: $11.50 weekdays; $12.50 weekends and holidaysCarts: $16Tee-time policy: Times reserved up to two weeks in person for $2 or over the phone with credit card for $5.Additional features: Full irrigation, lessons, men's and women's locker rooms, club rental, pro shop, snack bar, snack shack (10th tee)

Golfers often aren't very good with numbers. On Friday at the new Compass Pointe golf course, David Charon hit two shots from the tee, one from the fairway, took two putts on the green and wrote down "4" on his scorecard. But at the new Pasadena course, here are some numbers that are drawing golfers' attention: 34 - That's how many years it has been since the county government was last involved in opening a golf course. 36 - That's how many holes Compass Pointe will offer. The first 18 opened Oct. 10; the next 18 are scheduled to open in the summer.