Items and bodies are still needed for the annual First Tee of the Sandhills silent auction and fundraising event being held at Pine Needles Resort Saturday, Nov. 7.

"We need help to raise funds to accommodate increasing demand," said Executive Director Bill Baker. "In 2007, we registered 150 students, while this year our classes attracted 315 young people. With your help, we can continue to impact the lives of Sandhills youth."

Tickets for the event are $30, and this includes appetizers and dinner from Chili's Grill and homemade deserts from players' parents. There will be a brief program featuring First Tee participants, and The First Tee CEO Joe Louis Barrow is listed as a special guest.

Professional storyteller Gran' Daddy June Bug will provide entertainment.

"The First Tee provides character education through the game of golf," Baker said. "Since 2003, we've made the game fun and accessible to 840 Sandhills youths registered in our classes and more than 1,200 students in public schools programs.

"Many players spend 100 hours per year or more with our volunteers trained in delivering The First Tee Life Skills Experience. Participant fees for the classes are voluntary and no aspiring golfers ever been turned away because of financial hardship. We provide all equipment needed to learn and enjoy the game of a lifetime."

For information, to donate items for the auction or reserve seats for the dinner, call Baker at (910) 783-8288.

Q-School: Pinewild Country Club will host the first stage of PGA Tour Qualifying School Tuesday through Friday on the Magnolia Course.

"We'll have 80 players in a 72-hole qualifier," Little said, "and the public is invited to come out and watch."

Pinewild held a Tour School Qualifier in the mid-90s, but the Magnolia Course will play a little differently this time. A $2-million dollar renovation was completed two years ago.

Lowe's Swing: Due to the size of the Lowe's Wing for Charity Event being held this week, several area courses are coordinating with Pinehurst Resort to handle play on Friday.

Mid South Club and Talamore Golf Club are among those courses being utilized, and staff members at both clubs are working with other courses to arrange for members being hosted on that day.

Members are asked to contact Director of Golf Operations John McDougald or the golf shop if they would like assistance in finding a course to play on Friday.

Mental Golf: How many times have you been told that your biggest problem on the golf course is between your ears?

Well, author Tom Dorsel, Ph.D, may just have the answer to that problem. His book, "Golf: The Mental Game," covers 65 issues that can impact a golfer's success and happiness.

Dorsel points out that overcoming problems in one's game is related to three things -- thinking, emotions and action. When something goes wrong on the golf course, the cause is to be found in one of these three areas.

iGolf.com says, "The Mental Game teaches you about thinking your way around the course. Dorsel writes, 'If it takes about three seconds from the beginning of the backswing to the completion of the follow-through, then the physical part of a four-hour round with a score in the 90s would be less than five minutes. That would leave three hours and 55 minutes for the psychological side of the game.' "

The State Newspaper of Columbia, S.C., says, "Golf Magazine lists Dorsel as one of the nation's leading golf psychologists. He's a psychology professor at Francis Marion University, though many of his students probably don't know that he's written on the psychology of golf for 25 years.

"Amusing anecdotes keep the book light, the chapter on slow play with a Dave Barry reference, no less. Basically, this is a self-help book, and whose game doesn't need help?"

Dorsel does indeed have a way of making interesting reading of a subject that can sometimes be drudgery to read. He's taken a part of the game that is vital to good play and made it easy to understand as well as enjoyable to read.

Anyone who reads this book will take something to the golf course that will help them play better and enjoy the game more.

For information on how to purchase a book, call Jennifer Behar Kimberly Goldstein at (615) 832-1171. Dr. Dorsel can be reached phone at (843) 662-3414 or 618-4653 or by e-mail at tom@dorsey.com.