May 28, 2015

Just a short note before I delve into more golf-related information. If you remember correctly from the message sent out last week, we wanted to make sure you didn't accidentally get on 364 at K and get shuttled off to who-knows-where before you could reverse course and somehow make it to The Links before tee time commenced. Well, this AM I arrived at my carpool designation in time to catch my ride to the course. The first thing my driver did was whip out his Iphone 13 and get directions to the course from where we were (approximately, exactly Clayton and 141) . Next thing I know we're headed 47 miles north on 141 to catch, of all things, Hiway 364!!!! WTF I calmly said. He told me to keep the faith because his phone told him we'd be there in a mere 21 minutes. For some reason I highly doubted this. Lo and behold we arrived at the course in almost exactly 21 minutes - unbelieveable. Ain't technology wonderful? And the traffic was minimal.

Now for the day. 'Twas a very nice day, indeed it was. Certainly not too chilly, but if anything a bit warm with just a hint of summer. Approximately 118 of us started off just before the appointed time of 0800 and most of you finished in plenty of time to enjoy the food served at the luncheon counter. Somewhere, or more appropriately, sometime, along the way the groups in front of us slowed down and we took well over 5 hours to make the round. What's interesting is that our group started on #1 and you'd think we'd finish ahead of most groups since we finish at the clubhouse, while those who start on #9 or #10 have to drive for a long time to get to their appointed holes, and drive for a long time to get back to the club house after finishing the round. Not bitching, mind you, just observing one of the strange quirks of playing with a large group.

Our group had a great time, burning numerous cups with our frustratingly close putts, and driving quite well probably because one of our players was an antique and enjoyed the privilege of hitting off the red tees, way ahead of the whites. If it hadn't been for him we'd have been in deep you-know-what with some relatively short , or errant, drives. In fact he was so emboldened with the idea of hitting from way up front, and quite well I might add, that he felt it his duty to give us some swing tips passed on to him by some young punk wannabee professional that he stumbled across on an obscure golf course in his dim past. He uttered something about focusing on the furthest left knuckle while strangling the driver and this should cure the slices in an instant. Of course the rest of us immediately had to employ this capability and wouldn't you know it we had some, mind you some is the operative word, succes s until we shortly realized that concentrating on that one facet of the grip absolutely devastated the rest of our finely tuned swings and the results were not necessarily pretty. It was then that our long-ball-from-the-front-tees ace told us the rest of the tip; if the knuckle exercise doesn't work, don't use it! Of course he then proceeded to dribble out some other tips which fell on skeptical ears. But, all this banter kept us loose and probably helped us play to the best of our abilities. We were not low for the day but we probably played better than we expected.

The course was in very good shape. The tee boxes were ok, nothing spectacular but they sufficed for our types of tee shots. The fairways were quite good, fortunately not shaved so the ball could actually sit up a bit allowing for an occasional decent iron shot. Most of the greens were good, but there were some that could've been mistaken for a litter box. We've all seen sand on greens before but in some cases this was a bit ridiculous as the sand completely covered the grass making for some spooky putts. But, all 30 teams had to play under the s ame conditions so we couldn't claim any unfair advantages for any specific group. And it was a nice day, right?

Results: playoff hole was #10 (Score Card Playoff-SCP)

Flight "A"

Two teams vied for the overall low score of the day. In First via the SCP was the John Boyd, Don Schneider, Steve Dierker, and Dennis Terhaar team at a -10(62).

Right with them ,In Second was the Jim Akers, Dan Snowden, Bob Gay, and Joe Jarvis team.

And in Third with a -9(63) was the Lee Hanson, Karson Kosowski, Ron Ruffin, and Charlie Riedisser team.

Rounding out the A Flight with a -8(64) was the Dee Ridenhour, Ed Boyer, Bill Gust, and Gary Dyhouse team.

Flight "B"

The bulk of this flight (7 teams) tied with a -6(66) score. In First was the Doug Nolte, George Blaney, Mark Gordon, and Dave Gillett squad

In Second was the Jerry Mullen, Max Saunders, Curt Opperman, and Rich Graeff team.

And in Third was the Stewart Pagenstecher, Jerry White, Dan Ottoline and Paul Villhard team

In Fourth was the Jim Mead, Pat Reed, Bob Franke, and Bill Wegge group.

Also in with 66's but out of the SCP were the Mark Bryant, Jack Reiner and Bob Foeller teams. Four teams came in at -5(67). The Bill Howell team, the Tom Gill team, the Larry Willman team, and the Tom Fichter team.

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Flight "C"

Two teams posted -4(68).In First,the Bob Meinhardt, Pierre Sans Souci, John Prather, and Pat Hudson squad.

Next in Second was the Calvin Britt, Bob Brewer, Bill Heidbreder, and Ralph Buettner team.

Four teams shot -3(69) but only the first two made the money cut determined by the SCP. In Third was the Roger Nikrant, Roger Hennen, Dennis Shannon, and the Phil Helm team.

In Fourth was the Ed Bronczyk, Jim Hawkes, and Dave Page team.

Also with 69's were the Tim McCullen team, the Lou Pessoni team, and the Bob Thibodeaux team.

Fight "D"

Three teams shot -2(70) for the day ,in First was the Ron Smith, George Keil, and Ted Isringhaus team

In Second was the Larry Knopfel, Harry Vellines, Lowell Barnes, and Tom Wulf team.

One stroke behind those three teams, but winning the -1 SCP. In Third was the Darryl Rue, Jim Zweifel, Bill Parrish, and Charlie Fischer team.

Also at 71 were the Frank Vien and the Tom Braun teams.

Getting the most practice for the day and winning the EOD (Effort of the Day) award was the Joe Goines team who pocketed a healthy reward for their efforts.

Awards;

Closest to the pins for the day: #3 John O'Toole #7 Doug Nolte #11 Mark Bryant #13 Ed Boyer #17 Steve Dierker