Club Championship --
July 30th and 31st of 2004
This years Club Championship was held at Holmes Golf Course on day 1 and
finished at Pioneers Golf Course on day 2. With only a few sprinkles
at Holmes to dampen the event early, the sun welcomed us all on day two and
proved to be a real nail biter. NAILS...WHO HAS NAILS!!! The Pros
on both days provided a modified shotgun start which allows all the ladies
playing to get off tee and off the course at the same time. This may
be great for the golfers but it does put added pressure on the organizers
to get things added, calculated, checked and logged. A huge round of
applause should go out to the board for all their efforts to get the numbers
right and up in a timely fashion.
Day 1 -- Holmes Golf
Course -- 7:45 am
I'm sure
we all have a similar feelings when playing morning golf.
No, I don't mean
those feelings that evoke responses such as:
"why can't I sleep another hour?" or
"gosh I need another cup of coffee, but do I dare?" or
"who in their right minds gets up this early" or
"so this is what it looks like before 8am!!"
No, rather, I'm
talking about those moments when the sun gently rises over the horizon and
the birds serenade us as we prepare to play the game of golf. Where,
in the early morning solitude, you are hard pressed to hear the hustle and
bustle of the traffic you know is only a few yards away. A peaceful
mist in the air and the early morning dew provide a clean freshness to the
course while a cool breeze nips at our faces.
And the ultimate
happens.....you find yourself smiling.
Here Deb Essex
and Lela Ott are heading to their starting tee box on friday in the early
morning mist at Holmes Golf Course contemplating their upcoming round. What
will the day bring?
YOU GOTTA LOVE IT!!
We were met with
some drizzly rain for a good portion of the day friday so pictures are scarce,
however, after the sun decided to join us towards the end of our rounds,
Jan Crouch gladly demonstrates her follow through when hitting her approach
to the 15th green.
Of course, as
I was trying to determine my next move when I get to my ball, I heard something......
....where was
that little noise coming from........there it is again.....
"YO, lady, may
I play through?"
I informed
this single that we were in the midst of a very important tournament and
they would not be allowed to play through. But if it should happen on
another day, we would gladly allow her to play through to avoid slow play
for those golfers following.
Where is the group
ahead of us? Funny how quickly we loose them when stopping to chat.
We made a point
to pick it up so we can stay within sight of the group in front of us.
Day 2 -- Pioneers
Golf Course -- 7:45 am
Day 2 began very
much as did Day 1 with a modified shotgun start.
Our group's day
started out with everyone managing to find the green. We were definitely
creeping up on the hole and had it in our sights. Everyone knows that
on Hole #1 the place to be is just in front of the green. And three
found it just perfectly. Or maybe the comments were "why didn't I use
that one extra club". We always want to keep those goals high.
But all in all not a bad spot to work from.
You know, sometimes everyone is an expert at telling us what we should
or shouldn't do. Well, I noticed this tree off the #6 tee box that seemed
to be saying "fade it here". OK, now I know I've lost it.
Then suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I notice a fellow golfer on
an adjacent fairway giving me THE signal. Can you see her?
PIMAHIHO.........My spirits were lifted and off I went.
But it wasn't long before the unthinkable happened. As I was preparing
to hit a shot I turned and accidentally dropped my club. OH MY GOODNESS!!!
The unthinkable has occurred. How could I be so unaware?
As you can see, at the left, my club 'narrowly' missed hitting my ball.
Why am I so upset?
Carefully, I lift my club ..... breathing again, I chastised myself for
being mentally AWOL.
Remember, always be aware of your equipment and where it is in relation
to you. You never know when the 'unthinkable' will happen. See
the Ruling on such a situation below from the USGA.
USGA Rules of Golf:
18-2. By Player, Partner,
Caddie or Equipment
When a player’s ball is in play, if:
.....
(ii) equipment of the player or his
partner causes the
ball to move,
the player incurs a penalty of one stroke.
If the ball is moved, it must be replaced unless the movement of the ball
occurs after the player has begun the stroke or the backward movement of the club for the stroke and the stroke is made.
Under the Rules there is no penalty if a player accidentally causes his ball
to move in the following circumstances:
I have left the Rule numbers in place in the explanation so you can look
up the information if you like from the following website http://www.usga.org/playing/rules/rules_of_golf.asp
Knowing the rules of golf will only make you a better golfer and provide
you with the proper procedure if something like this ever happens to you.
OK, now that that bit of work is done I sailed on to the next hole....
ahhhhhhhh.....
MAN, don't you wish that were really the way to get to the next hole!!!
tee hee
OK, getting back to business. Isn't it great when you get to the
green and see someone in your group is going to be have the job of showing
you EXACTLY the line of your shot?
Of course, then you realize that that is only going to be the case, if
and only if, they execute THEIR shot correctly and YOU execute your shot correctly.
This game can give you a huge headache trying to figure it out at times.
So, pop a few aspirin and only worry about what you can control.
I feel I have first hand knowledge on this point because Sherrie Nelson
sank her birdie and I left mine hanging on the lip....to which I exclaimed
"figures...I've been short all my life."
I promptly tossed the bag for two aspirin...took a deep breath and moved
on. Whats done is done.
We now come to the crowning moment. Or wait....what's this?.....the
Losers?..... at least that is what they were trying to tell me here.
However, I prefer to say they are demonstrating that they are all members
of the LWMGA with the "L" salute. Good job ladies.
Congrats to all the ladies who participated because this is the organizations
biggest tournament of the year. This is OUR Club Championship.
More dollars are allotted to this tournament in our budget than any other
throughout the year. So if you haven't played you might mark it on
your calendar next year and join us.
Now....The winners.
Congratulations to the Flight winners:
Carol Finn, third flight
Barb Hart, second flight
Karen Flowers, first flight
Linda Perry, fourth flight
Club Champion: Jan Crouch
Low Net Champion: Carol Finn