By Bruce Braun
“The only time my prayers are never answered is on the golf course.” ― Billy Graham
Another fine day at Beauty Bay. Well, it was fine for most of us. It was exceptional for one of us! Congratulations to Leo Heyens on his hole-in-one on number 14. What a thrill! The celebration continued into the clubhouse after the round where Leo kindly bought his pals a beverage. We came to find out that he was using his wife’s credit card which may explain his exuberant generosity!
Also, congratulations to Lorne Nault who is celebrating his birthday today. A fairly large number of candles were sacrificed to anoint the occasion.
This weeks roster included 56 members and 5 guests. It’s hard to believe but this was our last regular golf date. There are a few natural reminders of the dwindling season. The sumac, ash and birch trees are already turning, as is the dog bane and fern. Next week begins the club championship whereby your lowest score of the following two weeks will be counted in your effort to have your name emblazoned on a trophy. There are awards for each flight, both gross and net scores, as well as overall club champion. So, clean those grips and sharpen those grooves. It’s show time!
As a reminder to last years winners and trophy keepers. Please plan to return your trophy to the shelves in the clubhouse loft. You are asked to remove any lipstick and make the trophy presentable for the next winner.
OK gents. I continue to search for golfers like yourselves to contribute to our weekly newsletter. Answer this… The funniest thing you’ve ever seen on the golf course is _________________________. Hopefully you will send in your story.
Here’s mine! I have many (of course) but here’s one. This one was many years ago golfing with a couple pals after a rainy week. We were anxious to get out. One of the guys, Dave, has an unusually steep swing. First, some context…. Years prior, Dave came to the understanding that hitting down on the ball was the best way to get the ball to go up. That is true. Many of us amateurs are what’s called ‘pickers’. We try to match the bottom or swing with the location of the golf ball. Better golfers know that the bottom of the swing is slightly past the ball. This is not true for the driver or putter but for every other club, it’s the road to success. Dave, though a serious amateur, believed so fully in this swing process that he essentially over-exaggerated his swing in an attempt to get results. A descending blow means the ball, hopefully, is contacted first and then the ground. This always results in a divot. This also results in backspin, an often sought after skill. To be clear, a divot can be achieved before we reach the ball, resulting in a fat shot. Dave made a lot of divots, but most of them were after he contacted the ball. Interestingly, Dave was a real estate agent, and he had calculated the number of divots that he had taken in a lifetime amounted to enough land to build a subdivision! OK, to continue with the story…We get to a par three a few holes in. It was only 120 yards long and Dave pulls out a wedge and sets up to take the strike. Perhaps it was the moisture laden ground but for some reason his lead foot slipped back and he dropped his shoulder so severely in his downswing that he took a MASSIVE divot. His club entered the soft, wet soil about 16 inches behind the ball and proceeded to lift a chunk of earth from its former home. As his club got deeper in the ground, his swing abruptly came to a stop before his club even reached the ball. In slow motion, the large divot, still attached to the ground, stood straight up in the air, and then fell forward over top of the ball covering the ball completely. One had to get down on their hands and knees to be able to see the tee and the underside of the golf ball. This is where we remained for some time holding onto our sore ribs from laughing so hard! We weren’t quite sure of the ruling, but he lifted up the divot ever so carefully, tapped it back into the ground, and proceeded to take his second shot. It was a little better, but not much!
Back nine scramble winners were Ken Lund, Larrie Davies, Richard Cone, and Dick Green with a -3 score of 32. Congratulations!
Other achievements:
Closest to the cup on number 2: Jim “Beaming” Beaman.
Closest to the cup second shot on number 4: Randy “Kick-In” Taylor.
Longest putt on number 6: Orlo “My Knee is Great” Mejia.
Closest to the cup on number 7: John “Thing of Beauty” Palichuk.
Longest putt on number 8: Mike “Downhill Slider” Favreau.
August 22 front nine flight winners:
Flight 1: Bruce Braun, 37.
Flight 2: Russ Hintz, 37.
Flight 3: Mike Favreau, 45. Won on a countback against the hole-in-one king, Leo Heyens.
Flight 4: Roger Dimit, 44.
Flight 5: Orlo Mejia, 48. Won the on a countback.
See you next week!
