Too Hot for Golf?

A country song from the 90's included a catchy series of lyrics. The singer, Mark Chestnutt, laments how it is "It’s too hot to fish and too hot for golf and too cold at home".

I can't speak of the fishing because I am not much of an angler. My daughter has more experience than me in this regard but she uses chopped up smokies as bait. Perhaps some people might say my house is too cold. I do like it rather cool. In the mornings my windows have condensation on them and my wife seems to always have a sweater or a blanket as a covering.

But could it actually be too hot for golf? Some might say so but I would disagree. Take this past Wednesday for example with it's plus 30 Celsius temperature and humidex near 40. That was nice golfing weather as far a I am concerned.

Sure the clothes got a little sticky. Yes, you had to work a bit to keep your hands dry. But come on. It was a beautiful day. You just needed to stay hydrated. Days like this that require lots of liquid are great for the golf course sales.

I did enjoy the shade when it came and occasionally a light breeze provided some much appreciated cooling. But I would take 22 similar days for a season of Mens' Night and trade in any of those times it rained...or maybe a few of those single digit temperature evenings at the start and end of the season.
I spend enough time looking at the window in the winter at that frigid Manitoba landscape to complain about heat in the summer.

Wednesday even played like rainy day conditions without the rain. The high heat and humidity made the golf course play a little longer because it was damp and soft. The fairways and greens were way more receptive. This made them essentially wider and bigger because your shots didn't bounce into trouble as much.

These nice conditions were definitely good for Brad Benton who carded the low round of the evening with a sizzling 34.  Brad has been the low scorer on previous occasions. If I forget to mention this he complains so I am going out of my way to note it this time. In case you don't know him, here's a picture of Brad. If you see him on the street or at his restaurant tell him "Nice 34 Brad Benton". He'll appreciate it.

While I usually only reference things that happen during the official round, I would like to acknowledge Scott Maynes' practice round when he missed a birdie putt on the last hole but still finished with a 32. Good job Scotty.

It was our 14th Mens' Night of the year. To date, we have had 42 people who have won cash and put themselves on the season money list.

There were 35 golfers this week. Skins only went on two holes. Luke Funk and Brad Benton won $20 on #1 while Rob Eastcott and Dave Gill earned $20 on #7.

Dan Stokes was closest to the pin on #5 while Jamie McCutchin was tightest on #9. Both converted their birdies for the only twos of the night. They split the $52.50 deuce pot.

Brad added a birdie on #1 to go to -6 on the ringer board. That ties him with leader Scott Maynes.

Of course, our 6th annual Horse Race tournament is tomorrow. The weather forecast switched from pretty dismal to maybe not so bad. There may still be some rain but it will likely occur as a heavy but short downpour. Although I would be happy if it stays dry, or at least only rains until 8:50 am and maybe again from 1:00 - 1:20 pm. Even better would be no rain...and maybe plus 30 Celsius temperature with a humidex near 40

Horse Race on Saturday

Our 6th annual horse race tournament is this Saturday, July 23rd. Information about the event is found on the left side of our webpage.

To date we only have 25 golfers registered. Normally we get 45-55. Please check the list to see if you notice anyone who I playing that is not included.

To register, please email Stephen David at sdavid@mts.net or text at 847-0161.

Missing Golf

I don't miss Mens' Night very often...maybe once per year on average. I usually am among the diehards that are never away, no matter the reasons or conditions. However, I have already been absent three times this year. Once was for a family function, another time I was on a golf trip, and this past week I was camping. I enjoyed each of these things immensely...but each of those Wednesday's I was away, at around 6:30 pm, I wished I was back in Shoal Lake.

Part of the reason I hate to miss is I hate to miss anything. It always seems on those rare occasions during which I am away something noteworthy occurs.

This past week was no exception. The threat of rain seemed to scare off almost everyone with only 16 golfers making an appearance. Low numbers bode well for skins and Jamie McCutchin and Brad Benton took advantage winning three holes. Their collective wins on #2, 4, and 6 won them $130.

Skins went on three other holes. Winners included Dale Martin / Ron Susinski ($20 on #1), Scott Martin / Lyle Wilson ($20 on #5), and Kevin Bartram / Jason Hunter ($20 on #7).

Scott Maynes had a hot hand on the par 3's with closest to the holes on both. He converted both birdies for 2/3 of the deuce pot. Dale Martin scored the other two for the final 1/3 share.

Scott's two birdies vaulted him into the lead on the ringer board with a score of -6. Brad Benton moved up one spot to -5 to tie for second place with Scott Martin.

For any fairweather golfers, the forecast looks incredible for Wednesday. Hopefully 30 Celsius and sunny can help us boost our numbers.

The Ace Has Been Caught

I thought I would be writing about some guy in a blue shirt and his hole-in-one. Instead I will start with a shout-out to Robin Kimpinski, who had his number picked and then found that elusive ace-of-spades. His prize was 50% of the pot which gave him $2119. Being the nice guy that he is, he promptly bought everyone a round...before buying Dan another drink because I drank his.

I am writing this fairly quickly after Mens' Night...and fairly early in the morning. I could have done it two hours ago when I first awoke. I have this medical condition that causes me to wake up really early on golf days. One morning on a recent golf trip I got up at 4:18 am. Today is the Fundraiser tournament which is a lot of fun...so I woke early. On a positive note, I have already eaten and cleaned my golf cart.

There were 30 golfers on Wednesday with several of them winning prizes. While none were as big as the Chase the Ace, there still were some good wins.

Skins fell on all but two holes. Winners included Brad Lucy / Joel Ostash ($20 on #1 and $31.50 on #6), Robbie Eastcott / Charlie McNabb ($31.50 on #3), Austin Hunter / Jason Gorrell ($20 on #5 and $47.00 on #7), Blake Hunter / Chris Kimpinski ($75 on #8), and Stephen David / Kyler Demond ($47 on #9).

Blake's win pushed him to $176.13 on the money list which is about $100 more than the five guys closest to him. Last year Jason Gorrell had won $205.50 at this point enroute to setting the single season money record of $351.50.

Robin had the only deuce of the evening for sole possession of the $45 pot. Closest to the pins were Blake Cramer on #5 and Jason Hunter on #9.

That's it for this week. I have to head down to the course soon to help with the set-up for the tournament. Enjoy your day and your weekend.

Let the Summer Begin

I am someone who says that summer is not about a date on the calendar...that it begins once the weather warms up and you can get outside.

That being said, there is something special about this seventh month of the year. For starters, July is a month of golf tournaments. There is the Fundraiser this Friday, the Horse Race on the 23rd, the Seniors on the 26th and the Credit Union on the 28th. The weather always is hotter and dryer in July which is ideal for golf. It even seems the wind dies down a bit and golfers get to experience the euphoria of hitting balls without gusts from in front, behind, or beside them.

Mens' Night always seems better in July. We get bigger turnouts as farmers are a little less busy and others have vacation time. Visitors come to spend time with family and friends and sometimes join them for some Wednesday golf. Also, people tend to stay out a little later and occasionally there is a friendly game of cards at the end of the evening.

Even though last week was June 29th, it still had the air of a July evening. We hit our season high with 33 players and conditions were ripe for scoring. Brad Benton took advantage scoring a very solid 35.

With lots of golfers comes more pushes on skins. Only two holes went, with Austin Hunter / Mike Susinski winning $20 on #1 and Luke Funk / Jamie McCutchin cashing in for $84.50 on #5.

It should be noted that the skin on #1 was won with a combined -3 score thanks to Mike's birdie and Austin's eagle.

Austin's deuce was one of four on the night. He shared the $48.50 deuce pot with his dad Blake, Darcy Kowalchuk, and Jason Hunter.

Darcy was closest to the pin on #5, hitting it to inside of two feet. No one recorded a closest on #9.

My prediction for this week is 40 golfers and a hole-in-one by someone wearing a blue shirt. I know what colour I will be wearing.

If you don't make it for Wednesday, hopefully we will see you at the Fundraiser on Friday. If not, enjoy the start to the best month of the year.