Thanks for a great year!

I am pretty sure the image above is intended for Christmas holidays...but it is fitting as our 2016 Men's Night season draws to a close.

I will quickly do a recap of this past week before taking some time to remember some of the neat things that happened on Wednesdays this spring, summer, and early fall.

Wednesday was our final Men's Night. While only 10 golfers made it was still a fun way to wrap up the year.

Skins went on four holes. Winners included Dan Stokes / Stephen David ($20 on #1), Austin Hunter / Wes Arnfinson ($20 on #3, $20 on #6), and Joe Shwaluk / Brad Benton ($20 on #9).

Closest to the pins were Dan on #5 and Joe on #9. There were no deuces recorded.

So with this Wednesday duly noted, here are some of the interesting happenings of 2016:
- Our season started on April 27 and went to September 28, spanning 23 weeks.
- We had two rain outs...some extremely hot days, some lightning, and a tornado warning.
- Brad Benton edged out Scott Maynes on the last night of the ringer board.
- There were multiple nights when no one recorded closest to on a par 3.
- Robin Kimpinski helped us add the word "emu" to the golf bird-related lexicon.
- I won the season money title, sneaking past Blake Hunter in the final two weeks.
- There were 50 people who won money during the season.
- We didn't have a single night with more than 40 golfers.
- Scott Martin scored the deuce of the year with a 95 yard shot on #2 back in May.
- High score for the year was a 63. That's nine maxes.

Thanks to everyone who came out during the season and thanks to the Club House crew for taking care of us on Wednesdays. Finally, thanks to our wives and significant others for finding ways to fill their Wednesday evenings alone without us. We are going to be home now for the winter. Like us, you'll probably be counting down the days until golf begins again in 2017.

Next year I predict two nights of 50 golfers, two holes in one, and an April 19th start.

Until next year...take care and remember...there's always the Golf Channel.

That was an odd one

The picture above is from a classic episode of Seinfeld called "Bizarro Jerry", The plot references a comic book character named Bizarro who is the polar opposite of Superman. In the Seinfeld version, the gang meets a group of people who are their exact opposites.

It was sort of an odd Mens' Night this week. I am not sure if it was a Bizarro Mens' Night but it seemed a little off.

The weather was reasonable but only 11 golfers showed up. It was even too damp likely to farm but none of those guys played.

One team comprised of Scott Maynes and Blake Hunter won three skins. This doesn't usually happen, even on nights with low attendance. The Maynes and Hunter train was on a roll winning $20 on three separate holes, #1, 2, and 5. They were also the closest to the holes on the par 3's with Blake hitting it tight on #5 and Scott being closest on #9.

There were two deuces, but by the same person. This rarely occurs. Good job Scott Maynes.

Jason Hunter didn't play. He usually is a die hard. I have to assume that he was kidnapped or was on jury duty.

Brad Benton was in the high pot, which almost is never the case. He still won a skin on #3 with Robin Kimpinski for $20.

I had the good fortune of pairing with the dummy card which had never happened to me before. In the end I won two skins on my own, including $77 on #6 and $20 on #8.  A high single winner is rare. Not everyone who pairs with the deuce pot gets lucky. Even odder was the fact that I was the middle score on the evening. The dummy card that I ended up with was a reproduction of my own card.

The $97 combined was the highest individual one-week total of the year, edging out the $95.25 won by Blake Hunter back on June 15th.

These wins put my season money total to $253.50 moving me ahead of Blake  who sits in second at $244.13. Blake had an amazing run of 14 weeks in first place.

Ronin Kimpisnksi also moved to $219 in winnings for the year. This is the first time that I recall we had three people over $200 for the season.

Too bad one of the odd events wasn't a hole in one. Our last one was recorded by Dale Watson on July 25th, 2012. That was 1522 days ago. Currently we have two separate pots capped at $1500 and a third currently at $331. That's over $3300 awaiting a couple of lucky shots. Maybe it will happen on Wednesday.

The Club House closes after this Sunday but we have still lined up staff for one final Mens' Night on Wednesday. After that we will shut it down for another season and start counting the days to next year.

Good bad shots

I have been talking a lot about good bad shots lately. It may be reflective of the current state of my game. I would like to think that it is more indicative of my generally optimistic approach to things.

I have used the phrase "A good bad shot is better than a bad good shot" on multiple occasions in recent weeks. It seems that people with whom I have played have had their fair share of good luck as of late. I have also benefitted from some good bounces on fairways. I have witnessed long putts that should not go in somehow change direction and fall in the hole.  I have had at least a half dozen shots in the past month go 20-30 feet into the bush before somehow hitting the right tree at the right angle and coming out safely. When anything of these things happen you feel grateful, happy, and lucky. Quickly your dismay from a seemingly bad shot is erased with the relief of good fortune or a good break.

Contrast this with the bad good shot. Who hasn't hit a seemingly great tee shot down the middle of the third hole before watching it take that 90 degree bounce into the high grass on the right. And what about that perfect birdie putt from six feet that somehow hits the cup so that the ball kicks out six feet sideways and results in two more putts for bogey. Then there is a demoralizing sprinkler head shot common in small town golf courses. Those round pieces of metal are barely noticed until you hit that 150 yard approach that seems like it could be tight...and then it hits the sprinkler head and flies way over the green into the bush.

Most golfers have great memories about their good shots but seem to forget their good fortune. They lament how their round was spoiled by a bad hop or a lost ball that shouldn't have been. Few of us talk about how their round was saved by a members bounce or a couple of putts that we had no business making.

I prefer hearing from those golfers who shot a 45 while admitting that it should have been a 50.  I try not to roll my eyes when I hear others say they shot 38 but are disappointed because it should have been 36. I wonder if they truly feel disappointed in their round or if they just want to tell others that they are even better than their score suggests.

Driving on the fifth hole yesterday, I passed a gentleman searching for a ball hit from the eight tee. He quickly stated that he was looking for his brother's ball again. I assume he didn't want a stranger to think he hit an errant shot. I replied by suggesting that he look on the green because I had hit a similar errant shot on multiple occasions. I wanted the stranger to know that what his brother did wasn't so uncommon.

This past Wednesday, we had 16 golfers.  I shot a 42 which was about right. I had a couple of bad good shots evened out by a few good bad shots. I likely didn't deserve to break 40. I also wouldn't have deserved to be over 45.

Blake Hunter had enough good shots to card a 38 which was the low round of the evening.  He  had consecutive birdies on 6, 7, and 8. He also cashed in for two skins with Jason Gorrell. They won $20 on #7 and $34 on #8. Blake's additions to his season money total put him back in first place ahead of Robin Kimpinski.

Skins went on two other holes. Neuf and Ian got $20 for their efforts on #3 while Scott Maynes and Wes Arfinson won $44 for #5.  Scott's tee shot on the par 3 fifth was good for closest to for the evening.

Sonny Blackbird scored the only 2 of the evening to win the $54 deuce pot. I had a birdie putt on #9 stop at the edge of the hole which would have tied Sonny. That was a bad good shot. However, I hit a less than perfect tee shot that somehow stopped eight feet from the hole. It was good for closest to the hole for the night. That was a good bad shot...so I can't complain.

The forecast for Wednesday looks promising...15 Celsius and sunny which would be pretty darn good for September 21.  If you can't make it because of farming or work or family commitments, I wish you well in doing whatever it is that you will be doing. If you don't want to come because that forecast is too cool for you, imagine how you will feel in a couple of months.

6 - 1 = 5

Three Septembers ago, I wrote a blog entry entitled "Seven Alone" which noted a cold and damp evening in which only 7 golfers showed up for Mens' Night.

This past week it was more like the Final 5. While we did not get enough for an official Mens' Night, we did play 9 holes in the cold and the steady rain. Thanks to Jason Hunter, Neuf, Brad Benton, and Blake Hunter for the round.

We actually started with 6 but Sonny Blackbird didn't have any rain gear. He hit a pretty good tee shot on 5, then went home. For what it's worth, I have his ball in my bag.

Thanks also to Bev Eastcott-Leach who hung around in the Club House for when we finished around 8:00 pm.

Just for the record, it was Robin Kimpinski, Brad Benton, Jason Hunter, Wes Arnfinson, Dan Stokes, Milt, and I who comprised the 7 three years ago.

This Wednesday looks much more promising with the weather. Remember we need 10 golfers to make it an official Mens' Night. See you at 6:00 pm for tee-off.

NHL Hat Auction

Even though this blog is supposed to be a weekly chronicle of what happens at Mens' Night, occasionally I do some general golf club promotion.

So I would like to take a moment to tell you about the NHL Hat Auction fundraiser that we are planning for October 7th.

Following a supper, hats from all NHL teams will be auctioned off to the highest bidder. Payouts are awarded at the end of the season to division winners, the Presidents Cup recipient, and the Stanley Cup champion. There is even a prize for the last place team in the regular season.  More information will follow as we get closer to the event.

Now back to the regular Mens' Night stuff.

This past week we had only 20 golfers. Most of the people in the agricultural industry were busy combining or providing services to farmers.

Skins went on five foles. Winners included Sonny Blackbird / Wes Arnfinson ($20 on #1), Jason Gorrell / Brad Lucy ($20 on #2), Stephen David / Blake Cramer ($103.50 on #3), Terry Brandon / Robin Kimpinski ($20 on #7), and Brad Benton / Ron Huberdeau ($20 on #9).

Closest to the pins were Brad Benton on #5 and Scott Maynes on #9. There were no deuces recorded by them or anyone else.

Remember we are now at 6:00 pm tee offs. Mens' Night will continue as long as the weather and numbers permit. This coming Wednesday will be our 20th so far this season.