Congratulations graduates

It's graduation week across the school division, with Shoal Lake students walking across the stage tomorrow evening.  I want to congratulate the Grads of 2018 on their special day.  Also, I want to remind the students that graduation is often considered to be a pathway into adulthood.  One sure sign of adulthood in Shoal Lake is golfing.  So feel free to join us for Ladies Night on Tuesday or Men's Night on Wednesday.

If you think of it, there are many similarities between high school graduation and golf.  High school students spend 13 years learning and studying to get to their graduation.   There are highs and lows to their journey, as is the case for many golfers during their 9 holes.   Graduates spend their evening reflecting on their time at school with most attention given to the positive memories that they have.  Similarly, golfers gather at the end of Men's Night to celebrate their evening while focusing on the best parts of their rounds.

Both graduation ceremonies and Men's Night have an award presentation.  In place of scholarships and bursaries, golfers receive recognition for skins won, deuces, and closest to the pins.  And while Men's Night does not have a formal valedictory address, there are usually a couple of louder guys who want to share their evening experiences with the crowd.

Like a school graduation, there are some at Men's Night who just want to leave and move on to the next thing.  Of course, there are others who want to spend a little more time with friends. reliving their individual and collective experiences.

Obviously graduation is much more important than golf.  Phil Mickelson found that out last year when the US Open conflicted with his daughter's grad.  There was some talk that the school might reschedule the ceremony to accommodate the famous dad.  In the end, Phil withdrew from the tournament to celebrate his daughter's special day.  This was a much better story than what happened to Phil this year.

So...now on to the award's ceremony for last Wednesday.   There were eight golfers recognized as receiving honours.  Congratulations to skin winners Darcy Kowalchuk / Ron Anderson ($20 on #4), Jim Geekie / Brad Benton ($51.88 on #6), Chris Kimpinski / Luke Funk ($36.88 on #7), and Jason Gorrell / Darren Ostash ($36.88 on #9).

A $15 scholarship from Kimp Services / Susinski Farms was presented to Brad Benton for getting closest to the hole on #5.  Jamie McCutchin won the Benny's Gift Certificate Bursary for being tightest on #9.  The biggest award of the evening went to Jason Gorrell who won the $155.64 Deuce Pot Scholarship.

Last week's Governor General Winner as top golf student was Darcy Kowalchuk who scored a 36.

We had 32 golfers last week.  The forecast looks great any this Wednesday.  Let's try to crack 40.

A deuce would be nice

I was away on June 6 and sometimes when I am absent I miss things...especially if no one tells me anything.  Apparently there were four deuces that night and each person agreed to throw the  $45 deuce pot back.  This week there were no twos. As a result, an additional $50 has been added to the pot.  If we get a similar turn out next week the pot will likely be in the neighbourhood of $150.

As I thought about the phrase "throw it back", I realized that it generally references getting rid of things that you don't want.  For example, people throw back fish that are either too big or too small.  Or baseball fans throw back home runs hit by visiting teams.  And there is the usage during an argument when throw it back and remind someone of something bad that they did in the past in order to upset them.  

I guess it can also have a positive meaning...such as when people throw back a drink, finishing it in one gulp.  Or when others post old pictures on social media on Throw Back Thursday.

Since it is Thursday, I thought I would do a throwback to some of the past blogs when the weekly title painted a clear picture of something that happened that week.

• For example, on May 26, 2010, the blog was titled "Opening Night" which symbolized the first week of Men's Night that year.  That was also my first blog entry ever...over eight years ago.
• On September 3, 2011 we had the "1st Annual Lakeside Club Toss" when Hubey put his driver in the bog to the left of the eight tee box.  
• On July 27, 2012 the blog was dedicated to a single golfer when it said "Dale Watson hole in one".  
• Five common-named guys on August 21, 2014 helped me write a column called "That was a lot of Jasons".  
• Dan Stokes sticking his ball in a tree behind the eight green was the focus of "Three in the tree" from August 30, 2015.  
• On June 6, 2016, we learned that "Jason is better than Robin".
• July 16, 2017 was a "Great Wednesday evening" due to Men's Night and the Snowbirds that flew over the course during the community air show.

Last night we had 27 golfers.  Skins went on four holes.  Winners included Robin Kimpinski / Ron Susinski ($31.88 on #3), Brad Benton / Jason Hunter ($70.13 on #4 and $20 on #7), and Chris Kimpinski / Dale Martin ($20 on #9).

Closest to the pins were Stephen David on #5 and Brad Benton on #9.  As mentioned earlier, there were no deuces.

Golf and stress

Some people find golf stressful.  Often they are the people that find life stressful.  They get frustrated by bad shots and unrealistic expectations.  They seem always on the edge and you wonder if they even enjoy golfing.

Golf should actually be a way to relieve stress and anxiety.  There is significant research and anecdotal evidence to support this.  Golf is supposed to relieve stress, anxiety,  depression, and panic attacks.

The best way to enjoy a round of golf is to be selfish and put aside all those things in your life that cause you stress and frustration.   When my wife asks me how my round was I say "good" no matter how it went.  When she asks me who I golfed with I tell her.  But when she asks me what we talked about, I usually state that we discussed the weather, golf, and the weather for most of the day.  We don't talk about work or home or our hopes and dreams.  We simply hit golf balls and share phrases like "good shot", "nice putt", or "that one's dead".  At the end of each 9 holes round we take some time to tabulate scores and snips and plan what game we are playing next.  Then we start again on #1 and resume our deep conversations about the weather and golf.

Occasionally, we talk about something else if it merits attention.  Yesterday, for example, we exchanged stories about the guy who was struck by lightning recently at the golf club in Neepawa.  I was eager to share some insight that I gained from talking to someone who was playing with that guy when he got hit.  Also we recalled multiple incidents in which we stayed on courses when lightning was in the area.  Hopefully what happened in Neepawa will make us all a bit more cautious.

With golf, my only stress comes from wondering whether or not I will get to golf.  Or occasionally I will have that mild panic attack long into a weekend round when I wonder if I have been gone from home too long.  If I have, it usually means I have to forgo the next planned round to compensate.

I would suggest if golf is stressful, either find a way to make it more enjoyable or give it up completely.  Most of us work and have busy lives with families and other things.  We should not pick leisure activities that cause us distress.  That's why I don't curl.

This past Wednesday my only anxiety resulted from not being available for Men's Night.  I missed a very nice evening with some excellent scoring conditions.  From all accounts, the 24 golfers that did show up had fun.

Skins went on four holes.  Winners included Robin Kimpinski / Keith Martin ($28.75 on #5 and $73.25 on #8), Luke Funk / Ron Susinski ($20 on # 7), and Brad Benton / Charlie McNabb ($38.75 on #9).

Closest to the pins were Neuf on #5 and Jel Ostash on #9.  Four people shared the $45 deuce pot, including Ken Ostash, Darcy Kowalchuk, Robin Kimpinski, and Charlie McNabb.