Shot Tracers and Regular Golfers

This evening I will do the Men's Night update first and follow it with my weekly musing.

Last Wednesday, we had 38 golfers.  Skins went on three holes.  Winners included Austin Hunter / Blake Cramer ($23.75 on #2, $$23.75 on #7) and Dale Martin / Norm Verboom ($23.75 on #6).
Closest to the pins were Keith Martin on #5 and Phil Ostash on #9.  Neither they nor anyone else made a birdie so the deuce pot went unclaimed.

On Saturday, we had the Horse Race tournament.  It was a beautiful day with almost 40 participants.  Congratulation to the winners - Scott Maynes first flight, Austin Hunter second flight, and Jason Gorrell third flight.

Now I will switch gears and write about something that I have been thinking about recently.  I enjoy watching golf but watch very little of it when the weather is nice.  The exception is the majors.  When I do watch, I like the full experience which includes all the technological things the networks add.  For all of the technology used in golf broadcasting, I most enjoy the shot tracer.

In the last week, I saw several shots in Shoal Lake that would be interesting on the shot tracer.  Shots that if tracked would leave the TV screen on the left, right, or top sides.  Some of these errant shots came from my clubs and some were from others with whom I was playing.  For example, I saw a ball hit from a tee box hit the marker three feet in front of the golfer before bouncing back to hit that person in the chest.  That would be tough for the shot tracer to follow.

I also witnessed someone hit a ball from the third tee box, hitting a top height of about 3 feet before skipping two times.  The ball then hit the last rock framing the ladies tee box, go close to 100 feet in the air and fly about 150 feet backwards, over the lilac bushes and trees to the back left of the tee box.  It came to rest between the trees and the second green.  I am pretty sure the shot tracer would have a hard time with this ball flight.

There's actually a shot tracer app available for Android and Apple phones that is supposed to work fairly well.  Someone should try it and tell me how it works.

If you want to check out a funny video on the shot tracer topic, check out https://imgur.com/gallery/agTDLSr

Golf is hard

Golf is hard.  No matter how much you enjoy it or how good you play, it is a difficult and challenging game.  In many sports, simply being athletic can make you adequate.  You can't muscle yourself to greatness in golf.  Golf takes lots of practice, proper technique, patience, and a clear mind.  Even then it can be challenging.  Part of the challenge is the average person gets frustrated when they don't play perfectly.

Think about how challenging the game is just at a basic level.  You have a four-foot long stick with a graphite head at the end.  You then try to hit a ball that is one inch in diameter into a hole somewhere between 400 and 1500 feet away.

When you watch golf on TV it looks easy...with guys pumping drives 300 yards down the middle of the fairway and hitting approach shots within feet of pins.  However, it isn't always easy for the people that do it for a living.  Case in point...David Duval 's experience yesterday.  He hit the wrong ball en route to a score of 14 which was the highest hole score in 69 years at the British Open.  He had a 49 on the front and a 42 on the back for a 91.  While he is not the golfer that he once was, he still is a PGA professional and former major winner and world #1.

So if golf is so hard, why do we bother playing?  Because sometimes it seems really easy and then it is really fun.  I witnessed some of that easy golf on Wednesday evening.  Scott Martin had a 36 with nine pars, hitting drives down the middle and never really being in any trouble.

Scott Maynes also made putting look easy, draining an 81-foot putt on #5 for birdie.  He started 5 feet on the front of the green and made a perfect roll to the hole at the far back of the green.

There were lots of interesting pin placements.  The location inside of 10 feet of the left middle side of #8 was particularly diabolical.  Rumour has it that the guy putting the holes in on Wednesday morning was cranky.

Back to Maynes' 81-foot putt.  The distance was confirmed by Scott Martin who measured it with his GPS.  The next morning during his daily 18, Scott checked to see if a similar putt from just on the green could be longer on other holes.  Here are some of his findings.  The second hole from side to side could stretch to 90 feet.  It would be around 90 feet from the front of #3 to a hole at the back.  Other potentially long putts would include a 70 footer on #3, 74 feet on #8, and up to 73 feet on #9.

There were only 26 golfers on Wednesday.  The lower turnout was attributed to Fair Day.  Skins went on five holes.  Winners included Stephen David / Wes Arfinson ($55.25 on #2), Scott Maynes / Norm Verboom ($20.00 on #5), Kory Stebeleski / Dick Edgeworth ($55.25 on #6), Terry Brandon / Chris Malchuk ($71.75 on #7), and Kendal Koroscil / Kevin Bartram ($20.00 on #9).

The previously mentioned Kendal Korsocil was closest on both par 3's.  He also a 2 to share the $49.00 deuce pot with Scott Maynes.

Next week we have Men's Night on Wednesday, the Credit Union tournament on Thursday, and the Horse Race on Saturday.  There is still room in both tournaments.  Additionally, I was talking to Joe Shwaluk this morning and he is planning a Night Golf event for Friday, August 16.

Too much is not enough

There were 39 golfers this past Wednesday.  Low score for the evening went to Scott Maynes with a 36.  Scott had a lucrative pairing with the dummy card resulting in two skin wins ($20 on #5 and $55.50 on #9).  Scott also birdied the ninth hole to share the $58.50 deuce pot with Mark Pawluk and Kory Stebeleski.  Kory was closest to the pin on #9 while Ashley Brandon hit it tightest on #5.  The only other skin to go was #1 where Troy Chwaluk and Mike Zenchyshyn won the $20 pot.

Having dispensed with the Men's Night summary I will now turn my attention to my random golf-related topic of the week.

There is a saying that too much of a good thing is a bad thing.  That may be true in some cases but not for golf.  Too much golf is a great thing.  After not playing until late June, I have been enjoying lots of golf.   I have tried to play as much as I can.  And there is more to come as we have Nine and Dine tonight and more tournaments in July and August.

I actually feel that too much golf is not enough.  I played seven days straight recently and felt bad on the eight day when I didn't play.  I initially convinced myself that I needed a break...but I really didn't.  My hands or body weren't aching from overuse.  I wasn't needed at home or neglecting my work.  I just didn't play that day for some reason.  Fortunately, that day was Tuesday and Men's Night was the next day.

The intent of the original phrase is to suggest that even something good can become bad if it is excessive.  It suggests that the quality of something is relative to its quantity.  The assumption is that even excellent things can be terrible if they exist in overabundance.  I get that this may be true in some cases but I disagree that the saying applies to golf.

My first golf this year was June 21st.  While I wasn't terrible, there were times in the first few rounds in which I thought that I forgot how to swing.  I was happy to be playing but not completely happy with how I was playing.  Having been out a bit more regularly, I am feeling more comfortable over the ball, playing better, and enjoying it more.

Sometimes golfing gets a bad rap.  It is seen differently than other sports or leisure activities.  If you walk or go to the gym for seven days straight people commend you for your dedication and activity level.  If you golf every day of the week people ask if your wife is out of town.  For the record, my wife was away this past weekend and I did golf quite a bit during her absence.  However, I would like to think that I would have done so even if she was home...with her approval of course.

So I would encourage you to play as much golf as you as possible.  Or get on the lake as often as you can or get walking every day.  If you have something that gives you great pleasure and does not negatively impact you or others, keep doing it.  We seem to now have four months of good weather per year.  Maximize it.  Think about all those cold winter days when you wished you could be outside.  Now get outside and do something while the weather is good.

On Friday, we held our annual Fundraising tournament.  It was an excellent day for golf.  Thanks to everyone involved in organizing and facilitating this event.

The Horse Race tournament is scheduled for Saturday, July 27.  More information regarding it is found on the web version of this blog.  Contact Stephen David at 847-0161 to register.

Golf and the sleep cycle

Golf makes me wake up early.  I was up at 5:00 am today, partly because of my dog, but mainly due to the Fundraising tournament at 12:30 pm.  Like most golfers, I require 7.5 hours to get ready.  At age 50 you can't simply roll out of bed and hit golf balls.

I wake early on Wednesdays because it is Men's Night.  I wake up early when I am going somewhere to golf or when I am going to buy new golf clubs.  I have also set my alarm to watch the British Open before the sun rises in Manitoba.

The occasions in which I went on golf trips are an exception.  I don't wake up early.  This relates to the fact that I almost don't sleep the night before and waking up early requires previous sleep.

Since I am already up, I might as well quickly do the Men's Night recap.  Usually, after writing my weekly entry, I send group texts to tell people the blog has been updated.  I will wait until after 8:00 am to do that so I don't wake anyone with the text notification.  Just because I am up early doesn't mean others need to be as well.

This past Wednesday was airplane night at the golf course...due to the seven 47's.  That represented almost 20% of the 39 scores entered.

Skins went on two holes.  Chris Kimpinski and Kory Stebeleski both birdied #1 to claim $36 while Mike Zenchyshyn and Ron Huberdeau combined for two pars to win $116.63 on #5.

Closest to the pins were Dale Martin on #5 and Phil Ostash on #9.  Neither converted their birdies which opened the door for Jason Hunter to claim the $58.50 deuce pot when he eagled #2.  Jason also had the low round for the evening with a 37.  He celebrated by keeping his group out until 9:30 pm without turning in their scorecards.

We were short $10 for the entry fee.  If you or someone you loved forgot to pay, you can add it to the pot next week.  If someone you know intentionally skipped paying, you may report them at 1-800-CHEAPO.  All calls will be kept anonymous unless required by law.