Nice Wednesday...plus No Fire Ants

People often complain about things when they golf. Many bad shots are blamed on the lie of the ball or the high wind. Ocassionally people take liberties and ask for drops when they shouldn't. I have heard people asked if a small patch of dirt on our course was ground under repair. It wasn't. It was just dirt. Also there are people who have difficulty making a straight line between two points when those two points are white stakes for out-of-bounds areas.

But you got to hand it to Bryson DeChambeau for going a step further. Yesterday he attempted, albeit unsuccessfully, to get a free drop because of fire ants. He said he saw a couple of red ants nearby and seriously tried to make a case that his personal safety was in jeopardy. The PGA official was not buying it. Like anyone who saw the video of the incident, the official likely thought Bryson was simply trying to dodge a bad lie which included some small sticks upon which the ball was sitting and could not be removed.

On Men's Night we had 36 golfers and no fire ants. Conditions were perfect and the vast majority of scores reflected this. Robin Kimpinski had the round of the night with a 35 that included two lost balls. He also added two scores to the ringer board bringing him to a season leading -6. Scott Maynes is one stroke behind at -5.

Robin paired with Blake Hunter for two skins ($22.50 on #2 and $70 on #5). Robin also had 2 of the 5 deuces of the evening to claim 40% of the $67.50 deuce pot. Other two's were recorded by Kory Stebeleski, Chris Malchuk, and Charles McKay.

Other skins included Larry Oakden / Branden Tanner ($22.50 on #6) and Pete Ostash / Chris Malchuk ($22.50 on #8).

Closest to the holes were Joel Ostash on #5 and Charles McKay on #9.

Hot and Humid Golf

It was a great week for golf included a full Men's Night, a Nine and Dine, and a Horse Race. This was a combination of multiple events and nice weather. The end of July is a busy time at the golf course and this certainly is the case this year. We also have experienced an increase in both our memberships and daily golfers.

Some people might argue that Thursday to Saturday were almost too hot for golf. It certainly was warm and humid. Just ask Jason Gorrell who had about ten gloves hanging on a clothesline attached to his cart.

Last week was our biggest turnout for Men's Night this season with 44 golfers. Usually when we get higher numbers fewer skins are won. This was not the case with six out of 9 holes going. Winners included Charles Blackbird / Wes Arnfinson ($70 on #1), Braeden Allen / Dan Wowryk ($27.50 on #2), Donovin Tanner / Shane Kimpinski ($169.37 on #4), Jason Neufeld / Jim Geekie /9$163.12 on #6),  Scott Maynes / Randy Tanner ($22.50 on #8), and Noah Street / Reegan Kominko ($82.50 on #9).

Closest to the pins were Troy Chwaluk on #5 and Robin Kimpinski on #9. Troy converted his birdie to split the $82.50 deuce pot with Braeden Allen who score his deuce on the par 4 second hole.

Scott Maynes currently leads the ringer board at --5 with a one stroke lead on Robin and Stephen David. You have five more weeks to post scores up to and including August 26.

Thanks to everyone who participated in the Horse Race tournament on Saturday. It was the tenth time we held this tournament and the 53 that played represented the most entrants ever.

Bad Golf Happens

I want to talk a bit about playing bad golf. Before I do I will do the Men's Night recap. That way, if you aren't interested in my ramblings you may simply stop after you find out how everyone did on Wednesday.

We had 32 golfers last week. Skins went on three holes. Winners included Neuf / Jason Gorrell ($20 on #2), Charlie McNabb / Charles McKay ($86.25 on #3), and Chirs Kimpinski / Kendal Korsocil ($42.50 on #8).  Closest to the pins were Keith Martin on #5 and Wes Arnfinson on #9. The $60 deuce pot was split by Wes, Mark Pawluk, and Scott Maynes.

So that was Men's Night...now for some rambling self reflection.

I write a lot about staying positive on the golf course. Sometimes it is challenging. Like most golfers I like to play well. I am fine playing with okay. It is more frustrating when I struggle a bit. 

I am not sure about everyone else but my golf game usually stays fairly consistent. But I have periods of highs and lows. Some days and weeks I hit it exactly where I want to and my score and enjoyment reflects this. On other occasions the opposite is true.  

Since last Sunday I have been in a bit of a funk. I don't feel comnfortable over the ball. I am hitting in places where I usually don't. I am messing around with my swing, my stance, and my grip. I am watching videos, trying positive swing thoughts, and starting to distrust certain brands of golf balls.

In this moment, I feel that my golf game is getting worse every time I play. Apparently that happens to a lot of people. It comes on suddenly, without much warning. One day you’re hitting the middle of the fairway and the next if feels like you’ve totally lost your swing. This situation shouldn’t be handled with panic or anxiety. Your golf swing is not lost. You still have your golf swing. You don’t just lose it.

It's funny because I have golfed a lot this year. I incorrectly assumed thought that my game would just keep improving after every hole added to my annual total. It hasn't as of late. However, I am just going to accept the current situation and not get too stressed about it. Not accepting that you will have periods of bad streaks will cause you to start to fiddle and tinker with your golf swing. I have done that and it hasn't worked.

There is a fine line between a great golf shot and a terrible golf shot. The difference may be as small as a half inch, perhaps the distance between the center of your golf club and the toe of your golf club. Once you get a little tense because of a bad shot or a bad hole, it is easy to lose that half an inch and start hitting bad shots.

So for anyone else experiencing a rough patch, it likely will not last forever. Be grateful that it isn't winter. Be happy that we have a golf course in town that you may play whenever you want. If we put all the emphasis on how we play, sometimes it isn't fun. If we put the emphasis more on having fun, there is less pressure on how you play.

Plus there is no point in worrying. It's not like we have a big horse race tournament on Saturday.

No Such Thing as Illegal Pin Placements

Setting up a golf course is tricky. Not only do you have to rotate tee box locations and pin placements, you have to do so knowing someone will not like what you did. Such was the case yesterday when a few people joked or complained about the tough hole locations.

Certainly there were challenging pin placements but I don't think any could be considered illegal. Also, like wind and rain, it was the same conditions for eveyone. We all had to hit at the same pins and putt toward the same holes.

Now I will admit, I have sometimes tampered with the course setup. Most often it is moving tee boxes back or forth. Sometimes it is to find fresh patches of grass to avoid undue wear. Occasionally it is to make things easier such as when I go to the front of the third teebox when there is a strong west wind. I don't mess with the tee boxes on Men's Night though...at least not since Robin caught me doing it a couple of weeks ago. I did suggest moving a tee box slightly ahead yesterday after hitting a tree branch in my backswing. That seemed reasonable at the time.

The PGA rule 15-3(ii) recommends that holes should be placed at least four paces from any edge of the putting green and even futher if there is a sand trap near the edge or if the areas surrounding the green slopes downward. The key word in the previous sentence is "recommends". As far as I know, there is no minimum distance a pin must be from the fringe.

The rules also suggest that at least a 2 foot radiius surrounding the hole should be nearly as level as possible and of uniform grade. The hole shouldn't be placed on a steep slope on which a missed putt from above will roll a long distance from the cup. In this context, the hole placement on #3 yesterday might be questionable...but it was not illegal.

Having been part of the golf club board for a while, I know there are no shortage of opinions about how we do things. I recall voices of opposition to building the campground. Some people deemed it an unnecessary expense and a potential revenue loser. We know now that is not the case. At the time, it was frustrating to hear people complain when we were trying to improve the course. 

Recalling that frustration, I will pledge to be better. I will not complain about where the pins are and I will not move the tee boxes. We have a small but great group of employees and volunteers that put in a tremendous amount of time giving us a great place to play golf. I am going to resolve to be even more grateful and less critical of their efforts. I encourage you all to consider doing the same.

We had 36 golfers last night. Three of them scored 39 for the low round. Obviously they didn't have too much trouble with the hole locations. Good job Robin Kimpinski, Joel Ostash, and Dale Martin.

Skins only went on three holes. Austin Hunter won two alone when paired with the dummy card. He got $41.25 on #2 and $22.50 on #7. The remaining skin was claimed by Stephen David and Charlie McNabb ($22.50 on #5).

Closest to the pins were Charles McKay on #5 and Kevin Bartam on #9. Kevin had one of the four deuces with the others being recorded by Stephen David, Dale Martin, and Rhys Lanouette.

The Horse Race is scheduled for Saturday, July 25. Anyone interested in playing is asked to contact Scott Maynes.

Finally, don't forget the Nine and Dine tomorrow evening. This will be an opportunity for anyone who didn't play last night to complain about the pin placements.

Angry Golf

Bryson Dechambeau had a big PGA win on the weekend in which he averaged a record 350 yards off the tee. He also berated a cameraman for filming him. We usually don't have too much anger at Men's Night. Occasionally someone snaps at Milt for casting a shadow on their putting line. Once in a while you will hear an angry "Crickets" after someone misses a short putt that they felt should have been a gimmie. Generally Men's Night is fairly quiet and respectful. But there have been a few exeptions.

I am not sure how long I have been involved with Men's Night but this blog started ten years ago, in 2010. In that time I recall a few instances where tempers flared. There was one time when someone hit a little too close to the group in front of them which resulted in a ball being hit back at them. Then there was a little disagreement between two gentlemen that resulted in a group of five breaking up into groups of 2 and 3 about halfway through the round.

To be fair, golf can be frustrating. For every moment of joy there are many things that go less than ideal. Some people handle this adversity well and others have temper tantrams, be they big or small. I have seen probably a dozen clubs thrown including three to the slough adjacent to the eight tee box. Two of those clubs by eight were not recovered. I have also witnessed people hammer a club after a poor drive or putt. I also know the odd seed box has been victimized by a mini-meltdown.

Depending on the player, anger takes a variety of forms. What is most common from my experience is the person who has a blow up hole and goes silent for the next half hour. That's a less than fun 30 minutes especially if you are stuck on a cart with that person. Some people are always happy and simply grateful to be hanging out with some buddies on a nice day hitting golf balls. Others are often just one bad shot away from rage.

Nobody is immune to anger but some handle it differently. Some people have meltdowns while others simply curse an errant shot and move on. Some get a double bogey and it results in a tilt where they have a couple more bad holes. Others respond to the double with calmness while stating that they are going to birdie the next one.

For anyone who thinks that they might be an angry golfer, the following link offers some tips on how to turn things around - https://www.golf-monthly.co.uk/features/the-game/how-to-curb-your-anger-on-the-golf-course-91022

I was away last Wednesday but was hopeful that July 1 would make for a large turnout. This was not the case as only 29 golfers played. Normally that's not a bad number but holiday Wednesdays usually bring more guys. I heard that camping, fishing, and family time resulted in many regulars being away.

Skins went on four holes. Winners included Robin Kimpinski / Jason Hunter ($20 on #1), Reegan Kimpinski / Jason Neufeld ($43.75 on # and $20 on #8), and Matt Ostash / Doug Cripps ($43.75 on #7).

The low round of the night belonged to Brad Benton with a 35. Closest to the holes were Brad on #5 and Doug Cripps on #9. Neither converted the birdie which paved the way for Randy Brandon to claim his second big deuce pot of the year. After winning $186 a few weeks ago he picked up $131.25 on Wednesday.

Thanks to everyone who came out for the Fundraiser Tournament on Friday. Don't forget that we have another Nine and Dine this coming Friday.