The Search is On

I want to talk about lost or missing golf balls. But I wlll do the Men's Night run down for those of you who are simply interested in that part.

We had 33 golfers last Wednesday. Skins went on four holes including one big prize on #8. Winners included Charles McKay/Jim Geekie ($41.26 on #2, $158.16 on #9), Brett Griffin/Keith Martin ($78.77 on #6), and Pete Ostash/Luke Funk ($20.63 on #9).

Charles was closest to the hole on #5 and Ron Huberdeau was closest on #9. Charles and Pete split the $61.88 deuce pot.

Okay...now on to lost golf balls. Personalities are revealed when searching for missing  balls. 

Some people will not stop looking until told to do so. It doesn't matter whether they've lost a $6 ProV1 or a junk ball. Sometimes these tireless searchers are motivated by not wanting to hurt their score. In other instances, they simply don't want to give up looking. On many occasions they look so long that their group plays ahead and finishes the hole without them.

Others are in the oppositie camp, having no emotional attachment to their lost ball. Most often these individuals buy their golf balls in bulk through some online dealer. They hit a ball into the bush and say "Oh well, that only cost 80 cents". Additionally, while these people care about their score, they often take a more realistic approach to searching. They say things like "That one is in there too far so there is no point in looking" or "I am not getting any wood ticks today". 

Both groups are right. Whether you want to search a bit or not, that's up to you. Just remember a couple of things. Firstly, if you think a ball is in trouble, hit a provisional. Secondly, you have three minutes to search. If you find the ball in the bush, you may take a drop within two club lengths of the found ball. And finally, if you can't find your ball and did not hit a provisional, the official rule requires you to go back to the spot of your previous shot and play under stroke and distance. If your local group allows you to simply drop where you think you lost the ball, you must add two strokes.

The last point sometimes causes confusion. For example, you hit off of the sixth tee and think that you are okay but eventually can't find the ball. You can go back and hit three of the tee. However, if you don't return to the tee and drop further up the hole where you think you lost the ball, your next shot is your fourth.

I also believe that there is no such thing as a lost golf ball. Someone will find it. For example, I found a ball last week and showed it to someone. They said "That's mine. I lost it last night". Of course, they extended their hand and I returned it without question. Maybe I should have charged a small finder's fee of something.

Staying in Bounds

 

There are a few places on our course where you can hit a ball toward OB and then find out you are safely on the right side of the white stakes. It happens most often on second or third shots on #5. It also occurs on #3, #5, and #7. You drive up feeling a little bummed because you had to hit a provisional...and then there is your ball, just in bounds. Of course, that doesn't mean you are out of jail because usually you have to cross back through some trees to get back in play. 

That's the way golf goes sometimes. You need to take the highs with the lows. For example, many weeks we are short $10 or $20 because someone forgets to pay. But then last week we were ahead $5. Bonus!

We had 33 golfers last Wednesday, which wasn't bad. Birtle had 73 on Thursday, but apparently their Chase the Ace prize is big and ready to go soon.

We had skins go on four holes. Winners includedBrad Benton/Ash Brandon ($71.27 on #3), Robin Kimpinski/Kendal Koroscil ($71.27 on #4), Reegan Kominko/Donovan Tanner ($20.63 on #7), and Brandon Cliud/Darren Ostash ($58.14 on #9).

Closest to the pins were Dale Martin on #5 and Brandon Cloud on #9. They bought made their putts to share the $97.51 deuce pot with Dawson Tanner.

Lucky to Get the Round In

 

Sometimes golfers are not the bad decison-makers. Often this relates to club or shot selection. On Wednesday it related to the weather. I arrived at the course at 4:50 pm when the air temeprature was 28 Celsisus. By 5:10 pm, the temeprature dropped down to 16 Celsisu. Twelve degress down in 20 minutes. A big storm blew in and Shoal Lake finally received some well needed rain. While our numbers were lower than previous weeks due to the weather conditions, we still had 19 golfers tee of for Men's Night. We did have to wait until about 6:50 pm before we started. Once we got going the weather settled considerably. In the entire rain, we only got a little bit of drizzle for ten minutes or so.

You know the conditions were less than ideal when no one from Waywayseecappo showed up. That is the first time in three years that Charles and the crew didn't make an appearance. Those who decided to play had a good evening, although the scores were not great as a group. There were two scores under 40 led by Brad Benton's 36 and Phil Ostash's 39.

Phil also cashed in with a big $139.53 skin on #7 with Bill Flynn as his partner. The only other hole that went was #2 where Brad Benton/Charlie McNabb claimed $20. Closest to the holes were Jason Gorrell on #5 and Terry Susinski on #9. There were no deuces.

Forty-Four Was the Score

 

Forty-four was the number for the night as seven of the 43 golfers recorded that score. That was the most golfers that we had this year. It would actually be an excellent turnout in July. When the weather is like mid-summer it seems to get a few more guys out slinging clubs.

Conor Geekie had the round of the evening with a great 34. Close behind was Logan Tanner with a 35. The high round of the evening was a 58.

Despite have 43 golfers we calculated the skins based upon 41. One person forgot to pay and another took a 50% discount and only put five dollars in the container.

The previously mentioned Logan Tanner has a night. He scored a 2 on both par threes for the only deuces of the evening and the $116.27 pot. Logan also was closest on the fifth and split a $25.63 skin with Derek Cross on #5.

Conor Geekie was closest on #9.

The other skins were Randy Brandon Jr./Noah Street ($38.76 on #1) and Ryden Lanouette/Cody Cornwall ($38.76 on #2).

We have a couple of tournament closing quickly. There is a cheap one of June 17 for Just for You Daze. Forty dollars gets you your entry fee and buffet supper.

There is also the Fundraiser on Jul 7 and the Horse Race on July 29.