Of the 18 golfers, four won skins. Winners included Joel Ostash/Ron Huberdeau ($69.38 on #2 and $128.76 on #6) and Jason Neufeld/Stephen David ($69.38 on #9).
Neuf had the only deuce of the night for $33.75. Closest to the holes were Zach Bartram on #5 and Robin Kimpinski on #9.
Robin's two on the par 4 first hole was the only deuce of the evening, earning him the $54.38 pot.
Chad scored the low round of the evening with a 34.
Closest to the pins were Sonny on #5 and Vern on #9.
In other Men's Night news, there were 32 players on Wednesday. Robin Kimpinski and Logan Tanner combined to win the only skin of the night, getting $125.01 on #8. Their individual prize shares vaulted them into the top two spots on the season money list ahead of Wes Arnfinson.
Closest to the pins were Darcy Kowalchuk on #5 and Phil Ostash on #9.
Tim Gianotti had a two on the par four first hole to claim the $60.00 deuce pot. He also paired with a four which should have been enough to claim the large $167.52 skin. Unfortunately, another high/low duo both scored birdies to push the hole.
I can't report much else from last week other than the prizes. I have been away two weeks in a row so I am looking forward to getting back at it tomorrow. Thanks to the boys who looked after Men's Night in my absence.
Not surprisingly, Fred was closest on #9. Reegan Kominko was closest on #5. Both converted their birdies to share the $60.00 deuce pot.
There were 33 golfers last week buut we were short $10 so prizes were based on the $320. collected.
Skins went on just one hole. Neuf and Milt combined to win $20.00 on #7. There are two holes (#1 and 8) already worth over $100. The sixth hole could also get past that level if we get a good turnout tomorow.
There were 29 golfers last week. Only three skins went. Winners included Jason Neufeld/Hayden Mackedenski ($20.00 on #3), Stephen David/Paul Lucas ($39.38 on #5), and Darcy Kowalchuk/Ron Huberdeau ($39.38 on #7).
Closest to the pins were Ryden Lanouette on #5 and Scott Maynes on #9. The $54.37 deuce pot was shared by Ryden, Scott, Stephen David, and Milt.
There are only three weeks to lock in scores for the ringer board. The final night is August 28. Currently Jason Gorrell and Ryden Lanouette are leading with -7.
Last week was a beautiful day for the 34 golfers in attendance. The low score was 37, Closest to the holes were Jason Neufeld on #5 and Joe Shwaluk on #9. Pete Ostash was the lone winner of the $63,75 deuce pot.
Skins went on three holes. Winners included Darren Ostash/Wayne Griffin ($21.25 on #2, $21.25 on #5) and Robin Kimpinski/Brent Allen ($46.88 on #3).
For those participating in the ringer board, there are four more weeks to record scores. The final night is Ausut 28.
Well...it is 9:00 pm on a Tuesday, the day before Men's Night. I am just now doing the blog because of a combination of being busy and being inattentive. In any case, here is what happened six days ago.
There were 41 golfers. Skins went on six holes. Closest to the pins were Braeden Allen on #5 and Nick Roulette on #9. Fred Hrycak and Ryden Lanouette split the deuce pot of $135.02.
Fred had a fantastic evening. He had a 37 with four birdies. He also paired with the dummy for a $25.63 skin on #6.
Other skin winners inclided Mark Williams/Chris Hogg ($25.63 on #2), Braeden Allen/Bill Flynn ($25.63 on #4), Robin Kimpinski/Kevin Bartram ($45.01 on #5), Jayden Nowasad/Jim Geekie ($45.01 on #7), and Scott Maynes/Nathan Nowasad ($45.01 on #9).
That's it for this week. My goal is not to wait until next Tuesday to do the next update.
There were 31 golfers on Wednesday. Skins continued to go at a high rate with 5 holes going. After two previous evenings of multiple deuces, there were none this week.
Hole winners included Robin Kimpinski/Wes Arnfinson ($19.38 on #2), Ryden Lanouette/Joe Shwaluk ($19.38 on #3), Pete Ostash/Jim Geekie ($19.38 on #4), Blake Hunter ($42.51 on #6), and Cyril Patterson/Cubby Bartram ($42.51 on #8). Closest to the holes were Theoren Hunter on #5 and Barry Shama on #9.
Don't forget our next two tournaments...the Horse Race on July 27 and the 55+ on July 30.
Back to golf. Two weeks in a row, we have had a high number of winners. Skins went on seven holes for the second consecutive time and there were multiple deuces.
The scores on Wednesday ranged from 36 to 55 for the thirty seven golfers. There were nine people who shot 46. Closest to the pins were Noah Street on #5 and Darren Ostash on #9. They split the $69.38 deuce pot with Jason Gorrell.
Skins winners inclued Joel Ostash/Wayne Griffin ($23.13 on #2), Dave Gill/Jason Gorrell ($23.13 on #3 and $50.63 on #9), Theoren Hunter/Braeden Allen ($23.13 on #4), Scottt Maynes/John Gill ($96.26 on #7), and Sonny Blackbird/Nathan Nowasad ($23.13 on #7).
Gorrell had three birdies, on holes 3, 8, and 9. This helped him to jump into second place on the ringer board at -5. He and Robin Kimpinski are one stroke behind leader Phil Ostash.
Don't forget to sign up for upcoming tournaments, including the Horse Race on July 27 and the Seniors on July 30.
Two golfers carded an amazing 32 which is -4. Congrats to Matt Ostash and Buck Morton for their stellar play. Matt's was noteworthy given that it included a bogey on eight.
The high score was 56. That golfer shall remain nameless out of respect for his family. Interestingly, one of the 32's paired with this score and the other 32 found a 49 as a partner. Neither won skins.
Those 32's were one off the nine-hole Men's Night record of 31. I had the pleasure of being in the group on both occasions previously. First there was Jason Wowryk whose 31 also had a bogey on eight. Plus he hit it into the reeds on the right side of hole #3. I actually found his ball and he put it to 10 feet on the green from about 140 yards away in almost waist-high cat tails. The other 31 belonged to Scott Maynes who went five under despite some heavily aerated greens. Scott avoided much of the plinko motion by hitting most of his approach shots within five feet.
After too many weeks of poor weather, we fnally had a nice evening. It was excellent scoring conditions with sun, limited wind, and soft, receptive greens. We did have a bit of a monsoon that hit around 9:30 pm which resulted in many guys rushing from the Club House to lower their bag covers or find shelter for their carts.
The better weather resulted in a great turnout with 44 golfers. Amazingly, that was without the Waywayseecappo contingent. Had they come we would have cracked 50 for the first time in several years. The positive attendance likely related to this being the first week of July with several new faces here for the Fundraiser tournament.
On an evening in which I realized that I only had six blank cheques, I was hoping for lots of pushes. Instead, skins went on 7 of 9 holes which likely is the most in a single night in recent history. Winners included Kendal Koroscil/Ken Wowryk ($27.50 on #1), Dale Martin/Sonny Blackbird ($46.25 on #2), Stephen David/Blake Hunter ($46.25 on #4), Derek Patterson/Cole Hunter ($118.58 on #4), Ethan Hunter/Garry Williamson ($73.13 on #6), B.J. Scott/Jason Neufeld ($27.50 on #7), and Reegan Kominki/Nathan Nowasad ($46.25 on #9).
Closest to the pins were Lunk Funk on #5 and Pete Ostash on #9. The $82.50 deuce pot was split five ways among Robin Kimpinski, Jim Geekie, Pete Ostash, Noah Street, and Phil Ostash.
Best wishes for a fun afternoon for everyone participating in the Fundraiser later today.
Skins went on three holes...all won with a pair of birdies. Winners included Robin Kimpinski/Joe Shwaluk ($20.00 on #1), Charles McKay/Ashton Tanner ($45.63 on #7), and Jason Gorrell/Nathan Nowasad ($56.25 on #9). Closest to the pins were Pete Ostash on #5 and Zach Bartram on #9.
This is a big week for the golf course with the annual Fundraiser Tournament scheduled for this Friday. Let's home for minimal rain this week.
Usually with more players, fewer skins are won. However, there were five holes that went. Winners included Reegan Kominko/Jim Geekie ($43.13 on #1), Robin Kimpinski/Neuf ($43.13 on #2), Myles Shingoose/Ryden Lanouette ($26.88 on #3), Chad Tanner/James van de Velde ($51.88 on #8), and Ryan Mansell/Brett Allen ($86.89 on #9).
Jason Gorrell had closest to the pin on #5 and Ryan Mansell was closest on #9. Ryan and Jason also shared the $80.63 deuce pot.
Take this past Wednesday for example. As far as I can recall, this was our first tornado warning on a Men's Night. There were actually funnel clouds spotted in different communities throughout our region.
When I arrived there were not many people around. I joined two guys to play a few practice holes. As we were about to hit our second shots on three, the sky opened up again. We picked up our balls and quickly found our way to the shelter on the rear of the maintenance shed. We stayed there until almost 6:15 pm.
I have not seen as much water on the course as was there on Wednesday. There was almost nowhere that was dry. There was a stream running in the low spot across #5 and #8 that was likely 8-10 feet wide at 4:30 pm. There were countless shots that hit fairways that were lost in newly-formed water hazards. The fourth hole was extremely saturated from the back tee well into the middle of the fairway. It was a mess.
On the golf side of things, it was a relatively successful evening. Joel Ostash did very well, getting the closest to the hole on both par 3's and splitting the $92.51 deuce pot with Robin Kimpinski. Skins went on four holes. Winners included Reegan Kominko/Ethan Hunter ($25.00 on #3, $60.01 on #6), Sean Blackbird/Jason Gorrell ($76.88 on #5), and Darren Ostash ($25.00 on #7).
Two players didn't let the wind get them down. Phil Ostash and Cole Hunter combined for two skins, winning $20.00 on #1 and $109.39 on #2. Those were the only holes that went. Closest to #5 was Milt and closest to #9 was Stephen David. There were no deuces.
The wind last week was gusting to 70 km/hr. That is fairly significant. It was enough to break off a few tree branches. It made the par 4 sixth hole unreachable in two. It put the water on #3 in play for many golfers.
We live in a place of extremes. We have cold winters and hot summers. And there can be lots of variability from one year to the next. Take for example, June 5 which was last Wednesday's date. In 2009, the temperature only reached 0.5 Celsius. The record hight was 34.6 Celsius in 2019.
The 20 km/hr wind forecasted for this coming Wednesday is much more reasonable. But we know that weather can change quickly in Manitoba. Let's be optimistic. Maybe I will get to wear shorts golfing for the second time in 2024.
The last ace on Men's Night was almost twelve years ago on July 27, 2012. Dale Watson won $1616 for his hole-in-one on the fifth hole. Given that this week will be June 5, 2024, that is 4346 days without one. In the time between there likely have been many near misses, both on the two par threes as well as the short par fours on #1 and 2.
Logan Tanner had a near miss last week on #9. He had to settle for closest to the pin plus a solo claim to the $61.87 deuce pot.
The other closest to the hole went to Dawson Tanner on #5.
There were also four skins awarded to the 33 golfers. Winners included Shane Kimpinski/Stephen David ($51.88 on #1), Myles Shingoose/Keith Martin ($71.88 on #3), Pete Ostash/Phil Ostash ($51.88 on #7), and Scott Maynes/Dylan Kimpinski ($71.88 on #8).
Scott Maynes also had the only sub-40 round with a 37.
One other notable occurrence was having 4 of the 17 high-low partners score a combined max of 16 on hole #5.
When the main hole-in-one pot finally goes, we will have two pots of $2250 waiting. Remember, on the remote chance that there are more than one ace in a single evening, those individuals would split the single active pot.
The pic shown is of Ethan Hunter. I included it (with his permission) because he had a
good Men’s Night. Information regarding his experience is found further on in
this blog entry.
When I got home on Wednesday evening, I texted a quick summary of the evening to someone who was away. The person responded with a suggestion that I add some descriptive words, with more adverbs and adjectives, to really paint a picture. So I took my short overview and dropped it into ChatGPT, an online AI tool. What follows is what it produced.
In a single, magnificent round of a game drenched in unbridled anticipation,
only one splendidly adorned skin journeyed forth, with the illustrious Landon
Tanner, in a most fortuitous pairing with the unfeeling dummy on the formidable
fourth, triumphing in the grand sum of $92.06.
In a grand contest on the majestic fifth, it was none other than the venerable Cubby Bartram who emerged closest, while the sagacious Ethan Hunter made his presence known on the ninth. In a stroke of unparalleled genius, Ethan deftly executed a deuce, thus securing the solitary claim on the grandiose $43.13 pot.
In the annals of our shared history, I am compelled to recall a fateful day that
myself and another braved the unforgiving terrain of Shilo, where the cold was
of such an intensity that it etched itself into our very bones. On that day,
the heavens unleashed a relentless sleet, reducing visibility to mere inches,
and the final two holes were played in a surreal landscape of blinding white,
rendering our vision obsolete, and causing my words to falter into a slurry of
speech.
This week, by contrast, began with an almost preternatural calmness
until the infamous Men's Night commenced. It was at this juncture that the wind
began to howl with a ferocity that defied the elements, and the temperature
plummeted to a biting chill. I have previously engaged in rounds with snow
stubbornly clinging to the trees and on one memorable evening when the
thermometer read 7 Celsius, though the biting wind made it feel a bone-chilling
3. In another particularly audacious endeavor at Pinawa, early one April, I
found myself striking a pond and, in a feat of remarkable daring, ventured onto
the icy surface to take my next shot.
This past Wednesday, however, ascends into the lofty echelon of the top five
coldest experiences of my golfing existence, a frigid testament to the
relentless caprices of nature.
Well, that was interesting. A little too fancy for my taste but it was
worth trying once.
The story of the night was Wes Arnfinson. He won the solo deuce dot with a two on hole 9. That was worth $153.75. He was also closest to the hole for another $20 and paired to win the $38.87 skin there with Reegan Kominko.
The only other skin to go was #8 where Ethan Hunter and Zach Bartram combined for a $51.25 win. The other closest to the hole was Fred Hyrcak on #5.
The forecast for this week looks good enough. See you then if you can make it.
As the grip of another long Manitoba winter finally loosens, we got back to the important stuff with our first Men’s Night of the year. The thawing of the snow and the budding of the trees signal not just the arrival of spring but also the promise of another great summer of golf.
Each new season is like a reunion with our clubs and our friends and acquaintances. It is interesting that in a small town or area such as this, we get a bit disconnected during the colder months. I heard several people ask others how their winters were.
As we start this 2024 season, be optimistic about this fresh start. Best wishes for a year in which every shot is straighter, every putt drops, and every round includes clear skies with a gentle breeze. May the groups in front of you never play to slow and may those groups behind you never be too fast. For those of you who spent money on the latest and greatest golf equipment, may those shiny new drivers add 50 yards to their tee shots. I encourage you to imagine positive outcomes to manifest positive results. For example, you should all fantasize about getting a hole-in-one by practicing their victory dance in front of the bathroom mirror, and mentally spending the imaginary prize money. Above all else, anticipating the endless laughter, camaraderie, and memories shared with friends on the course, and perhaps at the campground afterwards, even if those memories involve more lost balls than birdies.
Now to the golf results from Wednesday.
Brent Allen and
Reegan Kominko hit it closest to the pins on #5 and #9 respectively. There were
no deuces recorded.
Skins went on three holes. Winners included Phil Ostash/Joe Shwaluk ($20 on #1), Darcy Kowalchuk/Wes Arnfinson ($24.38 on #5) and Ethan Hunter/Braden Allen ($48.76 on #7).
We would really like to see more participants in the Ringer Board this year. From May 8 to August 21, participants will strive to record their best scores on every hole, aiming to secure the lowest 9-hole score by season’s end. And the cost is only $10 for the season. On any given night, each golfer can enter as many scores as they wish, with each entry representing their best effort on a particular hole. Once a score is recorded, it's locked in. If you don’t have all scores entered after the final night, you will be assigned the Men’s Night max for that hole.
