Turn that frown upside down

Robin cries a little every time Milt reminds him that he put him out of the Horse Race. Milt gets sad when the fish aren't biting. Neuf gets teary eyed whenever he and his mom watch "The Notebook".  Gorrell gets welled-up when he has to leave people unattended in his garage on a Saturday night.

For me, the thing that gets me the most is the end of summer, epitomized by the final Mens' Night of the year. Wednesday night certainly had an end-of-season feel. Only 16 golfers showed up and it was a extremely cool and windy fall evening.

I have lived in Manitoba over half my life and I am still not used to the winters here. We generally have good summers with enough long, warm days to make it worthwhile. It just seems like it passes so darn quickly. The weather the last two years has not been ideal. It seems as if we are in a pattern of six months of winter, three months of  rain, and three months of summer.

I know that we will still have a few days to hit around golf balls. The next week looks especially promising, except for the rain that is falling right now. However, if recent trends hold true it will be eight months before Mens' Night resumes Eight months is a pretty long time.

I could continue to bemoan the loss of summer or end of Mens' Night...but complaining takes too much effort. Instead, I think it appropriate to celebrate the season that we had. Here are some highlights:
- We had 19 Mens' Nights...and a good majority of them were sunny and warm.
- Scott Maynes topped the season money list with a big night early in
September.
- On our first evening in May, only 7 of 15 golfers scored under 50. Maybe not a highlight, but still noteworthy.
- The machine shed was a welcome refuge and place to hang out during a couple of mid-round thunder storms.
- We had 51 golfers on August 3rd.
- Although no one claimed the hole-in-one prize, the accumulated pots built to over $2300.
- Neuf's blistering -8 score claimed the ringer board.
- Many nights we could see the volunteer crew working away on the new campground development.
- We were nearly lifted away one night in mid-July by a plague of mosquitoes and black flies.
- As recently mentioned, we paid out over $3000 in prize money to over 50 golfers.

The last highlights of the year will be the acknowledgment of those golfers who did well on the final night of Mens' Night.

- Ryan Merasty had his round of the summer, combining eight pars with a birdie for a 35.

- Brad Benton was closest on #5 and Neuf closest on #9. Only Neuf finished with a two so he claimed the $24 deuce pot on his own.

- Skins went on three holes. Winners included Stephen David / Wes Arfinson ($20 on #2), Ryan Merasty / Blake Hunter ($23 on #2), and Neuf / Jason Hunter ($20 on #9).

Thanks to all of the golfers for another great season. Thanks also to the Club House staff, Jenn and Natasha, for their excellent work this year...and thanks to Tracy K. for helping us out the last few weeks.

Remember the final day at the Club House is Sunday. However, our greenskeeper works until the end of the month and the weather for the next little while looks excellent.

See you for the next Mens' Night...on April 22, 2015. If I can't be optimistic, what's the point.