Monday, October 14, 2024

Here's to 2024!

 

The season came to a close on a beautiful day last Wednesday. The day before the Club House closed for the year, we had 25 golfers at Men's Night. 

Reegan Kominko and Wes Arnfinson combined for three skins ($58.76 on #4, $34.37 on #5, and $34.37 on #9. Reegan also claimed the $69.38 deuce pot. 

The only other skin went to Robin Kimpinski and NathaN Nowasad who won $34.37 on #3. Closest to the holes were Ashton Tanner on #5 and Ryden Lanouette on #9.

As is my practice, this final blog includes a summary of the year. Here are some of the highlights from this past season, filled with memorable moments, friendly competition, good laughs, and plenty of camaraderie.

Big Picture Highlights:

  • Robin Kimpinski topped the money list with $376.85.
  • Ryden Lanouette was the ringer board champion.
  • We played a total of 24 times, with over 60 golfers winning money, including closest-to-the-pin contests.
  • Despite a generous pot, no one was able to achieve that elusive hole-in-one.
  • Remarkably, despite some erratic weather, we did not have a single canceled night all summer.
  • There were more than a few evenings that ended with some poker at the campground.

Season Highlights:

  • Our first round was on May 8. The following week, Wes Arnfinson cashed in for almost $200 with a huge deuce, a closest-to-the-pin win, and a shared skin.
  • June was marked by challenging weather. On June 2, gusts reached 70 km/h, and the following week, there was a tornado emergency alert. Although some spouts touched down in the region and hail was a concern, we still managed to play on Men's Night, even with incredibly wet course conditions. That night, Joel Ostash was closest on both par 3s, a rare achievement for the season.
  • July kicked off with an interesting mix of scores ranging from 32 to 56, with ten players finishing below 40 and another ten going 50 or higher. We had our best turnout of the year with four golfers, despite no one from Wayway participating. Fred Hrycak had a standout round on July 24, scoring 37 with four birdies.
  • In August, Ryden Lanouette wrapped up the ringer board with a final score of -8. Fred Hrycak came within inches of glory when his tee shot on #9 just missed going in.
  • September featured consistent turnouts, with plenty of skins being won as we started winding down with earlier tee times.
  • October was fantastic, marking the first time that we had two Men's Night rounds after October 1. The first night was extremely cold, but the following week brought beautiful weather.

As we close the chapter on this season, I want to thank each of you for your participation and enthusiasm. It’s the friendships we’ve built and the memories we’ve created that truly make our Men's Night special. Whether you were a frequent player or joined us for a few rounds, your presence helped make our Wednesday nights worthwile. Here’s to 2024...and here's to a short winter! 

Sunday, October 6, 2024

Embracing the Cold

 

It was pretty cold out last week. When we teed off at 5:30 it was about 10 Celsius with wind gust up to 50 km/hr. By the end of the round, it was around 7 Celsius air temperature with a pretty good windchill. 

But 12 of us still golfed. It was uncertain until around 5:20 pm when the last couple of guys arrived. People bundled up, wore toques, and spent more time in carts with sides on and windshields up.

These days at the start of the season and the end of the season can be unpredictable with weather. But even on a day like last week, I think of the upcoming 6-7 months we will spend away from the golf course. I think of those days in January when I look out onto the frozen wasteland that is Manitoba, wishing I could be outside hitting golf balls.

This week we are lucky. The weather is forecasted for a high around 24 with mimimal wind. Remarkable weather for golf. And this will be our final Men's Night of the year, given that the Club Hose closes on Thursday.

For last week's recap, only one skin went. Reegan Kominko and Joe Shwaluk combined for a $20 pot on #9. There were no deuces. Closest to the pins were Pete Ostash on #5 and Stephen David on #9. The low round of the evening was a 40 carded by both Pete and Reegan.