Night of the Robin

Wednesday was a pretty good day at Mens' Night.  Most of the 31 golfers had fun and several made some cash.

It was the night of Robin Kimpinski. Not only did he add another $57 to his season leading money total, he won the Chase the Ace and $1200. This was the second time in two years that Robin has won the big prize. Last year he took home around $2200 for finding the ace of spades.

Robin reconnected with Charlie McNabb to win skins on two holes. They got $20 for #1 and $95.50 for #7.  Other skins winners included Chris Kimpinski / Ron Susinki ($38 on #4), Blake Hunter / Luke Funk ($50 on #5), and Scott Maynes / Ken Ostash ($74.50 on #9).

The $48 deuce pot was split by Scott Maynes, Darcy Kowalchuk, and Blake Hunter. Scott was closest on the #5 while Darcy did the same on #9.

It was also summer solstice on Wednesday. Several groups took advantage of it being the longest day of the year by playing some extra holes.

This week looks very promising in terms of weather with a forecast of 22 Celsius and sun.

Rain

We have had some funny weather this year. April was too cold for us to get started. May came with high winds about five days out of every seven including almost every weekend. And here we have June with temperatures far below normal and lots of rain.

It rained last week at Men's Night.  It started early and continued steadily all evening. It wasn't necessarily an intense rain but it was constant.  Plus the wind starting whipping about midway through the round.  It may have been the wettest that I ever was on a golf course.  At one point I was standing in a puddle that went over the top of my shoe and didn't realize it.  There were small lakes forming in new places and tee shots were plugging without bouncing.  People were using ball retrievers to recover balls from the fairway.  Clubs were slipping out the hands of anyone who wasn't wearing rain gloves.

In spite of the conditions, there were 13 golfers who made it out for Mens' Night.  Dan Stokes had a nice return from Shamattawa getting closest to the hole on #5 and pairing with the dummy card for the only skins of the night on #1 and 3.  The two skins were worth $39 and $20 respectively.  The other closest to the pin was Steven Shackel on #9. There were no deuces.

Sorry about the delay with the blog.  I went on a golf trip with Dan and Gorrell and didn't get home until late Sunday.  It was lots of fun but it also rained for a bit each of the four days at Hecla.

Let's hope the forecast changes for this Wednesday.

Men's Night is Awesome

There’s a neat website called “1000 Awesome Things”.  They have a list which enables you to click on any one for further explanation. If covers a wide range of things from the smells and sounds around a campfire to the joy of finding two-ply toilet paper in a public washroom.

The #269 thing on the list is the sound of a golf ball falling into a cup.  The person who made the entry described it as the" bounce-a-round sound of hole-finishing satisfaction".  He continued by stating that “Whether you just finished smacking dented balls off tree trunks, chipping through the rough, or twelve-putting your way to the finish line, it really doesn’t matter. Because that final shot always sounds the same. It’s the sound of satisfaction going down the drain”.

This made me think about all the little things that are awesome about Mens’ Night. They include, but are not limited to the following:
- Being able to get to the course early on Wednesday for a practice round or two.
- Following a triple bogey with a birdie…especially if it is a chip-in from a bad lie.
- Getting the 10th guy to show up just before starting time on a cold day at the start or the end of the season just to make the night official.
- The beverage cart that keeps us hydrated on hot days.
- Having to raise my voice during the awarding of prizes, because there are so many people present.
- Finding your ball or any ball when going into the woods.
- Getting closest to the pin.
- Missing the green but still getting a deuce.
- That area between the 7th green and 8th tee box which may be the warmest place in Shoal Lake.
- When there is an occasional card game following the golf.

This past Wednesday we had 31 golfers. Skins went on three holes. Winners included Terry Brandon / Shane Kimpinski ($59.50 on #2), Robin Kimpinski / Keith Martin ($64.50 on #3), and Pete Ostash / Dave Gill ($33.00 on #9).

Closest to the pins were Terry Brandon on #5 and Shane Kimpinski on #9. Of the two, only Terry concerted the birdie.  He shared the $46.50 deuce pot with Scott Maynes and John Boles.

If you are interested in the list I mentioned earlier, you may find it at http://1000awesomethings.com/the-top-1000/

Now that's better

It was a nice Band Concert on Wednesday. All the groups played well and the Grade 8 Band of which my daughter was part sounded really good. It was kind of bittersweet because it might be her last concert. It seems like Band isn't a cool option for kids as they head to Grade 9.

It was also a really good Mens' Night.  I know because I went to the Club House upon returning home from the Bend Theatre. Over the first four weeks our turnout was 15, 14, 0, and 12. This Wednesday we had 35 golfers. There was so much excitement that 10 of them forgot to sign up.

It was also a very nice evening with higher temperatures, sun, and even some reduced wind. It seems that the good weather is here to stay if the last few days are any indication.

There was lots of guys making their first appearance of the year. John and Dave Gill came as a pair. Neuf showed up having received doctor permission to golf earlier in the day. Pete Ostash made the trek from Brandon.  You could tell the spring farming season was wrapping up when Mike and Ron Susinski visited as did Wes Arnfinson and Jason Hunter.  Ronnie Anderson came and even brought a friend.

The performance of the night belonged to Robin Kimpinski who shot a 33 despite a double on #3.  Robin also had deuces on two holes to grab 2/3 of the $88.50 pot for the week. The other deuce went to Scott Maynes.

Robin's start to June this year was much more promising than last year. The June 6, 2016 blog title was "Jason is better than Robin". Then Gorrell shot the low round of the night and Robin had a 51. He was two strokes a hole better this year.  That simply shows that golf is a fickle game and even the good players get to experience some humility on occasion.

The great thing about having better numbers is the skins don't go as easily. Only two holes were won. The Ostash twins Milt and Joel made $29.50 on #4 while Robin teamed with Wes for $20 on #6. There wasn't a combined par on #2 despite the fact that Robin had a 2 there. His partner Wes had a 7 and was fine with it. The odd triple bogey is easier to take when you are happy just to be golfing with the boys.

Closest to the pins were Scott Maynes on #5 and Ron Anderson on #9.

There's already some buzz for next week with talk of a possible game of cards to follow. Come on out and boost our numbers, enjoy some company, and take a crack at the growing Chase the Ace prize.

Wind Sucks

Golf in the wind can be fun....on occasion. However, we have been in the midst of what seems like a month of wind. Even better, the windiest days seem to be Saturday, Sunday, and Wednesday which doesn't help weekend golf or Men's Night. This past Wednesday it was blowing pretty hard.

I will golf in pretty much any conditions other than chain lightning. However, lots of people like the weather to be a bit better. Not surprisingly we only had 12 golfers this week. It was less windy on Tuesday evening and sunny. They actually had more women at Ladies Night than we did the next night.

Even if you are willing to golf on windy days it wears on you when it happens for almost a month.  Blustery days can be frustrating with good shots turning bad and bad shots ending up even worse.  You struggle controlling distance and you start to lose confidence and concentration.  Even when playing your regular course your game strategy basically gets thrown out the window.

There are lots of tips to improve your golf experience in windy conditions. Some people try hitting it lower off the tee.  Others try to punch longer clubs from short distances rather than risk high shots from wedges. Even though windy days are challenging, the majority of golfers would prefer that to rainy days.

Which brings me to today.  I am writing the blog while watching the trees bend outside my window this Sunday morning. It's windy again. Also, the forecast is for rain this afternoon. I have sides for my carts that I can put on if I need to do so.  The problem is I might be scrambling for playing partners if the rain comes.

Back to this past week. Skins went on three holes. Winners included Charlie McNabb / Brad Benton ($31.50 on #1), Milt / Stephen David ($20 on #6), and Blake Hunter / Robin Kimpinski ($31.50 on 8). Closest to the holes were Robin on #5 and Jason Gorrell on #9. There were no deuces.

Have fun this coming Wednesday. I will be at the Strathclair Bend Theatre enjoying the Band Concert. The wind never seems to effect that event. Maybe there is something to be said for occasionally staying indoors.

No Men's Night this week

There was no Men's Night this week. It was cancelled due to poor weather conditions and an expected low turnout of golfers.  I wasn't too upset when I heard because I was heading to Winnipeg the same evening.  However, it sucks when we have to cancel for any reason.

Wednesday was cool. At 6:00 pm when I left for the city it was 7 Celsius with close to a 40 km/hr wind. I guess it makes sense to shut the golf down for an evening. However, cancelling Men's Night is like cancelling your birthday or saying that there will be no Christmas this year. 

On a given year we get 20-22 Wednesdays to play. Most of our wives and significant others would argue that is plenty.  It would feel better to me if we had around another 10 or so.  We have long winters in this province...and spring always seems to take a little more time than it should to arrive.

Cancelling Men's Night is not an easy decision...or so they tell me. Not only are you giving up an important revenue night for the golf course, you also get yourself on the wrong side of Brad Benton. Brad's a diehard who feels that there is no circumstance which justifies a cancellation.  I am not sure of whether this is true, but I heard a story that 55 years ago Brad was scheduled to be born on a Wednesday. His mom's water broke a day early and he came to the world on a Tuesday.  Even then, he didn't want to miss Men's Night.

Like a few others, I plan my job and my personal life around Men's Night. I try to avoid meetings or commitments Wednesday afternoon or evening.  I plan camping trips often with Thursday departures and Wednesday returns.  If I am gone from a weekend to weekend, I usually come back on Wednesday to check on the house and cut the grass.  Invariably these tasks take a long time so I end up staying home for the night.  This works out great given that the golf course is around 550 yards from my house.

I have had quite a few years with perfect Men's Night attendance for the season.  Last year I missed two, the previous year one, and I didn't make three in 2014.  Even when I am not there I find myself texting someone around 9:30 or so to see who won skins and who was closest to the hole and to ask how many guys showed up.

This year I will miss three...not counting the recent one which was cancelled.  May 31st is my daughter's Band concert.  I am attending a high school graduation on June 28th.  I will be watching the Jays play the Yankees in Toronto one day in August.  I expect that I will be messaging Scott Maynes that last evening to see if anyone got the deuce pot while missing something cool on the ball diamond.

The planning isn't just for the current year.  For example, I know that 2020 is a Leap Year.  That is significant because in 2019 my wife's birthday is a Tuesday but with the Leap Year her special day jumps to Thursday in 2020, thereby avoiding Men's Night.  If not for that extra day on the calendar, I would have been forced to miss that night...and my wife would not like me missing her birthday.

I remember a few years back we had an evening where we had close to 50 golfers.  After the prizes, lots of people hung around and visited. Then around 11:30 pm we decided to leave to go and play cards at another location.  One gentlemen declined, saying that he needed to get home because it was his anniversary.  Now that's dedication to Men's Night.  Plus he still allowed himself at least 25 minutes to celebrate his special day with his spouse.

Right now next Wednesday is projected for 21 Celsius and sunny. I may have to head to the course earlier to make up for this week.

Enjoy your long weekend.

It's Up To You

Okay. I am going to write about something that I have written about two times previously…the importance of being optimistic on the golf course.

This is a longer blog than usual. If you aren’t interested in my ramblings skip to the end to see how Mens’ Night went this week.

I started writing this early Saturday morning, eager to golf at noon with the boys, but listening to the wind howl a bit outside.  I checked two weather sites…one said “partly cloudy” and the other stated “partly sunny”. I think that they mean the same thing but  I made a choice to go with the more positive option.

The thing about being an optimistic person is on rare occasions you don’t feel automatically optimistic. I would like to think it is a dominant trait but sometimes maintaining a positive outlook isn’t easy. When I first awoke, I thought...”Cool, it’s a golf day”. Then I heard the wind and thought “What the heck”. Before getting out of bed I started thinking about how it was windy both days last weekend and here it is was windy again today.  I started thinking how I bought new golf balls yesterday and would need to leave them at home because of the gusts.  I wondered if some people who said that they might play would bail because it was too breezy.

I went to the course for noon. One of the four guys replied quickly to a text and said he wasn’t coming. A second responded in a similar fashion a little while later, The fourth slept in and texted around 2:00 pm as I was on my way back home.

But it wasn’t a wasted trip. I putted and chipped and hit some balls from about 100 yards. It was really windy but not that bad. I even tried to look for some balls…checking the regular spots on holes 2, 3, 4, 6, and 7. I found ten balls in about an hour. Three went into the pond. One had a cut in it. Another had a checkerboard pattern that I threw in the cart for my kid. Of the remaining five three were good balls. The best was the TaylorMade with the green putting line that was likely hit by Scott Maynes. It was deep in the middle of the bush on #3.

I wasn’t bummed about finding so few balls. It was warm in the bush with the sun and no wind. Plus I got outside for a couple of hours. A pessimist might suggest that the lack of found balls indicates a slow start to the season. I would like to think everyone is playing well enough to keep their balls in play.

I guess my point is that sometimes being optimistic takes a little work.  For example, the first mens night I had a less than awesome first hole and for the rest of the round I felt like I was waiting for something else bad to happen.  I chose to not have as much fun as I should have.  This past week, I started with a birdie on 6 and was excited about when the next one was coming.  I didn’t score significantly better than week one but I enjoyed the evening way more.  It’s a pretty simple concept I guess…sad face or happy face…you decide.

Think about your own game. You face a long putt…roll it 40 feet across the green and it stops inches away.  Do you get upset that you left another one short or do you think that it is great that you get a gimmie for putting so well?  Do you complain every time your approach shot is short or do you think that it was a nice straight shot but just needed a little more power or one more club?  Do you get bummed when only 14 men show up or are you happy that there is still enough to play?

Speaking of 14 golfers, that is how many that we had this past Wednesday.

Skins went on three consecutive holes and all won $20 skins. Winners included Robin Kimpinski / Blake Hunter on 5, Darcy Kowalchuk / Charlie McNabb on 6, and Stephen David / Sonny Blackbird on 7.

Darcy Kowalchuk was closest to the hole on #5 and Brad Benton was a repeat winner on #9. Both converted their birdies to share the $21 deuce pot.

Brad and Robin both added another birdie to the ringer board to get to -2.

One more point about today. As I came out of the bush close to 2:00 pm, I saw a cart approaching. I talked to the gentlemen for a minute before heading home. I felt comfortable leaving the course in the hands of another optimist…Mr. Clayton Hunter. I asked him if was too windy and he said “Hell no. I need to get some exercise”.

See you all on Wednesday.  I bet there will be 30 golfers!

Let the Games Begin

So last year I predicted that we would have our first Mens’ Night on April 19th. Due to a prolonged winter / spring transition it took us two weeks later to get started. Nevertheless, the year has begun and we have a whole season of possibilities ahead of us.

Since it is the start of the year, I thought it would be appropriate to start out with some early season swing tips. Please use them as appropriate:

- It has been a long winter. You likely have not touched your clubs since September. It is also very possible that you have not exercised in months. For the first couple of times golfing, disregard your lack of readiness by swinging as hard as possible. This also is an effective reliever of 6 months of pent-up stress.

- Usually you hit someone else’s driver better than your own. Therefore, ask Robin or Milt if you can use their driver for the first couple of weeks.

- Don’t buy a new driver unless you have had a chance to throw it first.

- Try to minimize negative thoughts during your swing. I try to clear my mind prior to teeing off. I would suggest imagining a shirtless Gorrell riding a white horse. When I think of this I totally forget about trees, water, and other hazards.

- There are lots of people who want to give you advice on your swing. They all have suggestions about your tempo, your backswing, or what you are doing with your wrists. When they provide this advice, smile at them as if you are listening…then imagine their face on your ball. Swing hard.

- If you're afraid a full shot might reach the green while the foursome ahead of you is still putting out, you have two options…you can immediately shank a lay-up, or you can wait until the green is clear and top a ball halfway there.

- Sometimes hitting a second drive even worse helps you appreciate the first one.

- Often we make a great practice swing but then mess up with the real swing. So it is recommended to walk up to the ball, state aloud that “this is a practice swing”, start your swing, yell “this is now my real shot”, then hit it.

- After “laying up” in front of the trees on seven, you can either go with one more club for the next shot or one more ball for the third shot.

- Finally, if you really want to have a better golf swing, go back in time and start it at a much earlier age.

Fifteen golfers were on hand to open the Mens Night season on a mild but pleasant first Wednesday in May.

Skins went on three holes. Winners included Scott Maynes $36 on #4, Robin Kimpinski / Charlie McNabb $20 on #6, and Jamie McCutchin / Carson McLennan $21 on #9.

Closest to the holes were Jamie McCutchin on #5 and Brad Benton on #9. Brad converted his birdie for the only deuce of the evening and a $37.50 prize.

Jamie’s shot on #5 was quite appropriate given that his business Sandy Lake Locker Plant) sponsors the hole. The ninth hole is jointly sponsored by Kimp Services and Susinski Farms.

We will continue with the Ringer Board this year. Information about it is found on the links to the left. Robin and Brad have jumped out to an early lead at -1.

Welcome back to Hannah Street in the Club House. She was joined on Wednesday by Skylar Arnfinson and Jenna Rupa.

This Wednesday is showing 16 Celsius and sunny on the Weather Network, which is slightly better than Environment Canada. I tend to choose the best forecast.

 

Thanks for a great year!

I am pretty sure the image above is intended for Christmas holidays...but it is fitting as our 2016 Men's Night season draws to a close.

I will quickly do a recap of this past week before taking some time to remember some of the neat things that happened on Wednesdays this spring, summer, and early fall.

Wednesday was our final Men's Night. While only 10 golfers made it was still a fun way to wrap up the year.

Skins went on four holes. Winners included Dan Stokes / Stephen David ($20 on #1), Austin Hunter / Wes Arnfinson ($20 on #3, $20 on #6), and Joe Shwaluk / Brad Benton ($20 on #9).

Closest to the pins were Dan on #5 and Joe on #9. There were no deuces recorded.

So with this Wednesday duly noted, here are some of the interesting happenings of 2016:
- Our season started on April 27 and went to September 28, spanning 23 weeks.
- We had two rain outs...some extremely hot days, some lightning, and a tornado warning.
- Brad Benton edged out Scott Maynes on the last night of the ringer board.
- There were multiple nights when no one recorded closest to on a par 3.
- Robin Kimpinski helped us add the word "emu" to the golf bird-related lexicon.
- I won the season money title, sneaking past Blake Hunter in the final two weeks.
- There were 50 people who won money during the season.
- We didn't have a single night with more than 40 golfers.
- Scott Martin scored the deuce of the year with a 95 yard shot on #2 back in May.
- High score for the year was a 63. That's nine maxes.

Thanks to everyone who came out during the season and thanks to the Club House crew for taking care of us on Wednesdays. Finally, thanks to our wives and significant others for finding ways to fill their Wednesday evenings alone without us. We are going to be home now for the winter. Like us, you'll probably be counting down the days until golf begins again in 2017.

Next year I predict two nights of 50 golfers, two holes in one, and an April 19th start.

Until next year...take care and remember...there's always the Golf Channel.

That was an odd one

The picture above is from a classic episode of Seinfeld called "Bizarro Jerry", The plot references a comic book character named Bizarro who is the polar opposite of Superman. In the Seinfeld version, the gang meets a group of people who are their exact opposites.

It was sort of an odd Mens' Night this week. I am not sure if it was a Bizarro Mens' Night but it seemed a little off.

The weather was reasonable but only 11 golfers showed up. It was even too damp likely to farm but none of those guys played.

One team comprised of Scott Maynes and Blake Hunter won three skins. This doesn't usually happen, even on nights with low attendance. The Maynes and Hunter train was on a roll winning $20 on three separate holes, #1, 2, and 5. They were also the closest to the holes on the par 3's with Blake hitting it tight on #5 and Scott being closest on #9.

There were two deuces, but by the same person. This rarely occurs. Good job Scott Maynes.

Jason Hunter didn't play. He usually is a die hard. I have to assume that he was kidnapped or was on jury duty.

Brad Benton was in the high pot, which almost is never the case. He still won a skin on #3 with Robin Kimpinski for $20.

I had the good fortune of pairing with the dummy card which had never happened to me before. In the end I won two skins on my own, including $77 on #6 and $20 on #8.  A high single winner is rare. Not everyone who pairs with the deuce pot gets lucky. Even odder was the fact that I was the middle score on the evening. The dummy card that I ended up with was a reproduction of my own card.

The $97 combined was the highest individual one-week total of the year, edging out the $95.25 won by Blake Hunter back on June 15th.

These wins put my season money total to $253.50 moving me ahead of Blake  who sits in second at $244.13. Blake had an amazing run of 14 weeks in first place.

Ronin Kimpisnksi also moved to $219 in winnings for the year. This is the first time that I recall we had three people over $200 for the season.

Too bad one of the odd events wasn't a hole in one. Our last one was recorded by Dale Watson on July 25th, 2012. That was 1522 days ago. Currently we have two separate pots capped at $1500 and a third currently at $331. That's over $3300 awaiting a couple of lucky shots. Maybe it will happen on Wednesday.

The Club House closes after this Sunday but we have still lined up staff for one final Mens' Night on Wednesday. After that we will shut it down for another season and start counting the days to next year.

Good bad shots

I have been talking a lot about good bad shots lately. It may be reflective of the current state of my game. I would like to think that it is more indicative of my generally optimistic approach to things.

I have used the phrase "A good bad shot is better than a bad good shot" on multiple occasions in recent weeks. It seems that people with whom I have played have had their fair share of good luck as of late. I have also benefitted from some good bounces on fairways. I have witnessed long putts that should not go in somehow change direction and fall in the hole.  I have had at least a half dozen shots in the past month go 20-30 feet into the bush before somehow hitting the right tree at the right angle and coming out safely. When anything of these things happen you feel grateful, happy, and lucky. Quickly your dismay from a seemingly bad shot is erased with the relief of good fortune or a good break.

Contrast this with the bad good shot. Who hasn't hit a seemingly great tee shot down the middle of the third hole before watching it take that 90 degree bounce into the high grass on the right. And what about that perfect birdie putt from six feet that somehow hits the cup so that the ball kicks out six feet sideways and results in two more putts for bogey. Then there is a demoralizing sprinkler head shot common in small town golf courses. Those round pieces of metal are barely noticed until you hit that 150 yard approach that seems like it could be tight...and then it hits the sprinkler head and flies way over the green into the bush.

Most golfers have great memories about their good shots but seem to forget their good fortune. They lament how their round was spoiled by a bad hop or a lost ball that shouldn't have been. Few of us talk about how their round was saved by a members bounce or a couple of putts that we had no business making.

I prefer hearing from those golfers who shot a 45 while admitting that it should have been a 50.  I try not to roll my eyes when I hear others say they shot 38 but are disappointed because it should have been 36. I wonder if they truly feel disappointed in their round or if they just want to tell others that they are even better than their score suggests.

Driving on the fifth hole yesterday, I passed a gentleman searching for a ball hit from the eight tee. He quickly stated that he was looking for his brother's ball again. I assume he didn't want a stranger to think he hit an errant shot. I replied by suggesting that he look on the green because I had hit a similar errant shot on multiple occasions. I wanted the stranger to know that what his brother did wasn't so uncommon.

This past Wednesday, we had 16 golfers.  I shot a 42 which was about right. I had a couple of bad good shots evened out by a few good bad shots. I likely didn't deserve to break 40. I also wouldn't have deserved to be over 45.

Blake Hunter had enough good shots to card a 38 which was the low round of the evening.  He  had consecutive birdies on 6, 7, and 8. He also cashed in for two skins with Jason Gorrell. They won $20 on #7 and $34 on #8. Blake's additions to his season money total put him back in first place ahead of Robin Kimpinski.

Skins went on two other holes. Neuf and Ian got $20 for their efforts on #3 while Scott Maynes and Wes Arfinson won $44 for #5.  Scott's tee shot on the par 3 fifth was good for closest to for the evening.

Sonny Blackbird scored the only 2 of the evening to win the $54 deuce pot. I had a birdie putt on #9 stop at the edge of the hole which would have tied Sonny. That was a bad good shot. However, I hit a less than perfect tee shot that somehow stopped eight feet from the hole. It was good for closest to the hole for the night. That was a good bad shot...so I can't complain.

The forecast for Wednesday looks promising...15 Celsius and sunny which would be pretty darn good for September 21.  If you can't make it because of farming or work or family commitments, I wish you well in doing whatever it is that you will be doing. If you don't want to come because that forecast is too cool for you, imagine how you will feel in a couple of months.

6 - 1 = 5

Three Septembers ago, I wrote a blog entry entitled "Seven Alone" which noted a cold and damp evening in which only 7 golfers showed up for Mens' Night.

This past week it was more like the Final 5. While we did not get enough for an official Mens' Night, we did play 9 holes in the cold and the steady rain. Thanks to Jason Hunter, Neuf, Brad Benton, and Blake Hunter for the round.

We actually started with 6 but Sonny Blackbird didn't have any rain gear. He hit a pretty good tee shot on 5, then went home. For what it's worth, I have his ball in my bag.

Thanks also to Bev Eastcott-Leach who hung around in the Club House for when we finished around 8:00 pm.

Just for the record, it was Robin Kimpinski, Brad Benton, Jason Hunter, Wes Arnfinson, Dan Stokes, Milt, and I who comprised the 7 three years ago.

This Wednesday looks much more promising with the weather. Remember we need 10 golfers to make it an official Mens' Night. See you at 6:00 pm for tee-off.

NHL Hat Auction

Even though this blog is supposed to be a weekly chronicle of what happens at Mens' Night, occasionally I do some general golf club promotion.

So I would like to take a moment to tell you about the NHL Hat Auction fundraiser that we are planning for October 7th.

Following a supper, hats from all NHL teams will be auctioned off to the highest bidder. Payouts are awarded at the end of the season to division winners, the Presidents Cup recipient, and the Stanley Cup champion. There is even a prize for the last place team in the regular season.  More information will follow as we get closer to the event.

Now back to the regular Mens' Night stuff.

This past week we had only 20 golfers. Most of the people in the agricultural industry were busy combining or providing services to farmers.

Skins went on five foles. Winners included Sonny Blackbird / Wes Arnfinson ($20 on #1), Jason Gorrell / Brad Lucy ($20 on #2), Stephen David / Blake Cramer ($103.50 on #3), Terry Brandon / Robin Kimpinski ($20 on #7), and Brad Benton / Ron Huberdeau ($20 on #9).

Closest to the pins were Brad Benton on #5 and Scott Maynes on #9. There were no deuces recorded by them or anyone else.

Remember we are now at 6:00 pm tee offs. Mens' Night will continue as long as the weather and numbers permit. This coming Wednesday will be our 20th so far this season.

The Ringer Board is won

Congratulations to Brad Benton who sealed up the ringer board with his par on the 5th hole. Brad finished at -7 in a tie with Chris and Robin Kimpinski. His win was by virtue of a countback. He and Chris both birdied nine but Brad also birdied 8.

The final standings are as follows:

   First flight:
      1. Brad Benton
      2. Chris Kimpinski
      3. Robin Kimpinski

   Second flight:
      1. Jason Hunter
      2. Stephen David

There were 18 golfers on Wednesday. I guess the risk of funnel clouds scares some people.

Skins went on four holes but only to two teams. Scott Martin and Doug Koroscil combined for $20 on #2 and $20 on #9.  Terry Brandon and John Gill cashed in for $85.50 on #4 as well as $20 on #7.

Terry Brandon had four birdies on way to a 35 which was the low round for the evening.

Closest to the pins were Les Grills on #5 and Sonny Blackbird on #9. Only Les converted the birdie for sole possession of the $27 deuce pot.

With the earlier sunsets we are moving the start time to 6:00 pm effective this Wednesday. See you then for the final day of August golf.

Ringer board ends Wednesday!

Your last chance to enter scores for the ringer board is this Wednesday, August 24th. Any open holes after this week get recorded as triple bogies.

Currently, Scott Maynes sits in first place with -8. He still needs to enter a score for the fourth hole.

Chris and Robin Kimpinski are the club house leaders, having locked in all of their holes for -7. If the ringer board wrapped up right now, Chris would edge out Robin based upon a countback. Chris birdied hole 9 whereas Robin only had a par.

Brad Benton also sits at -7 with the 5th hole remaining.

Last week there were 35 golfers. Skins went on four holes. Winners included Ashley Brandon / Wes Arnfinson ($44.50 on #1), Phil Ostash / Dion Brandon ($20 on #2), Chris Kimpinski / Doug Koroscil ($20 on #7), and Tim Siegle / Joe Shwaluk ($33.50 on #9).

Closest to the pins were Doug Koroscil on #5 and Blake Hunter on #9. Neither converted their birdies.

The $51.00 deuce pot was split by Joe Shwaluk, Chris Kimpinski, and Ashley Brandon.

Thanks to Dan Stokes and Joe Shwlauk for looking after things in my absence.

This week will be the final one that starts at 6:30 pm. As of August 31st we will go to a 6:00 pm start.

Olympic Golf...not a big fan

I just watched some Olympic volleyball. I have been following swimming including the multiple medal performance of Canadian Penny Oleksiuk. I will try to catch Usain Bolt tomorrow evening in the 100 metre final. I have even watched some diving and a little gymnastics. But I could care less about the golf.

Maybe it is because a lot of the big names have opted out. Maybe it's due to it being a new sport in the Games. Maybe it's because it is not really a team format. I'm not sure. I just could care less.

There are lots of neat stories happening throughout the Games but nothing is really coming from golf. Maybe if Ricky Fowler walked into a sofa in a bunker...I would be more interested. Or if all of a sudden then greens turned red from too much fertilizer. I would definitely tune in then.

Right now it seems like it will be either Henrik Stenson or Justin Rose will get  the gold.  I guess I am sort of cheering for Bubba Watson. By cheering I mean hoping that he does terribly tomorrow and drops from fourth to about 15th. The final round is tomorrow but I would rather be golfing than watching this on TV.

There were 33 golfers this past week. That's six more than 27 which is how many Olympic medals Michael Phelps has in his career.

The gold medallist for Mens' Night was Robin Kimpinski who carded a 34. That was the first medal for Ipswich during these Games. They were in the field for the Jack and Jill on Thursday before Tracy unexpectedly dropped out of the competition.

Skins went on four holes. Winners included Blake Hunter / Joel Ostash ($20 on #2), Stephen David / Dave Gill ($27.50 on #5), Sonny Blackbird / Barry Twerdun ($20 on #7), and Robin Kimpinski ($67.50 on #8 all by himself).  Robin's big win allowed him to jump to first in the season money list, just slightly ahead of Blake Hunter.

Closest to the pins were Dave Gill on #5 and Terry Brandon on #9. Both converted their deuces to share the $49.50 deuce pot.

There were no hole in ones at Mens' Night. There have been two at the Olympics this week.

There are only two more weeks remaining to post ringer board scores.  Any holes not locked in by the end of the evening on August 24th will be recorded as triple bogies.

Have fun this week. I will be in Hecla for the second time this summer. I think Maynes and Gorrell are away as well...so someone please help Dan Stokes do the cards and prizes.

Don't Mess with Lightning!

Some golfers are of the fair-weather variety, preferring warm, dry conditions with little wind. Others will golf in anything.  I pride myself in being an any-weather golfer. I have played in cold, sleet, rain, high winds, and even once snow. However, even the hardiest of golfers draw the line at lightning.

Last Wednesday, a couple of holes into our Mens' Night round, the 22 golfers in attendance took shelter around the course as the sky opened up. The heavy rain that fell for 30 minutes or so was accompanied by some loud booms and bright flashes. This wasn't surprising given the forecast which warned of a severe thunderstorm with the possibility of a tornado for our area. Fortunately, we didn't get the tornado.

After the delay, the golf resumed and the weather was actually quite nice for both man and mosquito. While the round finished a little later than usual, it was a quick wrap up given that there was no time for anyone to play extra holes.

Skins went on three holes. Winners included Scott Maynes / Mike Susinski ($43 on #2), Jason Hunter / Robin Kimpinski ($25.50 on #7), and Kevin Bartram / Keith Martin ($20 on #9).

Closest to the pins were Sonny Blackbird on #5 and Brad Benton on #9. Only Brad converted the birdie to share the $33 deuce pot with Cubby and Mike Susinski.

Scott Maynes birdied the 6th hole to go to -8 on the ringer board. Brad Benton's birdie on 9 puts him at -7. There are three more nights to place scores on the board...August 10, 17, and 24.

When searching for a picture for this week's blog I looked online using the phrase "golfers and lightning". I was struck (forgive the pun) by some of the images. There were cracks and holes in greens, burning trees, and one shot of a pull cart completely destroyed by a lightning strike. A picture of that cart is shown below.

I also read that in North America, around five percent of annual lightning deaths and injuries happen on golf courses. Lightning seeks the path of least resistance on its way to the ground, and the human body is an extremely good conductor due to the body’s large percentage of water.

The official rules of golf allow players to discontinue play if they believe there is a danger from lightning. No other sport has any regulations relating to lightning.

I also learned a couple of things about golf and lightning that contradicted my previously held beliefs. Firstly, you should get away from your cart when lightning strikes. I always thought one was safe with the four rubber tires beneath you. Secondly, I have joked that one can hit a graphite driver during lightning but not a metal iron. Then I read that many lightning rods are made of graphite.

See you Wednesday. If there is a rumble in the sky or a flash on the horizon, I'll probably be waiting it out inside of the club house. Interestingly, as I write this early Monday evening, there are some booms coming from the sky. I think that I will get away from my computer and read a book or something.

Mens' Night...Always Improving

At the end of this blog, I am going to make a couple of suggestions to help improve our collective Mens' Night experience. You can think of them as tips to make our Wednesday's even better.

There were 27 golfers this past week. This number included 9-10 guys who showed up that rarely play.

Despite some soft conditions the scoring was not what one would have expected. The middle score was 46 which is the highest that I can recall. There were also 8-9 of the 27 scores above 50.

Skins went on four holes. Winners' included Scott Maynes / Wes Arnfinson ($20 on #1), Kevin Bartram / Robin Kimpinski ($32 on #5, $32 on #6), and Jason Hunter / Stephen David ($40 on #9).

Closest to the pin on #5 was Ron Huberdeau and on #9 was Robin Kimpinski. Robin converted his birdie to share the $43.50 deuce pot with Jason Hunter.

Scott Maynes added another birdie to move to the lead in the ringer board with -7.

I think for my first suggestion for improvement I will encourage each of you to bring a friend this week. Our numbers this year have been okay but unspectacular. We have yet to even break 40. The odd thing is we have not had big numbers even on days where the weather was perfect. I guess lots of people are busy doing lots of other things.

My next suggestion is to make sure you pay to play. We seem to be consistently short on the collection at the end of the night. This past week we should have $228 paid and only had $224. It seems that every week we are anywhere from $4 - 10 down. One week we were $22 less than what we should be. Please make sure to pay your $8 and don't take more change than you should.  It may not seem like much but over the course of a season that could mean $100 - 150 less revenue than expected. We operate on an honour system and depend on the collective good will of everyone to make it work.

While I am giving people some direction, I would also ask people to make an effort to turn in their cards when they are done the Mens' Night round. I appreciate that there are lots of big ties for snips that need to be broken. That being said, it only takes a couple of minutes to write down your snips and then drop off the card. Not everyone wants to wait around while people play 1,2 or 5, 6 extra holes. This past week, we had one group 20 minutes late followed by another 15 minutes later.

Too Hot for Golf?

A country song from the 90's included a catchy series of lyrics. The singer, Mark Chestnutt, laments how it is "It’s too hot to fish and too hot for golf and too cold at home".

I can't speak of the fishing because I am not much of an angler. My daughter has more experience than me in this regard but she uses chopped up smokies as bait. Perhaps some people might say my house is too cold. I do like it rather cool. In the mornings my windows have condensation on them and my wife seems to always have a sweater or a blanket as a covering.

But could it actually be too hot for golf? Some might say so but I would disagree. Take this past Wednesday for example with it's plus 30 Celsius temperature and humidex near 40. That was nice golfing weather as far a I am concerned.

Sure the clothes got a little sticky. Yes, you had to work a bit to keep your hands dry. But come on. It was a beautiful day. You just needed to stay hydrated. Days like this that require lots of liquid are great for the golf course sales.

I did enjoy the shade when it came and occasionally a light breeze provided some much appreciated cooling. But I would take 22 similar days for a season of Mens' Night and trade in any of those times it rained...or maybe a few of those single digit temperature evenings at the start and end of the season.
I spend enough time looking at the window in the winter at that frigid Manitoba landscape to complain about heat in the summer.

Wednesday even played like rainy day conditions without the rain. The high heat and humidity made the golf course play a little longer because it was damp and soft. The fairways and greens were way more receptive. This made them essentially wider and bigger because your shots didn't bounce into trouble as much.

These nice conditions were definitely good for Brad Benton who carded the low round of the evening with a sizzling 34.  Brad has been the low scorer on previous occasions. If I forget to mention this he complains so I am going out of my way to note it this time. In case you don't know him, here's a picture of Brad. If you see him on the street or at his restaurant tell him "Nice 34 Brad Benton". He'll appreciate it.

While I usually only reference things that happen during the official round, I would like to acknowledge Scott Maynes' practice round when he missed a birdie putt on the last hole but still finished with a 32. Good job Scotty.

It was our 14th Mens' Night of the year. To date, we have had 42 people who have won cash and put themselves on the season money list.

There were 35 golfers this week. Skins only went on two holes. Luke Funk and Brad Benton won $20 on #1 while Rob Eastcott and Dave Gill earned $20 on #7.

Dan Stokes was closest to the pin on #5 while Jamie McCutchin was tightest on #9. Both converted their birdies for the only twos of the night. They split the $52.50 deuce pot.

Brad added a birdie on #1 to go to -6 on the ringer board. That ties him with leader Scott Maynes.

Of course, our 6th annual Horse Race tournament is tomorrow. The weather forecast switched from pretty dismal to maybe not so bad. There may still be some rain but it will likely occur as a heavy but short downpour. Although I would be happy if it stays dry, or at least only rains until 8:50 am and maybe again from 1:00 - 1:20 pm. Even better would be no rain...and maybe plus 30 Celsius temperature with a humidex near 40

Horse Race on Saturday

Our 6th annual horse race tournament is this Saturday, July 23rd. Information about the event is found on the left side of our webpage.

To date we only have 25 golfers registered. Normally we get 45-55. Please check the list to see if you notice anyone who I playing that is not included.

To register, please email Stephen David at sdavid@mts.net or text at 847-0161.