Season Finale 2010

Seven players braved a cool but relatively calm day for what could be the last game of the year - Rich Johnson, Doug Lyon, Jim Mason, Brad McAreavy, John Schantz, Bill Schwert and John Teegardin.

Our streak of few wins on the front nine continued as only the first hole was won by the field with Doug Lyon's birdie.  We went to the back nine with eight carryovers and doubled up.  Our resident 14 handicapper, Bill Schwert, was up to his old tricks as lead team wins on the 11th with a net birdie 4 and on the 12th he had  a birdie 3 for net 2!!  Thankfully, for the rest of us, he gave those wins back with team losses on the 14th and 16th.

With four holes won on the back the 18th was worth five carryovers.  Once again Brad McAreavy (who else) created controversy.  Brad was next in line to be captain. He was not happy when Jim and I informed him that with five carryovers the rule was to draw a ball not go in order.  Once again JT and Bill were the only players getting a stroke and once again it was their ball that was chosen - today it was JT instead of Bill.

Bill was the last hitter so JT had to wait out the field.  When Brad bombed his drive it just stoked his belief in the unfairness of the entire proceeding!  Bill hit a poor drive but the team was set. Neither Bill or JT could get home in two and in fact the best they could do was to leave 20 feet for par.  I gave them a scare when my 60 foot birdie putt from the front of the green just missed going in.  JT 2-putted for net four and today, at least, the mighty Schwert was held in check.

Except...he wasn't.  Bill Schwert, 14 handicap and all took the mark title today.  Yes, he only had two marks but that was more than anyone else.  A grand total of five marks today and for the second time in known history Jim Mason was held without a mark!. Was it only a month ago when Dave, Brad and I had 18 marks between us?

Game Summary

West Course

Players 7

Carryovers to next hole capped at 3

Mark Leader -   Bill Schwert 2

Money Leader - Brad McAreavy $8.00

What the Schwert?!@#*

Today proved why having a higher handicap golfer in our midst changes the complexion of the game.  Depending on your perspective that could be a good or bad thing.

Again we had a slow front nine as only three holes were won.  We carried 6 holes to the back and doubled up.  On the 12th Bill Schwert proved to be crazy like a fox or just plain lucky.  Bill pulled his tee shot left and looked to be in trouble. He passed on a few tee shots and we got down to me as the last hitter.  I hit a really poor tee shot left and Bill passed on me because he didn't want to drag me down with him (or so he said).  Getting a stroke he went alone.

As it turned out Bill actually had a shot to the green from the left rough.  He knocked it on the green, two-putted and won the hole.  The rest of us were dumbfounded.  When we left the tee I was pretty happy I was not picked.  As we walked off the green I couldn't quite figure out what had happened.

As we arrived at the 17th, Bill's win on 12 had been the only win on the back nine. I was captain and took it all the way back.  My tee shot came up just short of the green and I watched as the other five players scattered their tees shots.  Since no one had hit the green it was an obvious loner.  When Brad McAreavy missed his 6-footer for par the field had run out of par chances and I knocked in a tricky downhill curling 3 1/2 footer to take the win.

We trudged over to the 18th with eleven holes on the line. As the captain's ball was drawn four of  us hoped it would not be stroker who was pulled.  No such luck as Bill Schwert's ball emerged.  When JT hit a good drive the field was is deep do do.

No one could hit the green in two and the field had no real good chance for a four before I hit my third.  I almost holed out from short of the left bunker and secured a par for the field.  It was left for JT to knock in a four footer for a team win.  When he did Bill and John walked away with $22 each for the win.

With a team win on 1 and 2, a loner on the 12th and the big team win on the 18th Bill was the big winner on the day. He even got a break as there were only 5 (5!!!!!!!!!!) marks on the day.  What the Schwert!!??@#

Game Summary:

West Course
Players 6

Carryovers to 9 & 18

Mark Leader -   John Schantz 2
Money Leader -Bill Schwert $33

Nirvana in November

Only 6 players today (5 on the front nine as Doug Lyon joined us on the back) on a gorgeous late fall day.

On the front nine only the 5th hole was one with my birdie for the field.  Both Dave Fries and Jim Mason split the 8th with birdies. On the back nine we played the holes for double and six holes were won.  The action was split among the players with no one a clear cut winner or loser.

Dave and Jim battled all day for the mark lead.  In the end they both marked on #17 to tie with 5 a piece and take 10 of the 12 total marks on the day.

Game Summary

West Course

Players 6

Carryovers to 9 &18

Mark Leader   - Fries & Mason 5 

Money Leader - Dave Fries $18.00

Oh Where Oh Where Has Our Club Champion Gone

Well, I have been lazy in doing posts this year and it's finally caught up with me.  I usually do these posts on my laptop while watching Sunday NFL games.  But my laptop is so infected with viruses it's unusable and the Bills are so pathetic I can't even bear to turn the TV on (although I hear they are actually starting to play football these days).  So it's been a few weeks since this game was played.  I can't give the blow-by-blow but I have some overall recollections.

Tom Blank sure is playing some nice golf.  And why not.  He's only won every senior club championship since he became eligible to play.  While he didn't have the mark lead he did rack up 4 solid marks.  

Doug Lyon is playing his best golf of the year, with a 6! handicap (although it turns out he was really a 5 and should not have won the 18th today).  Doug tallied 5 marks today with a birdie , greenie on #4 (shot to 2 feet), birdie on #9 (field win), birdie on #12 and sandy on #14.

Brad McAreavy sure can wallop some tee shots.  He's pretty much got driving the green on #12 down these days.  BUT he gets an asterisk for being shamed into taking a loner after driving it to 20 feet.  Doug Lyon managed to match his birdie to halve the hole for the field.

Mike Labue, our perennial king of the bad break, was having a quietly strong day.  Up $17 through 10 holes it looked as though Mike would have one of his best days ever. Then he was done in by the Lyon family.  First on #13 where Mike (as captain) and Doug Lyon, both getting a stroke, could not match a field net 3 while playing for a three hole carryover.  Then on #15 Mike and John Lyon, again both getting a stroke, were stunned by my bridie 3 with a two hole carryover in the line.  The two quick losses sent Mike tumbling all the way back to finish the day up only $.50 on the day.

Then there is the fearless Bill Schwert. Saddled with a 14 handicap Bill is generous enough to play the mark game with all the supposed hot shots.  He held up well and took down a respectable two marks with the greenie on #8 and sandy on #16.

Last but not least - Jim Mason.  Our reigning club champion has been little heard from this fall as he nurses a very sore back.  We don't miss losing money to him but I need someone else to back me up when Fries and McAreavy try to change the rules of the game; something which happens far too frequently.

Game Summary:

West Course
Players 10
Carryovers to next hole capped at 3

Mark Leader -   Doug Lyon 5
Money Leader - Doug Lyon $16.00

Four's a Crowd

Another small group today as it was a cool day.  It was only two weeks ago the Fries, McAreavy, Schantz threesome put 18 marks on the board.  Today confirmed just how fine a performance that was as the foursome of Mason, McAreavy, Schantz and Turner could only manage 10 marks.

Jim jumped out to the mark lead on the front nine with two birdies and two greenies.  He could not maintain his level of play on the back nine and notching one more mark with a birdie on 11.  No one else challenged Jim until the unexpected happened on the 16th.  Turner and Schantz were facing off against Mason and McAreavy.  Brad's second shot found the green and left him with 20 feet for eagle, Rob was out of the hole and I was 30 yards short of the green laying two.  As I hit my pitch shot I was not too thrilled, but when it landed it took a better bounce than I thought it would and kept rolling and breaking until, yes, it fell in for the eagle.  The first (and what would turn out to be the only) eagle of the season.  It could only happen to Brad (or maybe Mike LaBue).

The game itself was back and forth with various combinations of partners winning and losing holes. The only real surprise was Rob Turner failing to get any marks and losing on the game - a rare combination for him.  Of course maybe we cheated him a little by taking away 5 of his 7 strokes.  That wasn't very nice.

Game Summary:

West Course

Players 4

Left, right rules carryovers to next hole

Mark Leader -   Jim Mason 5

Money Leader - Jim Mason $14

Nine Holer

Another nice field today with 9 players participating.  Dave Fries made an appearance and had to leave after nine holes - $16.50 lighter in the wallet. Thanks, Dave, please come again!

Five holes were won on the front, including the 9th, all the carryovers were used and we went to the back nine with a clean slate.  The back was a lackluster affair as only two holes were won.  The 12th by Mason and Schwert with Bill's net 3 (it's almost unfair) and the 17th where McAreavy and LaBue won when Brad birdied the hole.

It was a good day for Brad as he had 5 of  the only 13 marks on the day with birdies on 11,13,16 & 17 (greenie).  And Bill Schwert is proving to be a force in the game with his 14 handicap.  Bill finished the day plus $15 in the game but gave back some of it as he continues to participate in the mark game,.

Game Summary:

West Course
Players 9
Carryovers to next hole capped at 3

Mark Leader -   Brad McAreavy 5
Money Leader - Brad McAreavy $14.50

Ithaca Was Gorges

There is no detailed report today.  I was off to Ithaca, NY where my daughter was participating in the "Goblin Games" girls lacrosse tournament.  While we did not have time to visit the many gorges and falls in the Ithaca area we did get to have lunch at the famous Moosewood Restaurant.

There was one bit of controversy to report.  When the day began Brad McAreavy was the low handicap at 2.  Later on the front 9 Dave Fries joined the group.  Brad wanted to retroactively recompute the results of the third hole (which would have given him a win) since he had a 2 handicap and Dave was a 0. He argued he wasn't going to get the full benefit of his handicap while others in the flock would.  Brad went so far as to call Jim Mason (who was out today with his sore back) for a ruling.

He might have called me but figured he would get too much abuse for asking the question.  Jim was nice enough to just say "What! Are you crazy?!!"  Actually, Jim probably just told him "No" but I couldn't resist the opportunity to throw my response in there as well.  We'll be shaking our heads over this one for many years to come.

Game Summary

West Course

Players 6

Carryovers unknown

Mark Leader   - Lyon, McAreavy, Teegardin 3 each

Money Leader - Lyon, McAreavy $6.00 each

Three's Company

A day after the big opener and an eleven-man flock we had a grand total of four (yes four!!) players - Brad McAreavy, Dave Fries, John Schantz & John Teegardin.  Despite the small turnout it turned out to be knock down drag out battle in the three person mark game.  At the end of the day Dave had fired a 68(?), I had 69 and Brad, well Brad played well but he hasn't broke 70 since when?  Either way it meant a lot of marks.

Brad was shut out of marks on the front but battled back with birdies on 10 & 11 (sandie),  sandie on 12 and took the greenie on 14 to round out a 5-mark back nine.  Dave played strong all day with birdies on 2,5,10,15 & 16 plus a sandie on 14 to total 6 marks on the day. I scattered a little bit of everything with birdie on 3, greenies on 4 & 8 birdies on 15,16 &17 (greenie) to rack up a total of 7 marks.

The final tally? 18 marks between the three of us.  A total that might not be matched in some games with 3 to 4 times the number of players.  JT wisely chose not to participate in today's mark game and at the end of the day the biggest loser on the day had dropped $2.00.

Game Summary:

West Course

Players 4

Left, right rules and Carryovers to next hole

Mark Leader   - John Schantz 7

Money Leader - John Schantz $3.00

Let The Games Begin

We had a perfect day for the season opener and a large flock to go with it. Recently minted Duke graduate Mike Schwert made the trip up from NYC to try and supplement his hedge fund earnings.  As it turned out he did a pretty good job of separating us from our money.

With 11 players it was a good day to lay low and hide in the field.  Fortunately 2010 club champion Jim Mason was in attendance to draw attention away from the rest of us.  Jim came out of the box strong with a birdie for a field win on the 1st and it looked like he was off to taking our money again.  While Jim nabbed the greenie on number 8 the rest of the day was not so good.  

He was he was the captain's pick favorite on non stroke holes and today he paid the price. It was a rare BIG off day for the all time champion, maybe even a record losing day for Jim (I might have to do some research) . Of course it's not unusual for Jim to take some losses in the game.  What is unusual was the lack of marks - only managing 2 of the 24 total marks on the day.  He did take it easy on us though. On the 16th he lay two in the right hand bunker up against the back lip.  Instead of putting the ball forward to give himself a playable shot and a chance at a relatively easy sand save he went for the impossible shot and could not pull it off.

Mike Schwert was the hot player on the day.  Mike started strong with birdies on 1 and 2, tossed in  birdies on 11 &16 and greenies on 14 &17.  If Mike had been able to avoid a three-hole carryover loss as the twosome on the 9th it would have been a really big day.

The twosome could only manage two wins on the day - Bronson & Lyon on the 13th and McAreavy & Blank on the 17th.

Special thanks to 14 handicapper Bill Schwert for participating in the mark game.

Game Summary:

West Course
Players 11

Carryovers to next hole capped at 3

Mark Leader:   Mike Schwert 6
Money Leader: Mike Schwert $34.00

The Wait is Over

Jim Mason hits his approach into #5 West

It's been ten years since Dr. Jim Mason was seen hoisting his third of three consecutive Oak Hill club championship trophies.   A lot has happened since then. Brad McAreavy and David Fries were not even members. Our bowling team, The Brassies, was still Mason, Schantz, Sanger, Gerham & Owen. Heck, I even still bowled. We all still carried our golf bags instead of using push carts. I was about a 5 handicap, had just qualified for my first trip into the championship flight and my oldest son was still in elementary school.  Jim carried a plus 3 handicap, was qualifying for USGA events, still had a good knee, good back and was going to win his first of many RDGA Ryan Championships....soon.  Jim's Wednesday Night Golf partner, Paul Crombach, was still alive and making us all laugh.  The Buffalo Bills were even a half way decent football team.

You get the point, things change, time marches on.  Many a snap hook has been hit in the last few years.  The clubs have gone into short term storage and Jim probably wondered if he'd ever get the chance to win again.  But, slowly, Jim's game has been coming back and this weekend it arrived for real as he defeated eight time champion Carter Lucas 3 and 1 over 35 holes.

The day started at 8:00 AM on Oak Hill's West Course.  Carter took the first lead with a par 4 on number two and Jim came back to win the fourth with a par.  Number five was halved with bogies and six, seven and eight with pars.  Then the fun began as the contestants would trade wins over the next 27 holes.

Carter would win the ninth with a par 4 and take a one up lead when Jim's approach to a back right pin bounced over the green into the back bunker.  The tenth was halved with par 4's. Jim won eleven  to even up the match with a birdie 4 with a nice up and down from 90 yards.  Carter made a beautiful 10 foot par save on twelve to halve the hole with 4's.  Jim inexplicably missed a three foot par save on 13 to give Carter the one up lead.  But, Jim fired back with a forty foot birdie at fourteen and when Carter missed his own three footer on fifteen Jim regained the lead one up. Carter won sixteen, Jim won seventeen and when Carter birdied eighteen the match was right back to it had started 3 1/2 hours earlier, all square.

The afternoon eighteen on the East Course opened with poor drives by both players.  Jim's was more troublesome as he hit a hard snap hook.  He managed a fine, long punch shot through the trees to 120 yards, wedged to fifteen feet and buried the putt.  We've seen that movie before haven't we?  Carter missed his own ten foot par save and Jim took a one up lead.

Carter charged back on number two when his approach to tough back right pin finished four feet from the hole and he converted for birdie.  He followed that up with a very fine tee shot to eight feet for a rare birdie 2 on the third. Both of these birdies countered Jim's fine scrambling skills as he had set up par saves from the fairway bunker on the second and the left bunker at number three.  The lead was now one up, Carter Lucas.

Jim won the fourth when Carter could not get down in two from just off the front of the green to a back middle pin.  On the fifth we got a glimpse of the "old", "lucky" Jim Mason.  Old as in ten years ago old.  Jim's tee shot was hit solid but hooking into the trees.  Somehow it only grazed a branch which redirected the ball back on line and into the fairway without losing any real distance.  Jim failed to capitalize on his good fortune when both he and Carter missed the green and only Carter could save par.

At the sixth Carter fanned his tee shot but it just carried the right hand bunker and kicked left to set up a four foot birdie attempt.  Jim followed with a shot that missed going in by inches and rolled to the back of the green.  After Jim's birdie effort slid by it seemed ordained Carter would take the first two up lead of the day.  Fate shined on Jim as Carter pushed his putt and failed to convert.  The sixth was tied and thus ended an eleven hole stretch of where one of the finalists had come out on top.

The boredom of a halved hole didn't last long as Jim's tee shot on the seventh found Allen's Creek.  Carter took advantage with a safe tee shot and approach to take the lead two up. Through twenty five holes neither contender had held a one up lead for more than two holes so Carter's two up lead had to be worrisome to Jim.

Both players hit poor tee shots at number eight. With Jim almost on Chapin Way he looked to be in the tougher position.  Carter's approach from the left rough was poorly struck and finished in the front right bunker.  With a back left pin a par save was no sure thing.  Somehow (OK, really, as I said before we've seen this movie so "somehow" sounds pretty weak.  As sat in my cart I told my daughter , "Jim 's got thsi shot" but he still had to hit it, he did, of course) Jim punched it under, around and through the trees and his balled trickled onto the front of the green.  Carter could not negotiate his long bunker shot and Jim two-putted from fifty feet to halve Carter's lead.

Jim's drive on number nine found the left rough but he managed (managed? really? shouldn't I just say "skilfully" or "expertly judged" by now) to run his 190 yard approach onto the green. When Carter short sided himself from 180 yards and could not save par the match was all square after 27 holes.

Jim gave it right back at number ten when he failed to make par from the fairway.  Both players made fine 8-10 foot par putts on the eleventh. At number twelve things began to change.  Carter snap-hooked his tee shot and was forced to lay up.  Jim's tee ball found the first cut but also an old divot.  His approach went long but left a relatively simple  downhill chip that he failed to negotiate and Jim carded a bogey.  Carter's wedge from 60 yards had finished 12 feet above the hole on the same line as Jim's putt and he now had an opportunity to win the hole and take another two-up lead. Carter misjudged the speed and then compounded his error by missing the 2 1/2 footer for the halve.  With six holes to go the match was all square.

This time Jim did not look back.  He took charge.  A fine approach at thirteen to a front right pin left him 10 feet uphill for a birdie which he made for a one up lead.  Jim looked ready to stretch it to two at fourteen as he left himself with another uphill 10 footer to a front left pin but just ran it by.  Number fifteen was halved with pars.

At the sixteenth Carter snapped another drive left while Jim flared one right.  Carter did a nice job escaping from the trees and finished 20 yards short of the green while Jim's approach finished in the rough on the outer lip of the left front bunker leaving a somewhat awkward shot.  Jim hit a fine chip to seven feet and saw the left edge snare his putt for a par save.  Carter missed his uphill six footer and suddenly the match would be on the line at seventeen.

At seventeen Carter again found the left rough off the tee.  His approach from 235 yards flared to the right and left him with a poor lie in the right rough where he took two shots to find the green. After finding the right rough off the tee Jim played conservatively and was laying four, four feet from the hole.  When Carter's 25 footer for five missed the hole Jim's putt was conceded and he was once again club champion.

It was a well played match between the two past champions.  As documented above it's been a long time since Jim played for the trophy. Carter deserves a great deal of credit for even being able to compete.  Early this spring he had surgery to remove a cyst on his wrist and didn't play a round of golf until the middle of August.  We might have played more rounds last week than Carter played all year!!  Nothing can be taken away from Jim's effort but nobody this side of Bruce Lietzke could have put his clubs down last September, picked them up on August 15 and competed n such a high level.  It's a credit to Carter's natural ability  and desire to win that he even made it to the finals.

Congratulations.  It's been ten years of hard work and frustration.  But talent, a positive attitude and a trip or two to the Cape just to get away from it all finally paid off.  Yes, many things have changed over ten years but others remain constant.  When Jim makes it to the finals; his record?  4 - 0.

Match Summary:

Holes played - 35
Holes halved - 11
Holes won - 24

Lead Changes - 9

Holes in lead, Carter Lucas - 11
Holes in lead,  Jim Mason - 8

Blue vs. Gold

Well, today was the dreaded? day.  August 12, 2010 fifty years from the day I was born.  The only way to celebrate would be to play golf. Unfortunately, this is men's invitational week at OHCC.  Of course the East course was closed and the front nine of the West was closed since there was a shotgun start for four groups (yes, please read heavy sarcasm into that last comment).

That left the back nine of the West open until 10:30AM. So, how to make lemonade out of lemons?  The first annual Blue vs. Gold challenge pitting 49-year old John Schantz (YJS) playing from the championship tees vs. 50-year old John Schantz (OJS) playing from the gold tees.

OJS got off to a rough start as he failed to make par from 100yds out while YJS rifled a 6-iron through the trees from almost the first fairway to 12 feet for a 2-putt par.  Both players parred the next two holes.  The 13th provided OJS with a 100 yd. advantage off the tee but the old man could not capitalize.  YJS managed to get up and down from 75 yds for par while OJS's 75 yd approach fell short.  Another poor chip and missed put gave the youngster a 2 stroke advantage.

At the 14th YJS left his tee shot a few yards short of the green to a back left pin and a poor chip left 15 feet for par.  Meanwhile OJS put a 6-iron in the middle of the green and holed the 30 footer for birdie.  It was looking like there would be a 2-stroke swing but the kid drilled the par save and still held the lead.

The 15th provided another big advantage off the tee.  Playing from 17 East YJS nailed a solid drive but was still left with 188 to the flag.  OJS also hit it well and was left with 75 yds.  Both players hit the green but neither could convert the birdie try.

At the 16th the youngster got up and down from 40 yards while the old man could not covert from 30 feet and both players carded 4's.  At 17 YJ hit a reasonable hybrid just short of the green.  Feeling the pressure of coming from behind the old fool laid the sod over his tee shot from 140 yds.  Adding to his misery the newly minted 50 year old displayed a failing short game and could not get up and down for 3.  YJ lined up his 4 foot par putt to but missed.  Was he feeling advancing age as well?

Off to the 18th and final hole. YJ's drive left him 203 to the pin while OJ had only 125.  Unfortunately for the old guy the YJ was up to the task putting his 3-hybrid approach in the center of the green.  Both players made 4 and the match ended with the young man knocking off his older counterpart 36 to 37.

After the round YJ was quoted as saying "The old guy was lucky this was only a nine holer.  He was starting to get tired and I would have buried him on the next nine".  OJ countered with "What did you expect.  The young rascal dragged me out of bed at 5:30 AM and wouldn't even let me go through my stretching routine.  What does he think I am 48?"

Does this mean I get to be 49 for another year?  I'm looking forward to playing my 51-year old self next year.

HALL-mighty Good

The RDGA Championship John H. Ryan, Jr. Memorial was held on Oak Hill's West Course July 14 - July 17 and 15-year old local phenom Gavin Hall demolished the field of local golfers.  With rounds of 65-65-68-73 Mr. Hall finished at 13 under 271 and won championship by an astounding 18 shots. The win marked Mr. Hall's second straight Ryan championship.  Hall also carded the lowest round each day, except for the final round where Oak Hill's Andrew Kay shot 72.

Two rounds of 65?  At 15? In a tournament? I guess he can play.  This against a field that included reigning NYS Amateur Champ and Duke bound Yarik Merkulov who recently returned from representing the USA at the Toyota Junior World Cup.  Also in the field; Auburn golfer Dominic Bozzelli who just won the prestigous Eastern Amateur Championship with a final round 64 and  265 total.

The crew was well represented with Jim Mason, Brad McAreavy, John Schantz, Shawn Baker, Mike LaBue and the aforementioned Andrew Kay all qualifying for the championship.  Sadly, none of us (except for AK) were able to make the cut which fell at 154.   

At last notice Mr. Baker has put his clubs in short term storage and was considering quitting the game.  Dr. Mason was last seen heading for Cape Cod.  Mike LaBue was having a Vodka and tonic (with an orange, not a lemon) and Brad was scheduling games for the next month.  

I attempted quitting as well.  However, with a golf course in my back yard it's a rather difficult task (especially with new irons in the bag).  So my self proclaimed exile lasted all of 24 hours.  I played, miserably, on Saturday and saw my psychologist (Dr. Harmon) on Sunday.  While waiting for my game to return I will continue to refine my top ten list of reasons why golf sucks and skiing doesn't.

Golf Sucks, Skiing Doesn't

Top ten reasons golf sucks and skiing doesn't:

10. When I'm 80 I'll still be able to ski.  Golf will probably hurt too much.

  9. Gate training is more fun than beating balls on the range.

  8. Skiing in the rain is better than you would think.  Golfing in the rain is not.

  7. There's no such thing as a powder day in golf.

  6. You can ski race twice a week all winter for a few hundred $$.  Most golf tournaments cost a few hundred $$....... each    

  5. An un-groomed mountain is a challenge while an un-groomed golf course is just no fun.

  4. I'm never grumpy of the ski slopes

  3. You can ski at night

  2. The first day of skiing is better than the first month of golf

..................And the number one reason golf sucks and skiing doesn't:

Unlike golf , Never, EVER do you want to quit skiing in the middle of the season.

Oops, I Did it Again.....For the 7th Time

For the second time in a year we walked to a par 3, this time #6 East.  For the second time a certain someone said "That's a hole-in-one pin", this time 132 yards to a front left position.  For the second time he was last player to hit. And for the seventh time in his career he holed it.  Nice shot, Jim Mason, a little punch draw 8 iron into the breeze.