2015 Season Round Up

#1 West Course, some new and old faces for 2015, L to R: Dave Fries, Brad McAreavy, Tim Saur, Phil Yawman, Jim Mason, Mark Mijangos, Keith Knight, Carter Lucas, John Schantz, Sean Flint (DECEMBER!! 24, 2015)

Some of the faces have changed over the years but the game continues....minus my weekly commentary.

Keith Knight warming up for the days festivities

Above photos courtesy of Jason Schantz

Here it is the season summary. This may not be a complete summary since it includes only games where I attended. But t should be most of them. 

Should we act surprised at who leads the list for the year? Even without the ace Jim Mason would be the leader (meanwhile Carter is mumbling something about how many club championship he owns).

And for all the grumbling about getting beat by Bernie Quinn, you might want to check the standings.

A few highlights of the season:

It was long: From October 25 - December 26, a total of 18 games were played. As you can tell from the pictures above shorts were worn on December 24th!!

Best Shot: Hole-in-One, Jim Mason #14 West, 214 yards, Driver

Best Fall: Colm Murphy, locker room stairs

Shortest Drive: Keith Knight, #2 West, about 30 yards

Long Ball

Keith Knight #2 West   (Nov 27, 2015)

Couldn't resist taking and posting this photo of Keith's bomb off #2 West. Haven't seen any drives like this since my days on #18 with 12 carryovers and being the only person getting a stroke. Not sure what Keith's excuse is!!

It Finally Happened

Jim Mason #14 West (November 2015)

Yes, it finally happened. We've been doing this for 20+ years and no one has had the elusive ace. We decided long ago if it ever happened it's 10 marks and an automatic loner.

So on a cold (low to mid 40's) November day and 10 players, Jim Mason stepped up to the tee on #14 West. The pin was back and of course we were playing from  the tips so it was 214 yards downhill. Jim chose driver, hit a low runner that landed short, ran 70 feet, hit the pin and dropped.

Brad McAreavy was quoted as saying "what a lucky shot". Which is true but Jim hit exactly the shot he was trying to hit. It takes a little skill to try and hit a drive 190 in the air and have it run out.

So the suspense is over and I suppose its fitting Jim is the one to do it. 10 Marks, automatic loner with a three hole carryover and 10 players made it a $117 shot.

Nantucket!!

John Schantz, Parker Soule, Griff Owen @ Nantucket Golf Club

Griff Owen, John Schantz @ Sankaty Head Lighthouse, Nantucket

After my thrilling USGA qualifying experience I traveled to Albany to try and qualify for the NYS Mid Am. The qualifier was a success but I washed out in the first round as most of my shots did not get airborne. Amazing how fast the good vibes can disappear.

However, it was a blessing in disguise as I was able to depart for Nantucket a few days earlier than hoped for. Good friend Griff Owen had invited me to visit. Having never been to the Cape or Nantucket I readily agreed.

We had fabulous weather and played two fine golf courses: Miacomet and Nantucket Golf Club. After all the recent tournaments it was fun to just go out and enjoy the day with no expectations. Funny how no expectations and a positive attitude leads to good golf. I had a fine 75 at Miacomet that was marred only by a bizarre triple bogey 7. I followed that up the next day with a special 1 under 71 at Nantucket GC.

While it was fantastic to score well it was more fun just being out on some great courses in a beautiful setting with a good friend. I've always wondered what it would be like to play some links style courses where you can play it on the ground or in the air. Turns out to be great fun.