An Interesting Experiment in Golf’s Laboratory

It was the boys against the girls Monday at Gainey Ranch. Two outstanding lady golfers challenged the men on the links. The men’s teams that beat the ladies split the pot. We were going to insist that those who failed to out-perform the ladies be obligated to wear a teddy and lace panties when golfing for the next month. This idea was dropped after learning that two of the guys already wear lace panties when golfing. Guess who they are.

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Carie Welsh and Beverly Mackey put on an impressive display of skill. Carie opened her round with back-to-back birdies on #1 and #2 Dunes. Finally, on #3 Dunes, Carie played a hole like a mortal, but Beverly stepped in with her own birdie and followed that with a tough 3 on Dunes #4. They had a gross best ball of twelve strokes after four holes. It’s tough to beat that with a stick even if you know how to swing it.

That pretty well summarized the story for the men. Out of twenty men playing on two-man teams, only two teams managed to beat the ladies. Bryan Noonan and Nick De Santis each turned in sold rounds for a first place finish. Rick May and Allan Rinzler managed to finish one stroke in front of the ladies, however, the other eight teams seemed to enjoy watching from behind. None were closer than eight strokes back. Here’s how they finished.

140 – Nick De Santis, Bryan Noonan ($100)

149 – Rick May, Allan Rinzler ($100)

150 – Beverly Mackey, Carie Welsh

158 – Jim Mantle, Raoul Encinas

159 – George Stelmach, Mike Forde

160 – Steve Bartha, Marwan Jalili

161 – Howard Jones, Jim Woods  (Won tie-breaker on hole #18)

161 – Bruce Partridge, Darryl Johnson

164 – Buddy Stein, Gary Reibman

165 – Russ Hagberg, Dan Hourihan

171 – Sandy Wiener, Jim Dolson

The $200 net skins pot was shared by Carie Welsh with three, Raoul Encinas with a pair and Jim Woods, Steve Bartha and Rick May taking one each. Bryan Noon shot the low gross round for the day with a 70 gross for a net 71. Carie Welsh carded a 67 for low net. She was followed by Mike Forde and Sandy Wiener with net 68s.

The experiment on the day didn’t end with the gender mixing. Each golfer was given the option to play from any set of tees as long as they were “U.S.G.A. rated” for his or her gender. We had scratch golfers playing from the forward tees and certified hackers (myself comes to mind) playing from the tips. The only caveat was that handicaps would be adjusted in strict accordance with U.S.G.A. rules. It was interesting to note that when the dust (and sand) had settled, there was no apparent correlation between chosen tees and net scores.

Presidents Day Double-Take

It looks so familiar. It’s almost as if I’ve seen this all before. [Cue the music] You’re entering . . .The Gainey Zone. The Presidents Day Tournament had a spectacular turnout with those on the waiting list only hoping to get into next year’s event.

They say lightning can’t strike the same place twice. Tell that to those that watched Dave Inman and Jim Stamatis walk away with another first place finish barely a week after their victory in the Member/Member tourney. They carded a 16 under par 56 to capture the men’s division title. Joel Temple and Bruce Partridge were right on their heels with a 57. Third place was shared by three teams. Scorecard play-offs settled the tie and third, fourth and fifth went respectively to Jim Gabriel and Dan Hourihan, Pat Collins and Howard Garr, and Dennis Kildare and Don Coolidge. The six and final “money place” went to the fine team of Howard Jones and Mike Forde clearly the class team of the field.

In the couples division, Dick and Jane Theissen played spotlessly to take the title. Don and Sue Thomas finished second. Duke Nguyen and Lien Le grabbed third place. Kwami Lassiter (super nice guy – should join the club) and Carie Welsh captured fourth beating Chris Balakas and Sandi Michalek in a scorecard playoff. The sixth spot went to Mike and Traci Tope.

The golfing stars must have been aligned because there were numerous chip-ins, long putts canned and otherwise amazing shots. I guess it could have just been because the tournament was played in [cue the music again] . . . The Gainey Zone.

A special thanks to our generous tournament sponsors: Tom and Barbara Holcombe, Bob and Mary Kay Stephens, Frank and Barbara Becker, Bruce and Marcia Plankinton, Rick and Gail Taylor.

2013 Member/Member Tournament in the Book

The 2013 Gainey Ranch Golf Club Member/Member tournament has been won by the team of Jim Stamatis and Dave Inman. Congratulations for an outstanding performance under difficult circumstances. They edged out the team of Gary Mattox and Jim Maxwell by just one stroke. Jim Stewart and Bob Proebstle finished third one stroke behind Mattox and Maxwell. Other than some excellent golf, it appeared the secret to winning was simply having someone named “Jim” our your team.

Dennis Kildare and Pat Collins grabbed fourth place, Rick “Go Green” Hurula and John Suarez finished fifth followed by the teams of Evan Carr and Kurt Saulnier, and Brian Laks and Sandy Wiener. Gary Anzalone and Dan Hellman tied the team of Alex Currie and Ed Nafus for eighth place.

A total of 39 teams braved cold weather and hot discussions. The victors were nowhere near the torrid pace of last year’s winners (Cap Brown and Dick Delano), but the weather drove scores much higher this year.

This year’s fashion kings were the usual suspects. Mike Steele always dresses for the camera. Steve King was just plain cool. Most others looked their best for the year’s big event. You can see hundreds of photos from the event by finding the “Tournament Pictures” link on the right hand side of the screen toward the bottom of the page. You can also cast your vote for the best dressed golfer in the red survey box in the upper right corner of the screen.