Men’s Day – March 27th

The team of Jim Stamatis, Bruce Partridge, Don Coolidge and Ron Dobkin conquered the course to win first place in the last Men’s Day of March. Joel Temple, Howard Garr, Dennis Kildare and Jim Gabriel were two strokes behind.

Joel Temple went low again with a 74 and Bob Proebstle was right on his heals posting a 75. Low net honors went to Dennis Kildare with a 1,200-to-1 round of net 61. Bruce Partridge finished second with a net 65.

Tom Long and Dave McKelvey claimed the only gross skins and split $320. McKelvey shared four net skins with George Stelmach, Doug Dewar and Bruce Plankinton.

Within the Kildare Group, Stamatis, Partridge, Coolidge and Dobkin took home the honors again. Here are the complete results.

2nd Annual Gainey Ranch Walk – April 14th, 2013

The Walk for Hunger event is a 3- mile walk to help raise awareness  about hunger among children in Arizona and the amazing services provided by St. Mary’s Food Bank. The event takes place on April 14th at the Gainey Golf Club.

St. Mary’s Food Bank can stretch $1 to provide 7 meals to those in need.

Help us reach our goal of providing 250,000 meals this year!

Donations of $100+ includes an invitation for a behind-the-scenes tour and lunch at St. Mary’s Food Bank.

To register for the event, please click here.

Donations made to St Mary’s Food Bank qualify for the “Arizona Working Poor Tax Credit” up to $400, in addition to your allowable federal charitable deduction. For more information:  http://www.azdor.gov/TaxCredits/WorkingPoorTaxCredit.aspx

Thank you and we look forward to seeing you at the Walk for Hunger on April 14th. Please meet at the address below. Check-in begins at 7:00 a.m. at the Golf Club Entrance and the walk will begin at 8:00 a.m.

7600 E. Gainey Club Drive, Scottsdale, AZ 85258

2013 Ryder Cup – That’s a Wrap

The 2013 Gainey Ranch Ryder Cup competition was spirited and exciting. It was marked by some miraculous shots, great weather, a course in excellent condition and the biggest field ever. Six fourteen man teams fought it out, but when the last ball rolled in, Team Italy proved to be the dominant force in the field. Kurt Saulnier captained the Italian team with Gary Anzalone, Andy Anderson, Sandy Wiener, Mike Nichols, Greg Luce, George Lahood, Howard Garr, Dan Hourihan, Al Rivard, Tom Hansen, Ron Dobkin, Jim Woods and Nick De Santis. They were unbeatable as they ran away from the field with 231½ points. The second place team, Team USA, captained by John Herold was 19 points back. Team Spain with Rick Brown at the helm fell from second to third place on the last day finishing 21½ points behind the leaders. Tournament photos.

Perhaps the shot of the tournament came from Gene Kloeckner. When playing Team Canada, Kloeckner watched as his opponent’s tee shot on #6 Arroyo rolled toward the hole and came to rest for an easy birdie putt. Kloeckner hooked his ball hard left. It came to rest amidst the bushes next to the wall marking the course boundary. It sat precariously in the rocks. At that point in time, no rational human being would have given Team Ireland a ghost’s chance in hell of salvaging the hole.

Were it not for the fact that Gene had to hit the ball off of the rocks from out of the bushes, it wouldn’t have been a tough shot. Well except that it had to clear the cart path and the cavernous sand trap that guarded the green and somehow land in a small patch of rough well above the hole that would slow it down enough to keep it out of the lake that awaited errant shots just past the hole. Still, it would have been a relatively easy shot for Phil Mickelson (if he had 500 balls) or perhaps makeable by the ghost of Sam Snead or Byron Nelson. True that Kloeckner had almost no green to work with, but at least it was fast, severely breaking toward the water and very much downhill.

So naturally, Gene somehow managed to chip the ball 30 yards over the trap and into the hole for birdie. Team Canada made its birdie so the hole was halved, however, Team Ireland won the mental match right there.

Maybe no shot matched Kloeckner’s, but there were stories galore of heroic performances and putts that found the hole from a different time zone. A great tournament indeed.

There was a profound impact on the Gainey Cup standings. With one event remaining Jim Woods has moved to the top of the list. You can see the complete results here.

Golfing on the Dark Side of the Moon – Friday, March 15th

Gainey Ranch Golf Club was a veritable hotbed Friday with a full house on all three nines. Kansans ran loose like feral cats. The usual mix of Friday golf groups filled in the cracks and crannies of every hole. My first impression upon arriving at Gainey was that a fraternity had decided to pull a prank to see how many cars could be squeezed into a few acres of parking lot. Foursomes followed fivesomes. Golfers were so numerous that even Jim Stewart had to wait on most holes.

The Kildare Group was forced to break into two separate (but equal) groups; one played Dunes/Arroyo, the other Arroyo/Lakes. Twenty eight players fought for the prizes. The golf management program rumbled and groaned as it tried to evaluate results from such a large group broken into a variety of contests. But when the dust had settled, the team of Bruce Partridge, Tom Hansen, Dennis Kildare, Jim Stewart and Nick De Santis came out on top in one match. Howard Garr, Mike Sheehan, Ken Vlah, Mike Forde and Bryan Noonan took the prize in the other match.

Skins were abundant, but lucrative. Joel “Darth” Temple won a pair. Tom Hansen, Jim Stewart and Bruce Partridge took home one each. In the parallel match, Ken Vlah grabbed two and Howard Garr, Jim Speck, Dan Hourihan, Pat Collins and George Stelmach escaped with one a piece.

In the combined match, the cream rose to the top.

Gross

1. Bryan Noonan – 75
2. Joel Temple – 76
3. Rick May and Jay Yourk – 80

Net

1. Ken Vlah – 61
2. Joel Temple and Dennis Kildare – 66

See all scores here.

As most know, the Men’s Golf Association puts thousands of hours and tens of thousands of dollars every year into charities around Scottsdale. Following Friday’s match, some of the members revealed that they also help their own. Apparently, Howard Jones has been identified as a non-fashionista. Some of the boys chipped in to correct this and (as you can see) move him into the world of high golf fashion. No, this is not Steve Urkle; it is yours truly on the putting green, dressed to the nines and working on my stroke. The guys also chipped in to buy me a case of wine. They said it was to say thanks for all of the programming work done for the group, but I’m more inclined to believe it was intended to get me sufficiently toasted to wear my new wardrobe in public. We’ll see how that goes.

May the Force Be With You – Wednesday, March 13th

It’s not clear whether or not he’s channeling the spirit of Sam Sneed or he’s just possessed by some other-worldly power, but one thing is certain . . . Joel Temple is not playing like a mere mortal. I had the pleasure of being in his group Wednesday and watched as he finished with bogeys on the 16^th and 17^th hole and caught a bad break when his second shot on the par 5 last hole on the Lakes course landed on the green and proceeded to roll down the slope pin-high and into the water. He still shot par on the hole and finished with a gross 72. I don’t know what he had for breakfast, but I’m ordering a pallet full of it.

Bryan Noonan fired a 75 and finished three strokes back. Rick May logged a 77 for third place. Here are the complete results.

Gross Scores

1. Joel Temple – 72
2. Bryan Noonan – 75
3. Rick May – 77

Net Scores

1. Joel Temple – 62
2. Tom Hansen and Dennis Kildare – 65

In the Gainey Men’s Day results, the team of Rick May and Ron Dobkin tied Joel Temple and Tom Hansen, but won the scorecard playoff to take first place. Third place went Bryan Noonan and Jim Stewart three strokes behind the leaders. Scott Thompson and Jim Woods finished fourth followed by Garry Warner and Jim Skarlis. Sixth place was taken by Jay Yourk and Bernie Katchen.

Bryan Noonan and Rick May each carded an eagle on the day. The club’s computer was down so skins results weren’t available, but if natural eagles don’t bring home the bacon, someone must have left the door to the pen open.

Average score on the day for the 24 Kildare golfers was 86.9. The two toughest holes were the number one handicap holes on each of the two sides. Surprise.

2013 Member-Guest a Hard Fought Tournament

When the going got tough, the tough played the 2013 Member-Guest Tournament at Gainey Ranch Golf Club. Competitors from all over the nation converged on Scottsdale from March 7^th-9^th and chased the prize under cloudy skies, cold winds and a downpour that pummeled golfers and course alike. The Arroyos ran deep and playing conditions were brutal. The weather was so severe that while huddled in the member’s grill during a lightning delay, participants were plunged into darkness for an hour or two when the entire area lost power following a lightning strike.

A couple of very short videos are available (compliments of Raoul Encinas) that will give you some idea of the conditions on the course. Rick May goes wading. Nick Antonio gets hammered by the rain and sleet.

When all was said and done, the team of Joel Temple and Frank Miller prevailed. They defeated Rick Shock and Mike O’Connor in a dramatic chip-off on the eighteenth hole of the Lakes Course as temperatures chilled the bones of dozens of spectators. Guest, Frank Miller made his Michigan State Spartan friends proud when his chip across the water landed in the center of the green and curled toward the hole ensuring victory.

Flight winners and two “wild card” teams qualified for the exciting final round on the Lakes course. Raoul Encinas and his guest, Brian McGee were eliminated on #7 Lakes. Jim Stewart and his son, Chris Cuevas checked out on #8 Lakes. Dick Lockwood and his guest, Jayson Walker joined Mike Forde and guest, Phil Long as well as Ed Nafus and guest, Bob Drab in being eliminated on the earlier holes of the final round.

Despite being savaged by the weather, everyone seemed to have a great time. Competitors celebrated the final evening with another great dinner from Chef Jeff, one of the finest club chefs in Arizona. Dinner, dancing and partying with friends old and new highlighted the last night of the 2013 Member-Guest.

You can see images of the Awards Dinner here.