The British are Coming, the British are Coming!!!

In a performance more worthy of a green jacket than a red coat, Laurence Rosen obliterated records Wednesday when he fired a lifetime personal best 74 for a net 58 on the challenging Arroyo/Lakes course combo at Gainey Ranch. I had the pleasure of playing in his group and watched as everything that went right went very right. Everything that went wrong went right. I still have never seen Laurence turn left.

He actually had a little wobble or two and finished bogey-bogey. He could have easily finished with a net 56, but still fired a round for the record book. Since monitoring golf scores in the Jones Golf Management program, thousands of rounds have been recorded and analyzed. Laurence’s round is the lowest net score posted. There have only been four other scores of 60 or better.  This is the first 58.

Even more amazing is the fact that in the thousands of rounds analyzed, there have only been two where the USGA odds were greater than 2,500 to one. Laurence’s round fell in the 14,000 to one range. It was truly a miraculous effort.

Meanwhile, back with the normal human golfers, the Men’s Day Honors went to the team of Howard Jones, Jim Stamatis, Mike Forde and (surprise) Laurence Rosen. They just edged out the team of Drew Price, Darryl Johnson and Jim Gabriel. They probably fell to second place because they had a draw that was apparently blind. Ted Akiba, Don Donovan, Dale Fitzhenry and another blind draw took third. Dan Zinda, Jim Maxwell, Gary Graham and Gerry Hall finished fourth after winning a scorecard playoff.

Drew Price turned in a fine score of 70 to take the low gross honors. Four gross skins were shared by John Herold, Sandy Wiener, Mike Wentrup and (surprise again) Laurence Rosen. Five net skins split between  Ted Akiba, Buddy Stein, Wiener, Wentrup and Rosen.

Those entertained by statistics may find it interesting to note that although Rosen’s team finished first in the overall Men’ Day tournament, it only managed second place within the Kildare group’s event. How is that possible? It seems a team in need of a blind draw picked the lucky name and edged out Rosen’s team. Tuppence for the poor.

And the Good Book Says . . .

Here’s what the good book says . . .

The purpose of the USGA Handicap System is to make the game of golf more enjoyable by enabling players of differing abilities to compete on an equitable basis.

OK, fair enough. Most of us agree that it usually works out pretty well. However, it works well if and only if everyone plays by the rules. Otherwise, the system falls apart. The good book also makes it clear the system will work only if everyone lives up to his or her individual responsibility. In Part 1, Section 1 of the USGA Handicap System manual, it is stated:

Two basic premises underlie the USGA Handicap System, namely that each player will try to make the best score at every hole in every round, regardless of where the round is played, and that the player will post every acceptable round for peer review. The player and the player’s Handicap Committee have joint responsibility for adhering to the premises.

There you have it. The system breaks down if you don’t live up to its tenets.

To summarize the issue . . . It is YOUR responsibility to make CERTAIN your scores are posted and posted CORRECTLY. It is the Handicap Committee’s responsibility to oversee matters and make certain the system is being used correctly.

The Gainey Ranch Golf Club’s Handicap Committee is attempting to be a little more pro-active in monitoring handicaps. If your record is “reviewed”, it doesn’t mean someone thinks you’re not playing by the rules. Neither does it mean someone does think you’re playing by the rules. It simply means your record is being reviewed. The review may have been triggered by an unusually strong performance. It may be a result of a complaint. It may have come as a result a statistical flag being raised due to a combination of factors. Or it may come as a result of a random selection process. Your name may have been drawn from a hat.

The entire Board of Directors of the Men’s Golf Association is next in the hot seat. Each and every one of them will soon be reviewed. Few things would make me happier than to discover I was being reviewed as a result of performance that had been suspiciously strong, however, I fear that if I’m reviewed, the Committee will recommend increasing my handicap by a couple of sympathy strokes.

Remember to POST YOUR SCORES promptly and accurately. If the club will be posting, YOU are still responsible to make sure it has been done properly and promptly. If your “team captain” says he’ll post scores, YOU are ultimately responsible for the timeliness and accuracy of the posting. The buck stops with YOU.

Long Live the King – Club Champion Crowned.

 

All hail! Gainey Ranch Golf Club has crowned a new champion. After two hard fought days on a beautifully groomed course and 45 holes of challenging competition, Bryan Noonan conquered the field to take the prestigious title of Gainey Ranch Golf Club Champion for 2013. Bryan was strong and steady in his march to victory.

Senior Club Champion, John Herold

Congratulations also go to John Herold, the 2013 Gainey Ranch Golf Club Senior Champion.

A tip of the hat to the following individual flight winners as well – Dennis Kildare, Ted Akiba, Dave Inman, John Suarez and Bob Kenkel. We saw some spectacular golf from the biggest field the club as experienced for its championship.

The first annual Gainey Cup was awarded to Dave Inman. We salute him and all the other participants in what proved to be a great Club Championship.

You can peruse pictures from the two days by clicking here. Many of the photos are of framing quality. If anyone would like a wall ready format of any of the pictures, drop me an email at howard.jones@svTempest.com.

Men’s Day – April 10th

John Herold tees off with Bob Kenkel standing by

It was a hard fought match on the Arroyo/Lakes course Wednesday. When the dust settled, the team of Dennis Kildare, Mike Wentrup, Rick May and Ron Dobkin walked away with the prize with a two-best balls score of 24 under par 120. A number of teams were right on their heels and Russ Maring, Steve Danovic, John Deery and Gene “the chipper” Kloeckner emerged victorious from a scorecard playoff with the team of Don Coolidge, Dave Inman, Bruce Partridge and Jim Woods. They finished one stroke back at 121.

John Herold took home low gross honors with a 73. Al Cozzi fired a net 62 to win the net division.

Low Gross

1. John Herold – 73
2. Rick May – 74
3. Garry Warner and Alex Currie – 75
4. Jay Yourk – 76

Low Net

1. Al Cozzi – 62
2. Bob Blanford and Steve Loeb – 65
3. Greg Luce and Ed Nafus – 66

Gross skins were split between Bob Kenkel, Dan Hellman, John Melletta and Laurence Rosen. Mike Matz, Dan Hellman, John Melletta, Laurence Rosen and Greg Luce laid claim to the five net skins.

In the Kildare Group, Kildare, Wentrup, May and Dobkin also claimed first prize. Second place went to the team of Coolidge, Inman, Partridge and Woods.

The course remains in great shape and scores tended to be a touch lower than normal. Many golfers are primed for the Club Championship which begins Friday the 12^th of April. Good luck to all participants.