Meet Loren Molever

Loren Molever

Loren is another one of “those” people. That’s right; he too is an attorney. He earned his Doctorate of Jurisprudence from Arizona State University/Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law. With that said, what could be more logical than to conclude he earned his Bachelor of Science in television production. Well, probably most anything would be more logical, but it is true. Loren actually worked for CBS Sports/PGA Tour.

Now, if you think that’s funny, there’s probably a good reason. Loren is funny! Few know that he has performed a number of professional stand-up comedy gigs. And if you think that’s funny, you should see him try to sink a three foot putt.

Loren tees it up in Mexico

Loren moved to Arizona from Pittsburgh with his parents in the sixties and has been practicing business law in the Valley for the past thirty-one years. He’s a golf and baseball junkie. With ties to the television world and comedy, he has a keen appreciation for the Dick Van Dyke show as well as for Seinfeld.

He has two adult sons, one – an attorney, the other – a professional musician. He enjoys visiting places like Italy, the Caribbean, Hawaii and Mexico. He’s an absolute blast to play golf with and can sometimes hit the ball like hell. Other times, he hits the ball like hell. When you’re paired with Loren, his razor sharp wit makes it a ball no matter how well or how poorly you score. It’s just plain fun. Say hello to Loren Molever.

Who’s That Knocking at My Door

Bailey Ogrin – so good he does it with his eyes closed

Friday’s match proved to be eventful to say the least. Bailey Ogrin continued to play the best golf of his life carding a gross 66 from the back tees on the Lakes/Dunes course. Bailey had one blemish on his scorecard, a bogey on #4 Dunes. But he beat that bogey into the background with seven birdies on the other seventeen holes. His score was in the 2,000-to-1 odds range. It seems he just keeps getting better.

Bailey’s partners, George Stelmach and Mike Forde played respectably, but for the most part, they were the gallery for the Ogrin Show. The team finished in first place putting eight strokes between them and an otherwise tightly packed field. With the 301.7 points he earned, Ogrin is now knocking on the door for first place in the Inferno Cup rankings barely 130 points behind yours truly. It doesn’t seem quite fair that I’m on a little mini-tour of Northern California promoting my latest book, “How to Cheat in Golf” and Bailey’s taking advantage of my absence. I was actually on San Francisco television Tuesday, but if I would have heard Bailey’s footsteps, I would have cut the interview short and headed back to the course. I’m packing my bags now, but unfortunately Bailey’s playing again today in the Saturday Green.

Low Gross

1. Bailey Ogrin – 66
2. Mike Nichols – 77
3. Brian Dunigan, Harold Hoeg and Ron Mercier – 78

Low Net

1. Ron Dobkin and Bailey Ogrin – 64
2. Jim Gabriel – 68

Looking at some of the scorecards from Friday makes me wonder of the course wasn’t haunted with golf demons (daemons for Lawrence Rosen and his fellow Brits) invisibly grabbing club heads at the top of backswings. Under normal circumstances, one or two players end up with posting adjustments per the USGA’s “equitable stroke control”. However, nearly one quarter of the twenty-five player field were compelled to adjust due to blow-up holes. One unnamed player took a twelve on #3 Lakes. I trust water came into play. Another competitor racked up a double-digit score on #5 Lakes. He settled down and had nothing worse than an eight after that – albeit two of them. Another normally consistent player posted multiple eights. Another scored a ten on #6 Dunes. If things don’t improve, we may see one of the disaster trucks that are ubiquitous in Napa right now parked in the Gainey Ranch parking lot. There were twenty-five triple-bogeys or worse Friday. Eballa virus?

Dobkin and Hourihan Rise to the Top

Dobkin cards a 79

With one month left in the Inferno Cup competition, Ron Dobkin and Dan Hourihan made big moves Wednesday by taking first place in a nine team event. They each picked up 286.5 points. The victory moved Hourihan into sixth place in the standing while Dobkin jumped into the top twenty. Marty Howe and George Stelmach captured second place while Brian Dunigan and Phil Graham edged Pat Collins and Bruce Partridge in a scorecard playoff for third.

The star of the show Wednesday was Ron Dobkin. He posted a 79 (net 61), a 300-to-1 odds round for Ron. Hourihan’s round was a 20-to-1 performance. It’s no wonder they captured first place.

Low Net

1. Ron Dobkin – 61
2. Skyler Irvine – 66
3. Dan Hourihan – 67

Low Gross

1. Brian Dunigan and Mike Nichols – 74
2. Ron Dobkin and Bailey Ogrin – 79

One of many damaged buildings in Napa following a 6.0 earthquake

On an unrelated, but related note . . . I’m teeing it up at Sonoma Country Club in a couple of hours. I had lunch yesterday in Napa, California, just a few minutes east of here. It you think your day has been bad because you missed a couple of putts (or you’re Jim Gabriel and missed a lot of them), consider yourself fortunate. Some of the people of Napa are having a much worse day. Everything is relative isn’t it?

Meet Jose Leon

But first, I must warn you. He’s one of “those” people. There are some who say they contribute to our society, but others question that claim. They’re known to lurk in the shadows of American towns. They speak a language that isn’t always understood by mainstream Americans. That’s right – Jose Leon is an attorney.

Jose is a rising star in the Arizona legal community. He heads Leon Law, PLLC. He’s another of our Sun Devils having graduated from Arizona State University and the Phoenix School of Law. Jose and his wife, Erin, have two children, three year old Viviana and six month old Marco Weston.

Born in Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico, Jose is the son of a successful agriculture and produce businessman. Arguably, he can say he is successful because of potatoes. (Even his kids call him “papa”!) That was the family’s main product. Jose’s parents felt his opportunities for success would be greater if he lived in the United States. They had a business in Nogales, Arizona and Jose grew up there.

His favorite travel destination is Coronado Island in San Diego, California. He tries to take the family there a couple times every year. His favorite sport is football! Or as it is more commonly called, futbol. This is not to be confused with that sissy sport of American football where everything is padded and most of the player’s time is spent in a team meeting called the “huddle” or waiting for the commercial to end. You may call it soccer, a competition where they run nearly continuously for an hour and a half without padding kicking each other with reckless abandon. Jose also enjoys watching the NFL games, but prefers Real Madrid for real excitement.

Jose is an immense pleasure to be around. He’s a strong competitor, but easy going and relaxed in his manner. You couldn’t ask for a more pleasant golfing partner. Like so many of us, he enjoys playing golf because it offers a challenge while giving us the opportunity to enjoy the outdoors. He says, “It is a calming environment (if you don’t let your performance get to you)!” That pretty well sums it up for most of us. Say hey to Jose someday soon. He’s a great addition to our club.

Meet the Elephant in the Room – His Name is Bailey

Bailey belts it.

The Saturday Green group had one particular golfer that was substantially larger than all the others. If not in stature, he still stood head and shoulders above the field. Bailey Ogrin had a rocky start bogeying the #2 Arroyo hole. When he stood on the fifth tee box, he was still one over par. And then the elephant charged. He proceeded to birdie five of the next seven holes and closed out his round with an eagle on the final hole. Bailey scorched the course with a gross 67.

The Inferno Cup match format was an individual best ball where the back nine counted double. In that Bailey shot 33 on the front and completely fell apart on the back ballooning to a 34, he barely hung on to edge out his closest competitor by only seven strokes. Obviously, it was Bailey Ogrin Day at Gainey Ranch. Super performance!

There was a three way tie for second place between Marty Howe, Jon Gruenhagen and James Wexler. The scorecard playoff went Jonny G’s way and he took home more than 200 Cup points. Wexler edged Howe for third. Wexler moved up another spot into ninth place. Ogrin’s now knocking on the door for the number one spot.

Low Gross

1. Bailey Ogrin – 67
2. Mike Miller – 80
3. Rick Hurula and Bill Petsas – 82

Low Net

1. Bailey Ogrin – 65
2. Marty Howe and James Wexler – 69

Speaking of outstanding performances. . . Congratulations to our own Dave Yarns. He carded with a 67 Saturday to finish fourth in the Arizona Open golf tournament put on by the PGA Southwest Section. The event took place over three days at Troon Country Club. I’ve had the pleasure of golfing with Dave in the past and when I see his swing, I can only wonder why he hasn’t been nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in poetry. It’s a swing designed in heaven (where Dave finished in a second place tie).

TGIF or So Sayeth Forde, Nichols and Wexler

Mike Forde in 1976

It was an intensely competitive match Friday with each four man team needing its best gross ball and its best net ball to settle the score. A mere two strokes separated the fourth place team from the first place team. Mike Forde, Mike Nichols and James Wexler took down Ken Vlah, Kris Rosser, Dan Hourihan and Scott Hull with a gross birdie and a net birdie on the last hole to win a scorecard playoff. Forde played well shooting net 68. The second place team was led by Ken Vlah with a net 65.

The Inferno Cup leaderboard has been crowned with the name of Howard Jones for the past month, but his insurmountable lead appears to be morphing into a very surmountable one. Friday’s victory moved Wexler back into the top ten and moved Nichols into third place. Bailey Ogrin’s team grabbed third place and he strengthened his second place position as he takes aim at Jones.

Ken Vlah fired net 65

Low Net

1. Ken Vlah – 65
2. Mike Forde – 68
3. James Wexler – 69

Low Gross

1. Bailey Ogrin – 74
2. Kris Rosser and Mike Nichols – 76

The Arroyo/Lakes course was in good shape after all the rains. There was still a lot of water running in the arroyos, but the greens and fairways were generally in excellent condition. I’d comment on the condition of the rough, but I never missed a fairway. (You’ve got to lie a little bit just to stay in shape.) #7 Lakes retained its title of most frustrating challenge averaging nearly bogey-and-a-half. Perhaps the surprise hole on the day was #7 Arroyo. Normally it’s one of the easier holes on the course, but for some reason played at nearly bogey-and-a-quarter Friday. All I can figure is that guys were trying to stay hydrated and the men’s room was within sight. Perhaps their stances were affected by their bladders and they were hurrying their swings. The course coughed up one eagle Friday. Kris Rosser brought #5 Lakes to its knees with a solid three on the par five hole.

Now on the First Tee – Noah!

Wednesday’s Inferno Cup match was played with a cart-path only mandate and was restricted to a Lakes/Lakes venue. After the torrential rains of the past twenty-four hours, the Lakes course was the only one that could be found. And even then, parts of it remained hidden from view. The picture shows the bridge from the #8 Lakes green to the #9 tee box. Not a problem for the former intercollegiate swimmers in our group, but most thought it best to drive around behind the #9 Dunes green to traverse the high water.

Patrick Sheehan continued to play well and carried his team to victory and closer to the top of the Inferno Cup Standings. Sheehan, Jason Sample and Bruce Partridge literally slaughtered the field. The second, third, fourth and fifth place teams were separated by only two strokes. Sheehan, Partridge and Sample finished twelve strokes in front of the second place team. A check of the pencil on their cart showed it had no eraser left, but with Sheehan’s gross 77 and Partridge’s net 64, it’s no wonder their win was resounding.

Bailey Ogrin finished only two strokes over par with a 74 and recorded three birdies. For that performance, he won no skins. Kris Rosser had four birdies on the back nine alone and walked home with only two skins. Howard Jones bagged three birdies and if he had putted with his eyes open would have had many more. He earned a pair of skins.

You boys that are out of town hiding in Canada, Minnesota, Washington and those other places where mosquitos make the cover of the Boone and Crockett magazine are missing some good golf. Temperatures here are in the upper seventies and the humidity is running 20%. (OK, I’m lying about the temperatures.)

We had so much water on the course that the hazards were overflowing their banks. The geese were wearing life-jackets (and staying way past their visa limits).

Low Gross

1. Kris Rosser – 72
2. Bailey Ogrin – 74
3. Patrick Sheehan – 77

Low Net

1. Bruce Partridge – 63
2. Patrick Sheehan – 66
3. Kris Rosser – 68

Please be sure to make your selection on the current web survey question in the right hand panel on the website (www.GaineyGolf.org). Although this survey is not done by the MGA or its Directors, I’m sure the leadership of the MGA is always interested in knowing your opinions on such issues. Without your comments, they wouldn’t have a good feel for what makes you happy and that’s their number one goal. There are fundamentally three answers to the question – (1) I care, (2) I care for them and (3) I don’t give a damn. Weigh in.

Meet Matt Bintzler

It seems almost silly to introduce Matt Bintzler. After all, he is the guy that adopted the “take no prisoners” approach to golf over the past couple of days and jumped from near obscurity into contention for the 2014 Inferno Cup. But just in case you’ve been in a cave or simply didn’t survive his onslaught, allow me to introduce him.

Matt is another one of the “young guns” at Gainey Ranch. He is a pleasure to be around, a delight to golf with and passes out smiles like the widow on the corner passes out candy bars on Halloween night. (They tell me the widow doesn’t do that anymore, but she certainly used to when I was a kid and the buck stopped with Truman.) Matt hits a golf ball so far off the tee he has to dip it in salt to preserve it until he can get to it.

Matt is single, but is frequently seen decorated with his main squeeze Annie. She’s such a doll, she’s forced to carry an aerosol can of “anti-wolf” spray when she meets Matt in the Member’s Grill after golf.

Technically, Matt is an Arizona native. He was born on Luke Air Force Base. However, he left Arizona when he was a small child. His father went to work for Presidents Reagan and George “the elder” Bush in Washington. Matt probably has “a file” on half the members at the club.

Arizona State University to proud to claim Matt as an alum. He earned his Bachelor’s, Masters of Business Administration and his Masters of Science Information Management at Sun Devil U. He is currently the Manager of Web and Mobile Development at Honeywell Aerospace. He is also the I.T. User Experience Manager.

Matt is not without flaw. He is an avid Green Packer fan and has actually been known to travel to Green Bay for the games. There’s counseling for that, but Matt’s still young and may grow out of it. His favorite baseball team is the Baltimore Orioles. The Phoenix Suns is his favorite basketball team. He likes the Packers and the Sun Devils. He didn’t mention his favorite golfer, but he seems pretty smart. I’m sure it’s me.

Tip your hat to Matt Bintzler. He’s a great addition to the group.

Bintzler Brings Home the Bacon

Matt Bintzler Wins Big

When you’re hot, you’re hot! What more can be said? Matt Bintzler’s had a couple of days where he has ravaged the field. When Matt teed off Friday afternoon, he was in seventeenth place with 1,447.9 Inferno Cup points. By noon Saturday, he had lunged into seventh place with 2,052.7 points barely eighteen points behind Kris Rosser in sixth place.

Bintzler started his assault Friday by capturing 232.2 points with a second place finish along with Brian Dunigan and Mike Forde. They missed first place by only one stroke behind the team of Mike Miller, Dan Hourihan and Bruce Partridge. Partridge carried the day by carding a gross 86 from the championship tees. It’s a good thing the club suspended the operation of the Handicap Committee. It removed the catch limit on this fishing season.

Mr. Bintzler returned to the field of play Saturday to shoot a net 64 to beat the field by two strokes and earn 372.6 additional points toward the 2014 Inferno Cup. Rick Hurula who has also been on fire recently took second place and moved into the twelfth spot in the standings. Two weeks ago, he was in twenty-second place. Gary Graham tied Rickie Currens for third place, but Currens lost the scorecard playoff.

Here are the complete match results for both Friday and Saturday.

Friday

Low Gross

1. Bailey Ogrin – 72
2. Mike Nichols – 75
3. Harold Hoeg – 76

Low Net

1. Bruce Partridge – 65
2. Jim Gabriel and Tom Hansen – 67

Saturday

Low Gross

1. Bailey Ogrin – 71
2. Rick Hurula – 76
3. Matt Bintzler and Mike Nichols – 77

Low Net

1. Matt Bintzler – 64
2. Rick Hurula – 66
3. Rickie Currens – 67

There are still seventeen Inferno Cup matches remaining to be played. To some, it looks like Jones’ lead is insurmountable. However, Jones will be out-of-town for at least three of those matches. After playing six more rounds than the next closest competitor has played (Dan Hourihan – 26), his threshold for points is so high it will be difficult to advance in the late stages of the competition. And Matt Bintzler proved today that with focus and a good swing, it’s possible to make monster moves overnight. Hang on – this is going to be a tight finish.

Lock Up the Gold. Here Come Sheehan and León.

Patrick Sheehan shoots 74

Patrick Sheehan and José León became the 32^nd and 33^rd Inferno Cup participants to claim first place in a Cup Event. Sheehan was hotter than the peppers Peter Piper ate. His 74 earned him not only low net honors (by five strokes), he also shared low gross with Harold Hoeg. León chipped in with a couple of net eagles and birdies when they were needed. Mike Nichols and his hit-man, Bruce Partridge finished in second place only two strokes back.

Sheehan’s performance earned him first place in the match, first place in the net category, first place in the gross category, first place in the skins category (he won two) and first place in the day’s Inferno Cup points category. Other than that, it was a rather routine day for Mr. Sheehan.

Low Net

1. Patrick Sheehan – 62
2. Mike Nichols – 67
3. Pat Collins, Dan Hourihan and Bruce Partridge – 68

Low Gross

1. Patrick Sheehan and Harold Hoeg – 74
2. Mike Nichols – 76

At the other end of the performance spectrum, Heard Broadrick played poorly because he was rattled over the passing of his old high school sweetheart, Lauren Bacall. Howard Jones played poorly because he has little or no golf ability. George Stelmach didn’t play his best because he had to watch Howard Jones’ swing. Ron Dobkin started poorly, but then fell apart. Bruce Partridge played poorly (unless his ball was required for the team score). The playing stats for the day are shown below.