Friday, April 30, 2010

Saturday Morning Scramble Time

9am

Bits and Pieces

-TW looking off his feed down at Quail Hollow; nine off the lead after one day.  Jeesh.

-Ai Miyazato leading down in Mexico at Lorena's final (for the time being) tournament.  Michelle Wie close - had herself a pretty good day - an eagle to start, six birds, ten pars and a lone bogey.  Hurray!

-Here in our own backyard, lots of wind, plenty of bugs (bird food), and increasing heat.

-Scramble tomorrow will start at 9am, weather permitting.

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Thursday Match Play League Results Event 2

Results are posted here.  Leaders after the second event: Dave Brown and Ray Shaw in team competition; Ray Shaw in individual competition.  Hole prizes today: Rex Hudson at #7, Jack Lents at #8, and Wilma Bateman at #9.  Low Scores: Net - Dave Brown and Terry LaMar (32's).  Gross: Mike Bird, Junior Byron, Al Kavanaugh (38's).

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Thursday Match Play League Start Time

We start at 10am tomorrow but then at 9am for the rest of the season.

Tuesday Men - Notes on Event 2

Cool and windy weather, overcast skies, pin placement, and, for some, a belly full of doughnut, were some of the factors leading to the higher scores last night.  Average score for the group went from 43.25 to 44.63, a pretty significant jump when you throw in that we all were supposed to get rid of some of that winter rust the week before.  The wind coming in from four and six really held down good scores on those holes while pin placement, on bending points of the greens, had a deleterious effect on holes two, three and four for starters.  (I was seven strokes down through the fourth hole, routed by the course and the conditions.  Well, poor putting had something to do with it as well.)

Notes:

-Playing partner Mark Sherer turned in his second straight 41, having been manhandled by the first hole where he took an eight.  But, as with the shot from the sandtrap that went in the hole last week at #1, he got himself back in the game by chipping in for eagle at #2.  Six shot turnaround between holes - that's impressive.  (Do I remember someone getting a seven stroke turnaround a couple of years back?  After a triple bogey at six, an ace at seven?  Yup - Bob Gilley, playing with Don Lannan way back on April 10th of 2003, in the Fifty-Plus season opener.)

-Couple of new subs got their start in league play last night:  Walter Henrichsen shot a 36, two better then his handicap of three, while subbing for Warren Atkison.  Stan Graber shot a 44, two over his handicap, while subbing for Jack Divine.

-No birdies at #1 so no takers on the cart pass where birdies at one and two are required.  Odds on somebody doing it next week?

-Tyler Kidwell birdied #9 for the second week in a row.  Impressive.

-No zero handicappers next week unless Mark Potts comes in to play after finishing up at school.  Terry Butcher and Mike Kidwell lost their zeros in the wind and the cool last night.

-No par rounds last night though there were three 36's: Walter Henrichsen, Short Jeffers and Trenton Kidwell.

-Holes four and six challenged one as the most difficult, coming in at 1.27 and 1.35 over par to one's 1.63.  All the other holes were under a stroke with seven being the easiest at .73 over par.

-Newcomers Rob Rollins and Allan Harmon are playing well and find themselves in the top five in the standings, second in team play.

-Coming up next week: First nine holes of the Eyler/Lyon Team handicapped Tournament, a four week, thirty-six hole affair.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Tuesday Men's League Results Event 2

Results are posted here.  Last week's leaders hold on to the top:  Denson and Holland in team competition, Buck Holland in individual competition.  Hole prize winners: Denson, Henrichsen, Strange, Courter, Butcher, and Arthur.

Bits and Pieces

-A Modest Proposal - from the Seoul Sisters.  Well done article on a solution to the supposed woes of the LPGA.  Go take a peek if only for the photos the author wraps around his words.  Fantastic.


-Looking forward to the shootout down in Carolin this week - Quail Hollow.  TW and Phil and a bunch more of the top guns in the PGA.  Expect Tiger's rust will have disappeared and for him to have a sterling tournament.

-Tip for the day: Give your 8 iron a try around the green.  When you have your ball on the collar or just beyond, it often is just the answer for getting on the green and letting it run down and into the cup.  Happened for me at #7 last night while playing with Junior and Kevin Byron.  Always a delight to see that happen.

Thursday Match Play League Notes

-Terry LaMar and Virgil Harper will be filling in for the Course team this Thursday in the Match Play League.  They will be going out against Jack Lents and myself.

-Thursday's Match Play League starts at ten this week and then goes to nine o'clock starts for the rest of the season.


-The schedule for the Thursday match Play League is posted here.  We'll have copies at the clubhouse.

Tuesday Men - Come on Down

Day 2 of the young season.  Expect a little cooler weather today than last week but still nice. 

Notes:

-Mike Kidwell joins Terry Butcher at the big zero handicap mark.  Congrats, Mike.

-Expect hole #1 to play the hardest again.  Just a little difficult to jump into the golf play mode real quick coming off work or from wherever.  Cudos to those who have mastered the skill of coming to the first hole in a ready mode.  Last week: 8 pars and 1 birdie at the opening hole - out of 61 players.

-Note that I've placed the degree of hardness after the scorecard section of the report.

-Today's event is the warm up to the first four week tournament of the season - the Phil Eyler/Charlie Lyon Team Handicapped Tournament (tournaments are named after the previous year's winners).  The team which gathers the most points over the four weeks will claim the trophy.

-Remember how you earn points?  In both team and individual competition, you play against the field.  For every win (lower net score), give yourself (or your team), two points; for every tie, one point. 

-Will try the complimentary cart again this week - make birdies on the first two holes and Diane will give you a complimentary cart for the next event.

-Last note:  Have fun out there.

Monday, April 26, 2010

Bits and Pieces

-Yesterday's K of C scramble was postponed because of the rain.  Don Carrico and Ray Simmons did nine holes in spite of the dreary weather, something which stayed with us for the greater part of the day.

-Spent part of the afternoon eating donuts and drinking coffee up at The Donut Barn in Odon with Eric being the grand dispenser of the sugary goodies.  I'm way ahead on my doughnut allotment for the month, for the year, for my life.  Did get out to the golf course late in the afternoon for a walk around and some practice.  The rain was all but gone by then.

-On putting: Yes, still coming across the ball (Doug reminded me last Saturday).  Have decided to concentrate on getting the ball to the hole with a good clean hit and not worry so much about whether or not my swing is straight back, straight through.  Don't know if that makes sense or not. 

-Golf Babe: Mariana Macias.  Scroll down and you come upon Paula Creamer in a sun dress and sun shades and a great big smile.

-Caught a bit of the PGA play down in New Orleans but am having a hard time listening to Mr. goody two shoes Jim Nantz.  Might have to mute the sound and just watch the action when he's in the booth.  Maybe what he needs is a couple of beers and a round of golf out here on Tuesday night, or Thursday morning for that matter.  Would bring in a dozen or so guys with mics so he could get a full dose of small town chatter out on the links.  On second thought, if I had my druthers, let's just bring in Tiger Woods and John Daly for the day.  Wait a minute - need a foursome.  Add Christina Kim and Stephanie Wie to the mix.  Am sure the four would have a good old time and not be bothered by whatever was said.  Or done (?!).

-Did enjoy seeing Jeff Overton challenging and coming close and playing in the last group.

-Mostly Harmless is conjecturing on who is going to be the next #1 lady golfer.  Rolex Rankings has Jiyai Shin primed to take over the top spot.  Seems to me Suzann Petersen is playing awfully well these past few years.  My vote goes to Jiyai, my heart to Michelle Wie, who's ninth in the Rolex list and still not playing a full schedule.  Lots of good young players out there though.

-Next #1 on the Men's tour.  Le me see now.  Hmmm.  Let me come back to that in five, six or ten years.  Did I hear someone say fifteen?

-How about #1 at Lakeview?  Think about it.

-Tip for the day:  Grab a buddy or three and go swap some quarters. 

Saturday, April 24, 2010

Denson, Bird, Allen and Ader Win On 2nd Extra Hole

Photo: Brian Ader, Doug Denson, Joe Allen and Mike Bird at Lakeview's second hole where the quartet won the Saturday Morning Scramble on the second extra hole.           Photo by Mike Arvin

In the Saturday Morning Scramble, Doug Denson drove the green on the second extra hole and the team proceeded to make an easy two putt birdie for the top spot.  Mike Bird, Joe Allen and Brian Ader joined Doug on the winning team with Brian slamming home a tying putt on the team's 9th hole, #1, after Doug had dropped in a fifteen footer at the ninth hole.  The team missed a bird at hole #6 but birdied out, with Joe Allen taking care of #7 all by himself, to force a playoff with the Dave Wininger, Junior Byron, Mike Arvin and Bric Parker team, each finishing at six under par.  The team of Mike Kidwell, Tyler Kidwell and Kevin Byron also played well but came up a stroke short in making the playoffs.

Bits and Pieces

-Link for Bric Parker's daughter, Brittany, who was out the other day playing a round with Dad.  She's a hair stylist (is that what they call themselves?)  at Melba Richardson's shop just north of town - Sheer Perfections.  I had told Brittany that I had come across this photo of a Asian hair stylist out at the train station.  Wondered if she might want to do something similar out here at the golf course.  Told her we could provide the seating.

-#1 lady player in the world retiring.  Lorena Ochoa calling it quits.  Wow. Not exactly what the LPGA needs at the moment.

-Tiger's blog - in case you missed it.

-Golf Babe for the day:  Who else but Lorena Ochoa.

-Saturday Scramble in just a bit - might be palying between the raindrops.

-Tomorrow: K of C scramble at 10am.  Call K of C or clubhouse to sign up.  Eighteen holes.

-Tip for the day:  Go for It!  (Whatever 'It' might be.)

Friday, April 23, 2010

Saturday Morning Scramble Time

9am

Thursday Match Play League Event 1 Notes

Thursday Match Play League

-Junior Byron had a super middle part of his round in the Thursday League's initial go of the year.  He birdied three, six and seven and parred four and five.  It was the other four holes that were a problem, especially #1 where  he triple bogeyed.  Ouch.  But the birdies were impressive and go along quite nicely with the two he got in the Tuesday Men's League.  Make that very impressive.

-Ken Hudson, with that new used Killer Bee driver he bought from Jack Lents, is a different kind of golfer these days.  He led the way on Thursday, firing a gross 40 and a nifty net 31.  He claimed two birds of his own, one at two, the other at six.

-Carroll Rayhill solved the par five riddle, at least for a day.  He birdied each of them in an otherwise forgettable round of 47.  For the moment, he's king of the par fives.

-Mike Bird led the par parade with six, closely followed by Jack Lents and Al Kavanaugh with five.

-As with the Tuesday Men, the first hole turned out to be the most difficult on the day.  The men averaged 1.76 more than par on the hole, the women an additional 1.5 strokes.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Thursday Match Play League Event 1

Results are posted here.  Leaders after day one:  Ray Shaw and Dave Brown in the team competition; Ken Hudson in the individual competition.  Hole prize winners: Wayne Souerdike at #7, Dave Brown at #8, and Jack Lents at #9.  Low net scores: Ken Hudson (31) and Jack Lents (32).  Low gross scores: Mike Bird (36) and Al Kavanaugh (37).

Thursday Match Play League

The Thursday Match Play League gets underway at 10am on the 22nd.  Bring your A game, guys and gals.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Knights of Columbus Scrambe at Lakeview

The Loogootee Kof C is hosting a scramble at Lakeview this coming Sunday, the 25th, starting at 10am.  Call the K of C or the clubhouse to sign up.

Bits and Pieces

-Tuesday Men's League

The Tuesday Men's League made a successful beginning to its season with thirty-one teams opening play this past Tuesday. Notes and Comments:

-Six golfers had two birdies on the night, three of them Kidwells: Mike, Trenton and Trey.  The other three: Junior Byron, Bric Parker and Buck Holland. 

-Tyler Kidwell also got a birdie, the only one at #9, and his came with a hole prize.  Other hole prizes attached to birdies were: Mike Bird at #3, Mike Kidwell at #4, Karry Stoll at #7 and Junior Byron at #8.  Larry Sutton's hole prize at #6 was for a par.

-Phil Eyler and Mike Kidwell led the par parade with six each.

-Playing partner Mark Sherer had an adventure on #1: first tee shot out of bounds, second into the hazard, third into the sand trap and the fourth into the cup.  Total six on the scorecard.

-Only one birdie at the opening hole - by Greg Potts, and he gave that one back at hole #2.

-Six eights were recorded, two by Virgil Harper, and one by Bric Parker who did well enough on the other eight holes to end up in second place at day's end. 

-Average scores for the group:  43.25 gross, 36.16 net.  By comparison: end of last season: 41.47 gross, 34.56 net.

-Easiest hole was #7, playing at .43 over par while #1 was the most difficult playing at 1.54 strokes over par.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Tuesday Men's League Results

Results are posted for today's 1st event.  Congrats to the leaders:  Buck Holland in the Individual standings; and the teams of Doug Denson/Buck Holland and Curt Johnson/Bric Parker in the Team standings.  Low net: Buck Holland.  Low gross: Mike Kidwell.  Hole prizes: Mike Bird, Mike Kidwell, Larry Sutton, Karry Stoll, Junior Byron, and Tyler Kidwell.

Bits and Pieces

-Tuesday Men - come on down.  Day one of the season and one where you can shine!  Since the weather is more like late spring or early summer, maybe we'll see scores that resemble mid season form as well.  Like in the Bigs, look for the guys who have been playing to do well and the guys who have not to be a little rusty, kinda like Tiger Woods was rusty last week at the Masters (wouldn't mind being rusty like TW though that inconsistency sure would bother me).  Just for fun, I'll be joining the Tuesday crew, partnering up with Mark Sherer.  Seems like forever that I've done that - six, seven, eight years?  Will have to check.  Look for the 20 somethings do come on strong this year, especially the likes of Trenton and Tyler Kidwell, Weston Muessig, Derek Gilbertson and Mark Potts.  Gotta like the old faithfuls though, guys who have been around the block several times, like Phil Eyler, Mark Jeffers, Terry Padgett, Dave Wininger, Doug Denson and Terry Butcher.  Guys to beat: last year's champions, Mike Kidwell and Joe Allen.  Go for the gold but for sure have fun along the way.

-Curt Johnson forwarded this link with the results of the Pepsi/Club Car Indiana PGA Tournament at Sycamore Hills yesterday.  His son, Kevin, made the top ten with a tie for 7th place.  Looks like holes 10 through 14 were killers for Kevin - he finished at +3 but was six over on those five holes alone.  Ouch.  His play did include an eagle at hole #15.  Congrats, Kevin.  Note:  Brett Melton, formerly of Country Oaks and now of the CC of Old Vincennes  (the former Elks, I believe), finished at +4.

-Was going to have some promotional doughnuts from The Donut Barn for the Tuesday Men today but at the moment there's some equipment problem and we may have to put that on hold.  Eric's wife, Colleen, is the owner/operator of the new business up in Odon that had it's grand opening this past weekend.  Have discovered over the years that golfers for the most part are not big doughnut eaters, at least not at the beginning of their rounds.  Have to admit that I've already had my annual share just in these last three days.  Bad, Michael, very bad.

-Tip for the Day: Probably be a few jitters among the Tuesday Men with today's opening salvos.  Suggestion: Head to the first tee with thoughts of some of the great shots you've made down that first fairway and use that extra shot of adrenalin to your advantage - the adrenalin is there to help you for the change that's coming.  Make it a good change.  So, go out and do a birdie-birdie for the first two holes of the season.  Tell you what - if you do, I'll get Diane to give you a free cart pass for your next round.

p.s.  Did check last time I played in the Tuesday league.  Turns out is was 2004, partnering up with Eric.  

Monday, April 19, 2010

Bits and Pieces

-Wie Under Par talking about her espn.com article on Tiger Woods here.  Note the comments including one from golflakeview.  Add your two cents.  Btw, am looking for my own Buddhist bracelet.

-Jim Furyk wins in OT at Harbour Town when Brian Davis puts his second shot in an impossible situation which was made even worse when he incurred a two stroke penalty for hitting a loose impediment with his back swing.  Not that he was going to make the 25-30 foot putt to tie.  Note: On Davis giving himself the penalty - of course, and that is exactly what the rest of us golfers would have done.

-Haven't been over to Golf Spelled Backwards in a while.  Couple of videos worth looking at, one of which shows the Vijay Singh pond skipping ace at the Masters' 16th hole (on a Wednesday).  That's cool.  Lots of other stuff, some which get a laugh.

-More on the other Wie, Michelle:  A look at part of her non golfing life.  Escapes: the sewing machine, the sketchpad, the kitchen.  Learned at this NY Times article which I found at a posting at Seoul Sisters.

On the local level:

-From Curt Johnson:  He and Tracy Rayhill lost to their boys in a nine hole scramble last Saturday.  The boys: Cory and Darren.  That would be the non playing Darren, not Kevin, the assistant pro down at the Pete Dye course.  Congrats to the youngsters.  You old guys need to step it up a little, me thinks.  (You aren't that old.)

-With their share of 1st place in last Tuesday's preseason scramble, Joe Allen and Mike Kidwell of the Tuesday Men's League continue their winning ways.  The dynamic duo won the Team Tournament last August and followed that up with the League's regular season championship.  Joe threw in the Individual championship just for fun.  Joe said Mike's putter was hot-hot in their most recent success.

-Speaking of the Tuesday Men's League:  Mark Potts and Terry Butcher (the Flighted Tournament champion in the A+ flight last September) head into the new season with handicaps right at zero.  Impressive.

-Reminder: League season gets serious this week.  Looks like we are going to get some super weather to help us out.

-Golf Babe of the Day: Jade Schaeffer.  (From Golf Babes.)

-Tip for the day:  Do what you have to do early, then hie thee hither to the great outdoors and take in some of the glorious April weather we're having.

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Winners in the Saturday Morning Scramble

Photo: Tyler Kidwell, Joe Allen and Mike Bird take care of business while Jack Lents pays attention to the photographer, Pam Byron. (Jack had already pocketed his winnings.)

Tyler Kidwell, Mike Bird, Joe Allen and Jack Lents fired a five under score of thirty and walked off with the win at the Saturday Morning Saturday this week. The quartet used three long putts, twenty footers by Mike Bird at #1, and Jack Lents at #4, and a fifteen footer by Tyler Kidwell on #7, to go along with shorter birdy putts at #2 and #5. Three other teams competed for the prize with second place going to Mark Sherer, Devon Harrell and Tony Wease with a score of 31. Complete scoring can be found here.
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Friday, April 16, 2010

Saturday Morning Scramble Time

10am

Bits and Pieces

-League play: The Tuesday Men and the Thursday Match Play Leagues are underway and in good shape.  After the scrambles of Tuesday and Thursday, rosters are filling out but not complete as some did not participate.  Rosters as of yesterday are here for Tuesday Men and here for Thursday Match Play.  Let me know of additions or changes that you know of.

-More League: The Community League, extended version, which runs parallel to the above two leagues, has only three teams signed up as of yesterday.  Need ten to twelve to make a go of it.

-Congrats to the winners of the scrambles and the hole prizes and thanks to all the players who participated and got a chance to unwind their golf swings after the long winter.  If you haven't noticed, the weather this week has been absolutely gorgeous and most welcome.  

-TW playing Quail Hollow in two weeks - good.  KC Choi leading at Hilton Head - that's ok - he continues to play well after his four days with Tiger at the Masters in which they remained pretty much in lock step and ended up that way.

-Saturday Scramble tomorrow will start at ten.  Nine holes.  Skins and flags the second nine for those interested.

-On putting: Doug Denson asked how my putting went the other day when playing with the boys (Jack, Jack and Junior on Tuesday morning).  Had to admit that it was absolutely atrocious - anything over a foot I was in trouble and the others knew it and decided to putt everything out.  Might have gotten a bit better in the end but still very shaky.  Doug's asking did remind me of his own recipe for putting success: soft hands.  Put it in the mix of things to think about when standing over a putt - actually, it's very good advise along with being something short and easy to remember.  Have also got out a box of brand new Pro V1's - now you know I'm getting serious about this putting thingee.  Those expensive balls roll much better than the less pricey kind and certainly will find the hole in fewer strokes than the ones I have been using.  Really.  Really?  Hmm.  Well, maybe not.

-Tip for the day: Relax and enjoy.

Correction

I reported that Al Kavanaugh and Vic Wallace had the low gross for the Thursday scramble with a 34.  Actually, Junior Byron and Wayne Pearl had the low gross with a 33.  Have corrected the original blog.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Thursday Match Play Preseason Scramble Photos

The winners, Richard Barber and John Chapman, sharing insights after the scramble.

Ward Smith writes down Clyde Wake's name after Clyde had dropped a twenty footer. The putt held up for the long putt of the day prize. Dave Brown and Joe Gray, who went on to claim the close-to-the-pin shot at hole #9, examine what they have to do to get their putt to fall.

Patty Bowling putts out as partner Pam Byron and fellow competitors Frank and Susan Fee watch.

Charlie Sheetz with a fist pump at #7 green after sinking his second lengthy putt of the day. Carroll Rayhill waits.
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Chapman and Barber Win Thursday League Scramble

John Chapman and Richard Barber shot and even par 35 gross and a net 27.33 to take the preseason scramble out at Lakeview Golf Course on Thursday morning.  The event, the kickoff to the Thursday Match Play League's season, had ten teams of two competing for the top spot.  Tony Wease and Charlie Sheetz, the guy with the golden putter who ran in two from goodly distances over the nine holes, came in second with a net score of 28.33.  Wayne Pearl and Junior Byron had the low gross for the day at 33.  Hole prizes were claimed by Wayne Pearl and Joe Gray for close to the pin shots at holes seven and nine, and Clyde Wake for the longest putt at the eighth hole.  Complete results can be found here.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Thursday Match Play League Opener

Tomorrow at 10am, the Thursday Match Play League gets underway with a 2 person handicapped scramble.  Bring your A games.

Michelle Wie Photo at Wie Under Par

Here and it's showing Michelle in non golf attire.  Worth a peek.  Counts for golf babe of the day.

Tuesday Men's League Underway with Johnson-Parker Scramble*

The Lakeview Tuesday Men's League's season got underway with a two person handicapped scramble, on a sparkling April afternoon.  Twenty-two teams competed with the top spot being shared by three of them.  John Drake and Tom McAtee, Larry Sutton and Noah Callahan, and Joe Allen and Mike Kidwell made the nine hole circuit with net scores of 28.33.  Allen and Kidwell had the low gross score of thirty-one.  Hole prizes were won by Tony Wease at #3, Terry Padget at #7, Allan Harmon at #8 and Mark Jones at #9.  Only one eagle for the day with Mike Arvin and Scott Arthur getting a three at hole number four.  The tournament is named after last year's winners, Curt Johnson and Bric Parker, who this year found themselves dragging in the caboose.  Congratulations to the winners.  Complete results here.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Bits and Pieces

-Tuesday Men - Come on down!  League starts today with the 2 person scramble.

-Want to be a league sub?  Need a partner?  Let me or the clubhouse know.  Chris Hogan came in today and signed up to sub;  Noah Callahan lost his partner (Jeremy Wildman) to Little League and is looking for another one.

-Curt Johnson left a comment on yesterdays 'Bits' extolling the merits of a golf book:  Bob Rotella's Golf is a Game of Confidence.  Son Kevin recommended it to him and he is enjoying it very much.

-Speaking of golf books:  We have a partial shelf filled with them out at the golf course.  You are welcome to take a gander and borrow one or more for a week or two.

-Michael Fitzpatrick adds his two cents on the importance to golf of last week's Masters at the Bleacher's Report. A little heavy on the 'good vs. evil' thingee but for sure right on about the PGA needing a great big jolt.  Probably has much more to do with TW being back inside the ropes than anything else.  Hope he's back there in two weeks.

-Golf with Lents, Butcher and Byron at 9 this morning.  Have had a deep conversation with my putter and my chippers (PW, SW, sometimes an 8 iron, sometimes an LW) on their behavior these last few weeks and my expectations for today.  We'll find out if they were paying attention directly.

-Course looks great with all the new grass and the trimming that has been done.  Fantastic job, Eric!

p.s.  Tony Wease and Charlie Sheetz are reporting that a squirrel is taking off with golf balls down by #1 green.  First the goose over at #6; now a squirrel at #1.  Next?  A mink at #9 maybe?

Monday, April 12, 2010

Bits and Pieces

Photo: Tyler Kidwell finishing his swing out at #3 in last Saturday's scramble. Think that is his brother Trenton's team in the background finishing up at #9.

-The Masters: Phil Mickelson superb, Tiger brilliant at times (but not enough times to offset his moments of bewilderment - you know, like when you hit a golf ball and ask yourself "Where did that come from?!"). I found the four days fantastic with lots of drama and magical shots by a whole host of players. Certainly Tiger was not the only story - think Tom Watson, Fred Couples, Lee Westwood, KC Choi, Anthony Kim, all those eagles including Tiger's four and a tie of the record, Phil's eagle-eagle-birdie on Saturday. My oh my, what a show they put on for us down in Augusta. Oh, almost forgot the two aces at #16 yesterday - Stephanie Wie has a photo of Ryan Moore in a tie and exclaims how that is the first guy in a tie to make a hole-in-one in forever.

-Reminder (again): Lakeview Leagues get underway this week with a mixed league two person handicapped scramble. Be sure and get your partner in gear and come on down and show the world some of your own magic with a golf stick.

-We are seeing some new faces this year: Among them: Allan Harmon, who stopped in last night and signed himself and Rob Rollins up for the Tuesday Men's League. Allan is the grandson of neighbor Sam Harmon and son of Brad Harmon, who graduated from Shoals a year or two ahead of my oldest daughter, Miki.

-Golf babe and a blast from the past: Nancy Lopez.

-Go golf, guys...
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League Play at Lakeview Starts with Pre Season Scramble

Reminder: Lakeview League season opens this week with registration and a mixed two person pre-season scramble.  Bring your playing partner or other league player/sub and try your luck (and skill) at being the best in this nine hole handicapped starter for the new year.  The regular season for each of the leagues - Tuesday Men, Thursday Match Play and Community (extended portion) - starts the week of Sunday, April 18th.  League descriptions schedules can be found at the Lakeview Golf Course website, www.golflakeview.com.

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Father and Daughter Playing Golf


Bryant Trambaugh, after playing in the morning scramble, came back in the evening for a round with his daughter, Kayla.
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Kidwell, Potts, Souerdike and Ader Triumph

Photo: Pam Byron distributes the prize money to Brian Ader, Wayne Souerdike, Mike Kidwell and Greg Potts after their scramble win yesterday morning.

The Mike Kidwell, Greg Potts, Wayne Souerdike and Brian Ader team used the short stick to maximum advantage in the Saturday Morning Scramble at Lakeview to cruise to a three stoke victory with a sterling score of 28. Wayne Souerdike lead the putting onslaught with two long bombs but each of the four took their turn in sinking a putt. Nearest competitors, coming in with scores of 31, were the teams of Trenton Kidwell, Mike Seals, Curt Johnson and Ward Smith, and Terry Butcher, Junior Byron and Bryant Trambaugh. Two other teams competed in the nine hole scramble on a beautiful Saturday morning in southern Indiana.
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Friday, April 9, 2010

Saturday Morning Scramble Time

10am

Bits and Pieces

-Tiger is back!  Hurray!  At the Masters with two eagles, three birdies, three bogeys and ten pars.  A little inconsistent, especially with the putter.  Woods (how many people still call them 'woods'?) and irons - pretty damn good.  Putter woes to be expected what with the lack of competition these last several months.  Others:  Jim Furyk - opened with two birds in the first three holes and finished with a third but had trouble with those fourteen intervening holes - eleven over - oops.  Tom Watson and Fred Couples - golden oldies - wow!  Awful lot of red numbers for a Major, don't you think?  Black numbers today?  Tiger tees off at 10:35.

 -Time out - important phone call from oldest daughter Miki.  Major decision time for her and her man Kevin this weekend.

-Stephanie Wie at Wie Uner Par got all tingly and giddy with TW's return.  And - I understand that espn broke from it's regular programming to televise that return and the first shot down the fairway.  Haven't heard that the networks did the same. 

-Are we happy that Tiger is back?  Definitely yes.

-Golf with the boys - Jack L., Ken H. and Jack B. - at eleven this morning.  Time to get some of those quarters back that took a little trip last Tuesday.  Expect woods and irons to do well and the chipping and putting to do significantly better.

-Tip for the day:  Bury yourself in the now, the moment.  No looking back or forward.  Concentrate on the task at hand.  One shot, one swing, at a time.  (Or whatever it is you might be doing - it really doesn't have to be golf.)

-Saturday Morning Scramble - starts at 10 tomorrow - nine holes, all welcome.  Flags and skins afterwards for those interested.

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Bits and Pieces

Photo: The very regal looking queen of the golf ball hatching society going about the business of keeping Tracy Rayhill's Noodle warm and viable. Good luck, girl goose.

-Golf with the boys yesterday - in the wind and the sun. My cap kept blowing off so I parked it in the cart and came home later in the day with a red noggin courtesy of the sun and the wind. Played February golf (ugly) in April - that's not at all right though Jack Butcher kept me company. Ken Hudson, sporting a new/used Killer Bee driver that he got from Jack Lents, had himself a field day and went home with a bunch of quarters. Good neighbor Jack Lents got his share as well.

-Just for fun and to make you feel better: Playing for Change - going around the world making music - clip opens with a wiener dog yapping at a man in a gorilla suit.

-UCON women win last night but not by the twenty or thirty points that I expected. Beat Stanford 53-47 after scoring only 12 points in the first half. Wow. Second straight unbeaten season, 78 straight wins. Wow, again.

-Tiger paired with KC Choi and Matt Kuchar and plays in the second to last group of the day tomorrow down in Augusta. Should be fun.


-Tip for the day: Rest up, lick your wounds, enjoy the next four days and don't forget to play some golf.
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Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Bits and Pieces

-Dang, dang and more dang.  How come one of those two shots couldn't have fallen?  Dukies and Daugs put on a whale of a show at the Big Dance last night in Indy (Butler's hometown) with Duke prevailing by a single two pointer, 61-49.  Dang.  (In the NY Times thingee, I ended up somewhere in the 15000's out of  I-still-don't-know-how-many players, with Eric, of all people, ending up at the top in our smaller, more manageable group of five.  That would be Eric who spent the first three quarters of the tournament hanging back in fourth or fifth place.  Go figure.)

-Wtf, Wojciechowski?!  What's trust got to do with Tiger or anybody else putting on a good show for the likes of you and me?  Wojciechowski pens articles for espn.com with his latest entitled "Trust Tiger Woods?  Not Yet."  Jeesh.

-Here's a good one:  Tracy Rayhill, son Cory and Bric Parker were going into six last night when Tracy's second shot stopped about six inches from a nesting Canadian goose just this side of a honey locust tree at the end of the dam just off of the green.  The goose got a little edgy when Tracy approached - as she did with me just minutes later when I was up in the vicinity - and started having a hissy fit.  Tracy, being more the let-live rather than an in-the-face kinda guy, borrowed Bric's ball retriever so he could give the goose all the room she wanted.  But no, she didn't like that idea, and to Tracy's utter disbelief, then rolled his golf ball, his Noodle golf ball, underneath her.  So, that would be that for that particular ball.  Tracy digs out another Noodle, takes a drop - without penalty, and gets on with his golf game while the goose gets on with her gosling hatch.  Don't expect the golf ball will suffer any neath her downy coat and expect it will be there in a week or two when the hissy goose and her brood have wondered off.  Well, maybe not - stray golf balls have a way of wandering off, too.

-Nice weather again today - go golf.   

Monday, April 5, 2010

Bits and Pieces

-Yany Tseng takes the plunge with her win out in Mission Hills.  Nips Suzann Petersen by a stroke and Michelle Wie by sixteen.  The Wie Lass had a terrible Sunday, being six over after ten holes after taking a triple bogey on the tenth.  Oh my.  Six of the top twelve were of Oriental descent - made the prediction that the Asians would dominate the top ten.  Wie Under Par has a profile of Yani Tseng here.

-Golf Babe of the Day, from Golf Babes: Cheyenne Woods, who got her first collegiate win yesterday.

-And, if you missed it, Anthony Kim won down in Houston, needing an extra hole to topple Vaughn Taylor, in this week's PGA event and lead up to the Masters.

-UCON and Stanford meet in the women's Big Dance finale.  Expect UCON to continue their domination in ladies' college basketball.

-Butler and Duke:  Dukies very impressive in their win on Saturday against West Virginia but the Butler Bulldogs sterling in their win over Michigan State what with key players on the bench because of physical problems or foul trouble.  Tonight?  Go Butler!

-On the local scene:  The league season starts next week with a two person handicapped scramble. Call in to get your team signed up for one or more of the Lakeview leagues - Tuesday Men, Community, and/or Thursday Match Play

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Bits and Pieces for a Easter Morning

Photo: One of our friendly geese sitting on a bunch of hugh Easter eggs up by #6 green - up in the honey locoust trees.


-Butler and Duke will duke it out tomorrow night after sterling wins on an Easter Saturday. Think there will be any blue in the stands? Go Butler Blue!

-Michelle Wie playing very steady golf - three 71's and three under for the Ladies first major out at Mission Hills. Tied for ninth heading into today's final round with Karen Stupples leading the pack at ten under. And I think I remember seeing that CBS is televising the show this afternoon.

-Trenton Kidwell missed out on making it three in a row with yesterday's Saturday Scramble being wiped out with the rain. Expect he'll go for it next week.

-The rain didn't last much after that washout of the scramble and the course filled with golfers on a more than lovely day.

-League season opening directly. Everybody ready?

-Speaking of ready: Hope Tiger wins by fifteen down at Augusta later this week.

-Happy Easter, all you good people out there.
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Friday, April 2, 2010

Saturday Morning Scramble Time

10am

Friday Golfers and Friends


Stephen Bradley rolls in a short putt on the ninth hole to nip playing buddy Scott McAtee by a stroke while friends Andrea Hough and Kara Mann watch the proceedings. Heard Kara say that she could have beat Scott today the way he was playing even though she's only swung a golf club once. Sounds like a challenge to me, Scott. Better have her come out next week, or maybe Easter Sunday, and let her have a go at it. Bring your A game.
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Thursday, April 1, 2010

Talk to Tiger for 60 Seconds

Here at about.com.  Look for my comment.

Bits and Pieces

-Who's going to win the Masters poll at about.com: Surprised me - Tiger gets the edge over Ernie Els and Other.  Early in the polling though.  Go vote - you don't have to if you don't want to - no good golf citizenship points awarded or taken away.

-Winners of the Masters the last five years: Mickelson and Woods make the grade; remember the other three?

-The Ladies' first major of the year starts today:  From Mostly Harmless, predictions and commentaries and a bunch of links.  I'm predicting that Michelle Wie has four fantastic days and takes the trophy - with no penalties or even hints of such. Look for the Ladies from the Orient to dominate the top ten come Sunday evening.  Pairings here.

-The Big Dance:  Butler poised to take it all?  They have a hugh winning streak, they have a crippling defense, they have the youngest, most unflappable coach, and they have their own fan base surrounding the arena.  Eric forwarded this espn article by Tim Keown on Butler's compatibility.  Other ingredients that will make them the darlings of 2010?  Grit, basketball smarts.  Luck?

-Tip for the day: Take a break from whatever you're doing, put on some shorts and go take a walk with a friend (or a cart ride).  Doing just that out at Lakeview yesterday, at least the getting-out-in-the-sun part: Rich Barber, John Chapman and Ray Shaw.