Bits and Pieces

-Scramble at 9 this morning.

-Did respond to a comment on yesterday morning's blog about my not commenting on Jack's 'flags and birds' (read flags and skins) while mentioning my own round of 35.  To quote myself:

Jack had two flags and a skin in the round. His two flags came on #7 where we both hit shots right at the flag with mine, the first one, landing a surprising 25 feet short of the hole but still on the green. Jack's shot looked like it was going to be just short of the hole and turned up about a foot in front of mine. Dang the luck. Unfortunately for Jack, his winnings were cut in half when I rolled in the putt for birdie, something he couldn't match. 

Always fun playing with Jack and more often than not he'll get me on the flags (though I think I'm catching up even though losing Thursday afternoon's battle of the flags, 2-1).

-Big surprise out in California at the Kraft Nabisco Championship: Yani Tseng leading in the Ladies' first major.  She shot a second consecutive round of -4 and leads Haeji Kang by one.  Na Yeon Choi moved into contention with a round of five under and sits tied for fifth with Se Ri Pak.  Lots of photos from Bangkok Bobby here along with several of Michelle Wie (good thing cause she's gone for the second straight tournament, failing to make the cut by two shots after a Friday round of 77).

-Got six of the carts outfitted with new batteries yesterday.  Eighteen more waiting in the wings.  Tough work - did have Dick Lemmon roll by on his way to a round of golf mention yesterday's blog invitation to get a good shoulder and back workout by coming out and getting in on the fun of moving those heavy batteries around.  We'll extend the offer again in a couple of days.

-Tuesday Men and Thursday Match Play Leagues pre-season scramble starts tomorrow!

-Time to get going - daylight is breaking, birds are chattering.  See some of you in a bit.

Photo:  Logan Wininger with Amanda Boyd finishing a round on Thursday.  They were back at it again yesterday.

Bits and Pieces

-Scramble at 9am tomorrow morning.

-The Ladies are playing their first major of the year, the Kraft Nabisco Championship out in Ranch Mirage, California.  Amy Yang, #14 in the rankings, has a one stroke advantage over Lindsey Wright after firing a six under par on Thursday.  #1 Yani Tseng is two back at -4.  Michelle Wie posted a decent score of +1 which included one birdie and two bogeys on a relatively clean round for the new college graduate.  She's currently tied for 47th.  Scores here.

-Rain cut short the play down in Houston where some of the Big Boys are prepping for the Masters. Ernie Els is playing and needs to win to tee it up in Augusta (or get a special invite - wonder if they are all gone by now?). 

-That reminds me:  Terry Butcher was down at Bay Hill last Wednesday (a week ago) and got a photo of Tiger Woods.  Hoping he will send it to me to share with you all. 

-Eric and the boys finished up with the aerating yesterday.  Greens played fast with all the sand though didn't seem to hinder scoring - note Tuesday's low scramble scores.  Went out with good neighbor Jack Lents yesterday afternoon and found three birdies in a round of 35.  Course is in lovely condition with the grass growing like crazy.  Seems like we're already in mid-season with all the good weather we've had during the month of March.  The usual 'in like a lion' stuff of most Marches took this year off.  Do need to get some of that April rain though; just the right amount, please, and mostly after closing time if you don't mind.

-Rooting for Kansas and Kentucky in the big dance tomorrow what with Diane having them in her bracket.  See that KY is the 'prohibitive' favorite to win it all.  That would be fine with me - maybe Diane will take me out to dinner with her winnings.  Wouldn't mind seeing Louisville win it all - they are our near neighbors after all.

-Sunday night is reserved for the women's March Madness:  UConn vs ND in the early game (around 6pm) with Stanford playing Baylor in the late game (8:30'ish).  All four teams are playing well.  Like the more experienced ND team (they played super against Maryland last Tuesday night) over UConn and Baylor over Stanford. 

-Get the first batch of new batteries for the carts today.  Lakeview golfer Nick Toy will be bringing them out sometime this morning - might be on the way as I speak.  If you want to test out your back and shoulder muscles, come on out and move a few old batteries around.  Heavy little guys.

-Heading on out there.  Looks like another fine day for golf.

Bits and Pieces

-Notre Dame women have a little more respect this morning after routing Maryland, 80-49, last night to punch their ticket to the Final Four in Denver next Sunday.  Earlier in the evening, UCon had beat Kentucky, 80-65, to advance.  The two winners, both #1 seeds, meet for the fourth time this year next Sunday night while the other two #1 seeds, Baylor and Stanford, meet in the other game to decide who goes for the championship on Tuesday night.  Note:  If Baylor wins out, they will become the first college team to complete a basketball season at 40 and 0.  That would be something but I'ld rather see the Irish returning home with the trophy, the one that slipped from their hands when Texas A&M beat them in the final last spring up in Indy.  Note 2:  Skylar Diggins got her first triple double in the win with 22 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds.

-At Lakeview last night, Dave Wininger and Curt Johnson won the Tuesday afternoon scramble on the cards after collecting three birds, an eagle and five pars to shoot five under.  Doug Denson and Mike Bird had five birds and four pars to tie the winners at five under while Short Jeffers and Lee Wininger had five birds but a bogey at the last to fall out of the card draw.  Terry Butcher and Colin Padgett finished at three under.  Of note: Doug Denson's approach shot at #8 from 112 yards ran down the flag stick before hitting the green and, unfortunately for Denson and Bird, bounding backwards and coming to a stop just off of the putting surface some 25 feet from the pin. 

-At Lakeview:  Eric and the boys will continue to aerate the greens today.  Six, seven and eight were finished yesterday and were in play for the scramble.  There will be a note at the clubhouse on the holes under renovation and which golfers should bypass.

-Heading to B-town.

Green Aeration at Lakeview

Eric and the boys are aerating some of the greens today (6, 7 and 8) and plans on doing three more tomorrow and four the next day.  Might do more tomorrow and will if he can.

Note on scheduled scramble at 5:30:  If the aeration goes as planned, the affected holes will be sandy but playable.  Will know more after five.

Bits and Pieces

-Scramble today at 5:30.

-Picked up my first tick of the season yesterday afternoon so be careful when you're out there walking in the woods or pasture next to #5.

-Found out that there is some confusion about the 'Mixed League Scrambles' starting this Sunday.  The 'mixed' refers to the fact that both the Tuesday Men and the Thursday Match League players are involved and invited to participate (entry fees are included for those signing up as league members - subs fee: $2 per 9 hole scramble).  The scramble can be played anytime during the week from Sunday through Saturday though would expect the bulk to be played on Tuesday (by Tuesday Men) and on Thursday (at 10am by Thursday Match players) - but, again, anytime during the week is fine.  If you are playing in each league, your entry fee is already paid for a scramble team from each league. 

-Women's basketball:  Two #1 seeds going to Denver.  Baylor beat Tenn (77-58) and Stanford beat Duke (81-69) last night to advance to the Final Four.  UCon and ND get their tickets punched tonight, maybe.  UCon has to go through Kentucky and the Irish must deal with Maryland.  Two of the five espn experts predict that ND will fall to Maryland, the only two votes going against a #1 seed.  A little disrespect for the Notre Dame women?

-Has anybody said 'nicely done, Lions'?  Only a few hundred thousand times, and counting.  Bears repeating:  Nicely done, Lions!

Monday Golfer Photo Collage

Some of the late golfers at Lakeview today that I captured while I was out walking.  From top left and clockwise:  Tim Sanders lining up a putt on #9; JD Simmons teeing off on #8 with Richard Yoder and Dale Yoder waiting their turns; Chris Jones putting on #9; and JD practicing his putting swing on #7 as Richard lines up his putt and Karry Stoll waits.

The Procession

Loogootee Stories

A couple of write-ups worth reading:

-The Terre Haute story on the championship game.

-A Washington Post article on class basketball with Loogootee as the centerpiece.

Any more out there that you found worth sharing? 

Bits and Pieces

-Good weekend for the big cats:  Lions win on Saturday and Tiger wins on Sunday.  Big whoop and another big whoop.  TW looked very good as he strolled to his victory at Arnie's place; guess he knew what he was saying when he said his putting just need a little adjustment.  But then his whole game was very much on.  Glad to have the former #1 golfer in the world back in the mix.  Btw, you did notice that the world's current most dominant player, Yani Tseng, got herself another win yesterday with a six stroke victory at the Kia Classic.  That's #3 in five events so far this year.

-My bracket in the Big Dance is busted with only Louisville getting to the Final Four.  Diane is looking good though with Kansas and Kentucky in and her ultimate winner being KY.  She's currently in third with the two in front of her having Michigan State and Kansas as the champs.  Too bad NC lost Marshall a couple of games back or my bracket may still be alive.  So, Go Kentucky!

-Notre Dame women had very little trouble with St' Bonaventure, 79-35, and all four #1's and #2's advanced to the Elite Eight.  The Irish go up against #2 Maryland (31-4) tomorrow night at 9pm in Raleigh.  UCon plays Kentucky in the earlier game at 7pm.  Tonight Baylor takes on Tennessee in the early game and Stanford faces Duke in the later game over in Des Moines.  Go Irish!

-Photo:  A 50-50-50 moment last Saturday up in Indy.  Anybody remember what you were doing at the time?  I was sitting on the edge of my seat, holding my breath with both my fingers and feet crossed.

Arena Portraits: State Finals 3

Arena Portraits: State Finals 2

Arena Portraits: State Finals 1

Sign of the Times

Bits and Pieces

-Go Lions!

-Michelle Wie had another bad day at the office.  Plus five in her round at the Kia Classic.  That's elevan better than Jennie Lee who finished at +16 and only ten in back of the three in the lead at -5: Yani Tseng, Ji Young Oh and Caroline Hedwell.  Scores here.  Stats and comments at Michelle Wie Central.  They are expecting a cut line of +2.  That's not good for the Wie Lass.

-Tiger okay at Arnie's place with a round of -3 with a couple of three putts.  Three back of Charlie Wi and Jason Dufner.

-The Big Dance:  The two early games went my way - Syracuse and Louisville winning but Cincy and Marquette bummed out on me losing to Ohio State (who roared after Cincy took the lead briefly in the second half) and Florida.  Dang.  Got IU, Kansas and North Carolina as winners tonight in my bracket (and Duke who is long gone).  The Syracuse-Wisconsin game last night was a humdinger.

-Way past breakfast time.  Go Lions!

Bits and Pieces

-Big Boys are underway at Arnie's place.  Tiger parred the first hole.  One would think he has a pretty good shot at winning down there as he has hoisted the trophy six times already.  Wouldn't bet the house on it though.

-Big Girls tee off in a little bit out in Carlsbad at the Kia Classic.  Pairings here.  Michelle Wie is playing with Brittany Lincicome and Stacy Lewis and tees off just after three our time.  Yani Tseng is paired with Paula Creamer and Suzann Pettersen and tees off three hours earlier.  Would be nice to see the Wie Lass light up the scoreboard but, again, no great expectations from this part of the planet.  Wie's most recent commercial for KIA - at the skeet shoot.

-Serious stuff with the Saints and their bounty hunting.  Serious penalties meted out by the Commish.  Don't expect we'll ever see Greg Williams in the NFL again.

-More Big Dance tonight.  Got 12 teams still alive in my bracket with Cincy, Syracuse, Louisville and Marquette all projected to be winners after play later today.

-Lakeview is lovely.  Best get out there and get some golf in - the league season is just around the corner - first preseason scramble coming up week of April 1st.  Hope the weather continues though something in the 70's would be more than fine with me.

-Update on Tiger:  Has birdied the par 5 third hole to go to -1. 

Bits and Pieces

-Irish women down California, 73-62, to advance to the Sweet 16 where they will play #5 seed St. Bonny on Sunday in Raleigh.  Got home from the golf course to find the Irish tied at half time in their game at 31.  They changed that quickly with a 10-2 run to open the second half, expanding their lead to 17 points and then pretty much cruising to their 11 point victory.  The other three #1 seeds, Baylor, Stanford and UCon, also advanced as did all four #2 seeds.  Two #3 seeds, Miami and Delaware, fell by the wayside.  Story from espn.com here.  Check out Skylar Diggins video blog on the same page for several minutes of behind the scenes fun and stuff by the ND women.

-Manning to Denver.  Going to be hard to cheer for Denver after all these years as a Raider/Colt fan.  Going to root for Manning though - hope he can repeat the John Elway close-your-career-the-right-way feat by winning a couple of super bowls.

-Expect to go up to Indy Friday night, stay with son Marty and then go to the big game Saturday morning.  Marty and Diane are going to be there, maybe Laura as well.  Eric gets to stay close to home and take care of things at the golf course.

-Btw, the golf course is greening up awfully well and the greens are super.  Lots of grass cutting going on with the warm weather.  Look for lots of birds this year: warm weather=more bugs=more birds.  Might also mean more golfing style birdies what with people getting a head start on their golf this year. 

-More great golf weather.  Has there ever been a March like this?  Somebody told me last night out at the golf course that they had put in some tomato plants already.  Don't know if we deserve all this good weather but we'll take it.

Arena Portraits: Southport Semi-State 2012 (3)

Arena Portraits: Southport Semi-State 2012 (2)

Bits and Pieces

-A new #1 in golf - Luke Donald wins the Transitions (in OT) and reclaims the top position.  Ernie Ells, looking for a spot at the Masters, was leading with two holes to play and then went out and bogeyed those holes to miss a playoff.  How about a special invite for the Big Easy.

-Yani Tseng was down three after the first nine but found five birds on the back nine to walk away with a one stroke victory over Na Yeon Choi and Ai Miyazato at the Founders Cup in Phoenix on Sunday.  The most dominant golfer in the world is playing like the most dominant player in the world.

-At Lakeview on Saturday morning, Tracy Rayhill and I won the scramble with a score of -2 (2 birds, 7 pars).  Tracy plugged a 55 yard pitch on #4 for a tap in birdie and I followed suit on #7 (to 4 foot) for another birdie that gave us enough to beat brothers Dave and Lee Wininger, who finished with an even par 35, and Stan Graber and Kyle Wininger, who finished at plus one.

-Lady Irish had no problem with Liberty up in South Bend, winning 74 to 43.  Up next for the Irish: #8 seed California at 7:20 on Tuesday night in South Bend.

-Nice write-up on the Lions' Colin Nelson in the Washington Times-Herald on the 16th.  Colin is the grandson of Lakeview golfer Jim Bateman.

-The Big Dance:  My two choices to go for the ring, IU and UNC, are alive and well and going to the Sweet Sixteen.  Tied for second in our 24 person 'Bird Brains' Bird Family bracket.  Slightly younger brother Tony is on top with a score of 50.  His son Alan and I are tied at 46.

-More good weather for golf and golfers.  Grass is growing like heck with the warm nights and hot days and, so far, adequate rainfall.

Photo: Dick Lemmon at #7 where he got his first hole-in-one last Friday.

Arena Portraits: Southport Semi-State 2012 (1)

Lions Win! Going to State!

-The story from the Indy Star.

-The knockout punches:  Connor's three from the corner, Will's steal of the in-bound pass and Matt's three from the corner, all within about 3.5 seconds with just over three minutes to go in the game.  From down 42-46 to up 48-46.  The Lancers never recovered.  Final score: Lions 61 Lancers 50.

Was home a little after eight and in bed by nine, completely exhausted by all the excitement up at Southport.  Good stuff.

Dick Lemmon Nabs His First Ace!

Dick Lemmon got his first hole-in-one yesterday on #7 at Lakeview.  Playing with Jack Butcher and Ken Hudson, he hit the 100 yard shot using a Hippo pitching wedge, lost it on the way to the green, then saw it as it rolled into the cup.  Telling his playing partners that it went in the cup, they both said oh-no-don't-think-so only to be pleasantly surprised to find the ball precisely where Dick said it was.  The guy who just spent a mini fortune taking ten hours of lessons down at Doral now has something to show for his efforts.  Congrats, Dick, on one of golf's sterling moments.

Bits and Pieces

-Scramble at 9am.

-All the upsets you might want ever in your life in the Big Dance yesterday including the Irish who gave up a ten point second half lead, had the chance to tie with nano-seconds left on the clock and then lost on a lane violation.  Lots of fun for basketball fans even if they were bracket busters.  IU takes on VCU tonight at 7:10 on TBS (wonder if Ch. 10, the local CBS affiliate will be covering it - hope so).

-The Big Boys:  Padraic goes from -10 on Thursday to +2 on Friday.  That's about a 12 stroke difference.  Imagine he would settle for a more normal 65 or 66 today.  Jason Dufner leads at -10 over two days.

-Big Girls: Yani Tseng (are we surprised?) has a one stroke lead in Phoenix.  I. K. Kim, Na Yeon Choi, Mika Miyazato, Ai Miyazato and Meena Lee are one back. 

-Loogootee Boys at Southport this afternoon at 4 facing Edinburg in the semi-state.  Go Lions!

-See some of you in a little bit.

Bits and Pieces

-Busy mornings the last two days with Wednesday morning breakfast with a couple of neighbors from our Shoals/Lost River days - Ron and Peggy Acuff.  And then up to B-town yesterday morning for another dental check on my way to an implant.  Afternoons and evenings have been spent at the golf course - what fun having summer like weather in mid March!

-Tuesday afternoon scramble:  There were six of us who braved the near record warm temperatures.  In the end the three birdies and zero bogeys of Lee Wininger, Kevin Byron and myself upended the four birdies and two bogeys of Tracy Rayhill, Curt Johnson and Tony Trambaugh.  Putting was huge for the winners, each of them taking their turn at running in both birdie and par putts - there might have been a total of two gimmes.

-Weather permitting, we'll have a pre-Southport scramble tomorrow morning starting at 9am.  Go Lions.

-Lots of golfers out with the nice and very unusual weather on both Tuesday and Wednesday.  Not so many today with the threat of storms throughout the day and then their eventuality around 3:30 in the afternoon.

-The Ladies are playing down in Phoenix and have completed the first round of the Founders Cup.  Hee Young Park (8 birdies and a single bogey) and Yani Tseng (an eagle, six birds and a single bogey) share the lead at -7 with Jiyai Shin one stroke back.  Hee Kyung Seo and Na Yeon Choi are part of a foursome at -5. Btw, Golf Digest has a very positive article on the Wie Lass, The Education of Michelle Wie. 

-The Men are in Palm Harbor, Florida, where Padraic Harrington had himself quite a day with ten birds and eight pars for a first day total of 61 and a three stroke lead over Will Claxton in the Transitions Championship.   Seven golfers, including Kenny Perry, are five back.  Big John Daly is at -2 and tied for 32nd.

-The Manning watch:  Should be getting pretty close to decision time.  The Titans?  Sounds good to me.  Would be kind of like returning home for Payton and he would get to face the Colts and their new QB twice during the season for the next several years. 

-March Madness:  In my game bracket, had all the top seeds with the exception of UCon winning the first games.  #5 Wichita State lost to #12 VCU, and #8 UCon lost to #9 Iowa State.  IU looked good in dispatching New Mexico State.  Expect the Irish will have their hands full against Xavier tonight at 9:45 though have them advancing to take on Duke on Sunday.  #1 seed Notre Dame Women play #16 seed Liberty on their home court on Sunday (2:30 on one of the espn channels) in the Women's first round (should have no problem advancing).

-More golf weather and golf at Lakeview today.

Loogootee Regional Photos 4

Tuesday Scramble

Scramble at 5 o'clock this afternoon.

Loogootee Regional Photos 3

Hi, John Walker. 



More pics at Birdman Photos.

Lakeview Leagues 2012 Forming

It's time to get your golf clubs out of hibernation, shine them up, stretch out and get back to the golf course.  The Lakeview Leagues are just about to get underway for the 2012 season.  Two of the three leagues begin play with the two pre-season nine hole scrambles starting the week of April 1st and continuing during the week of April 8th.  The Tuesday Men's League and the Thursday Match Play League open play in earnest the week of April 15th, the T-Men on the 17th, the Match Players on the 19th (at 10am).  The Community League, with an expanded season that includes six additional playing dates, follows thirty days later with the same schedule: two preseason scrambles the first two weeks of May and then the season opener during the week of May 13th.  Detailed information about the leagues can be found at the Lakeview Golf Course website (golflakeview.com).  To register your team: call the clubhouse at 812-295-5678 or email golflakeview@gmail.com.

Loogootee Regional Photos 2