It's Just Not Right!

It was a cold and blustery day for golf but a few of us broke out the sweaters and teed it up. Since the course was basically empty we played as a six some. The only way to keep things moving was to have a little skins game. Since LTG was the low handicap we played off his ball.
I don't know how or why but the Social Director shoots 41 on the front and racks up 4 skins in the process. Poor LTG shoots 74 and can't get a sniff. Even I had 6 natural pars and managed to get only one skin. I wish I had an explanation for the SD's ability to arise to the occasion, but I don't. The only thing we all know was "it's just not right". Fred asked at one point if we should call Jill and ask where she wanted the body shipped. At least he didn't win the TSOTD and the pot is now approaching triple digits.

As the SD said quite often "hi ho Silver and away". See ya.

Difficult Times

A week ago my mother went under hospice care in Findlay at the retirement community where my parents reside. Her health had been failing for the past six months due to a variety of ailments related to being 87. Her doctors told us there was nothing left for them to treat her with and the end of life was near. They originally estimated she would live no more than two months. That quickly turned into one to two weeks. The past week was spent watching her slowly pass away and she finally died quietly in the early morning on Friday. This has been particularly hard on my father. They were married for close to 65 years and he has been her primary care giver during the past two years. He still thinks there was something more he might have been able to do and has a very difficult time accepting the fact that time was the enemy.

It was heartening to know she retained her sharp wit until the end. One of her last comments to one of her nurses was that she got my sister and I at Sears & Roebuck (probably on sale) and my father at an orphanage (because he was younger). She will be missed by her family and friends. No matter how she was feeling she always wanted to know about her great grand children and loved all the wacky things young children do and say. We had a diificult time finding a recent picture where she wasn't mugging for the camera at a family gathering. It was interesting to hear the funeral director say she had a positive impact on his life when she was his fourth grade teacher a number of years ago. I'm sure he wasn't the only one.

The funeral will Monday and then life will go on.

The Answer

First of all this is the second time I'm writing this. The power went out the first time and we sat in the candle light for about 4 hours. We had to scramble to find a battery powered radio to listen to. Now back the answer.

Since both partners were gone the Social Director and I found two cameos to fill in. Little Timmy G (aka LTG) and Gilhooley. Since the handicaps ranged across the spectrum it was decided to play COD. Well that disrupted the SD's rhythm and I was able to recover some of my treasure. LTG was on fire the front nine and shot 37. Not bad when you have chops for partners. He cooled off a bit on the backside put still posted a a sub 80 round. Actually we all feed off of him and played pretty well.

The Rabbit Wrangler and Miss Emma were in town for a quick visit. So no golf on Sunday and very little football was watched. But, I was expecting a big loss from the Browns and was completely surprised when I heard they beat the Saints. I'll the bookies weren't pleased about that. And, how about Gary Pinkel's Tigers knocking off OU? It just doesn't pay to be ranked number 1 this year.

That was quite a storm that blew through last evening. The course needs rain to get it ready for cold weather. See ya a the training table.

Cold Hands

Yesterday was one of those days when you know you should stay in the grill and drink coffee. But no, we decided to play. Everything was fine until # 9 when it started to rain. After a short break and a pause in the showers the five of us went to the back side. I really think we were trying to get our money back from Kevin D. (aka KD) who shot 35 on the front and was winning all the skins except for the birdie I made on # 8. Well it started to come down harder and Twinkle Toes and Tim G declared they were out of there. For some I really don't understand Gilhool;ey and I decided to go on. That decision was short lived for me. My hands went numb on 11 and I hit two Schwiers and called it quits. The last I saw Gilhooley and KD were seen driving off into the drizzle towards 12 tee. I followed eight deer back to the pro shop and then headed home for a hot toddy. I know Gilhooley isn't very bright at times, but I really thought the deer were smarter. The jury is still out on KD.

Saturday is another day and the weather looks OK. The Social Director is itching to play. I think he scrounged up a partner since the GWH is off looking for prairie dogs out west. Probably another ringer to contend with.

Keep the faith and don't read too many of those instruction articles. All they do is cloud your brain with useless tips.

Well Deserved Reginition

Last evening was the annual meeting of the TDGA. Among the several awards presented is the Bert Silverman Award (think man of the year). The 2010 recipient was Don Michel. For those of us who know Don I believe we would all agree it was well deserved for all the good things he has done for the community and more specifically for his efforts in helping to making the Jamie Farr Toledo LPGA Classic what it is today. To date the tournament has helped raise $7.3 million for children's charities in Northwest Ohio. Don was introduced by Judd Silverman who read a great letter from Jamie Farr extolling Don's efforts. It was really good to see Don finally get some recognition for his many contributions. In these times of turmoil and uncertainty we sometimes forget there are really a lot of good people who do much to benefit our area. Again kudos to Don.

The Red, White, and Blue

That's what we played yesterday to officially kick off "Silly Season". Just eight of us so not much at stake. But it is amazing how many of us didn't play the par 3s any better from the red tees. Several shots made for great fodder for discussion. I won't name any names here but I'm sure some stories will leak to the masses. The positive part of the day was my team won in a close match. But, what a great fall day to play. Clear and crisp - the reason they make sweaters.

I don't know how many good days are left, but I hope to take advantage of them. This is always a bitter sweet time of the golf season. The game starts to round into form and the weather turns to crap. You start to look at each round as potentially the last one of the season and don't want to double bogey 18 and have to think about that all winter.

Have to go to Findlay on Wednesday so see everyone on Thursday. By the way it was good to see Fred S. I guess he ran out of pigeons to pluck up north.

Finally

It has taken all year but I finally made it into the money on the last event of the year. We finished third in the closing scramble. It was a team affair, with everyone coming through at the right time. My teammates were Meeeechigan Dave (in his plus 4s), JJ and Ryan R. ( a good younger player). If we could've played the par threes we would have tied for first. Now I only have to figure out what get from the pro shop in the few days remaining to spend shop credit.

Yesterday was so nice and we knew the Browns would find a new way to lose we decided to spend the afternoon on the course. The right decision . Other than some goofy bounces, and bumpy greens it was a nice way to spend Sunday afternoon. Plus it gave me a chance to practice as I played. You know the old adage "speed kills". If I just keep that out of my swing what a different world this would be.

I should mention as we were coming off the 9Th green who comes rolling up (literally) none other than our resident biker - Twinkle Toes. All decked out in his leathers and bandanna. What a sight. But, he does have a nice bike. He said they were going to pick the bike up for winter storage but he just couldn't part with it yet. Makes me wonder if I should have waited to put the hardtop on the Benz.

Weather looks decent for Tuesday. See ya at the training table.

A Very Near Miss

Remember I said in my last posting the TDGA rating committee was going back to Inverness on Thursday to play. Playing is part of the rating process and helps confirm our original thoughts. Well things were going along pretty much as expected. It was a little windy, cool, but generally a nice day to play. We had a great fore caddy with the nickname of "Famous Amos" who was equipped with his own laser range finder. He was a big help throughout the round and very experienced (239 loops in 2010). But I digress. I was basically playing bogey golf thru 17. In fact I played the tough holes well and the par 3s in par. For some reason I've always played 18 reasonably except for the time I airmailed the green from the left green side bunker and nearly cleared out the patio. Today however was a different story. After hitting a perfect drive to within 105 yards I hit the perfect 9 iron to within 12 inches for a kick-in birdie, and it was really close to an eagle. You can't finish much better than that!

I dropped my clubs off on the way home and checked to see if anyone was playing golf. But, was told that only Twinkle Toes, Frank H and Dean were somewhere on the course. So I posted my away scores and went home. I forgot to mention I played in the Toledo Golf Hall of Fame Tournament on Wednesday at TCC. My team was part of the crowd applause group. Respectable but no where near the winners. Don't believe the horror stories about their greens. They were as fast as I've ever seen them and I only saw one that looked like they had any problems.I missed 4 putts inside 4 feet for par, and was not a happy camper. The rest of the course appeared to be in good shape.

That's it for now. Hope to see everyone at the men's closing on Saturday.

Long Days' Work

In my last posting I said I couldn't play on Tuesday due to the rating of Inverness with the TDGA. We thought it would be a long day and weren't disappointed. Understand we work in teams of three and rate the course from all tees. I was on the team doing the men's silver tees (member tees). After completing #1 we all looked at each other and said "we'll be here till 5 PM if this pace continues". We did finish by 3:30 PM, but what a job. That course has a lot of things to consider. I haven't been there for a couple of years but was taken by the number of trees that have been removed. Also, they are doing a lot of work on bunkers in preparation for the US Senior Open. But all in all the course looked to be in good shape. As part of the rating process we are expected to play the course to help confirm what we put on the worksheets. Since we didn't have time yesterday we go back Thursday to play.

I did stop on my way home to see how things went for the JR/SR's. TTS was waiting in the bar so I knew his team played well (and they were the final winners by a wide margin). Good to see Tony H playing. He's been threatening to join us for a long time. Now he'll see what golf is really about, and how hard it is to beat somebody where yoy have to give a stroke a hole.

I'll try to stop Thursday and give another status report.

Life In The Bonus Lane

Yesterday was one of those bonus days we get around here in October. Outstanding weather, great colors, a firm course and good friends to play golf with. The only thing that would make it perfect is winning. With the departure of Dr. AH for Florida I had to recruit a new partner. I convinced TZ to show up and figured with his handicap there was fighting chance. I was correct, but after landing several body blows the SD and the GWH some how managed to get up off the canvas and squeeze out a small victory on the last 2 holes. When I tabulated the final scores they were both well under their handicaps and even after the scores were posted there was no change. I think maybe a Congressional investigation is in order (they hold hearings on less important things anyway).

If you played yesterday you probably noted the place was full in the afternoon. I don't where everyone came from, but it was nice to see activity this late in the year. I came remember year's past when the place looked like a ghost town.

The member meeting was well attended on Friday evening and El Presidenta' gave a good presentation. There are serious issues we still face as a club and I think everyone should be well informed. The board is looking for input from the membership. If you did not attend Friday I hope you will make an effort to go to one of the two remaining scheduled meetings. This is too important to ignore.

You guys are on your own Tuesday. I'm a member of the TDGA course rating committee and we are doing Inverness that day. Because of the number of tees, hazards, trees, rough and all that kind of stuff this will be long day. I will say in the three years I've been doing this I've learned a great deal about course design and layout. I'm still a rookie because some of the committee people have decades of experience. And trust me when I say it is easy to get confused when you have to consider multiple issues on each hole.

Safe And Sound

Yes, the Pig Trophy remained safe and sound in the hands of the men. Many of the Piglets thought they were going to be able to steal it from us and have bragging rights for the next 12 months. But thanks to some great play from guys like TZ, Silk, the SD to name a few we were able to prevail rather handily. It didn't hurt that a couple of reserves like Ron and Bruce stepped up also. I know the Piglets were disappointed and vowed to do better next year. So watch out, we never know what they might have up their ruffled sleeves.

Kudos to the Greg, Chef Kiel, and the staff for putting on a great pig roast. The group looked like everyone had a good time. With a little effort we can make next year even better. Pig always tastes better than crow.

The weather looks good for the next 10 days. This is a great time to be playing golf. The leaves are starting to turn, and the course is giving us a new look each day. I know Eric is going to punch the greens again so maybe we'll start silly season in earnest next week. If anyone wants a special format bring it up at lunch.

Don't forget The stag on Thursday so we have to play in the AM. Congats again and see you at the training table.

Sitting In The Rain

That's right. Instead of playing in it I sat in it at the Rabbit Wrangler's 4Th grade football game. It is amazing how many people do that in Ohio on a Saturday afternoon. It must be something in our genetics because I was one of a couple of hundred people sitting in a lawn chair under an umbrella trying to keep dry and watch 9 year old's slip and slide on the field. And no his team didn't win. Earlier in the day I sat through a bumble bee soccer game with the grand daughter. No rain but still painful to watch. At five most kids are still playing with the grass and don't really have an interest in running up and down a field kicking a ball in an organized manner. But, a grand parent does what a grand parent must (at least according to Nurse Crachit). The best part I only got a little damp around the edges.

I talked to the pro shop yesterday and was informed we have 32 signed up for the Pig Open. There are 9 women's teams and 7 men's. We may get a few more by Tuesday. That's not too bad considering the middle of the week and this being the 1st time for the event. If you can't play I hope you plan on attending the dinner and awards ceremony. I'm sure there will be a lot of squealing going on ( a little pig humor). Don't forget to bring a dollar for the SOTD.

Records

Yesterday was a day for records to be made and broken. Four of us showed up on time and one a little late. The LR Dr. meet us on the course complaining of jet lag or not being able to understand his email (take your pick). Thus we changed the format from COD to a standard skins game. The first record to fall was when TTS (soon to be known as TTC) at the end of nine this was the first time in 27 years that he hadn't made a par on the front side. By the way TTC stands for Tommy Two Chunks and that's the reason he had no pars. Personally I still like TTS but he was answering to both monikers.

The second record was the fact that Gilhooley did not win a skin the entire round. Believe me it wasn't for the lack of effort but rather LOFT on this day. I'll give him credit, he autographed a $1.00 bill for each of us to commemorate the occasion. It isn't very often we get any money from him let alone signed. Mine is already laminated and in the safe.

We adjourned without having lunch so we could change clothes and attend the memorial service for Ashel Byran. For those unable to attend it was a very fine tribute to an exceptional person we will all miss. It is always sad to lose a friend but doubly so to lose one who contributed so much in so many ways.

I'm not sure I'll be playing Saturday due to bumble bee soccer and the rabbit wrangler's pee wee football game but I'll definitely be raring to go next week. Can't miss the Pig Outing on Tuesday. I hear rumors the Piglets are fielding a strong team they think will be tough to beat. Do they know we are all playing from the blue tees?

PS anyone see the TV coverage of the Ryder Cup this AM? Can't believe the US team can't get rain suits that don't leak. What was somebody thinking about when they picked them out! At a minimum I might have tested them with a garden hose.

PPS LBB won SOTD on his last day (only 1/2 the pot) for $65.