Greetings, from the Illinois Valley Country Club Golf Course!
In this week’s action, we had five guys show up for Monday night skins. The winners on Monday were Todd with three skins, Graham with two and Dalton with three. KPs were won by Todd, Graham and I.
Wednesday afternoon was so warm for the skins that we all were in short sleeves until the sun passed beyond Woodcock Mountain. The skins that day were a mixed bag- I rolled in a long putt on #13 after taking the KP and got a rare birdie on my scorecard. Todd got a par on #18 for a skin and also got the 3rd shot KP after #17 was a carry-over because we all hit over the green or landed in the pile of leaves on the left side front. Graham took a skin on #15 and Roland got the KP on #16.
Friday night skins had some pretty nice weather but we were concerned about the Turkey Shoot because the green on #2 remained frosty all day and still had some frost when we got to it at 3:30. Skins were won by Troy, who had just returned from a visit to Florida and was having some uncomfortable time adjusting back to the chilly weather. Graham and Dalton also took skins and I lost the card so don’t remember exactly who got KPs but that’s OK, I need some space to report the Turkey Shoot. So the Turkey Shoot Tournament took place Sunday as a few guys needed to bring children to the Best of West Wrestling Tournament at the Jackson Country Fairgrounds. Kudos to all the kids from Cave Junction as they took second place out of about 12 teams that attended!
We had 11 teams of a total of 33 players show up for the Turkey Shoot, expecting the 62-degree afternoon promised by the weather reporters. We had a delay in getting started as there was a great deal of frost, but the sunshine was nice out by the cart shack and driving range and the players got to have a couple cocktails and chat while awaiting the frost to melt a little. A notable team consisting of Bruce Reece’s family—Mary Valenzuela, her daughter and Bruce’s wife Danielle, both sons-Jonathan and Clay and Clay’s two young children, who got to ride with Grandma and Grandpa in their heated, enclosed cart. Todd and crew did a fantastic job getting the greens mowed and rolled and they turned out nice and quick, balls would roll on flat spots and look like they were rolling downhill. The #2 green remained firm all day and it was funny to see normally great shots hit and run all the way off the green and into the woods. The day didn’t end up heating up too much but it was at least pleasant until the sun went down and then it got COLD. Gimmees Grill made up a really nice turkey dinner for us and we all nearly fell asleep after getting chilled and then eating turkey—thank-you to Ritchie for serving up such a nice meal. We made a nice amount of money to help the course financially through the winter months. Special thanks to Eugene for getting everything ready and cleaning up afterward!
Leaderboard for the Turkey Shoot
70–Colby, Ty, Troy
70—Graham, Dalton, Chris
72—Todd, Rich, Eugene
72—Brad, Roger, Dustin
72—David, Brett, Don
74—Jake, Ryan, Roland
75—Terry, John, Matt
76—Bruce, Clay, Jonathan
76—Zion, Poke, Will
77—Scott, Mike, Brian
83—Mary, Danielle, Bruce
Mary asked what her prize was for last place and Ty said that a nice hug and congratulations was appropriate so she got about five hugs.
KPs were won by David, Jake and I and a third shot KP on #18 by Ty
Long drives were Graham who narrowly edged by John and Roland nailed a dart down the narrow #5 and impressed us all.
We hope to start glowball on the range this Friday evening with warm fire pits, wagering and lots of fun.