Hello from a very smoky golf course this week! Getting right to it, in Men’s Club action, we started the finals for twilight league: -Kerby Electric was defeated by Cascade Auto -D&B won out over True Value -Bud Bros beat Pacific Ridgeline -And Taylor’s Sausage squeaked by Valley Fab Cascade Auto will play against D&B and Bud Bros will battle Taylor’s Sausage on Monday. The ladies fought the smoke and had a surprisingly robust turnout on Thursday. Brian and Scottie joined up with Sue and Sharyl, the other girls split into two seven-women teams. Emily got a flat tire on #8 and Melyndee, Tasha and Kasey found the opportunity to make a food and drinks run to bring the air compressor. Shortly after getting the tire fixed, the lightning started and then the downpour. The ladies finished the last hole in the dark rain, with thunder booming out its warning above. Pretty impressive! Friday night we took our normal skins game and made it into a Popeye and Olive Oyl tournament. The format was two-person teams made of a man and women, playing with two teams off a teebox. We had 12 teams show up in spite of the smoke. We started at 5:30 and did 9 holes of regular scramble, then we arrived at the clubhouse and Buddy served us a nice au gratin potato dinner with baked ham and purple cabbage Rotkohl. On the front nine, Todd and Megan shot 35 with two birdies and a bogie. Maddi and D’Lynn and Trae and Graham shot 37s, Jamie and David shot a 38. Then we broke out the glow balls and played shortened holes, Todd and Megan shot a blistering 30 in the dark for the overall win, Trae and Graham and Jamie and David shot 33s in the darkness, giving Trae and Graham second place, with Jamie and David third. We collected up all of the lighted stakes and got home and in bed before midnight, pretty good for a glow ball tournament. Special thanks to Eugene for getting all the batteries installed in the glow stakes and being there to put carts away and lock up for us. And finally, Sunday skins had Zion visiting from Montana, James, Graham, Colby, Poke and all the Ts—Taylor, Tracy, Trey, Todd, Troy and Terry. Boring ties on #s 10-13 and nobody on the green on #13 to collect the KP of about $10. Then on #14, I chipped in an 8- foot shot from the rough, setting the standard at par. Four guys were on the green putting for birdie with Troy sitting at about 3 feet, looking like an easy putt, so we made him wait. James made his birdie putt and Todd tied him as we waited to see if Troy made his little 3 footer and, oh dear, he misses! I surprised everyone on #16 with the longest drive and right in the middle of the fairway. Four of us had birdie putts but nobody could sink one. On #16 nobody could put one on the green so that made $20 now in the KP pool. Stepping up to #17 teebox, we all anteed up again to make the KP pool $30. Colby was the first shot on, looking to be about 20 feet, Poke put the next one on and it looked to be about 18 feet, cheers abound from Poke, but wait, Tracy still has to hit. She rolls one up with her driver and it ends up on the left side of the hole, looking to be about 25 feet. I was holding the money as we approached the green and the view angle changed and Tracy was actually about 8 feet but rules are that she has to make par to “validate” the KP, much to her chagrin. She steps and hits a very firm putt, hitting the pin and dropping in for her first birdie, the $30, and on our first wedding anniversary. She will definitely be back to play skins against the guys again. Poke sunk his birdie putt for the first skin of the evening. No skin was won on #18 so Poke won the entire $100 skins pool. **Next tournament is the annual Calcutta Sept. 8 and 9. The public is invited to the horserace on Friday evening, tons of good-natured teasing each other, followed by a taco bar and auction of teams—anyone can purchase a team to follow and win big dollars if they finish in the money.
