Tee Tattler

Greetings from the IVCC golf course!
In this week’s most excellent Wednesday evening “pick-up” matches, Eugene and Huey set us up to play “Alternate Shot” format. In alternate shot the players are teamed up in pairs, one player is chosen to hit the first shot and then we alternate shots with each shot. This format is possibly the most difficult of any format because your normal places to land are now your partner’s normal places, so you might not have hit from many of these lies in the past. In addition, you may hit a nice shot yourself and be all excited to back it up with another beauty but…now your partner gets to hit your shot, and of course they chunk it two feet or thin it out over the green and into the ditch. Anyway, it is a very fun format, regardless of the frustration because it is very funny to watch your opponents’ equal frustration. Jake and Jesse beat the field for a payout of $35 each.
Scottie was out of town on military assignment, showing guys how to defuse bombs, so Sue and I did not partner up, which would have been the third week in a row playing with her as my partner for the money, but John and I made a great charge at second place. The Wednesday evening changing format is so fun and Eugene conjures up some crazy stuff for us players to endure each week.
On Thursday, Tracy reported that she played a great 9 holes in the morning but when she joined the rest of the ladies for evening golf that she had lost her luck. Emily reports that the ladies are excited to play in the club championship and have a few gals ready to team up in their own division.
On Friday evening, our normal Friday Friends and Family play was interrupted by the next mornings’ Club Championship so most of us were busy putting together the nuts and bolts that a tournament takes to accomplish. However, Todd, Ryan, D’Lynn and Dave traveled over to Dutcher Creek for a fundraiser scramble and they reported that they made 9 birdies and finished in third place. I didn’t quite catch what Todd said when I asked how much they won in prizes but I don’t think it was something the I.V. News is allowed to print.
The big event this week was our Club Championship Saturday and Sunday. Saturday’s leaders were D’Lynn with even par 72, Todd with 79 and Randy with 80. On Sunday, D’Lynn kept up the pressure with a 78, Todd close behind with 79, Gimmees own, Matt with 85, Randy with 87, darkhorse Jim with 89, David with 91 and John an impressive 92. Final winners were D’Lynn in first gross with 150, Todd a very close second with 158 and Randy with 167 for third gross. Net winners were Todd, Randy and darkhorse Jim again for a very impressive 3rd place net. Jim reports that he saw our beloved night waterman, Dave Hill limping along #2 fairway after his sprinkler carrier cart suddenly quit and he picked him up and gave him a ride back to the maintenance shop. The next hole, Jim scored a birdie, followed by another birdie and then a par. One of the birdies scored Jim a skin as well. Jim attributed the luck to his unselfish act of kindness to Dave.
Other skins were won by Matt with 2 skins, David with 1 skin and D’Lynn with 5 skins, ouch! I might mention that Graham was in the thick of competition until someone shot a loud popgun nearby and disturbed his drive and following that, he got himself into a very aggressive yellowjacket bee’s nest and got stung maybe 15 times in the face, head and stomach. The trooper that he is, he not only finished and showed up for Sunday’s but he also played skins on Sunday evening and put all the carts away Sunday night for us, many thanks to Graham for all he does for IVCC.
In the ladies’ division, Emily, Jamie, Jaime, Tracy and from over the Hayes Hill, Meghan Taormino teamed up on Sunday. Meghan, with her pro swing and great attitude, of course blew them away with a 91 for first gross. Jamie Scroggins got second gross and first net with a 104, Jamie Drake was third with 114, Emily Nichols had 118 and Tracy struggled through but made it in with a 151. Tracy and I were both last in our respective divisions, so we cried on each other’s shoulders, but enjoyed the comradery with the many awesome friends and athletes. Following the tournament, Pappy T’s served up a nice ribeye steak dinner with Buddy’s BBQing praised by those who stayed for dinner.
And finally, we decided that Sunday cannot end without an evening skins game to complete the week. Ty and Freddie got their bottoms off of the couch and played, Danny finally recovered from Friday evening whiskey night, Jesse, Jake, D’Lynn, John and I finished out the field. Matty and Kaylin rode along and teased the boys and Odie chased balls. D’Lynn got first skin on #1 with a birdie. D’Lynn also sunk a birdie putt for an apparent birdie on #2 but Danny hit the green soon afterward, setting himself up for an unlikely birdie attempt. He hit the putt at the hole but Freddie, not knowing that it was a birdie shot, blocked the putt so we gave him the birdie, tying D’Lynn’s birdie. John decided that he needed some handicap strokes to help even the field, but, after being turned down, he bargained a scramble format for him and me only. So of course we took advantage of that and scored a measly par on the difficult #5, with everyone else with bogeys. On #7, Danny chipped up close for an easy par, Freddie tied with a long putt, and me and John put one very close for a tap-in par and tie. On #8, Freddie got KP and verified it with a couple of difficult breaking putts. And finally on #9, me and John, D’Lynn and Freddie all got on the green in 3 shots to putt for birdies. D’Lynn had a close putt and we let him go first to increase the drama, of course he made it. John just missed our putt by rimming it on the left side of the cup and Freddie hit and the ball rolled true but just took a little turn right at the cup and rimmmed right, giving D’Lynn the last skin and a payout of about $50. Freddie collected $25 and me and John split the other $25.
Coming up this weekend is the second Greenskeeper’s Revenge with Todd and Colby setting impossible pin placements and ridiculous tee boxes.
**This Wednesday will be a “7-iron only” mini-tourney.