by Bruce Braun
“The sole purpose of the golf swing is to create a correct IMPACT. How that is done is of no consequence as long as a method employed allows you to REPEAT it!!” John Jacobs.
Holy guacamole… have we ever had a wet and cool week. BB has been closed for much of the past week due to the unrelenting cool and rainy days. Just when most of us are ready to get some rounds of golf in we are stuck at home, looking out the window with our lower lip quivering. No patting on the back with consoling words like “Now, now” even come close to being sufficient. It is of great fortune then that we got to play golf today. “Cart Path Only” rules continue until things dry out a bit. Even hole number six was reduced to a par three saving all of us almost 300 yards of slogging through the mush. It’s tough on some of us guys! Our afternoon naps tend to be a little longer!
Here is a little information on the BBSML flight categories. Since not all golfers are created equal the handicap system does very well at grouping golfers of a similar skill level into categories called flights. The senior men’s league currently has five flights which allows men of a similar skill level to compete against each other. Whomever has the lowest gross score in your flight wins! Each week you’ll see whose individual score was best in flight. The championship at the end of the year puts a victory up for grabs for both low net and low gross scores for each flight. Then there is a trophy that is awarded to the club champion for the overall low score. As expected, the trophy has been described as a spectacular diamond encrusted beacon of magnificent proportions.
The breakdown of flight categories is as follows:
Flight one: handicap of Up to 15.
Flight two: handicap of 16 to 19.
Flight three: handicap of 20 to 24.
Flight four: handicap of 25 to 29.
Flight five: handicap of 30 and above.
In theory, if you were at the low end of one of the flights, you might have a better chance of winning in your flight. Likewise, if you were in the higher end, one of the flights, your chances are not as good. But because golf is the way that it is, and the flights are not too widespread, there’s always a good chance to win your flight whether it is the weekly nine hole stroke play competition or the end of season event. Take a look at the trophies that are upstairs in the clubhouse and you’ll see numerous names spread across each trophy. Everybody has a chance.
Many of you know Ray Howard. He has been a member of this league for a long time. Trophies upstairs have his name splashed across a few of them. He earned them. It’s not like there was a discount if you bought ten or more. Anyway, Ray has assembled annual tomes of our senior men’s league. Just last week I was handed his most recent edition that celebrates the 2023 season. There are numerous collections upstairs but at this point they are just collected in boxes. It sure would be nice if someone could build a nice set of shelves so that these volumes could be displayed much nicer than they currently are. Would you be willing to build or donate something? Let me know.
And now, drumroll, please, a word from our president…
Hello Beauty Bay Senior Men
2024 has gotten off to a good start, I want to give our members an update on the season ahead.
First, I would like thank Bernice the new course Manager and also a big thank you to Nicole for their support of our group.
There are some important dates and some small changes we hope will make our Tuesday fun competitions a little more enjoyable.
Important Dates:
- Memorial service for deceased members prior to Golf – July 2
- Annual BBQ after golf – July 9
- Championship Rounds – September 3 and 10
- Season final Golf and Awards Windup dinner – September 17
Event Updates:
- Match Play Event is being organized By Dan Anderson and Keith Lake. Sign-up first come basis starting Tuesday May 28, $5 entry with A & B side winners
- Falcon Lake Trip Date TBA
- Kenora Men’s Club Reciprocal Events Dates TBA
Weekly Scramble Play Changes:
- To make the scramble team play a little more even, all players regardless of age will play Red Tees as follows:
- Red Tees Holes 3 & 8 on Front Nine Scramble
- Red Tees Holes 15 & 18 Back Nine Scramble
- For Teams with only 3 players individual players will be designated A, B & C and the extra shot will always alternate A, B, C regardless of each shot type. For example: if the last player to take an extra shot was player B on a hole then Player C takes the extra shot off the next tee. Always alternate A-B-C
- To clarify the rules on minimum drives, in a Threesome each player will count a minimum of 3 drives. However, because of the alternating shots they will have three extra drives per nine holes to get their drives to count.
Results for the league on May 28 are as follows:
Front nine scramble winners were Tim Warkentin, Lorne Frederick, Richard Cone, and Bruce Braun, with a score of 30. Congratulations! A slight explanation… Number 6 was playing as a par three due to extreme wet conditions and the senior men’s league has adopted a new routine whereby a couple of holes are played from the forward tees. See the explanation above from Mr. President.
Flight one: Tim Tuusa. 39.
Flight two: Murray Kesselman. 41.
Flight three: Bruce Meyers. 40.
Flight four: Grant Lawrence. 45.
Flight five: Bob Brignall. 51.
Other achievements:
Longest putt on number 11: Jim “You ain’t seen nothing yet” Bergman.
Closest to the hole second shot on number 13: Jim “Yup, me again!” Bergman.
Closest to the hole first shot on number 14: Ed “The Incredible” Spendlow.
Longest putt on number 16: Jim “You read that right!” Bergman.
Longest drive (70-74) on number 18: Duncan “Power House” Calder.
Dry your golf shoes out and we will see you next week!
