Wednesday, June 30, 2010

2nd Annual League Scramble a Smashing Success!

For the first time in league history, the mid-summer classic - also known as the league scramble - went off without a single hitch. Golfers frolicked in the sun at a brisk pace, scores went to historically low levels, much laughter and good-natured back slapping could be witnessed on the course, good food was digested, and the evening was topped off with gumdrops, lollipops, and a dazzling fireworks display!

Golfers were unanimously delighted with the results, as the top performers modestly thanked their lucky stars, and those who couldn't claim the top spot this year responded with bold and witty prognostications about next year's results. Also, there was cotton candy.

Upon conclusion of a bountiful buffet provided by the local golf club, the most accomplished of the golfers were singled out for their stellar performances. Rousing ovations and “huzzahs” were observed for the following individual feats:
  • On Glenway's third hole, team captain MIKE KRAUS astounded as he holed a shot that traveled a longer distance than any other holed shot.
  • On the long and difficult fourth hole, young MIKE WARREN struck a tee shot of improbable distance and accuracy, a better combination than any other!
  • On the tree-shrouded sixth hole, PATRICK McEVILLY THE SENIOR managed a skilled tee shot which traveled past several potentially treacherous hazards and ended its journey on the green, very close to its desired resting place!
  • On the seventh hole – a dog-legged tangle of trees and hills – young master PAUL SCHUETTLER skillfully placed his second strike onto the green at a lesser distance to the hole than any other golfer!
These gentlemen were feted by their colleagues and they could barely keep pace with the congratulatory pints of ale that flowed their ways. Also, they had ice cream. With sprinkles.

Finally, the team results of the scramble were tabulated and announced. And what could be better than four men being crowned league scramble victors for an entire year? Well, the answer - believe it or not – is EIGHT men being crowned victors, and that is exactly what happened! In a true miracle of the golf gods, the KRAUS and McGETTIGAN teams (or McGETTIGAN and KRAUS teams, if that's your persuasion) finished the course with the exact same number of strokes – 29, three below par for the course! Scramble organizers scrambled (indeed!) to research the available tie breakers. Tie breaker after tie breaker was evaluated but, after each, neither of the two behemoths would stand down. Once the tie breakers were exhausted, it was perfectly clear that not the slightest hair separated the performances of this modern day Monitor and Merrimack.

At the announcement that the scramble had ended in a dead heat, the eight victors were encircled by the remaining partygoers, who chanted several rounds of “Hip! Hip! Hooray!!”

As the crowd reeled from the excitement of the championship finish, the results for the third place finish were learned, and they mirrored those for first place! The NELSON and DVORAK teams finished in their own dead heat, at two strokes under par for the course. More congratulatory back-patting commenced, until all were exhausted from the celebration.

There was, however, just enough remaining energy and glee for patron Shawn McGettigan to lead the merrymakers in a boisterous round of "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow," in appreciation of your humble servant - the league commissioner. The gratitude was graciously received and returned to the singing golfers.

The exciting results are below.

Strokes123456789Score
Kraus32244343429
McGettigan33244342429
Dvorak33344243430
Nelson43244343330
Miller33344343431
McEvilly43345243432
Wolfe44335343433
Moritz43344443433
Williams44344352534
Loescher33455354537

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

League Scramble - June 29

If you're looking for first half results, scroll down after you read this.

The 2nd Annual League Scramble and Cookout will be held next Tuesday night. Team tee times are posted up there in the corner.

I will be collecting $11 for the cookout as you come off the course Tuesday. I got payment from nine of you this week. If you will not be attending the cookout, please let me know so I can give Bill a head count. The $11 covers brats, burgers, potato salad, beans, chips, dessert, tax, and tip. It does not cover your beverages. Food will be served around 7:30/7:45.

For those of you unfamiliar with the "scramble" format, the rules are as follows:
  1. Each foursome plays as a team and keeps one score for the team (including putts).
  2. After each golfer tees off, the team picks one shot to play next, and each golfer hits from there. The three people whose shots won't be used should retrieve their balls and drop within a club-length of the ball chosen to be played, but if the ball you are playing is in the rough or a hazard you must play from that rough or hazard. You may improve your lie (winter rules).
  3. Follow this same procedure until your team holes out.
  4. When putting, the first person puts a mark down to identify where the others should putt from if the first person misses.
  5. At least one tee shot from each golfer in the foursome must be used on one of the nine holes. You do not need to decide whose tee shot is to be used until after everybody has teed off on a hole, unless you are forced to use a specific golfer’s tee shot on holes 7, 8, or 9 because you have not used one of their tee shots yet.
There will be cash prizes for the top 3 foursomes. The tie breakers are as follows, in order of priority:
  1. Most birdies
  2. Least bogeys
  3. Fewest putts
  4. Fewest total strokes on the five par 4 holes

There will also be four "regular" holes prizes:
  • Longest holed shot (putt or chip) on #3
  • Longest drive in fairway on #4
  • Closest to the pin (on the green) in 1 shot on #6
  • Closest to the pin in 2 shots (on the green) on #7
Results from last year's scramble are posted here.

First Half Recap

Three weeks' worth of match-ups were decided in a single round last night, and there was a lot of movement at the top of the standings.

When last we checked, the Nelson team was holding a 5.5 point lead over the field at the end of week 6. Based on last night's results, that lead was cut to 1.5 points in week 7 by the Moritz team, with the McEvilly team only 2 points behind.

Week 8 saw the Moritz team take over the top spot with 31 points to Nelson's 30.5, while the Kraus team stood at 30 and McEvilly at 29.5. That means, going into last night's match-ups, there were only 1.5 points separating the top four teams.

Before we get to the final results, though, I'd like to remind you all that the league scramble is next Tuesday. Remember, we're playing as teams, and the tee times are posted over on the right side there. Like last year, I gave my team the first tee time so I can finish and take care of business. The rest of the tee times were divined using a random number generator. If you don't like your draw, blame your karma. I'll have another, separate post (that McGettigan won't read) about the scramble, the rules, and the cookout. I collected cookout money from 9 of you last night. I will catch the rest of you next when you finish your round. If you don't plan to stay for the cookout, please let me know ahead of time so I can help Bill with a head count.

Oh yeah, final results. So, the league leading Moritz team needed just to hang on. Could they do it? Nope. Only 2.5 points last night left them with 33.5 as they dropped to 4th.

The other three contenders did pretty well, with 4, 5, and 5.5 points. While the Kraus team leapfrogged Moritz, they couldn't get higher than 34 points and a 3rd place finish.

Being a math whiz, you've already figured out the winner. The two remaining contenders - Nelson and McEvilly - had scores of 5 and 5.5 last night. However, the Nelson team led McEvilly by a full point after 8 weeks, and only a half-point separated them last night. Therefore, no matter which score belonged to McEvilly, it wasn't enough to make up the one point deficit, clearly identifying the Nelson team as the first half champs! (And that is how you make a rain-out marred pennant race exciting -and confusing.)

Congrats to the Nelson team, who now take a break to win the scramble and await their second-half foes. All the results and standings and crap will be posted as soon as I can get to it. Since last night's storm knocked out our DSL modem, I cannot do it from home.

Edit: Here, then, are the top four finishers. Everybody's at zero again starting next week!

35.5 Brad Nelson
35.0 Pat McEvilly
34.0 Mike Kraus
33.5 Bob Moritz