Thursday, April 29, 2010

Obituary - Emery Sylvester

Brad Nelson sent me a link to an obituary for Emery Sylvester, who we presume is an alumnus of the UW Men's Golf League. The obituary can be found here. Perhaps some of the elder statesmen can confirm this.

If Emery, indeed, is one of our own, and presuming he did not have a brother (or otherwise share the name Sylvester in the league annals) I suggest we fast-track his Hall of Fame induction. Here are the highlights from the league history, handed down to me by Dave Rieves. Some of these must have been sons, grandsons, or others, unless Mr. Sylvester was the league's best golfer well into his 70's! (The obit does say, "After retiring in 1976, Emery enjoyed playing golf, often "shooting his age" into his late 80s. He played regularly to age 95.")
  • League Low Average: 1958 (at the age of 47), 1963-64, 1966-72, 1976, 1980-82, 1985, 1987
  • League Champion: 1969, 1979, 1985, 1992
  • Sy Brandt Sportsman: 1961
Brad will be making a memorial donation to HospiceCare of Madison in the name of the league. If you would like to contribute, please see Brad during league play or post in the comments here.

Any other recollections of Mr. Sylvester are welcome. I'll try to compile any and add them to the league history documents.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Week 1 Recap

It's good to get back in the swing of golf season! It was a glorious evening for golf, until the sun decided to dive into the horizon and the temperature dove along with it. Fortunately, only three golfers lost digits due to frostbite.

Results and standings are now posted in the links section, on the right-hand side of this page.

For the most part, golf was played at a reasonable pace last night. We still finished too late, though, and next week is going to be a challenge because the league before us plays. They are not the source of the long rounds, though – we are. If your teammate is not playing ready or keeping a good pace, or is taking too long before swinging, please nudge them along. Captains, especially, can help with this. I don't mean to take the fun out of it, but we're not exactly staring down a putt at the Royal and Ancient Golf Club here. Here are some tips for speeding up play without losing enjoyment.

As for last night's results, the Nelson team takes a commanding ½ point lead over three other teams. There weren't too many good scores – Dave Rieves shot 36 and Mike Williams had a 38, but there were few really bad scores. Our average was 48.2, which is better than last season's first week average of 48.9.

Inexplicably (or is it?), all four hole challenge winners came from the Loescher-Nelson match-up, with each team winning two. The Commissioner may just get the same P.I. who brought down the Loew family last year to investigate this incident, which reeks of collusion! Seriously, though, did you see the "Long Drive" by Mike Williams? I just wonder what would have happened if he hadn't decided to lay up on his tee shot.

Did I miss an entire season of "The Haney Project: Doug Smedema" on The Golf Channel last winter? Doug, who boasts of his league "best" handicap of 34, shot a raw 51 on Tuesday, which is a net 17. To put that into perspective, esteemed Former-Commissioner-For-Life Dave Rieves, with his 5 handicap, would have to shoot 22 on Glenway to hit a net 17. Well done on the off-season work, Doug!

I would give you an update on the Sy Brandt Sportsmanship award race, but you all know I'm just going to give it to myself at the end of the year, anyway.

Next week, we're back to our normal schedule. Keep up the ready golf and hope for sunshine, because it's going to get dark for the last groups. See you Tuesday!

Oh, and thanks, everybody, for being ready with your league dues on Tuesday. It really helps me when I don't have to worry about collecting those for several weeks!

Monday, April 19, 2010

Week 1 Pairings

Gentlemen –

On Tuesday, we brave souls venture forth into the fairways and thickets for the 54th season of the UW Men's Golf League. There are a few important pieces of information I'd like to share with you. Please note the early start time for Tuesday, April 27! Read on.

  1. Please bring your $25 league dues on Tuesday, April 27. I will meet every group at the 1st tee to send you off, and will collect dues at that time.
  2. I'll be discussing "Ready Golf" with each group prior to their teeing off, to facilitate the eradication of our number one nemesis - slow play.
  3. I have a few paper copies of last season's yearbook left. Let me know if you'd like one. I don't think I've put the yearbook on the blog yet, so I'll try to do that some time soon.
  4. I won't print everyone paper copies of the schedule, since it's on the blog. If you want one, though, let me know and I'll print one out for you.
  5. The DVORAK team is still looking for full-time golfers. Let me or Jeff know if you have any candidates.
Here are Tuesday's pairings, including the Cogadh Cathartha na hÉireann (Irish Civil War) at 4:52. (V) denotes vacant positions.

4:37 & 4:45 Dvorak vs. Kraus
John Gillich (V) 17
Steve Smith 15
Rich Lampe (V) 11
Lynn Paulson 6
Mike Warren 11
Andy Taylor 9
Jeff Dvorak 11
Mike Kraus 13





4:52 & 5:00 McGettigan vs. McEvilly
Tom McWeber 24
Herb McStanford 24
Scott McGomez 10
Pat McEvilly 10
Chris McWeber 5
Dave McDelveaux 9
Shawn McGettigan 12
Ed McCorcoran 16





5:07 & 5:15 Miller vs. Moritz
Charlie Hoslet 15
Paul Schuettler 13
David Miller 10
Steve Moritz 8
Ed Meachen 12
Bob Moritz 10
Doug Hoerr 12
Tom Hidde 12





5:22 & 5:30 Nelson vs. Loescher
A Tomaszewski 24
Rob Zimmerman 22
Mike Williams 10
John Loescher 14
Steve McDonnell 11
Ed Molter 15
Brad Nelson 20
John Lobe New





5:37 & 5:46 Williams vs. Wolfe
Ron Weiss 18
David Wolfe 19
Dave Rieves 5
Paul Barnett 13
Matt Blouin 14
Mike Sanders 17
Bob Crowe 18
Adam Hopkins 18

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

New Golfers Needed

FYI - We need two new golfers on the Dvorak team this season. If you know of anybody interested in joining (or in being a sub) please let me know. Thanks.

Sunday, April 11, 2010

2010 Season Schedule Posted

I have posted the 2010 season schedule in links section. It's pretty self-explanatory, with a couple exceptions, which are required due to the earlier darkness at those times.
  • During the first week of the season, each match-up will play 15 minutes earlier. That means the first two teams will play at 4:37 and 4:45.
  • Also, the last four weeks of the season, I will be rescheduling the first match-ups to a different night (maybe same time Monday or Wednesday).
We begin on April 27!

2010 Schedule