Dougherty & Butcher successfully defend their Member Member Title

With blue skies aplenty this past weekend we had our Men's Member Member Championship contested on Saturday and Sunday.  We could not have had a more beautiful weekend for the tournament.  The players who threw their hats in the ring and competed for this coveted title were certainly not disappointed as the golf course continues to look better and better every day.  We had a total of 12 teams vying for the Championship with what might have been our most evenly talented group of players.  Some years their is a clear favorite for the overall gross Champion but we had many of the competitors this year with a real chance  at victory.

On Friday we started out with a practice round better ball game where we paid out first place Gross and first place Net.  We had a bit of a light showing for this game but the results was maybe a bit of a premonition as to what was to come for the weekend.  We had the team of Eddie Bray and Philip Bailey tie the team of Dave Dunn and Jack Maisano for the low net honors and Steve Dougherty and Pat Butcher took home the low gross money.  Great work guys!

Saturday's format was two separate games with the front nine being captains choice (scramble) and the back  nine a modified alternate shot where each player gets to hit a drive then the partners switch positions and hit their partners ball and after the second shot is completed they choose the best location and alternate from their until the ball is holed.  The back nine format can be quite a test in friendship.  The team of Ken Bass and Rob Oldroyd came out firing with an excellent first day round of eight under par 64 to take the first day lead by 4 shots over the team of Fire & Ice (Ron Coffman & Peter Vanica).  We had three other teams trailing close behind with under par rounds which would make for an exciting finish for Sunday.  The Net competition was also very tight with the Boals boys (Tom Sr. & Jr.) taking the day one lead by only about a quarter of a shot over Dave Harper and Tom Duggan.  The rest of the field was still within striking distance of these two teams after day 1.

Sunday's format was better ball of the two player team.  The former champions had their work cut out for them trying to make up a five shot lead after their first round of 69.  The birdies were flying near the end of the first nine holes with William Rocchi and Russell Stokes making a run at the title with 3 birdies to finish the outward nine for a score of 33.  Dougherty and Butcher were tough to beat though with a front nine score of 32 that included birdies on 4 of the last 5 holes by Steve Dougherty.  Mr. Butcher felt a bit left out on the front nine with Steve hogging all the birdies so he proceeded to birdie 10 and 11 to take the team to 6 under par for their round.  By the 13th hole it still looked like any ones ball game but then Steve Dougherty went on a tear making birdie on 14, eagle on 15 and birdie on 17.  The team finished with a par on the 18th for an astounding 10 under par 62.  This combined with their first day score of 69 totaled  131 and a 6 shot victory over their nearest competitor!  Congratulations on a hard fought victory to Steve Dougherty and Pat Butcher.

The Net Champions of Philip Bailey and Eddie Bray also had a come from behind victory as well.  These former champions were in 7th place after day 1 and almost 4 shots behind the leaders but that did not seem to affect their ability to post a seriously low number on championship Sunday and take home that coveted invite to the Champions dinner.  The duo overcame a plethora of worthy competitors to win first place net by   only 3.2 shots with an astounding 15 under par 57.  The team was surprised with the repeat victory and said "when one of us was in trouble the other one always seem to come through"  Great work guys!

We had some special event hole for the weekend
Closest to the hole #2  Rick Roberts
Closest to the hole #9  Ken Bass
Closest to the hole #12 William Rocchi
Closest to the hole #17 David Harper

Congratulations go out to all players who played this weekend.  I truly thank you for your participation in this event.  Without you their is no event so thank you very much.

Don't forget that October is our Championship month with the Couples Club Championship and the Men's & Ladies Club Championship so please sign up for these events as soon as you can so you don't miss out.  We will also have information going out about this years Battle at Bears Valley.  This is an awesome event so keep your eyes open for upcoming information pertaining to this Tournament.

Best,

Dave

John Ramsey reals back for another huge tee shot on the 18th hole

One time greenskeeper now about to become Masters Champion.

Watch the ball, Watch the ball, Watch the ball, Watch the ball

That's my partner.  Another one straight down the middle.

Here is your ball Pat.  Nice putt!

Was that a 3 or a 4 on the last hole?  

Peter "Ice" Vanica putts one on the difficult 4th as Ron "Fire" Coffman looks on.

Coffman going for the green in two on the 8th hole as Ken Bass waits in the background to do the same.

I can't believe that thing did not break!!?

Pat Butcher launches yet another shot toward the flag on the 7th

The Rock on the 7th hole hits another one close to the hole.

Rob Oldroyd attempts a shot from the fairway on the 4th while Ken Bass looks on.

Rob Oldroyd returning the favor.  What kind of finish is that KB?

New member Alan Curtis striking his second shot on the 4th hole as his partner Patrick Butler looks on.

Dave Harper requested a closeup for the Blog.  

Pat Molamphy hoping this one does not go left.

Steve Ahlfeld's game is so hot I think I see him smoking!

Harper crushes one on six

Rick Roberts and Gary Gough look on as team Harper and Duggan attempts a putt on three.

Net Champions Eddie Bray and Philip Bailey size one up on the 5th hole.

Final Scoreboard

2012 Men's 2 Man Match Play Club Champions Crowned

We have new champions in town with Norman Finegold and Tom Boals Sr. winning the 2012 Men's 2 Man Match Play Club Championship.  It was a tough road to the championship with a plethora of worthy opponents standing in their way but they barreled through and got the job done.

Their first opponent was Bruce Chalas and Rick Finnin  who are known for their tenacity and grit.  The match went to the last hole with our champions winning that match 1 up.  The next opponent on the list was Tim Buckley and Mike Girimont who proved to be the toughest test for our duo.  They took the Champs to extra hole and word was that Finegold made a big put on the 18th to continue the match.  The boys eventually made it on to the next round with a victory after 19 holes.  The semi-final match was against former champions Tony Coppola and Ron Murray.  The dynamic duo were on their A game and dispatched the former champions with a 4 & 3 victory to get into the finals against Pat Molamphy and John Doster.

John Doster looks on as Tom Boals Sr. lines up a put on #9

The Championship match was held on Saturday, September 15th and the weather could not have been used as an excuse for either team.  Sunny and 82 degrees without a cloud in the sky.  Doster and Molamphy were taken by surprise by the awesome play of their challengers on the first 4 holes.  They hardly had time to catch their breath as their opponents reeled off three straight pars and a net eagle on the difficult 4th hole by Norman Finegold to take a 4 up lead after 4.  The team of Doster and Molamphy made par on the challenging 5th hole to win their first hole of the match and decrease the lead to three.  On the 6th hole Mr. Finegold made a par to win that hole and put the lead back to 4.  The match had their first tied hole on the 7th hole but Finegold/Boals both made par on the 8th hole to increase the lead to 5 up.  On the 9th tee Boals and Finegold had the honor with Norman first to hit.  He caught a glimpse of the staff photographer near the green and that must have been just to much pressure for him.  His ball found a watery grave but Tom Boals seemed to be unaffected by the pressure because he stuck one in close about 8 feet from the hole.  John Doster responded with a nice shot himself to about 18 feet away.  Both teams halved the hole with pars to make the turn with Finegold/Boas up 5 with 9 holes to play.

Tom Boals stops to let me know that Norman is actually helping the team.

 The back 9 started out well for team Doster/Molamphy with both players making birdie on the 10th hole to chip away at the lead but with halves on 11 & 12 it was not looking good for the challengers.  Boals and Finegold both made net birdies on the 13th hole to take the lead back to 5 up.  With the match dormie at that point the Doster/Molamphy duo had their backs against the wall.  Molamphy made a nice par on the 14th but Boals was able to tie him with a net par and that ended the match with Norman Finegold and Tom Boals Sr. winning 5&4 over John Doster and Pat Molamphy.  Congratulations to both teams for making the finals and to the 2012 Champions Norman Finegold & Tom Boals Sr.