Battle @ Bears Valley 2012 Results

Battle at Bears Valley was a Thriller!

We could not have asked for a better weekend of weather for our annual Men's Golf Association Battle at Bear's Valley event, which featured the Front Nine Fellas v. the Back Nine Boys. Having squashed the Front Nine Fellas last year, which they blamed on the color of their hats, the Back Nine Boys entered the tournament hoping to continue their domination.

The fun started Friday night at the Backpack Food Drive Social and Pairings party, as participants contributed to a worthy cause. Cindy Boals would like to thank everyone who dropped off food donations. After that interlude, the battle was on. Saturday morning started with a 9:00 shot gun start off the back nine, with the easy format of Captain's Choice. Dick Tilley & Eddie Bray, Dave Dunn & Jim Blank, Ken Bass & Giff Fisher won for the Front Nine Fellas. For the Back Nine Boys, William Rocchi & Ron Coffman, and Rick Knight & Ed Bernard picked up points. One match was split between Sven Tilly & Wes Harrison for the BNB and Guy Spears & Dale Mitchell for the FNF, who each earned a half point. At the end of Round One, the score was FNF 3 1/2, BNB 2 1/2.

Round Two featured the toughest format: pure alternate shot, in which you cannot hide and all of your weaknesses are on display. The FNF took a commanding lead over the BNB, winning 4 1/2 points to just 1 1/2, so after Saturday's play, the FNF stood at 8 and the BNB at 4.

Sunday's morning sun and warm temperatures made it the perfect day for competition. The format this time was one best ball of the two-player team net. The BNB had victories from Norman Finegold & Peter Mamuzic, Paul Courneya & Wes Harrison, and Alan Curtis & Ron Murray. The FNF points came from Larry Rose & Dave Dunn, Ed Rhodes & Guy Spears, and Ken Bass & Jim Blank to wind up in a 3-3 tie. The score was FNF 11, BNB 7.

BNB Team Captain Tom Parsons held a private meeting prior to the final match, hoping to inspire his men for the singles matches where 12 points were up for grabs. We all know it can happen, right, Ryder Cup? The BNB came out fast, posting wins by Coffman, Curtis, Bernard, Sven Tilly and Harrison. Only two points separated the two teams, but the deficit proved too much to overcome as the FNF notched wins from Ahfeld, Rose Fisher, Bran, Spears, Mitchell, and - pouring more salt in the sounds - a half point from Blank proved too much for the BNB. The FNF won the Battle at Bears Valley 17 1/2 to 12 1/2.

Thanks go out to MGA President Steve Ahfeld and VP Ron Coffman for putting on such a special event. It really was a lot of fun watching the guys battle it out.

The Winners!
Top from left:  Eddie Bray, Pat Butcher & Ken Bass
Bottom from left: Giff Fisher, Dick Tilley, Dave Dunn, Pat Blank,
Guy Spears, Larry Rose & Steve Ahlfeld