MGA Results 11/23/13

We a nice fall like day for golf for Men's Day. The temperature was on the cool side with some cloud cover and a slight breeze, which made for some tough scoring conditions. We had 13 players come out for the fun. The formats were skins, stableford, beat the pro, and best 17(where you throw out your worst score.) 

The skins leader was Tom Keane who took home four skins all of which came on the last two holes. I guess he put the motto "it's better to be late than never" to good use. He was closely followed by Pat Molamphy who captured two skins.

In the Net division of the best 17 game Jim Blank fired a little 67 to dominate. He was followed by Pat Molamphy who shot a 68. 

The Gross division of the best 17 was captured by Steve Ahlfeld who shot a 71 to best Ron Coffman by a single stroke. 

No one beat their stableford quota points so all that money will be carried over to next week. So make sure you join us then with a large sum of cash on the line.  This means no one beat the ol' Pro either. 

We hope to see you all again next week. 

Best,

Hunter 

Eddie Bray Captures his first Men's Net Match Play Club Championship!

It took some time to get all the matches in but the 2013 Men's Net Match Play Club Championship is finally in the books with a new champion this year in Eddie Bray.  Eddie is no stranger to the champions circle as he has won multiple member guest titles and two man match play events but this is his first individual Club Championship at National.

Mr. Bray had no easy road to the finish with his bracket having a plethora of former champions waiting to vanquish any foe who dared challenge them.  In Eddies first match he faced Peter Mamuzic.  The match was finished after the 15th hole with a 4 & 3 victory for our Champion.  The next victim on Eddies list was the always tough Ron Murray.  Ron has quite a reputation of taking down even the toughest of competition in the heat of battle but to no avail as Eddie was unshakeable in his 5 & 4 victory over the worthy opponent.  Steve Dougherty who has too many Club Championships to count was the next opponent for Eddie and this turned out to be the toughest match.  This quarterfinal match went farther than any other match in the Championship for Eddie.  After the 16th hole Eddie was the confirmed winner with a 3&2 margin.  On to the semi-finals to meet one of our newest members Jamie Ledford.  Eddie did not seem very welcoming as he dispatched Jamie after the 13th hole with a 6&5 victory.

The finals were set with Jeff Huber waiting to see if Eddie Bray could keep the streak alive.  Well Eddie did not disappoint.  He drained a long birdie putt up the slope on the 2nd hole to draw first blood.  Eddie won the 3rd to go 2 up then Jeff stuck it close on the 4th for a well deserved birdie but Eddie stuck the dagger in by halving him with a nice shot of his own.  After wins on the 5th and 6th holes it was not looking good for Jeff but he was definitely not going to give up.  Huber claimed the 7th to take the match to 3 down but Bray was able to get it up and down from 50 yards away to go back to 4 up after the 8th.  One more hole for Bray on the 9th gave him a 5 up
after nine holes lead and he was what I would call "In the drivers seat" from then on.  Eddie increased his lead to six up and held it through the 13th hole which is where the fat lady started singing for Huber.  Congratulations to both players for making it all the way to the finals and to our 2013 Men's Net Match Play Club Champion Eddie Bray for a job well done!

MGA Closing Day for 2013

What an awesome day we had for our final official Men's Day of the year.  The temperature was in the mid 70's and the sun was shining.  Just a typical fall day in the Carolina's.  We had 14 players show up to try and take home the cash.  The formats were skins, stableford, beat the pro and an individual low net / low gross game.

In the Low Net/Low Gross game we had Steve Ahlfeld come out on top for the sole paying spot in the Gross portion of that game.  He put together a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde round with 35 going out and 41 coming in but it was still good enough to beat the next player by 6 shots.  Good work Steve.

The net side of that game was dominated by Ron Murray who lapped the field with a very low score of 66.  He was red hot out of the gates by going 8 under for the first 8 holes then cooled off a bit towards the end.  In the second place spot we had a tie at even par 72 with John Masotti and Mark Watson.  The last paying spot had Dick "the Terminator" Tilley scraping in a few dollars with a net 73.  Nice work guys!

The Skin leader was Rick Knight with 4 skins and the top Stableford point spot was tied with John Masotti and Ron Murray occupying that position.

We had a slew of people besting the pro so check out the results sheet below to see if you made the cut.

Thanks to everyone for making the time to compete today.  Thanks also to the MGA for providing lunch for our champion golfers.

Best,

Dave

2013 Battle at Bears Valley Results

What a weekend for golf our contestants had for the 4th annual Battle at Bears Valley.  The temps in the morning were a little cool but the sun was out and we had very little wind so the scoring conditions were excellent.  This year the Front 9 Fellas were the defending champions so they only needed 20 points to retain their bragging rights for another year.  The format for the golf was 4 separate 9 hole matches with the first 3 being two man team matches and the final 9 hole matches were singles matches.

The first match got underway at 9:00 am Saturday morning with the Front 9 Fellas playing on their home turf (the front 9).  The format for the first match was captains choice and the F9F were hot out of the starters block.  Despite Dr. Stokes holing out from the fairway on the 3rd hole their side could only muster 3 of the 8 points available giving the F9F the early lead.  The second match of the day was played on the Back 9 Boys turf with the teams competing in the always challenging Alternate Shot.  It was a bit of a bloodbath on the back nine with the FNF taking it to the B9B in their own back yards.  They took 6 1/2 of the 8 points and had a day one lead of 11 1/2 to 4 1/2.

Day two started the boys out with another stellar breakfast buffet because we all know everything goes smoother with lots of bacon!  The 3rd match was better ball format and the blue team looked a little nervous to me having to make up 7 points to get things tied up.  They were only able to muster two points in match three extending the lead for the F9F to eleven points which meant they only needed 2 1/2 points to retain and 3 points to win.  You never know what is going to happen though with 16 points available in the singles matches anything is possible.  Unfortunately for the blue team the inevitable came about with the posting of the Jeff Huber vs. Guy Spears match.  The F9F accumulated 20 1/2 points and officially won the 2013 Battle at Bears Valley.  The final result was 24 to 16 with the B9B at least getting a moral victory winning 9 and tying one of the singles matches.  Congrats to the Front 9 Fellas for a job well done.

Thanks to everyone for playing in this years Battle.  We appreciate all the players taking the time to participate as I know the demands of today's busy world have on everyone's time.

Best

Dave

Red Team! Front 9 Fellas defend their title.
Back Row from left to right:  Pat Butcher, Mark Watson, Dave Haper, Steve Ahlfeld & John Masotti.
Front row from left to right: Richard Hemming, Rick Finnin, Jim Blank, Ken Bass, Dave Dunn, Dick Tilley, Steve Dougherty, & Andy Summers.
Not pictured because they bailed on me to early:  Jeff Huber, Doug Turner & Tom Boals Jr.

Sven Tilly stripes one up onto the 18th on the final day of action.

Richard Hemming putting on a bit of a putting clinic for Birdie Bill Fitzgerald and Dave "the Dunner" Dunn

Steve Dougherty splashing one out of the bunker on 16 as everyone looks on in awe of his excellent golfing ability.

Buzz "A.T." Baughard showing off his 8th grade arms while Dr. Summers drains a nice birdie putt in the background.

Dick Tilley hoping to pick up a few short game pointers from Mark Watson on the 14th.

That is some smooth action by Guy Spears.

T.P.  Firing up the troops.

Ken Bass Wins Second Club Championship Of The Season after 19 holes

On a late Sunday afternoon the stage was set for a battle in the pines!  I know that seems a little dramatic but it was quite a match for the finals in the Men's Gross Match Play Championship.  The participants were former champion Steve Dougherty and Ken Bass.  They both made their way to the championship stage by defeating some very worthy opponents.

Steve made his way by taking down the always tough Ron Coffman by a margin of 4 & 3.  His next opponent in the semi finals was Steve Ahlfeld who can work that baby fade to perfection.  That match ended on the 18th hole with Dougherty coming away with a 1 up victory.

Ken's road was a little longer as he did not have a first round bye.  Patrick Butler was Ken's first opponent and the match ended with a 7&6 win for Ken.  In the quarterfinal match Bass took on long hitting John Doster.  Ken was on his game here and the match was finished after 16 holes with a 4 & 2 win for KB.  The next notch on Ken's belt was the 2012 Champion Bruce Chalas who is no stranger to tournament play.  Ken was able to send Bruce packing with a 3 & 2 victory.

So the final match was set with both players hungry for another championship.  The match began with Dougherty taking the first hole with a birdie then the opponents went on a streak of 6 holes without either side winning a hole.  Ken finally broke through with a birdie on the 8th getting the match back to all square.  Steve took the 1 up lead again with a birdie on the 10th but Bass struck back with victories on both 11 and 12 to take the lead away.  The guys went another long streak of 4 holes without either side claiming a hole.  Steve with a nice birdie on the 17th got the match back to all square with only one hole to play.  This is what match play is all about.  The whole championship coming down to just one hole.  Both Ken and Steve made par on the 18th so the had to go extra holes where Ken was able to secure the 2013 Gross Match Play Championship with par on the difficult fist hole.

Congratulations to both players for a great tournament and to Ken for his second Championship of the year!

MGA Results 10/19/2013

We had yet another cloudy day for golf today, which seems to be the norm lately. We had 13 guys show up for the festivities. Today's format was the usual three suspects of Beat the Pro, Stableford, and Skins. The fourth game was evens and odds(take you even holes on the front and odds on the back nine).

The stableford game was dominated by Bill Womble who bested his quota by eight points. He left the competition in the dust with his closest opponent being David Sundman & Dale Mitchell who bested their quotas by 3 points. Mark Watson was the only other player to beat his quota doing so by one point. These players also beat the pro who didn't have his best game today.

The skins game was also taken by Bill Womble who took home 4 skins. David Sundman took second again winning 3 skins. Andy Summers and Ed Bernard tied for 3rd with 2 skins apiece. The skins game was rounded out by John Doster, Mark Watson, and Dale Mitchell who all had one skin.

In the Evens & Odds game Andy Summers took home the gross side firing a little 33 and besting Paul Courneya by 4 shots. On the net side of things Dale Mitchell dominated with a 31. Bill Womble and Steve Points tied for second with net 33's.

Thanks to all the guys who came out today. We hope to see you all again next time.

Best,

Hunter

MGA Results 10/12/13

What a wonderful day we had for golf here at National and the golf didn't disappoint. We had 11 guys show up for the fun. The format was the usual suspects of Beat the Pro, Skins, Stableford, and the new game today was one net ball of the four player team.

The Stableford game was dominated by Pat Butcher and Jack Maisano who both bested their quota by seven points. They were closely followed by David Sundman who bested his quota by five points. Ed Bernard who was the big money winner on the day bested his quota by four points. Although there were some great scores out there no one managed to beat the pro as he had a great day on the links throwing in a eagle (that he called) on 8.

The skins game was taken by Ed Bernard who took home four skins. Nipping at his heels was Jack Maisano who took home two skins. Dave Dunn and David Sundman each took home one skin to round out the skins game.

The team game was a runaway with the team of Ed Bernard, Buzz Baughard, Ron Murray, and Dave Hall shooting a 57. It was a total team effort with everyone making birdies and even an eagle. In second the team of John Ramsey, Jack Maisano, Dave Dunn, and Pat Butcher fired a 59.

Great playing to all the guys who came out! We hope to see you all again next time.

Best,

Hunter

2013 Men's Club Championship Results

No weather delays down her in Pinehurst for our Club Championship.  The guys were putting on some layers of sunscreen to keep off all the rays of sunshine coming down.  The Championship was stroke play over 36 holes with both Gross and Net champions crowned.  We had 20 players competing for the two coveted invitations to the Champions Dinner (net winner and gross winner).

Day one action started with threesomes going out starting at 9:40 and a little twist this year with all participants playing the same set of tees.  We did modify the locations a bit and the scores showed it on day one.  We only had one player with a sub par round.  William Rocchi was the day one Gross leader with a tidy little 71.  He had a two shot lead over Ken Bass and a three shot lead over former Champion Steve Dougherty.  In the net side of things the day one leader was Giff Fisher with a 71 but lots of people hot on his tail.

Day two had a real battle going with Rocchi and Dougherty making the turn all locked and Ken Bass lurking only one shot back.  With all three players making birdie on the 10th hole it looked to be quite the dog fight on the final nine holes.  Rocchi took a one shot lead over Dougherty and a two shot lead over Bass after the 13th.  That is where Ken stepped on the gas and ate up the final five holes playing them in two under par.    That was good enough for a two shot victory over day one leader and

2012 Champion William Rocchi.  Congratulations to Ken for his first National Golf Club Men's Club Championship.

The Net division we had a bit of the Roberto De Vicenzo event happen.  If you are not familiar with that  story it was when Mr. De Vicenzo signed for an incorrect score on his card at the 1968 Masters that resulted in him finishing one shot back instead of tied for the Championship.  Mr. Bernard who was awarded the Championship discovered that he had signed for an incorrect score on his Saturday round.  The difference in the two was that Mr. Bernard signed for a lower score not a higher one so the result was a disqualification penalty.  This resulted in the second place finisher Giff Fisher being awarded the Net Championship.  Giff put together two very nice rounds with a net 71 on day one and a net 70 on day two.  Congratulations to Giff for what is another in a long line of Championships he has won over his illustrious career.

Thanks to all of the players for making this a great tournament.  I really appreciate you taking the time to play in this event!

Best,

Dave

Steve Ahlfeld sends one to the 5th green on the final day.

Day One Leader and 2012 Champion William Rocchi hits one to about 10 feet on the 4th green.

2013 Champion Ken Bass attempts a birdie put on the difficult 4th.

Rocky from 10 ft again

Multi Year Champion Steve Dougherty vying for birdie on the fourth.

Ken Bass firing one down the line.

Another great shot from Doughety

2013 Net Champion Ed Bernard hits another one down the middle on the 5th

Peter Vanica with a nice balanced finish on his way to shooting a very impressive even par 72 on the final day.

William Rocchi putting on a clinic on how to hit it straight!

Club Champ Ken Bass tee's off the 1st hole.

Dave Dunn stares one down on the 6th as Jack Maisano looks on.

Alan Curtis showing good form on the 6th as Dave Harper tries to figure out his phone.

Dave Harper a.k.a. Moe Norman shows everyone how to get it done!

Rick Knight (spouse to 2013 Club Champion Tricia Knight) tries his best.

Jim Blank hits from his comfort zone right on to the green on the 5th hole.

Fire & Ice Capture Men's Member/Member Championship

What a weekend for Championship golf at National Golf Club.  We had the Men's Member-Member Championship and it was a nail biter for both the gross and the net division.  The field was 14 two man teams competing for the crystal and that coveted invite to the 2013 Champions Dinner.  Day one format was 9 holes of Captains Choice and 9 holes of Modified Alternate Shot.  Day two format was best ball of the two player team.

The Championship division (gross) was a close race with Two time defending Champions Steve Dougherty and Pat Butcher taking the first day lead with the score of 68.  Close on their heals though were many worthy champions including the Fire & Ice duo of Ron Coffman and Peter Vanica.  Their score of 70 put them in solo second place and poised for a potential unseating of the defending champs!  After 9 holes on the final day the two shot lead that Dougherty & Butcher enjoyed was erased by Fire & Ice posting 35 for their inward 9 holes.  The two teams (who were paired together) were tied with just 9 holes to play!  Both teams started with birdie on 10 but the defending champs faltered a bit with bogey on 11 giving F&I a one shot lead through 11.  Dougherty and Butcher quickly tied things back up with a very handy birdie on the 13th then took the lead with birdie on the 15th.  With only 3 holes to play and one shot down Coffman and Vanica roared back into the lead with back to back three's on the 16th and 17th.  Fire & Ice both made par on the last which was good enough for the one shot victory and their first Member/Member Championship.  Congrats to Ron & Peter.

In the net side of things we also had some past dominant players lurking about trying to win another Championship.  After the first day of play we had four different teams less than 3 shots apart so it was any ones ball game.  Day one leader was the squad of Eddie Bray and Philip Bailey who are no strangers to winning this championship.  The three time champions posted a 60.5 for their day one score which was only 3/4 of a shot clear of the duo of Steve Ahlfeld and  Mark Watson.  On the final day of competition the conditions were a little tougher due to some overnight rain showers and the wind kicking up a bit.  It started out as a bit of a horse race between 4 teams but the team of Ahlfeld and Watson won it going away with a blistering final day score of 63!  They bested the second place team which were the day one leaders by almost 4 shots.  Congrats to Steve and Mark who captured their first Member-Member Championship.  We will see you at the Champions Dinner.

We had a few special event holes and some team skins on the last day and here are the results:
Closest to the hole #2 - Steve Dougherty
Closest to the hole #9 - Ken Bass
Closest to the hole #12 - Dave Harper
Closest to the hole #17 - William Rocchi

SKINS
Bass/Oldroyd 3 skins (Net & Gross on #5 Gross on #11)
Duggan/Hyland 2 skins (Net & Gross on #2)
Dougherty/Butcher 2 skins (Gross on #3 & 13)
Coffman/Vanica 2 skins (Gross on #6 & 16)
Boals/Ray 2 skins (Net & Gross on #8)
Dunn/Schwerin 2 skins (Net on #7 & #10)
Bray/Bailey 1 skin (Net on #17)

Thank you to all the participants.  We really appreciate everyone who played and supported the Men's Member Member Championship.

Best

Dave

Schwerin readies for a long put while his partner Dave Dunn looks on.

The Rock prepares to fire one deep on the 15th.

Dick "the Terminator" Tilley lets one go toward the 4th hole while his partner Bill Hollis looks on.

Defending Champs Eddie Bray and Philip Bailey tee off the 18th.

Eddie Davis picks another ball out of the hole.  I am sure that was probably a birdie.

Tom Duggan deep in thought over this difficult shot to the 16th green

Buzz "A-T" Baughard locates his ball.  A little to close to the tree don't you think Buzz?

Harpscat ponders his approach on the 16th.

Dr. Oldroyd hits an exceptional shot out of the waste area on 15.

Doc finishes up with a nice par save on the 15th.

2013 Member Member Net Champion Steve Ahlfeld fires one down the fairway on 15.

2013 Member-Member Net Champion Mark Watson executing an insightful tip to help him bust this deep down the fairway.

2013 Member-Member Champion Peter "Ice"Vanica stripes another one down the line on the difficult 4th

2013 Member-Member Champion Ron "Fire" Coffman directs this mid iron shot towards the green on 4

Defending Champion Steve Dougherty burns the lip on the 4th.

Steve Schwerin executes a beautiful chip shot up onto the green on #4.

Bill Hollis watches as his ball flies toward the hole on 4.