BUNKER TO BUNKER...

--- Members: Check your email box, you will have an invitation to the 1st Great Plains National Bank Bedlam Cup. Mark Russell and Bob Maine will be the liaisons with the Bank, while I have asked Joe Wynn, Jeff Rule, Ann Cowan and Cory Smith to assist me in the club's side to make up the team.

--- Congratulations to Ann Cowan, she finished 2nd in the WOGA Championship in Norman Oklahoma. She is now going to South Carolina for another tournament! And you thought all she did was beat up on her regular group, uh?

--- Congratulations to Kelly Smith, he finished 8th out of 128 player in the Golf Channel's Amateur Championship in La Quinta, CA. Robert Lakey also representing Elk City, finished in the top half of the field.

--- Congratulations to Joby Gray who has not finished out of the top 4 in any OJGA tournament he has played this year (so far, seven!). It'd be interesting to check Joby's scoring average in these events which should be in the 60's!

--- CHECK THIS OUT! It looks like our Senior Club Champion, Harry Payne, does not only "fish" for dollar bills in his friends' pockets at the golf course, but also does some real fishing as well. Look at the size of this "flathead"!! The fish was 32 lbs, 43 inches! Congratulations!! (Picture courtesy of Mary Blocker)

CARY HALL MEMORIAL SHOWS ELK CITY'S GENEROSITY...

Linda Hall & Family. This is a copy of
the poster that every participant
signed for the family.
Shawn Davis Co-Chairman's
efforts paid off.
One of the things that has been noticeable since we arrived in Elk City last spring is the community's generosity and willingness to help others. I remember reading a local newspaper in March in which a lady wrote a letter to the editor thanking the community for helping her and her husband during a snowstorm while passing through Elk City. Sure, things like these happen in other cities across America, but we've seen many little and big things that show that in Elk City, this is the rule, not the exception.
Bobby Wechsler, "Told you
we could do it!"

James Atkinson, first eagle
on the tournament, and 1st
eaagle on #18 in 2011
Almost six months ago, Cary Hall's friends, Bobby Wechsler and Shawn Davis set out to have a tournament in the memory of their late friend to help increase the Hall's kid's educational fund. Their vision was not a mistake, and their efforts paid off big time: 84 players and over $11,000 raised, $5,000 alone coming from a local business that I'm sure would like to keep it private. Another business owner came to me and pledged to come up with a donation. We've seen this sort of thing in every fundraiser, either for an individual or an organization, and you can bet, that when the need is worthy, it will happen again, and again.

Dannye De Leon, no question
he was having fun...
For golf, the weather could not have been any better and the golf was great. The day started with an eagle on the par 4, #18 by James Atkinson who holed out a wedge from about 80 yards (of course we got the word right away), and then, the day ended with a score of 51 (20 under par) by Joby Gray, our club champion, his brother Jeremy and long hitting golfers Jordan Williamson and Tyler Windsor.

and so was young Juan Lopez!
There were other very good scores as well, perhaps much less expected since in paper, the teams were not as string: a 56 was turned in by Shawn Davis, bother Rusty Davis, Keegan Hall & Jay Kiener; a 57 by Jerry Peffer (who knows these greens better than he knows his carts), Andy Peffer, Mike Starbuck & David Dyson. With a 58 we had Johnny Easttom (whose cart, a light colored one, was mistaken by Linda Hall for one of our rental carts, giving Johnny a little scare), Eddie Savage, Mike Cowan & James Atkinson. Two other scores under 60 were turned in, both 59's, one by Tom Scrivner, Steve Perry, James Brooks & Steve Brooks and the other one by Danny DeLeon, David Price, Jorey Price & Dakota Price.
Winning Team (Courtesy of Roberta
Gray... who else?): Jordan Williamson,
Tyler Windsor, Jeremy Gray and
Joby Gray (who beat all 3 in the Club
Championship... "If you can't beat them,
JOIN THEM"

A special thanks to Rocky Andresen whose timing to help us would not have been any better (what did I say about people helping?)!

For more pictures, click here.

MID WEEK UPDATE...

--- It is a "GO" for the Interclub Challenge Cup Matches of Western Oklahoma (not the official name yet). GREAT PLAINS NATIONAL BANK has agreed to be the title sponsor, and the matches will hosted by Elk City Golf & C.C. in October 29-30. The following clubs-cities will be invited: Sayre, Burns Flat, Altus-Mangum, Weatherfod, Clinton, Hinton, Hollis and others. We are working on details, but one thing we know is that the flights will be by age groups and not by handicaps. There will be one ladies flight as well. We will have great prizes for the players representing the winning teams, as well as the traveling cup(s) for the winning club. Last weekend of October 29-30 we will have a great party!

--- Thanks to the hard work of Sean Davis and Bobby Wechsler, the Cary Hall Memorial has attracted 21 teams thus far! Great response! Get your team in as soon as possible (we are running out of rental carts) and come and enjoy the weather this coming Saturday - so far the forecast is 85 degrees with 5 mph winds... Kind of beats 110 degrees, doesn't it?

--- Good luck to Ann Cowan who is playing the W.O.G.A. Championship in Norman, OK at the Belmar Golf & C.C. Ann shot a first round of 77 and is 3 shots back from the leader in her flight. Tournament ends tomorrow.

--- Good luck as well to Kelly Smith and Robert Lakey. Both are playing in the annual Golf Channel's Amateur Tour Finals in Palm Springs California. Kelly won his flight two years ago and is currently 8th in the standings. Robert is 24th in the same flight as he was "bumped" up one flight before the tournament started, otherwise, he would be 2nd in his former flight.

--- Congratulations to Ronnie and Russ Smith who teamed up with Stuart Dotson in Canyon, TX to win their yearly Memorial 3-Man Scramble Tournament.

PLAYING A FEW HOLES TO END A DAY....

--- Adendum: During the Board Meeting of September 19, the topic of "Flip-Flopping" the back nine with the front nine was in the agenda. This is an issue that has been discussed all year long among members, most of whom favor the change, and as I understand, an idea that had been discussed before, but never voted on. This time the Board decided to put it up for vote once and for all, and it was voted that as of October 1st, the nines will be changed, where what is now #1 will be #10, and vice versa.  

"Big Ron" working on a
plugged sprinkler.
--- No, I didn't do a "rain dance" to bring rain (maybe Ed Hughes did), but if I ever had the desire to dance in the rain, it was last Thursday, a day which started and ended with rain.... You can certainly see the difference in the course and the tones of green. Kudos to our maintenance department who has kept the greens in great shape throughout this drought (we've had nothing but compliments about our greens)!

--- The Apache Corporation tournament organizers had a little scare last Thursday, as the rain came right before and during the first nine holes of their annual golf outing. In the end, it was not necessary to delay the tee time or to reschedule the event, as the rain was just enough to help the turf, but not so severe to make it too uncomfortable for the players (many of whom came from as far as 6 hours away), who were eager to get on the course. Kudos to the players, led by Elk City Golf & C.C. members Donny Burson and Jeremy Greene, who made sure everyone treated the course well under the soft conditions. Thank you!

--- The Cary Hall Memorial Tournament scheduled for this coming Saturday (Sep. 24th), is filling up fast. So far there are 13 teams signed up (to check the list of teams, click the temporary link under Cary Hall Memorial on the far right of the page). Entry fee is $450 per team. Bobby Wechsler and Sean Davis are co-chairmen of the event. Organizers have ordered 20 rental carts on top of the 15 rental carts we have at the club, so please let us know how many rental carts will your group need when you sign up.

--- Thank you to Dr. Dave Bank for lending us the book "Golf in Oklahoma". One of the chapters deals with Elk City Golf & C.C. and its origins. If any one of you have any information concerning the club, please pass it on! For those interested in a little history, we will be publishing the history of the golf course at a later date.

--- Congratulations to Alexis Thompson who became the youngest player ever to win an LPGA event. I heard on TV that winning does not qualify her for an exemption in the LPGA Tour and that she still needs to go to LPGA Qualifying school. That is nonsense, she has more than proven herself! One wonders if LPGA Qualifying School is only about money in the LPGA coffins. In all, it is three stages, stages I and II (about 200 girls each), charges $1,500 per girl. Stage III charges $2,500. It does not include accommodations. Many good aspiring professionals cannot afford the fees so they stay out and try to enter tournaments through the Monday qualifying rounds. Unlike the PGA Tour, there is no prize money in any of the qualifying stages. The lack of prize money allows amateurs to enter the qualifying tournament and stay amateur if they do not make it through Stage III. Frankly, the wording of "amateur status" should be changed in the USGA Rule book. Wonder why the LPGA is getting thin in American players and why 50% of LPGA events are now in Asia?

--- On another note, don't forget to cheer blue, red & white this weekend in the Solheim Cup. For those who are not aware, the Solheim Cup was started by Karsten Solheim (if you want to read about a great immigrant inventor turned American, read his story in "Karsten's Way"), founder of Ping Golf. The Solheim Cup is the women's version of the Ryder Cup where 12 players represent the U.S.A. against 12 players from Europe. Currently, U.S.A. holds the Cup and there is no version of the President's Cup (this coming November in Melbourne,m Australia) where the U.S.A. plays against the rest of the world without Europe. The Solheim Cup will be held in Ireland (for TV times and more info, click here).

ELKS TOURNAMENT DRAWS 104 HAPPY PLAYERS

Richard Harvey hugs Sy Freeman
after Sy made 25 footer on #12
The weather could not have been any better for the twenty six teams of four players that showed up for the 2011 Elks Scramble Tournament. Promptly (and on time), all teams started their round at 9:00 a.m.; and promptly as well, the round, but not the tournament, was over in just under 5 hours as ties needed to be settled. As it is traditional in Elk City Golf & C.C., ties in these kinds of events, are broken on the golf course, face to face, in a sudden death playoff.
Robert Lakey gets "hi five" by Brad
Spitzer after 60 foot eagle putt dropped

Thus, when flights "B" and "C" had five and three teams respectively tied for 1st place, the teams met on the short Par-3 #1 tee for a playoff that took another 45 minutes or so. It would have probably taken longer, had it not been for the unusual idea of Ann Cowan, head of the Tournament Committee: instead of continuing in a scramble, the teams had to play alternate shots (only one ball in play by each team) involving all four players if necessary, since it started on a Par-3 hole.
Cliff Campbell having a good laugh
with son Trey

To help speed up things, if the playoff continued, each team had to drop a player for each hole played until one player remains representing the team. In the end, this was a great idea, one flight went three holes, and the other flight went five! Compared to playing a scramble, it sure saved some time.

Best prize for a long putt!!
The tournament was followed by lunch and a gathering of friends that slowly scattered around the scoreboard first, then around the clubhouse, then inside at the grill, and them with everyone fed to satisfaction, players went home.

Craig Puckett smiles at his team's
approach to Hole #7.
A special thanks to Ann Cowan (the ever "need to get things done" intense leading volunteer), Jeff Smoot, Gary Jennings, Rick Sullins (who also helped us with the range set up and the players check in), Richard Harvey  and Stacey Graham, committee members. And of course, to all sponsors (to see sponsors' list, click here). Without these people and businesses, this tournament (and others) would have never been as successful as it was.
Brad O'Hara & Ricky Nagle confident
with their game...  Team shot 52 and won!

The course played at a par 70, and the results were as follows:
Brad & Vera Gilbert, team tied fro 1st
"A": 1st (52): Brad O'Hara, Ricky Nagle, Rusty Wilson, Jorey Price; 2nd (53): Brad Spitzer, Drew Spitzer, Robert Lakey, Bob Connell; 3rd (56): Kim Jordan, Bob Engel, Paul Gunkel, Will Malloy; 4th (57): Rusty Ridlling, Craig Phelps, Kelly Smith, James Coody.

Dr. Craig Phelps fresh from the
World Handicapped Tour
"B": 1st (61): Charlie Kauk, Aaron Kauk, Cliff Campbell, Trey Campbell; 2nd (61): John Butler, Jay Windle, Darrel Kelly, Bob Johnson; 3rd (61): Jeremy Greene, Justin Sutton, Brad Kauk, Jimmy Robbins; 4th (61): Gary Scott, Jeannette Scott, Mitch Kendall, Lilly Kendall. Elimintaed in 1sy playoff hole, also with 61, Brad & Vera Gilbert with Bob & Anna Redaelli.

One more of the 104 happy golfers!!
"C": 1st (63): Terry Schones, Joyce Schones, James Atkinson, Ricky Marr; 2nd (63): Tom Scrivner, Stan Perry, James Brooks, Steve Brooks; 3rd (63): Eric Little, Keith Hulen, Bobby Wechsler, Terry Teague; 4th (64): Craig Puckett, Rusty Rickerd, Brad Maddoux, Charlie Patrick.

Winners of the closest to the pin were: Jack Coody, Gary Scott, Doug Gray, Jack Christian & Jorey Price.

For more tournament's pictures, click here.

Bunker to Bunker

--- Congratulations to Keith Hulen and Bobby Wechsler for their playoff win in Clinton, OK in their annual Low Ball tournament. Three other Elk City teams participated, also doing well were James Ainsworth and Dusty Mitchell in the "A" flight. Bobby & Keith won the "C" flight. Defending champions (Championship Flight), Dustin Gunkel and Russ Smith, finished in 5th place.

--- Congratulations to Linda Griffith for her eagle on #9. Linda holed a nice putt after hitting the green with her second shot.

--- Congratulations to Rick Rex who aced hole #8 with a fairway wood. Rick was playing with Tom Johnson and Bob Redaelli. And yes, he got the skin and some change. Rick used a 3 hybrid from the back tees.

Raw talent!
--- Don't forget: SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 10.... ELKS TOURNAMENT. Our local Elks Club supports veterans causes. Make your team and call it in to the pro-shop at 580-225-3556... then, come and fill the swimming pool for a closing party in the afternoon. Free chili dogs, bring the family!! DJ for a dance for the adults later in the evening.

--- Riding around the course gives you the opportunity to help play move along at a decent pace, but it also makes your day interesting by observing all of the people who use the course. Not enough space here for too many pictures, so click here to see a few more. 

--- Congratulations to Craig Martin and Alfred Galyean who tied with a 62 in the Labor Day Individual tournament. In a tie for 3rd were two 63's: Rusty Wilson and Jordan Williamson. Winner of the "B" flight was Grady Lantz with a 74, followed by Kelly Smith (74), Kim Jordan (74), Logan Gore (76); David Rogers won the "C" flight by turning in a score of 80 and was followed by, Ricky Marr (81), Eric Little (82) and Jeannette Scott (83). Thirty players participated in this "throw together" tournament by Ricky Nagle held on a very busy day where more than 100 other players enjoyed our golf course.

PLAYING A FEW HOLES...

Honoring our  Armed Forces  (young & old): BVG Construction owners, Brad & Vera Gilbert wish to honor all military personnel, active or retired, by offering a free medium basket of range balls to any veteran who uses our facility any time from now to the end of this golf season. Nice gesture by the Gilberts. Goes to show you that private citizens also join big chain corporations in giving at least a little back to veterans whose lives are always on the line for all of us.

Also for Veterans!: Coming up is the Elks Tournament on Sep. 10. Most of the proceeds go to veterans funds and causes. Support your local veterans groups. Sponsors needed. All sponsors will be featured in a single advertising page in this blog in appreciation for their support, along with the pictures of the participants.

We wish a full and prompt recovery to "smiley" Betty Ward,  who broke her hand in a fall at home. We are told that it was one of those unfortunate and rare moments in which someone is doing some yard work, and all of a sudden a snake attacks you from behind your work! The good news is that her heart is still working normal! (Betty: don't feel bad, Mona says she would have had a heart attack!)

Open invitation to all members who like to play in weekday mornings for an October 6 (Thu) morning outing.We will have room for 9 foursomes. 18 Holes. There will be an informal handicapped competition, lunch and prizes.... and you all get stuck with me for a hole or two! $20.00 includes prizes and food. We do not have a formal name for this event. Call it what you want to, as long as we all get acquainted with each other and other members! ("Make a New Friend"?)

Wishing good luck to Keith Hulen & Bobby Wescheler, Russ Smith & Dustin Gunkel and Jeremy Gray & Tyler Windsor, Dusty Mitchell & James Ainsworth. The fourpairs will be playing the annual Best Ball Tournament in Clinton, OK. Russ & Dustin are defending champions.

Autumn specials at the pro-shop for equipment, used and new, start now. Click Here for list of some of the products.

Let football season start, but don't let that interfere with your golf! In this era of DVR's and iPhones, you can always do both!