SHARE THE PASSION IN 2013... and our 2012 newsmakers

Our Helpers L-R: Cooper Cowan, Ryder Cowan, Travis Poole, TRes Hill,
Nick Nagle & Grant Graham 

There is no question that 2012 was a very special year, worth repeating, but hopefully and optimistically, thinking of it as "the best is yet to come".

We had many highlights and  news makers.... and "firsts", both for the club and for individuals, but I have to tell you, there were some moments that for me, were very personal and that I will always remember with fondness, but that I suspect, would not be on anyone's list but mine.

It was a very busy golf season. The weather was great, the golf course was in nice shape, and golfers showed up in record numbers, both members and non members. Good news for the club, but more importantly, it gave us the opportunity to be around when we had a "new" newsmaker, inside or outside our wonderful little course.  I have to say that on top of my list, was "going back" over a quarter of a century, twice, and witness how young kids can really enjoy the game of golf. For you to understand what I am saying, I must bore you first with a little history:

Ronnie Smith: Senior Champion

Russ Smith: Club Champion

I say twice above because as I was growing up, my mom, the most avid (and worst) golfer in the family, enjoyed more than anyone, helping organize the "Grasshoppers" league at our club in Mexico City. The grasshoppers were kids of all ages up to about 10. At the time, everyone who played, whether you played the short or the championship course, had to have a caddie. In addition, kids had to be accompanied by an adult. To say the least, this did not promote junior golf. So, my mom, who wanted very much for my younger brother to play as often as he could (he loved golf and was 8 at the time), took the bull by the horns and organized "The Grasshoppers League", a league exclusively for young kids who liked to play golf.

Haley Gunkel: Women's Champion

Grady Lantz: Super Sr. Champion

There weren't many, but their clout grew enough in order to change the rules at the club: kids who passed "a players ability test" that included basic rules of golf and etiquette, could go out in groups of 2 to 4 on the short course, as long as they followed the rules set forth by the golf professional. By age 12, if you could break 90 from the women's tees, you were allowed on the championship course, without a caddie, carrying your bag, as long as you joined a group. Several good golfers came out of that bunch. By then, since I was an older teenager, I was "forced", many times, to play with the little brats, which I actually learned to enjoy. About 20 and then 30 years later, when I had my own kids, two of whom, nine years apart, ended up playing golf, I, of course, took the time and enjoyed sharing moments with them on the course.

'"Thumper": 4th of July Champion

Greg Dodson" "A" Flight Winner

Then... 2012 rolls in, and I started receiving frequent calls from a group of 9 & 10 year old kids who wanted to play with me. Though at the time, I had completely forgotten about the Grasshoppers League (it was my sister who reminded me of my mother's project when I shared this story with her), I didn't want to say "no" and went about playing with them a few times. Later in the year, when I realized these kids were actually trying to share their passion with an adult, their "club pro", I had the idea of the photo shoot in 1930's outfits (thanks moms for your help!!!) to help me remember those moments. So, to my little friends Grant Graham, Ryder Cowan, Nick Nagle, Cooper Cowan,  and Travis Poole... I truly enjoyed it and with your help, I am looking forward to sharing more of the passion with others in 2013! 

Danny Teel: "B" Flight Winner

Betty Maine: Women's "A" Flight

Right along with these younger kids, Elk City is host to two teenagers, Logan Gore and Joby Gray, who will play every day that they can. In fact, when most humans think that it is best to stay inside and have a hot chocolate in front of the TV while watching a football game, these two kids are playing their routine 18 or  36 holes a day and hitting balls, before, after and in between. In fact, this Christmas, I had to send a picture of the snowed in golf course to Joby and said, "Sorry, course closed today", he didn't reply, but later I hear he went to hit some balls anyway! Right along with them you have the Butcher kids, Bryce, Braden, Grayson, Bella & Zane will also play in any kind of weather!

Anya Alvarez: Symetra Player

Don Andrews: no one better at
scoring his age!!

Hey, if anyone of you are playing and you see a couple of teenagers behind you, chances are it will Joby and Logan. My group has let them through many times, and they are soon be out of our way.

2012 NEWSMAKERS:
On top of the list, you have Russ Smith -truly by these days a "part time" golfer-, who came out of "retirement" and won the Club Championship with rounds of 67-67 in windswept Elk City. Ronnie Smith -yes, Russ's dad-, made the list as well when he won the Senior Division of the Club Championship rounds of  73-73. Haley Gunkel won the Women's flight with scores of 74-74. Seventy eight year old "Grady" Lantz won the "Super Senior flight.

Anya Alvarez, my youngest, qualified for her second consecutive U.S. Open, participated in "Big Break", played the Symetra Tour, finishing her season with a 64 (yes the fateful 64 that somehow forgot she to sign for), and made the finals of the LPGA Q-School. She missed conditional status by 2 shots and is fully exempt in Symetra for 2013.

Butcher Siblings: Never afraid to play in any weather conditions!

Matt Brown

Blake Walker

Alfred "Thumper" Galyean, who was as far as 5 shots behind Billy Jennings with 10 holes to go in the final day of the "4th of July Tournament", fired a 28 in the back nine and a 61 total to overtake Billy by 2 shots.

Greg Dodson won the "A" Flight of the Men's Championship, Danny Teel won the "B" Flight and Betty Maine won the "A" Flight of the Women's Championship.


Elk City Golf Team won the Regional Tournament for the first time ever (Berek Dyson, Logan Gore, Brock Walker, Keegan Hall & Joby Gray). (NOTE: Thanks to the hard work of Bill Weatherly, the 2013 Western Regional Tournament will be in Elk City, OK)

Bedlam Cup: Team I (won cup)

Bedlam Cup: Team II (3rd place)

Joby Gray led the Elk City High School team with three wins, shared 2nd in the Club Championship (69-70) with Andrew Albert (67-72), shared 2nd in the State Tournament with Berek Dyson, shot three rounds of 60, and of course, had numerous rounds in the mid 60's; as an "icing in the cake", one day while playing with Logan and myself, hit a 408 yard drive on #8 and then chipped in for a 2 from a place where most people would have been happy to get within 10 feet! Joby , now a senior, will be playing for the University of Central Oklahoma

Elk City Team: Had never won
the Regional Tournament before

Blake Walker shot a 58 during an informal round. Matt Brown shot a 28 on the back nine with one bogey! He had no pars. Don Andrews, 80, matched his age more times than anyone else in Elk City.

And we had Hole's in One by several people: topping the list was Aaron Lee from Texas, who aced the par 4 number 6!! Then you have Bob Miller who had two holes in one, first on #7, then a couple of months later on #10. Harry Payne aced #5, Ricky Nagle aced #10, Tanner Williams aced #7, Ann Cowan aced #2 at Idabel OK Country Club, followed with a chip in eagle on the next hole and won the Ladies Invitational there.

Logan Gore & joby Gray: No one plays
more rounds than these two kids.

But the hole in one I will most remember was by Tim Lewis: playing behind my group who had just teed off ahead, Tim started yelling like a man in need of help: I rushed back to the 5th tee to see what had happened, he  said, "sorry, I didn't mean to scare you guys, but I just made a hole in one here, and would like for you to escort me down the hill to retrieve my ball from the hole so that you can serve as my witness"... my pleasure Tim! By the way, only Ann, whose hole in one was not even in Elk City, bought me a drink!

SEE YOU IN 2013!!!!!!!!!!!

IN PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE...

As I see kids from of all ages (7-59) and adults (60 & over) hone their skills in the full swing outside the pro-shop every day, I realize that most of them, if not all of them, really do it in order to improve their swing, and therefore, their scores.... At the same time, I wonder if they also think of other things that will help them lower their scores, like putting, chipping (I can't see the putting green from the pro-shop) and, just as importantly, getting as much playing experience as possible and.... knowledge of the rules.

Hitting a solid shot is important, and yes, there is nothing more satisfying and fun in a round of golf than pulling out a shot exactly like you thought it should be struck. Whether it is a tee shot on a tough par 4 hole, or a difficult approach into the wind that requires a long club, when it comes out just as planned, it is very satisfying. But, just as it is satisfying to hit a good golf shot, it is very frustrating to waste a shot or more with a bad chip, putt or -particularly-, a bad decision on the course. To play one's best, one must be aware of details.

In his book, "The Heart of a Champion", Bobby Richards points out that champions have three distinct characteristics: 1) They know their equipment (in the old days, golf pros worked on their own equipment and knew exactly what they needed to do); 2) They believe in a higher power (you have to have faith in yourself and in someone much more powerful than yourself); 3) They believe in details that will gain them 1/100th of a second, or 1/4 of an inch or an extra 10th of a point. DETAILS!

Jack Nicklaus did not become Jack Nicklaus just by a lot of practice -he practiced as much as Ben Hogan ever did-, but Jack went a step further: of all the greats in golf, he is the one who started measuring courses as well as his average carry distance with each of his clubs (he actually copied the practice from his friend Dean Beman). Jack and his long time caddie, Angelo Argea, with whom he won many of his 18 majors, charted golf courses, measured from sprinklers, trees or bunkers to front of green, then depth of greens, and so forth. You could say that Nicklaus invented "Sky-Caddy" before there was GPS. There is nothing worse in a round of golf that not knowing how far you need to carry a particularly important shot. DETAILS!

And what about the rules? How can the rules help you score better? I remember one time a friend playing with me tried to go over a hill to try to get closer to the green of a dog-leg hole. He had a stroke play bet against another player in the group and was a few strokes ahead. When he found his ball, it was unplayable in an area full of rocks and shrubs and lose sand. The problem is that he only knew ONE of the three options of an unplayable lie, the one about two club lengths around the ball. So as I am watching from 80 yards away, I am thinking, "what is Tommy doing dropping there? Maybe there is a flat area there that I can't see from here". There wasn't, he dropped and had another almost unplayable lie from where he hit a very bad shot, and another, and so forth. He ended up with a score of 12 on the hole. Going back to the tee (second of three options) would have helped him score a 6 or 7.

Recently, my daughter Anya qualified and played in the LPGA final stage of Q-School and over five rounds (90 holes) missed full status by 5 shots and limited status by 2 single shots. Her putting during the week was not as sharp, and by all accounts, her on course decisions might have been a little suspect. She had started slow with two 75's and needed two good rounds to qualify for Sunday's play for a fifth round. She had a third round of 69 and reached 2 under par in her fourth round when she hit a wayward tee shot. Her ball was unplayable just beyond a red line. She took a penalty drop under rule 26 (lateral water hazards), hit her shot in the green, scored a bogey only to find out a little later that the red line was not a hazard!

It just so happens that one of the two courses used for the qualifier had hosted a Sun Coast Tour event a couple of weeks before. Sun Coast officials had designated and marked certain areas of the course as lateral hazards (red lines). When LPGA rules officials came to mark the course two weeks later, they decided that some of those areas should not be a lateral hazard so they decided to remark the course. LPGA rules officials made their changes in the "hard card" rules (the general rules) and wrote "red hazard lines are only a hazard when accompanied by stakes" (nebulous at best), but did not advise competitors that there had been such change nor was in the player's daily rules sheet.

You can say what you want about the handling of this by LPGA (very poorly), but as a policy, when I play or caddie in a tournament, I always ASK the starter if there are any rules or situations that I should be aware of. The ensuing two penalty shots that Anya received kept her from "conditional status" (she could have played in about 1/4 of the LPGA tournaments in 2013! KNOW DETAILS!!

Rory McIlroy almost missed his tee time during the Ryder Cup, he saw in TV his tee time in the Golf Channel, however, what they were showing was Eastern Time, not Central Time, which is where Rory was playing. DETAILS!

One more story about the rules. In 2010, Dustin Johnson came to the last hole of the PGA Championship 2 shots ahead of eventual winner Martin Kymer. Whistling Straits is a very hard golf course built on sand dunes, and much of that sand is still there, usually played as an "integral part" of the golf course, but not as bunker. PGA of America decided that all sand should be played as a bunker, SO INSTEAD OF INFORMING PLAYERS DIRECTLY, THEY POSTED A SHEET OF PAPER EVERYWHERE IN THE CLUBHOUSE DESCRIBING THEIR DECISION. Dustin Johnson had not bothered to read sheets of paper posted in the clubhouse, and since no one was advised directly and since he did not ask for any changes or situations that he might run into, on the 72nd hole, he hit a wayward tee shot in one of those sand dunes, where he grounded his club, hit a nice shot just over the green, and failed to get up and down, supposedly for a 5 that would have won. Wrong! PGA officials went to him and assessed him a two shot penalty for grounding his club in a bunker that didn't look like a bunker (all the gallery had been stepping all over this area as well), ended up with a 7 and one shot behind the playoff eventually won by Kymer.

Both, Anya's and Johnson's incidents were caused by poor communication with players, however, players have the responsibility, under Rule 6, of knowing all that is associated with the competition.

IN SHORT, ALL DETAILS, INCLUDING KNOWING SOMETHING THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE SWING, CAN SAVE YOU STROKES AND YOU ARE ON YOUR WAY TO PURSUE EXCELLENCE.

NOTES FROM ALL AROUND....

--- Joyce Ellis is back in rehab at Grace Living Center in Clinton, OK. Grace had an infection after a recent surgery. Give her a call at (580) 323-1110 or visit her. She is in room 403. When we visited with her, she was giving information to a nurse, and other than the infection, she looked and seemed to feel well otherwise. Nonetheless, she may be up to six weeks there, alone!, so... GIVE HER A CALL!

--- Rory wins.. again. His last win with Titleist clubs and balls. How long do you think it will take him to get adjusted to new clubs and balls. Check the poll on the far right under "Specials".

--- Amateur teenager from Australia, Jake Higginbottom, wins New Zeland Open. If you watch all these tournaments around the world, all but one (the win of Jose Angel Jimenez, 49),  the winners are very young (Rory, #1 in the world is only 23), and over 70% in their 20's. It looks like our Ryder Cup captain for 2014 should look into "rookies" with poise instead of "experience" (look at the last Ryder Cup, most of us were wrong, I know I was).

--- Anya Alvarez starts her first round of the LPGA Q'School finals tomorrow (Wednesday, Nov. 28) in Daytona Beach, FL. She will tee off at 8:00 at the Champions Club. 160 players will play 72 holes, 36 at Champions and 36 at Legends. The top 40 will play an additional 18 at Champions on Saturday to compete for 20 LPGA Tour cards. If interested in her progress, live, click here (then hit the appropriate link for pairings or results). Regardless of the results, Anya will be fully exempt in the Symetra Tour, however, I believe she has what it takes to compete in the biggest stage of women's golf. Go Anya!

--- Two players in Australia, make consecutive Holes in One in front of many local members (Hole #9). ready story here.

---  Thumbs Down... I truly do not understand the decision of the PGA Tour to not count Q-School for the PGA Tour anymore (as of 2103 Q-School), and instead, winners will be sent to the buy.com tour. Here is the thing, you have many players in the Board -including Davis Love III and latest Ryder Cup captain-, who are not competitive anymore, and want to use this move to stay there and not give a chance, or make it more difficult for new players, to reach the Tour. My question to them: If you were an upcoming player, and jack Nicklaus made it difficult for you to come up, would you approve of him? Bad, very bad move for golf!! No wonder we lost the Ryder Cup!

--- Thumbs Up: Martin Kymer, the 2009 PGA Champion, will join the PGA Tour for 2013. Good!

--- This is funny (if you have the money to replace an expensive golf simulator): Jamie Sadlowski, 2009 Long Drive Champion, breaks simulator during indoor long driving contest... click here.

--- 2013 Tournament Calendar is just about finished. Click the link in our "Favorites" on the right of the page.

WATCH BEDLAM GAME AT THE CLUB

NOTE: IT WAS A GREAT GAME (O.U. WON IN OVERTIME 51-48), WE ALL HAD A GOOD TIME... BUT ONE THING WAS MISSING... MANY OF YOU!!

JOIN OTHER MEMBERS AND FOOTBALL FANS TO WATCH THE 2012 BEDLAM GAME AT THE CLUB. 

TWO OF THE TOP 20 TEAMS IN THE NATION, BOTH FROM OKLAHOMA BATTLE IT UP FOR "STATE'S HONORS" AT 2:30 CENTRAL TIME.

FOOD WILL BE PROVIDED. NO HOST COCKTAIL BAR.

CHEER FOR YOUR FAVORITE IN THE COMPANY OF FELLOW GOLFERS-FOOTBALL FANS!

NOTES FROM ELK CITY & ALL OVER...

ELK CITY

Roberta Gray: "Does this mean that I don't need
to pick up balls for him every afternoon?" YES!

-HARD WORK PAYS OFF. Joby Gray signs up to play for the University of Central Oklahoma. Joby will join his cousin Logan Gray and his lifetime friend Keegan Hall in the team in attempting to bring the NCAA's Division II National Championship to Oklahoma. Brock Walker and Berek Dyson two other talented seniors, do not intend to play golf in college. Joby was sought by several schools, including some Division I universities, but chose University of Central Oklahoma mainly because he feels that they have a very good and committed team under the coaching of Pat Bates, a great coach and former tour player who is not only a great teacher, but also has a very good and personal relationship with all these young men. We are told that Joby's mom, Roberta Gray,will miss picking up balls for him in the pasture every afternoon! Joby, that's your job!! (Thank you for inviting me  to the signing in ceremony!)

- There is no official celebration, but do you realize that Elk City Golf & Country Club has just turned 75 years old? (!!! - Yeah!!!). Yes, the current club -not location, which has changed over the years-, was founded in 1937! Happy Birthday!

- Joyce Ellis underwent knee surgery and is recovering at the Grace Living Center in Clinton, OK. She will spend Christmas with her daughter Janice in Missouri... but meanwhile, give her a call and cheer her up!

- Did you know??? Have you noticed that our greens are faster now, smoother as well? It is because Ed Hughes, our superintendent now "rolls" the greens three times a week. So you can expect to have smoother, faster and truer greens from now on.

- FYI: Pro-Shop hours of operation are 9:00 a.m. to sundown, except on Mondays which are 11:00 a.m. to sundown. We will be closed Thursday, Thanksgiving Day.

- Saturday, Nov. 24, come and watch the Bedlam Game at the club! OU will host OSU and it promises to be a big matchup. That day as well, we will be drawing for the 60" FlatScreen TV that was displayed at the pro-shop for a few days. Bring a dish to share with other members...

- STARTING THIS COMING SPRING, TWO PROJECTS FOR OUR GOLFERS:
 1) LET'S GET FIT! WE WILL ENCOURAGE WALKING THE COURSE, AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK.
 2) WE WILL HAVE A SUNDAY AFTERNOON LEAGUE, OPEN TO ALL THOSE WHO WANT TO HAVE A LITTLE COMPETITION, SKINS, "RABBIT GAME", SNACKS, ETC. I PROMISE, IT WILL BE FUN AND COMPETITIVE.
We'll keep you posted.

FROM ALL OVER
- Rory McIlroy is leaving Titleist for a lucrative contract with Nike becoming the best paid golfer at the equipment and sports clothing giant... at least on paper. Why? Tiger Woods doesn't like to be second to no one, and word is out that he will still be making more than the $25,000,000 Rory will be making. Rory recently won both, the PGA Tour's and the European tour's money titles. As far as getting used to the equipment, times have changed, and as I explained in the previous blog, technology is such that professionals will not have much problem getting used to a slightly new different feel. Titleist continues to adhere to their policy that no golfer is bigger than the brand, and we should appreciate that.

- Lee Westwood will part ways with long tome caddie and friend, Billy Foster. This coming spring, at the Masters, it will be Westwood's 60th attempt at a major. Caddies are very important, but it is the player who hits the shots. My take is that Lee will stay "major-less".

- Remember what many used to call the "silly season"? Skins, Skills Challenge and small invitation tournaments? Here this out: Two weeks ago, there were 4 major tournaments going on at the same time, Rory was playing in one of them, Tiger in another, Phil Mickelson in another. This week, you have the Hong Kong Open, the Australian Masters, and South African Open. It is said that Rory, Phil, Ernie and Tiger make more money in appearance fees than if they win the tournament. Silly season? It is beyond silly!

DRIVE FOR SHOW, PUTT FOR $DOUGH$...

As we approach the end of 2012, there is one thing that has been on the minds of the rulers of the game: EQUIPMENT, specifically, THE LONG PUTTER.

It seems that it was just yesterday (actually it was about 2 years ago) that Mike Davis, Executive Director of the USGA said that he "didn't see the use of long putters as a big trend", then, just as fast as his words came out, Kegan Bradley wins the PGA Championship in 2011, then Webb Simpson wins the U.S. Open and Ernie Els wins the Open Championship (most commonly known as the "British Open") in 2012. And now, the two ruling bodies, USGA and Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews are talking about "doing something about it". Why?

I don't know about you, but I used to consider myself a "traditionalist" of the game, but I now play with an adjustable driver and fairway "woods", cavity back irons, graphite shaft on my driver and yes, Pro-v1 balls and still consider myself a traditionalist, but am I?

When Callaway's "Big Bertha" (much bigger than a traditional wooden driver) and then, the first Taylor Made's Burners came on the market, I refused to play them and continued playing my old MacGregor persimmon woods for a long time. Then titanium came along, and wound balata balls were slowly, but totally replaced by 2-Piece, 3-Piece, 4-Piece and now 5-Piece balls.

This style was once "illegal", Hogan didn't
play the British Open until it was legal...
the won it in his only appearance in '53

"Ugly" but effective

I first changed balls, then the rest of the equipment. By the mid 90's, "tradition" was out the window, and in my 40's, with new technology, I was hitting the ball longer than when I was in my 20's. There is no question that equipment has evolved, and now you hit the ball much farther than before. But you know what, the same happened in the 30's and 40's when hickory shafts were replaced with steel shafts. There is always evolution in technology. My putter, for the most part, was an Ping AYD model that I lost and never replaced. For a while, I couldn't putt consistently, now, again, I feel good with a Ping model at 34".

Originally, Sam Snead putted "straddling" the
ball between his legs.

His putting style was made illegal,
so he did the same thing from
the side... still won over 80 times

Equipment has changed everything so drastically that Augusta National, "America's Golf Course", has added at least 700 yards to Bobby Jones' and Allister McKenzie's holly grounds and historic layout. Regardless, all par-5 holes are still reached in two shots by the modern professionals. For the record, in 1997, when Tiger won his first Masters, he was hitting wedges to the par-5's 13 and 15, and mid irons to 2 and 8, but so were many of the pros, except not as consistently.

New courses across the country start at 7,200 yards and 300 acres. In comparison, Elk City -so you can have a starting point where to compare-, is built on about 160 acres or less! At 6,200 yards from the tips, our golf course is truly a "par-67" by modern standards. We have a high school boy, Logan Gore, who soaking wet, may weigh 145 lbs., but he can consistently hit it longer (280 yards and more) than all the tour pros of the 70's! Even women now days have  powerful swings that propels the ball over 260 yards!

Old Bernard Langer's putting style

Langer's new putting style. He
has had at least 6 different styles

In short, USGA and Royal and Ancient Golf Club have allowed technology do great leaps in improvement with all new equipment helping you hit it longer and straighter. Balls spin better, but stay on the air longer with great aerodynamics, balls last longer, clubs are lighter and loft are stronger (therefore the need for the "Gap Wedge" since the wedge loft changed from 51 to 47)  However, as golf courses have gotten longer, scores have remained the same among the average player. The only one piece of equipment that has a strong precedent of being closely scrutinized has been the flat stick... your putter. And it is coming again. Why? You ask. Who knows, maybe because these guys running the USGA can't putt anyway, and anyone who "breaks the rules of tradition has to be cheating". 

For instance, there was a time in which a center shafted putter was not allowed (remember the old "bulls-eye" still used by Corey Pavin?), it was not allowed until the late 40's or early 50's. Sam Snead's stroke (straddling the line of the ball) was banned, but he still won tournaments by facing the hole, and putting from his side.

Some professionals used to cut their putters to 25-28 inches, to make a shorter stroke, then came Bernard Langer, who, with the yips, who began using different strokes, one of them made famous with his win at The Masters: bracing the putter against his left forearm, then a longer putter under his arm pit. Then someone began bracing a long  putter under their chin or on the chest, and then, the "belly-putter" (heck, with my belly, I can make a "belly-putter" out of any putter of 34" and up!). A number of players use the long putter because it is easy on their backs, not necessarily because they can putt better. And now, the USGA, wants to ban long putters, or a "braced stroke" because Bradley, Simpson and Els won majors with a belly putter?

Anya's tee shots average 260+,
certainly above average, but
far from the longer women.

Logan Gore hits the ball easily over
280 yards! The average drive on tour
in the 70's was 

Come on USGA! The object is to get the ball in the hole in the least number of strokes possible. You still have to read the green, you still have to be steady with your hands and body under pressure. Adam Scott, with a longer putter, and supposedly, "easier" to use than Ernie Els' belly putter, failed to make putts down the stretch and lost the Open Championship.


Heck, if he USGA and the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews want to change something about equipment... START WITH THE GOLF BALL, OTHERWISE, LET'S ALL GO BACK TO HICKORY !

A FEW CHIP SHOTS...

- NOTICE TO ALL CART BARN USERS: PLEASE HELP YOURSELF, OTHER MEMBERS AND THE CLUB BY SIMPLY CLOSING THE DOORS IF YOUR CART IS THE LAST IN (IF THERE ARE NO CARS OUTSIDE, REGARDLESS OF THE TIME YOU BROUGHT YOURS BACK, YOU SHOULD CLOSE THE DOORS!

OK... NO MORE NOTICES, HERE ARE SOME NEWS!

- What is more difficult? A birdie on a short par 4 or a hole in one? Think again! Ann Cowan made the news again when, after going O.B. on the short par-5 #18, she holed her fourth short from 175 yards! Now, just in case you missed it, I say "again" because Ann has been rather sharp lately, as last week she helped her team win the Annual Ladies Invitational at Idabel Country Club: after making a hole in one in the second hole of play, she followed with a holed out shot from 70 yards on the next hole for eagle! (I guess her "Wolf" group should wait a while until she cools down!)

- Anya is come and gone. As luck would have it, she came on the coldest and windiest weekend in the last few weeks, nonetheless, she played 18 holes, 9 on Friday and 9 on Saturday with a couple of different groups. While in Elk City, Anya met with members and juniors to thank them for their support. As well, thanks to Shawn Wilson and K.E.C.O., she gave a couple of radio interviews. Thank you to all those who showed up to our get together on Friday night! Anya will be playing the finals of "Q-School" for the LPGA in Daytona Beach Florida at the end of November an though she is  fully exempt in the Symetra Tour for 2013, she would rather play the main Tour... GOOD LUCK!

- Joby Gray & Haley Gunkel shot 63 and won the end of the year's Thursday couples get-together. Another season gone by! Brad & Dayva Spitzer played a great round as well with a 65 and came in second place. Gary & Jeanette Scott took 1st net with a 59 and Rodney & Sarah Cloud took 2nd net with a 60. Great competition and great cookout after the event courtesy of Leon & Lana Stuart. This tournament is always played in October, usually on a Saturday, however, this year, dues to conflicts with different dates, the tournament was moved to a Sunday afternoon. Twelve couples participated.

- Joby Gray was picked to the junior team that plays against Texas Juniors in a "Ryder Cup" type match. The match is to be played in Ardmore, OK. Joby has had several offers from various colleges to play on their team, presently, he has colleges in Oklahoma, Kansas, Louisiana and Texas in his sights, but he has not made up his mind... maybe!


- Check out the 2013 tentative tournament calendar, and remember, unless it is a very large tournament, golf course is available for members during the play of a tournament. If you are hosting a tournament, please check that the dates are correct.

- The country club is going through some redecorating and recently went through the expense of replacing furniture: Come and check the new furniture at the grill, the restaurant, the ladies card room and the board room! It is pretty nice! Thanks to the help of Terry's Furniture, the club's expenses were much less than anticipated. Thanks Terry & Joyce!

CATCHING UP...

- As we had advertised, we had a 9 hole scramble immediately following the O.U. - Texas game last Saturday. Craig Martin was in charge of making the teams, first, trying to make the teams as evenly matched as possible, and then matching friends with friends as well. By the results, he did a pretty good job: ALL FIVE TEAMS ENDED UP WITH A SCORE OF 31. WHAT ARE THE ODDS OF THAT HAPPENING!!! (by the way, a "thank you" for the good time to my team members: Ann Cowan, Jeff Rule and Larry & Lana Hudgens)

- We have one tournament left: Finale of the Thursday Couples' nights (Sunday, October 21, 1:00 p.m.). We will follow the tournament with cookout. Give us a call!

- Many of you have met my
daughter Paola Alvarez-Bennett, "the attorney" who runs her law firm in Oklahoma City, but not as many have met Anya, "the golfer" who has been all over the country playing  tournament golf while finding time to speak on behalf of "KidSafeFoundation". Anya, who was one of the contestants in Golf Channel's "Big Break", will be in Elk City next week, Oct. 23-27. We are planning a gathering on Friday evening (Oct. 26), more details later. Anya recently made the finals of the LPGA Qualifying Tournament which will be played next month in Daytona Beach, FL., and is planning to play on Friday and Saturday with various members.... give us a call!

- The clubhouse will be going through some internal redecorating, which will include new tables and chairs in several places and a new board room (where the old pro-shop used to be). The intention is not only to replace with nicer, more comfortable furniture, but also to make everything look more golf related... stay tuned!

- For all of you who still follow the PGA Tour... cheer for Steve Wheatcroft! Steve is not in the top 125 in the money list this year and needs either a good finish at this week's McGladry's in Georgia, or, in next week at the PGA Tour Q-School in order to be exempt next year. Now, you ask, why do I choose Steve Wheatcroft? First, I happen to always cheer those considered "underdogs" whom I feel can challenge to the "top dogs", and second, I happen to have what you would say a personal interest in him because his caddie, Patrick Horstmann happens to be Anya's boyfriend! Simple truth from a parent! Play hard Steve! (FYI - Steve is ranked inside the top 500 golfers in the world -it just shows how good all these players are!-, and has one win in the Nationswide Tour).

- Chuck Hargrove hosted the seven time world champions in team roping, Clay Cooper and Jay Barnes for a round of golf. Clay and Jay are in Elk City for a rodeo tomorrow, north of town, and of course, for the World Championships next week in Oklahoma City. Local golfers and Elk City Golf & Country Club members Eddie Davis and Danny Teel are also team roping partners and are scheduled to be in Oklahoma City as well. Good luck Eddie & Danny!

- For all those interested in the club's 2012 season: this year we saw an increase of over 20% in rounds, both from members and visitors. We had a couple of additional events, including the inaugural Children's Miracle Network hosted by Love's Country Stores and co-sponsored by Linn Energy (it raised $25,000 for the hospital in Oklahoma City).

- Remember, using the service of tee times is not a "requirement" for members, but view it as a tool to help everyone during busy times. With increased play, a simple phone call will help you and the pro-shop to coordinate and enjoy your time at the golf course. In addition, members, please be aware that during tournaments with less than 100 people, the course will be available for members not in that day's tournament.

- Paul Azinger is well remembered as the last USA's Ryder Cup Captain who won the cup. I remember him for something else as well. Paul once said something that I relate to: "when I became a famous player, I'd go to my locker and find a few new shirts, a couple of dozen balls, tees, gloves, shoes and anything I needed. Basically, things that I could now afford, but, what I really appreciated was the little things that I could not afford, that others did for me when I was not so famous". That type of appreciation now goes to Rob Ellis, formerly from Oklahoma, and now head professional at Jekyll Island Golf Club in Georgia, who opened the doors for Anya while she was traveling in the area so she could have a place where to practice for a few days. Thank you Rob!