ELK CITY GOLF & C.C. - NEWSLETTER: Juni 2012

QUICK NOTES...

--- We are thankful that Jill Cowan is out of danger, back home and recovering from a poisonous (either a copper head or a rattle snake) snake bite that had turned into a very nasty situation.

--- Thank you to Ann Cowan, Berek Dyson and Joby Gray for representing Elk City in tournaments across the sate. Ann played in the WOGA Championship where she qualified for the "President's Flight". She won two matches. Berek and Joby in the Oklahoma Amateur Qualifier. Berek shot 78 and Joby shot 74. Joby missed the next stage by one shot!

--- Our list of "Newsmakers" is growing, this week alone we had two, Alfred Gaylean and Tanner Williams.

--- Two popular scramble tournaments are coming up: KECO (Call Blake Brewer at 580-225-9696) and Oilman's Tournament (Call Andy Blankenship at 580-799-0306)

--- Tiger Woods is back playing a tournament. Question, will he win a major this year? See poll on top right.

--- The August Tumbleweed Couples already has entries... Remember, the first 60 couples paid get in!

--- A reminder to those who get upset at themselves or embarrassed because of a bad shot or round: golf is something you do, golf is not who you are.... but golf can show others who you really are. How you conduct yourself on the course says a lot about you. Enjoy the game, give your best.

--- An old saying: FAST GOLF MAKES FAST FRIENDS. Playing faster is not as difficult as you think it is, even for those whose scores are higher (like me, my motto is "miss them quick!"). Here are some simple rules: 1) Be ready for your shot (that means do not wait in the cart until your playing competitor hits his shot to go to your ball, be by your ball -if it is not on his line of play- at the same time he is hitting his shot, then you'll be ready 2) When reading a putt or chip, don't put too much into it. Your first look is usually right, just hit it, you'll not only play faster, but you will be pleased with the results. 3) Leave your chipping clubs on the side of the green you will use to exit the green, pick them up on the way out 4) Write scores on the nest tee box while your group is hitting... If none of this helps, always look behind you. If the course is not busy and a group is right behind you for more than two holes, step aside and INVITE people through, that way EVERYONE CAN PLAY AT THEIR OWN PACE AND ENJOY THEIR GROUP.

--- The most fun I've had in a long while was being able to play with three young ones: Tres Hill, Conner DeWitt and Ryder Cowan. Thank you guys!

--- More "thank yous": Thank you, thank you, thank you! It seems as if more people are fixing their ball marks.... please continue!

--- This newsletter already has 20,000 hits! Thank you all! (we welcome players' news and suggestions on writing themes!)

4th of JULY TOURNAMENT RESULTS & WHAT GOLF IS ALL ABOUT...

"MR. 61"

I have been involved with golf for over 50 years, and it never ceases to amaze me that it is easy to find examples of why I love the game so much. We all know that the game is all about honesty, sportsmanship, respect, responsibility, courtesy and of course, integrity. Like most of you, I love to see good golf. I've seen my share of good shots and rounds in my lifetime, Sunday was one of those days.

Billy Jennings: ALWAYS HAVE FUN!

The weekend was full of good stuff, all about golf: excellence on the course, and what the game is all about on and off the course.

There are no records of how many "4th of July" Tournaments Elk City has hosted, all I know is that it is the longest running individual tournament in Western Oklahoma, or so I've been told. I believe it, particularly if what we witnessed this weekend is part of the tradition of golf... and of Elk City. Lets talk about scores first....

"I thought that one was in!"

The weekend started with two very good subpar rounds under very windy conditions: Billy Jennings, the former golf professional in Clinton, opened with a 65. Shortly after his score had been posted, Alfred Gaylean posted a 67. These were the only two subpar rounds on Saturday. The best next score was posted by Russ Smith who scored a solid 72, but must have felt he was being ran over by a Greyhound bus. Russ was about to find out more of the same, and much more, on Sunday. Russ closed with a 70 to finish solo 3rd.

Billy closed with a 66 for a total of 131, good enough to win in most weekends, not this one. In fact, his closing 66 was five strokes back from Alfred's closing 61and Billy's 131 lost by three! They both turned with 33 on the front, while Russ had a 35. Alfred birdied #10 while Bill parred. Then Alfred made a solid 3 on #11 from about 15 feet, but didn't make up any ground on Billy who dropped his 3 from about 8 feet. Alfred was still one behind... then he went hole hunting: starting on #12, he went 3,3,4,4,3,2,4, which added to his 2,3 start gave him a 28 and a closing 61! (shall we now call him "Mr. 61"). To my knowledge, there has not been a better 18 or 36 hole score in a tournament in Elk City. And certainly not while playing under strict USGA Rules without touching your ball until you mark it on the green. CONGRATULATIONS! In 4th place, with a 143 (74-69) was defending champion Zach Poole.

Jeremy Gray: Always stylish!

The "A" Flight was won by Keith Orr who scored a 76-70 for a 146. In second place was Mark Fairchild, who scored a 76-71 after pulling a "John Daly" on #18 on Sunday: Mark was 5 under going into the closing hole when the wheels came off, his concentration wondered somewhere, and somehow took a 10 on the closing hole! Imagine, a 71 with a closing 10! That is pretty good golf there! I know what I would have done there after holing out for a an embarrassing double digit score... another "John Daly stunt": go home fuming, without turning my scorecard in! That is golf! Four players tied for 3rd at 150: Craig Martin, Andrew Albert, Matt Salazar and Ronnie Smith, who was "bumped" from the "B" flight.

The "B" flight was won by Tom Thomas with a 160 (81-79); he was followed by Jack Christian at 161 (81-80), Chris Stark 162 (83-79) and Rodney Cabiness 163 (82-81). In this flight, both Ronnie Smith (81-69/150) and Bobby Wechsler (82-74/156) were "bumped" (more about this in a minute).

Brandon Orr chose to follow his brother
instead of going home fuming
over his disqualification.

The "C" flight was won by Keith Hulen, who came back from an opening 90 that sent him to hit four large buckets of balls and play an additional 13 holes after Saturday's round, and scored a solid 78 on Sunday. He was two shots short of being "bumped" like Dennis Dugger, who shot 86-79 for a 165 and was out of the flight by a single stroke! Next came Brian Young at 169 (87-82), Richard Hammonds 170 (86-84) and Rod Little 171 (87-84).

Now, lets talk about sportsmanship and integrity. First, Brandon Orr who opened with a 79 in the "A" flight. He was late for his tee time more than 5 minutes and was disqualified. When he was offered the portion that paid for Sunday's game, he declined saying, "I screwed up, someone will win it. Not their fault that I was late", that was "Class Act #1".

Mike Proctor shortly before
finding out he'd been playing
with 15 clubs.

Class act #2, was soft spoken Ronnie Smith. Ronnie opened with an 81 that placed him only one behind the leader of the "B" flight. But, Ronnie got hot on Sunday and didn't make many mistakes. By #14, he was even par for the day. He could be "cautious", or even try to outsmart the system by playing to a "number" that would win his flight, or he could continue playing as well as he could. I doubt if the thought of outsmarting the system ever crossed his mind, so he continued playing his best, which earned him two more birdies and no bogeys for a 69. As expected, he got bumped to the "A" flight. Instead winning 1st place in his original flight, he tied for third in a higher flight, and while he earned a lesser prize, he earned a bigger reward: he had the honor of showing what the game is all about: always do your best, never quit, play with your head on high regardless of the results, realizing that the game is bigger than any prize.

Class Act #3: Mike Proctor, fresh from a solid second place in an individual tournament away, led the "C" flight after Saturday's round with an 85. After 9 holes on Sunday, he was still in the lead. As I was patrolling and taking pictures, I received a call from him, "Alex, I need to disqualify myself. I just realized that I have 15 clubs in my bag". I told him that there was no need for that, and that the maximum penalty is 4 shots... "take one club out of play and continue your round. You never know what can happen". "No Alex, I can't. I wish I could. I played with the same set yesterday, I also had 15 clubs so I signed the wrong scorecard. I'm sorry!"

AS A GOLFER, NOTHING IS AS GOOD AS KNOWING THAT
THE GAME WILL ALWAYS HAVE GOOD REPRESENTATION!

SEE YOU AT THE GOLF COURSE!

P.S. WISH BEREK DYSON AND JOBY GRAY GOOD LUCK IN THEIR OKLAHOMA AMATEUR QUALIFIER TOMORROW!! (DAD DAVID WILL CARRY THE BAG FOR BEREK AND BROTHER JEREMY WILL CARRY FOR JOBY).

FATHERS' DAY TOURNAMENT DRAWS 60 TEAMS

The Fathers' Day Tournament did not end with the regulation round as it had to be extended to a playoff when David & Berek Dyson and Paul & Dustin Gunkel ended up with identical 59's and had to go play a sudden death playoff, where the Gunkels defeated the Dysons in the first playoff hole with a 25 foot birdie putt by dad Paul. David Dyson, who played with two of his sons, finished 3rd with his son Colin at 61.... he must be resting today!

Personally, I had a lot of fun because for the first time I was able to play in a Father - Child tournament with one of my daughters. My daughter Paola (OKC, OK) came to stay over the weekend. We finished at 62. Our group included my daughter's husband Jeff Bennett and his father Mark; we played with Calvin Adkisson and Bill Weatherly. If the rest of the fathers playing had half the fun I had, it was a very successful tournament.

A special thanks to Ann Cowan who as usual, came earlier than most golfers to see what was needed in order to start on time... NO SURPRISE HERE, THE TOURNAMENT STARTED RIGHT AT 9:00 A.M.! And of course, thank you to my Mona who helped me by taking all of the teams' pictures while I played the tournament!

In the end, we had 60 teams and we recognized 16 teams - eight gross scores and eight net scores - as follows:

Gross:1st, 59: Paul & Dustin Gunkel (won in a sudden death playoff with a birdie)
2nd, 59: David & Berek Dyson
3rd, 61: David & Colin Dyson
4th, 63: David & Jorey Price
T5th, 64: Justin & Wayne Robinson and Roger Gunkel-Trey Scales
T7th 65: Chris & Kyle Anderson and Brad & Drew Spitzer

Net:1st 58 (Gross 60): Luke & Gary Phillips
2nd 59 (Gross 60): Jerry & Rusty Wilson
3rd 60 (Gross 62) Alex & Paola Alvarez Bennett
4th 61 (Gross 64) Soupanh Syribouth-Aaron Musick
5th 61 (Gross 66) Doug & Joby Gray
T6th 61 (Gross 70) Tim & Conner DeWitt, Chuck & Jason Hargrove and Jeff Donaghey & Billy Bashaw.

See you next year!

THE UNITED STATES OPEN AT OLYMPIC GOLF CLUB

The U.S. Open starts today. It still stands as the most difficult tournament to win.

'The last week, I have been approached by several golfers who ask, "who is going to win the Open?" I have no clue. I can tell you who I'd like to see win a U.S. Open Championship: Phil Mickelson. But it will be exponentially tougher every year for "lefty". He blew a few chances, including his best in 2006 when he double bogeyed the last hole in true Mickelson style (being bold at the wrong time).

The U.S. Open starts today and most golfers will be watching or asking, "who is ahead?". This is the tournament every player worth a dime, would like to win. In fact, just to qualify to play is very difficult. Not every PGA Tour Player is in, notorious names are not in the field, while several unknown names are. These come from the various qualifying tournaments around the United States where someone can catch "lighting in a bottle". The U.S. Amateur and U.S. Public Links Champions are invited, the 51st ranked player in the world isn't, unless he qualifies either in a tournament or placed among the top 40 in last year's money list. The U.S. Open truly hosts "open" qualifiers. This year's part of the story will be, as in 1998, Casey Martin, the disabled but great golfer from Oregon who is the only player in the history of the championship who has been allowed to play while riding a golf cart. What if he wins? Good for him! And good for golf. It shows that golf is more of a game than a sport, and a game for all.

The U.S.G.A. is well known for choosing historic venues to host their premiere championship. It is the only major championship in the United States having been held in a private (mostly), resort (as in Pebble Beach and Pinehurst 2), and public (Bethpage Black and Torrey Pines) courses. This year, Olympic Golf Club in San Francisco has the honors.... again. It is a place where Jack Fleck defeated Ben Hogan in a playoff in 1955; Billy Casper beat Arnold Palmer in a playoff in 1966; Scott Simpson beat Tom Watson by one in 1987 and Lee Janzen beat Payne Stewart in 1998 after Payne three putted the 18th hole on the third round because the U.S.G.A. could not find a flat place on the green for the Saturday hole position (Payne was merely 6 feet for birdie, and about 26 feet for par after his first putt).

The above paragraph brings me to the notion that no "favorite" has ever won at Olympic Golf Club. Untrue. Maybe no "crowd favorite", but the winners have been very good players and all multiple winners on Tour. Only Jack Fleck won there as his only major. But, by 1955, Ben Hogan, then 43, was not in his prime and his putting was pretty shaky. He was still a great ball striker, but putting had deserted him. But, he was the sentimental favorite then, and mainly because of guts he had put himself in position to win, but like Tom Watson on 2009 in the British Open, he "ran out of juice". Nonetheless, 100% of the people would have put their house that Hogan would win the playoff. Jack Fleck won exactly one major championship and two others tournaments in his lifetime because he did not play the tour full time, but was a heck of a player. He was 11 years younger than Hogan at the time. He is still alive (he is 91).

But by the time the Open returned to Olympic in 1966, golf had changed, and there were a few players worth their name being there, including Billy Casper who beat Arnold Palmer in a playoff. Palmer may have been the crowd's favorite. Casper was no slouch, he won three majors and over 50 tournaments on the tour. So to say that the favorite didn't is a stretch.

Then comes 1987 and Tom Watson is, again, a crowd favorite, but his "best player of the world" label was not what it was in the late 70's and early 80's. In fact, his last major win turned out to be in 1983, and only won three times on tour after 1984. Scott Simpson, on the other hand, was a hot player in the late 80's and tougher even in major venues because he was so straight off the tee. Watson was popular, Scott Simpson was in better form at the time and was a great player in tough courses... among those whom he beat who came in second place in his career were Corey Pavin, Tom Watson, David Graham, Mark O'Meara and Bob Tway... all major champions.

Who will be Olympic's next
U.S. Open Champ?

Then, the last time it was held at Olympic, you have Lee Janzen who beat Payne Stewart who had been leading since the first day. Payne and Lee were former U.S. Open Champions (Lee in 1993, Payne in 1991 in a playoff with Scott Simpson above). Again, Stewart may have been more popular, but Lee Janzen was a proven player who had also won the 1995 Players Championship. Fate came into play on that championship... Lee got a good break, Payne got a bad break: Lee's tee ball on #6 went way right and got hung up on a tree, within seconds of using all 300 seconds of the five minute rule, the ball dropped from the tree and Lee did not have to go back to the tee to hit his third shot, he turned a potential double bogey into a birdie. An hour or so later, Payne drive the ball perfectly on the 16th hole, only to find it deep in a divot full of sand in the middle of the fairway from where he hit it heavy and bogeyed. Lee won by one.

At a time where golf is such a big game worldwide, expect no less in 2012. I suspect that the winner will be someone with a previous major, but like Ben Hogan once said, "I don't know who will win, that is exactly why they are playing the tournament, to see who wins!"

"TEWELL TIME", A TRUE SUCCESS

Just a few weeks ago we were approached by Doug Tewell's camp to see if we would like to host one of the clinics of his "TewellTime Junior Caravan" which he does with his son in law, Pat Bates. We jumped at the opportunity of hosting a clinic designed specially for kids, "by kids". Doug is a former tour player where he won four times and a senior tour player where he has won eight times, including a major (the Senior PGA Championship). Pat Bates played the European Tour, the PGA Tour and won five times in what is now the Nations Wide Tour. Pat is the current coach at Central Oklahoma University. How could we not say "yes" to a golf clinic for kids ran "by kids" who love golf.

I mean, how else would you explain that a player who has won millions playing golf, and who belongs to the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame would come around to a little town in Western Oklahoma just to introduce golf to kids or to get kids who already play golf a little more involved? Who would blame him for staying home to play golf with his friends or travel to great golf courses?

Most adults, like to compete. Kids like to play. Doug and Pat do both, the competing and the playing... as in playing around, having fun. Like Harvey Penick's book's title, a thought that I like to borrow, "And if you play golf, you are my friend". You have a couple of good friends in Doug and Pat. On the other hand, you need to realize that one thing is to "say" that "juniors are the future of the game", and another thing is doing something about it or allowing things to happen.

The PGA of America does something about it, and I proud to say that the reason is that they have people like Doug and Pat who personally also do something about it as well as part of their DNA. Club memberships at various courses, and proudly to say, in Elk City, allow this to happen and give kids the opportunity to take up the game without restrictions. Knowing our membership, I really wanted to be part of their schedule, so I said "double yes", without doubting that the use of the range for one day when adults could not use the practice facilities, would be 100% supported by our membership if it was for the benefit of local kids, members or not. So, on behalf of the kids, "thank you all!"

The clinic was a total success. For a couple of hours, Doug and Pat (who obviously loves kids and likes to make them laugh, as evidenced by the group picture) first gave a show and introduced the basics of the swing to youngsters of all ages. In such a short time, it is not easy to get into the mechanics of the swing, so Pat concentrated in what I call "PGA": Posture, Grip & Alignment. The three basic fundamentals. For another 90 minutes or so, the kids hit balls with the assistance of some of our high school team members, as well as Taylor Neidy, now a player at the University of Central Oklahoma, myself and other parents.

We had over fifty kids in all, most from within the city, but several from sister communities. Of the local kids, Doug and Pat should be proud to hear that several were not part of our membership, so their stop, reached more than just members' kids.

On their way back to "the big city", Doug and Pat stopped in Clinton to give another clinic. When I spoke to Doug late in the afternoon, he mentioned that they had over 50 kids as well and considered their day a success in friendly Western Oklahoma! Good! Come back!

A special thanks to Pam Tewell, Doug's wife, who is, without a doubt, their "travel manager" who arranges all their stops, where they stay, where they eat, and of course, works behind the scenes to help Doug look good. Pam also helps during the clinics by registering kids, fitting them with shirts and doing what concerned partners do best: keep us, those who can't "multi task", on the present (with Mona at my side, I know exactly what Pam does for Doug).

Also a special thanks to Ann Cowan, Myra Baker and the kids who later helped to pick up the range, most specially Ashley Marr and Jade Gray and her grandpa! And of course, thank you to the sponsors who made this clinic possible, in alphabetical order: American Realty (Mike Stout), Barber-Dyson Ford (David Dyson), Bar-S Foods (Management), Daily Elkcitian (Tyler), Doug Gray Chrysler-GMC-Jeep (Doug & Roberta Gray), Elk City Daily News, Elk City Golf & Country Club (Membership) and KECO Radio (Blake Brewer, Shawn Wilson). THANK YOU ALL!

OIL & GAS...

A tournament for 72 teams and 288 golfers for two days does not come by waving a magic wand. It requires the dedication, work and coordination of many people. Of all of the people involved with the tournament, there is no question that Debbie Smoot is the main force of the event. The fact that the tournament went on with little and unnoticeable disruption, or glitches after she left on Friday morning (to take care of very pressing family matters) shortly after the first shotgun start, is a tribute to her dedication. Please include Debbie and her family in your thoughts and prayers. The rest of the executive committee is formed by Leon Stuart, Craig Martin, Mel Lantz and Susie Cupps. The final results, after "bump number" of 2 (please see scoreboard below), are as follows:

"A" Flight (NO "BUMP"): 1st) Rockwater Energy (52-56/108); in a tie for 2nd place at 109 we had three teams, Doug Gray Motors (54-55), Cowan Land Services (55-54), and Barber-Dyson Ford (53-56), however, Doug Gray Motors disqualified themselves from the tournament on account of a player who did not meet the age requirement according to the Chamber of Commerce's invitation rules.

"B" Flight (LOWEST TARGET SCORE = 120, anyone lower than 120, got "bumped"): 1st) Greg Dodson Construction (61-59/120); Tied for 2nd we had Bank of Western Oklahoma (61-60/121) and Anadarko Dozier & Trucking

"C" Flight (LOWEST TARGET SCORE = 126): Tied for 1st with 126 were three teams: J&J Sales (65-61), Eve Bit Sales I (66-60) and McDonalds (66-60). Eve Bit Sales won the scorecard playoff.

"D" Flight: (LOWEST TARGET SCORE = 132): In a tie for 1st at 132 were Sandstone (70-62) and Bar-S (68-64), next at 133 were Tom's Hotshot (68-65) and Anchor Drilling (67-66) and 4-Guys (67-66)

Closest to the Pin winners: Brian Appling (Friday) and Joel Paden (Saturday).

Long Drive winners: Jordan Williamson (Friday) and Cole Bynum (Saturday)

For more pictures of the tournament, click here and you will be directed to our Facebook photo album.

For team pictures, call the pro-shop. Have a great day!

OIL & GAS #42 (2102) DAY NUMBER 1 SAMPLER

The day started at 5:00 a.m. with the crew of the golf course setting up and mowing the golf course... then, the range area is prepared, last, the registration begins....

18 holes...

288 people...