Holes in one and other notables
World Golf Hall of Famer Gary Player is often cited as the originator of the phrase, “The more I practice, the luckier I get.”
Claudio Smarrelli, the former Cape Henlopen High School golf coach, proved Player’s point once again with yet another hole in one, at Kings Creek Country Club on June 20.
Playing with fellow member Terry Jones in a late-afternoon round, Smarrelli punched a five-iron from 145 yards on the eighth hole. Smarrelli said the greens were very soft, and the ball landed about 25 feet short of the hole. Leaving a large ball mark on the green, the ball then rolled smartly into the hole.
This is Smarrelli’s second hole in one at Kings Creek. His first one occurred on what is now the club’s 16th hole, but was the sixth hole when he made his ace there.
In addition, Smarrelli made a hole in one at The Rookery’s ninth hole while coaching the Cape Vikings that day on the Milton course.
Local Club Tournament Results
The ladies’ 18 hole golf group at Kings Creek Country Club held a special Three Jills and a Jack tournament June 23. The scoring format included a man assigned to three women. In addition, the team scores included the best ball of the team on the par 4 and par 5 holes, and two better balls net on the par 3 holes.
First-place honors went to the team of Prabha Karapurkar, Terry Derville, Chris Sullivan, and Jim Doan. The second-place team was Jeannine Doan, Mary Mezger, Carol Simon, and Gary Barth.
Two teams tied for third place. One team included Vicki Tull, Janet Howard, Dorrie Spillman, and John Morton. The other team included Cory Warther, Barbara Morton, and the sister-brother combination of Samantha Purple and John Purple Jr. The two Purple kids were both standout players for Cape Henlopen High’s golf team.
The Shawnee Ladies Golf Association recently completed its Match Play Championship. Participants included Ann Reed, Madaleine Polhemus, Barbara Derue, Peg Bundek, Joan Beck, Kathy Brown, Betty Black, Marge Steiner, Judith Larson, and Robbin Murray.
Bundek beat Polhemus in the semifinals, 2 & 1, while Larson defeated Black, 3 & 1. In the close-fought final match, Bundek defeated Larson, one-up.
On June 25, Shawnee held its annual Bucky Johnson Memorial Tournament in honor of the longtime member and former club president. The event helps support the beautification efforts at Shawnee. Two types of team formats are used, in both gross and net categories, using the two best scores per hole for each group.
In the mixed flight, Fran Johnson and Chotsie Raver combined with Brian Lord and Ron Raver for low gross at 149. In the net category, Robbin Thompson and Donna Jackson teamed up with Matt Thompson and Edward Jackson for low net at 123.
In the all-male flight, the team from Milford High School won the gross category at 147, with Mike Pyne, Matt Faulkner, Brandon Nelson, and Marc Kosoirowski.
In the net category, Jeff Kohel, Mike Kohel, Tim Gallagher, and Ed Mihm combined for a winning score of 119, twenty-one under par.
Meeting the definition
Last Tuesday’s league night round took place in hot, humid conditions. Even so, there were some comic moments despite the weather.
On our last hole of the night, I hooked my drive into the woods. The search for the ball proved fruitless. I borrowed a golf cart, went back to the tee, and hit my third shot into the middle of the fairway. The fourth shot bounded into the rough beyond the green, about 40 feet from the hole.
Naturally, the following chip shot rolled gently into the cup, for a routine bogey.
My playing partner suggested that a video clip of my play on that hole would make a great example of “whipped cream on toast.”
He didn’t actually use the word “toast,” but this is a family-friendly newspaper.
