The Rookery’s first Club Championship a success
The first annual Rookery Club Championship took place Sept. 8 and 9. Dozens of members competed against themselves and some dicey weather conditions during the Saturday round at The Rookery’s South course.
Tim Freeh is the club champion. He shot a 77 in the teeth of 15-20 mph winds on Saturday. Freeh then scored a two-over par 72 at the Rookery North at Shawnee course on Sunday, beating runner-up Scott Shockley by four strokes.
Lisa Hutchins, a two-time club champion at the former Shawnee Country Club, earned her one-stroke victory over Sue DuBre as the first Rookery women’s club champion. DuBre made it close on Sunday, nearly overcoming a five-stroke deficit from the opening round.
Joe Shockley won the first flight category by two strokes over Mike Pyne. In the second flight, Dan Simmons came in first, with Dave Hermansader taking second place and Jim Lingo finishing third.
John Chadderdon won the third flight, while John Eustis came in second and Mike Kohel took third place.
Carl Bledsoe won the Senior Club Championship category by a single stroke over Bob Owens. Jim Hutchins took third place, finishing only one stroke behind Owens.
In the Men’s Net category, Gerald Swain finished in first place, followed by Jim Broadhurst in second and Tom Frantz in third.
While the Sunday round was sunny and pleasant, the Saturday afternoon round took a bad turn as the last several foursomes finished. In our group, my tee shot on the 18th disappeared in the left rough between two fairway bunkers as the skies darkened and the howling winds took on a stern “Auntie Em” quality. My return to the tee box for the third stroke did not lighten the mood, and neither did the sideways rain driving through our clothes as we finished.
A good mix of golfers who prefer to play one or the other of the two courses participated. Most of those I talked to really enjoyed the format and look forward to more dual-course competitions in the future.
A couple more Cape Region aces
Congratulations to Dick Bell, a Rookery member who aced the 9th hole at Rookery South Sept. 7. Not to be outdone, Sim Miller of Milford aced the 13th hole at Rookery North Sept. 8.
Water you mean I can’t use my towel?
A recent Ruling of the Day at the United States Golf Association website answered a direct question about water on the golf course, but in my opinion it didn’t address the situation completely.
The question dealt with casual water on a putting green. By definition, casual water is a “temporary accumulation” on the course that is not already part of a water hazard. Frost and/or dew do not count as casual water.
In this ruling, the question was whether a golfer could brush away the casual water on the line of his putt toward the hole, or if he could use his towel to mop up the water before putting.
The rules mavens were blunt: “No. Such action would be a breach of Rule 16-1a (touching line of putt).”
Here’s what they didn’t say - this situation is dealt with directly in Rule 25-1, although the golfer’s options may not be nearly as preferable as brushing the water aside or using a towel.
When casual water is on the green, on the preferred line of putt toward the hole, the golfer may take relief by lifting the ball and placing it at the nearest point of relief that is not in a hazard, but no nearer the hole. If complete relief is not possible, then the golfer can place it in as good a spot as possible, no nearer the hole. In both cases that point of relief could lie off the putting surface.
One can imagine circumstances where the relief granted by the rules doesn’t seem as appealing as the option sought in this ruling. On the other hand, the golfer could also belt his putt toward the hole through the casual water, and see how big a rooster tail he can kick up.
