A correction is in order
One of the risks of writing about your friends is that you may trust your memory more than you would when writing about someone you didn’t know as well.
Last week’s column about the first annual Rookery Club Championship is a good example.
Lisa Hutchins is a longtime golfing buddy of mine, along with her husband Jim. Lisa is also a very good golfer, unlike some of her playing partners to whom she is not married.
On many occasions several of us just say “NSL” after her tee shots. That’s because after a while, even she can become tired of hearing, “Nice shot, Lisa.”
As readers of last week’s column also know, Lisa won the Rookery’s inaugural women’s club championship, against Sue DuBre, in what turned out to be a two-player competition. Fortunately for both DuBre and Hutchins, they were closely matched, with Hutchins winning by a single stroke in the 36-hole tournament.
After I finished my own “participation” in the third flight of the men’s Rookery championship, I saw the scoreboard and Lisa’s first-place finish. I texted my congratulations, and asked her to send me the details.
I hadn’t seen any response before the column deadline approached, so I went on the basis of memory when describing Lisa as a “two-time club champion of the former Shawnee Country Club.”
A day after the column appeared, Jim sent me a short note: “She was a three-time champion … I think she’ll forgive you.”
Whoops.
If I had just checked my own column archives, I would have quickly discovered my faulty memory. My recollection was that Lisa won twice, in 2008 and 2010. Somehow I managed to forget that she also won last year’s club championship.
When Lisa and I chatted during our next round, she was her usual sunny, diplomatic self, but with a twist.
We quickly confirmed her competitive record at Shawnee.
I then asked her whom she defeated during that last Shawnee Championship.
Without missing a beat, Lisa said, “All of them.”
I have some nice, and funny, friends.
Rookery’s 9-Hole Championship
Rookery golf pro John Wallett sent a note about the club’s recent 9-Hole Ladies Club Championship, won by Wanda Tiedemann.
Agnes Cavanaugh won the first flight, with Carol Gumrot taking second place. In the second flight, Lucy Mehl won first place, with Sharon Brown earning a second-place finish.
Local club competition results
The Kings Creek Country Club Ladies 9-Holers played a Beat the Pro Tournament Sept. 7.
Noreen Buzerak, Pat DeVoll, Sue Eisenbrey, Kathy Nave, Susie Shevock and Chris Sullivan beat head golf pro Kevin Wiest on the 11th hole.
Teaching pro Chris Krueger succumbed on the 16th hole to Noreen Buzerak, Pat DeVoll, Sue Eisenbrey, Kathy Nave and Carolyn Shiver.
Nave won the closest to the pin contest on the 11th hole with a shot ending 3-feet-7-inches from the target.
The 9-Holers played a Tee to Green format Sept. 13, in which only the strokes needed to go from tee to green are counted. Judi Pezone won, and also won the closest to the pin contest on the 16th hole. Mary Beth Merolla took second.
The Kings Creek Ladies 18-holers also played the same format on the same day, with Brenda Butterfield winning the event. Mary Mezger came in second, while third place went to Prabha Karapurkar.
Tricia Ritthaler won the closest to the pin competition, with a shot to the eighth hole that finished 12-feet-9-inches away.
Mid-Atlantic Golf Recommendations
Golf Magazine’s Joe Passov recently posted his Traveling Joe’s Guide to golfing venues in and around Ocean City, Md., at the golf.com website. The piece includes nice comments about several Cape Region courses, including Baywood Greens, Bear Trap Dunes and Bayside Resort. Check it out at www.golf.com/courses-and-travel/mid-atlantic-golf-guide.
