This was the week that everyone probably had wished was last week. Weather wise we were about 10 degrees warmer and a lot less wind. The course seems to be in decent shape and the greens seemed to roll very nicely, at least for me. Carts were even allowed to go 90 degrees on the fairways. [Read more…]

Well, it’s that time of year again and here we go, another golf season is underway. This was not your usual golf season opener that we have come to love. It was very windy and cold this year. At start time we had overcast skies and temps hovering around 45 degrees with winds howling around 20-25 mph with gusts to 35 mph. [Read more…]

Yes, I guess if you go out and fire a one over par 36 you get to go to Disney World. Congratulations to Steve King for a great round and he gets to go on vacation to a great destination. He’ll probably have more fun than his kids. I know I would. I love going there. Do you?

Jim Waterman faced King last night and with the temps hovering around 91 degrees it looked like King was red hot. Just remember for the future King loves playing in the sweltering heat. King’s only hiccup came on the 13th where he took a double bogey 6 and Waterman’s bogey 5 won him his only hole. King was just too much for Waterman.

Mike Berry finally decided to get his game back in order as he pummeled Erkan Duzenli 16-4. Some of us kidded with Berry as he came in after his round and he announced he had shot a 40. We blurted out that he needed to go out and finish the last two holes. It was pretty funny!. Mike has always been a formidable opponent and it is nice to see him get his game back. Duzenli tripped up on the 10th, 12th and 14th and just couldn’t get his game going as Berry was also red hot.

George Vigneault vs Norm “The Shark” Comeau. In this match as in most matches against each other it was close. Both players started off par par and then Comeau drew first blood as his bogey on 12 took this hole. Vigneault bounced back on 13 with a par and then Comeau getting a stroke on 14 was able to capture that hole and go one up. They matched scores all the way thru to 17 when Comeau’s double bogey on 18 allowed Vigneault back in the match and Vigneault walked away with an 11-9 victory. These two always play each other tough.

In a re-match of a couple of weeks ago Glenn Acciard crushed Rick Maloney again but by a little less of a margin than he won by two weeks ago. Acciard literally got out if his truck and walked to the tee to start his round. Due to the hot weather and hardly anyone at the course the league in front of us started early so therefore we started early as well. Acciard should think about arriving and jumping out to tee off more often as he fired a 4 over par 39 and Maloney struggled on 10, 12 and 13 and could only muster 2 pars and he won only one hole and halved one. Acciard wins big again for the third straight week 17-3.

Sub Ed Miele filling in for Dominick “I’m on vacation golfing” D’Orio faced a red hot Dennis Croteau who actually finally played golf instead of mentally being on vacation. Miele started off horribly with an Al Imlach 11 on the 10th hole. Croteau’s triple bogey was enough to win this hole and then Crouteau went on a tear as he shot one over par the rest of the way in. Miele ran into a buzz saw like he never saw before, welcome back Dennis, nice job. Miele will be subbing for Steve King next week and he will face the number one golfer in the league Bob Trottier. Best of Luck Ed… I guess Butch Hembree will be subbing instead, sorry Ed.

In another well played match Al Imlach bounced back nicely after last weeks debacle against a tough opponent in Steve Maddox. Maddox jumped out to a one up lead after one and then Imlach’s first birdie of the year on the tricky 12th hole, “just ask Bob Trottier” squared the match up. Maddox stuck in a victory on 13 and then they each halved the next 3 holes when Imlach’s bogey on 17 squared the match up. With Maddox getting a stroke on 18 he was able to halve the hole and Maddox went down 9-11 against a much improved Imlach.

Jim Marnie squared off against Eric La Francis and Marnie was struck with the “Number of the Beast” Marnie started off 6,6,6. This start for Marnie is very uncharacteristic but he was able to bounce back by winning 2 of the next 4 holes. But, with La Francis being able to hit the long ball, La Francis captured 17 with a nice birdie to close out Marnie. Then La Francis wanted to add icing to the cake and proceeded to launch his drive on 18 to the 100 yard marker. The only other golfers I know of are Acciard and Gill that have come just as close as La Francis. La Francis missed the eagle and had to settle for his birdie. La Francis takes this match big 14-6.

Paul Comeau and George Duffield battled their way around the back nine playing with Bill Wilson and Jay McGillicuddy. Comeau and Duffield had honors as they were first to sign up and they never relinquished honors. Comeau played steady and Duffield seemed to struggle as he faltered on 13 by driving his tee shot into the water. Comeau went on to win 14 as well with a very nice par. With Comeau getting a stroke on 16 Comeau’s smooth par was good enough to get him to 2 up with two to play. Pars on 17 by both players clinched it for Comeau as Duffield’s wayward tee shot on 18 sealed the deal for Comeau. Comeau wins big 14-6.

Vinny Serafino vs Tom Hale and Serafino bounces back after a lackluster round last week to defeat Hale 14-6. Hale again seems to struggle as he lost 4 of the first 5 holes in their match but was able to par 15 and 17 but that was not enough. What has happened to Hale’s game???

Rich Juknavorian played the course as Skip Gray was unable to get a sub. Juke needing a 45 to grab the maximum points allowed for playing the course tripped up as he stumbled on 12, 13 and 14 and with an unprecedented 7 on 15 and a double on 17 took him out of the money. He was hoping Skip could have played as it is always better to play against someone. Except if you are Waterman….

In the Featured match of the week we saw # 1 Bob Trottier tee it up against # 2 Norm Pelletier. Trottier jumped out to a one up lead on 10 and Trottier saw that dwindle away quickly as he bogeyed 11 and then had a Giant hiccup on 12 with a very not too friendly 8. Trottier found himself 2 down after 14 as Pelletier’s bogey and getting a stroke on the hole was enough to move him ahead. Both players halved 15 with pars and then Trottier got one back on 16 with par and they halved 17. On 18 Trottier’s league leading birdie was able to square the match but Trottier ended up losing over all strokes and this match ended up Pelletier slipping by Trottier 11-9.

In the finale we saw Jay McGillicuddy match up with Bill “I never tie my golf shoes” Wilson. Wilson’s tee shot on ten ended up in the weeds, but a decent recovery left him short of the trap and his chip shot carried to the back of the green and rolled off. A double bogey 6 was just short of McGill’s 3 putt bogey. The greens had just been punched and topped dressed with sand. They were slow.
McGill and Wilson both halved 11 with 3 putts, go figure. Then on 12 neither McGill or Wilson seemed to want to win this hole as it had the Trottier jinx written all over it. Too bad we were the first group to go through this hole. Sorry Bob… Wilson carded an 8 and McGill “I can’t hit a Hybrid” tripled bogeyed.

Each player struggled until Wilson’s tee shot on 14 was a Wilson classic as he drew the ball around the corner and it rested just near the 150 marker. When you struggle you really struggle as Wilson’s approach shot shanked into woods on the right side of the cart path. After finding his ball underneath a fern Wilson got it out of the hazard and launched it clear across the other side of the green, pin high, a 6 was not a winner. As both players squandered opportunity after opportunity Wilson finally broke through and won a hole as he parred 18. McGill’s tee shot went OB and his 3rd shot was the best hit of the day for McGill as he rested it in the middle of the 18th fairway 168 yds out. A double bogey 7 was enough for Wilson to salvage 4 points. McGill wins this one 16-4. Look for Wilson to bounce back big time when they meet again on August 10th.

We saw our first Eagle of the year as Bob Trottier eagled the 8th hole in the pouring rain. Bob also clinched for the first time he has been in the league MVP honors for the first half. It will be fun to see who wins the second half. With the return of Joan Wilson’s little brother look for Mr. Bill to return with a vengeance.

This week we saw our fair share of rain AGAIN and we had to muck through it so we could get to the second half of the season next week. All this rain is getting pretty tiring.

With the arrival of Skip Gray we all thought we would be spared the rain but no luck of course. He and Juke teed off first and I don’t even think they finished 2 holes when they said the heck with it and walked off. Part of me can’t blame them but another part says if just about everyone else plays why can’t they? Tom Hale and Jim Waterman were late due to heavy traffic on highways and Hale walked off as well as the rain just soaked his grips and all he could see were clubs flying. That was too bad as his team really needed him this week as they were in the hunt for first place.

We saw a couple of great matches as Marnie teed off against LaFrancis and this match was all square through the first 4 holes and then La Francis getting a stroke on 5 was able to go one up. Marnie bounced back on 7 with a fantastic chip from the left side of the green to gimmee range. But, on the 8th hole Marnie’s tee shot found Marnie’s hunting ground (Tall Grass) and proceeded to double bogey the 8th which was his only blemish on the card. La Francis wins 13-7. It was a great match to watch.

Norm Comeau showed us that playing in the rain didn’t hamper his style as he defeated George Vigneault 12-8. Vigneault jumped out to a quick 1 up and 2 strokes after one but Comeau fired back by winning the next 3 out of 4 holes. Vigneault captured the 6th but gave it right back on 7 only to birdie 8 but halved 9 to finish with a respectable 41 to Comeau’s 42 but Vigneault had to give two strokes.

In separate matches McGill couldn’t get out of his own way as he stumbled to a 47, ten strokes worse than last weeks near perfect 37 on the same nine with plenty of sunshine. Jim Waterman’s late arrival saw him catch up to the group in front of him and Waterman was one over par as he headed across the street. His only trip ups were on 4 and 9 and Waterman finished with a very nice 3 over par 39.

Vinny Serafino playing the course started off pretty rocky as his first tee ball barely made it past the ladies tee markers as he skied it and ended up with a snowman on 1 and 2. With pouring rain Serafino struggled on 3,4 and 5 but then carded all 5’s coming in from 6 through 9.

Trottier and Pelletier slugged it out for first place and first half MVP. Pelletier jumped out to one up after 1 then 2 up after 3 as Trottier found the hazard and carded a double bogey 5 for the first time since 4/21/2010 on the 3rd hole. They halved 4 with bogeys and Pelletier stroked on 5 and found himself still 2 up through 5. On 6 Trottier pars and is now 1 down as they finish 7 Trottier is back in it as he squares the match. Then the great Eagle by Trottier on 8 clinches the match as it takes all the steam out of Pelletier as he walks slowly to the 9th tee. Trottier wins 12-8. Another classic match.

D’Orio vs Croteau and D’Orio who just jumped to the C flight tripped up Croteau 13-7 as D’Orio shaved off ten strokes from last week score and it looks like D’Orio likes bad weather? I am sure we will find out as we head to the 2nd half of the season. Croteau’s 43 was well played with hiccups on 4 and 6 which were the downfalls for Croteau.

Acciard drubs Maloney and Acciard becomes the first player that I can think of that scored points on every hole during his match this year as he throttles Maloney 18-2. Acciard’s 42 and Maloney’s 51 were no match for each other. Just remember the rain was just ugly. 42 was a great score. Maloney was in the hunt and if Maloney had the 18 points he would have tied Trottier for MVP. How well would that have set with Trottier? LOL

In another 13-7 match Duzenli spanked Berry by being 2 down at the outset. Erkan fired back and won the next 5 holes out of 6 to help propel his team to the first half’s victory. Erkan’s only slip up was on 2 as he double bogeyed but had a nice birdie again on 8.

Paul Comeau and George Duffield dragged themselves around the front nine but Duffield was just too much for Comeau as Comeau struggled all day in the rain with out a par to be bought. He is the treasurer you know. Duffield cruises 16 -4.

Maddox slips to the D flight and takes on Imlach as both players slop their way around in par less fashion. Imlach jumps to 1 up after 3 but Maddox reels off 4 straight wins on 4,5,6 and 7 and Imlach captures 8 but gives it back on 9. Maddox wallops Imlach 14-6.

Well if it’s raining it must be a Wednesday. So many times over the years we have had rain during the day and spot showers on the course. Today was nothing new as the league ahead of us canceled and we decided to play a shot gun. Groups teed off on 10,  13 and 17 and we all finished in daylight under cloudy skies. The umbrellas only had to come out on a couple of holes and we were glad this week’s rounds in.

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