Jim Grosjean
The MPMGA has been busy this spring with numerous and varied tournaments all leading up to the famous Summer Bash on June 4. The Bash is one of our most popular events, namely because it includes a free lunch and, most importantly, free beer. (I hope) I still question the naming of this late spring tournament the “Summer” Bash, since it takes place 17 days before actual summer, but with free lunch and beer, I say call it whatever you like.
The most recent event played before my publishing deadline was the 4-Man Shamble Tournament on May 21. After each member of the team hits their drive, one ball is chosen. From that point on it’s every man for himself and the two best scores are recorded. It’s a fun exercise unless a player has a hard time completing his required three drives. The winners of flight one with an astounding score of 22 under par were Bill Messick, Jerry Ingledue, Kevin Conway, and yours truly, Jim Grosjean. David Lowe, Mike Maslowski, David Petty, and Dan Schroeder won the second flight. The third flight winners were Bill Bowers, Kevin Haverstock, Angelo Klousiadis, and Terry McCarthy. If there was an honorable mention prize, it would have gone to Gary Colella for his gross score of 69 and net score of 61! Not to put a damper on his accomplishment; however, he did benefit from a minimum of nine drives hit by his teammates.Sadly, his feat still left his team five strokes short of first place.
On May 14, an Individual Match Play Tournament was contested. Two nine-hole matches were played with an opponent swap for each match. Nine dollars went to the winner of each match and $4.50 to ties. The winners of both of their matches were Bill Bowers, David Petty, Terry McCarthy, Pete Lebeau, Ted Olsen, Grant Stewart, Michael Greville, Kelly Paxton, Steve Gabe, Tom Quinn, Jeff Cashmore, Bob Barnard, and Harry Clausen.
The Cha Cha Cha Event was played on May 7. I suggest googling or AI to learn the rules of this game, since I can’t describe them coherently. The field was small that day, so there were only two flights. Bill Bender, Bob Barnard, David Petty, and Rick Cole won the first flight. Flight two was won by Tom Quinn, Jim Hardwick, David Cohen, and Chuck Kelsey.
P.S. Today I ordered a dozen balls from a new company which shall remain nameless. If I get the 9-23 extra yards off the tee that they promise, I will be happy to give up the name so you can order your own. If they don’t work, I will be embarrassed that I fell for the marketing hype. Wish me luck!