Happy Birthday America. Your editor celebrated the 4th with a round at Poplar Creek. Found six bunkers and had four three-putts for a very forgettable round. It would have been nice to forget about that round over a beer at Par 3 but, the restaurant and bar are in their 21st month of being closed and the inertia in getting them reopened is incredibly scary. Don’t know about you readers, but if I had handled problems in my professional career the way this problem is being so ineptly handled by the lawyers, politicians, bureaucrats and other City of San Mateo employees, I’d probably be homeless. And nobody will be held accountable for the endless delay in getting Par 3 open again. Great country, America. Now that the tee boxes on the 7th hole have been leveled, I am wondering if putting down the sod is going to take as long as it is taking in opening up Par 3. And speaking of bunkers, according to the definition of a bunker, it is supposed to contain sand or sand like material. Many of our bunkers contain dirt or dirt like material which turns to mud when it gets a tad wet. Can’t we invest in a few dozen tons of sand to make our bunkers a little bit more playable? Also, can’t the players rake bunkers after they’ve played out of them. All six bunkers I hit on the 4th contained footprints from previous use that weren’t raked. If any of you readers feel you want to contribute an op-ed column or send a picture which would interest the group, please feel free to do so to me. So, enjoy the rest of the summer and good luck to those qualifiers for NCGA tournaments. President’s Message Summer is in full swing and we are off to a great start weather wise. Tournaments have been a great time before, during, and after! With our pizza, wings, and beer to hang out with after tournaments, who needs a restaurant?!!?!? No clue what is the status there so don’t ask. The annual NCGA Thursday 12 Man Match Play has started and while we lost our first two matches away, we hope we can close out the season with two home blowout wins and sneak into the playoffs. Our final two matches are July 16th and July 24th. Wish us luck! Renewal season is right around the corner so be on the lookout in August for the renewal emails from our Secretary Larry Shaw for next year. As always, if you have any questions or need anything regarding tournaments or anything else in general, please do not hesitate to contact me directly. Upcoming Tournaments July 11 – 4 Man ABCD Scramble July 25 – Away Tournament – Las Positas August 15-16 – Club Championship Tournament Results Five Club Tournament Seventeen golfers braved the gale force winds with only five clubs in their bags to challenge their creativity facing shots without their preferred club in their hands. Several attempted the challenge without a putter in their bag, instead relying on a wedge or rescue club on the greens. Of note, Shawn Fox made four birdies putting with a wedge and narrowly missing a couple of others. Flight 1 Flight 2 1st Randy Gubert Joshua Baltor 2nd Shawn Fox Walter Koning 3rd Dave Koons Tom Collins NCGA Senior Four-Ball Net Qualifying Twenty pairs attempted to be representatives of Poplar Creek for the NCGA Senior Four-Ball Net Championship in the tournament rescheduled due to the course not giving us the tee times for the originally scheduled date. The team of Dave Koons and Tim Cole was the low net winners with a 9 under 61, followed by the Dave Butzman-Randy Gubert team at 7 under 63. Both pairs will represent Poplar Creek in qualifying rounds in late July/early August-Koons and Cole at Metropolitan in July and Butzman and Gubert at Coyote in early August. The top three teams in each of the two flights: Flight 1 Flight 2 1st Dave Butzman-Randy Gubert Dave Koons-Tim Cole 2nd Felila Esikia-Josua Baltor Robert Liedtke-Marc Trapani 3rd Bradley Thaute-Rick Wilson Manny Casillas-Scott Rehn San Francisco Bay Zone Championship The Poplar Creek team of Brian Cresta, Daniel Murray, Paul Karson and Tim Cleary acquitted themselves very nicely at this two-day event at Poppy Hills and Del Monte, shooting, in the best two-balls of four format, 22 under par. Unfortunately, the team came up two shots short of advancing to the finals in August and finished in third place in the 17 team field. 1-2-3-Best Ball An interesting format tournament in which a foursome competes with the best ball of the group counting on holes 1, 4, 7, 10, 13, and 16, the two best balls counting on holes 2, 5, 8, 11, 14 and 17, three best balls on holes 3, 6, 9, 12, and 15 and all four balls counting on hole 18. In any case, the team of Brian Cresta, Daniel Murray, Paul Karson and Sid Shimabuku prevailed with an nice 12 under par 129 to capture first prize. The low-light of the day was one team (whose members will not be mentioned) managed to have a combined net score on the 18th hole of 24 (with the players getting 5 handicap strokes). The top three teams: 1st Brian Cresta, Daniel Murray, Paul Karson, Sid Shimabuku -12 2nd Shawn Fox, Randy Gubert, Andy Kishor, Llamelo Marcelino -9 3rd Frank Parcell, Art Klein, Ken Gerstle, Bill Capote -8 12 Man Team Competition Poplar Creek drew two local teams against which to compete in the 12-man team event this year – Crystal Springs and Baylands. The first two events were road events and the local group didn’t fare well, losing 26-10 at Crystal Springs and 23-13 at Baylands. We will have to wait until July home events to see if the team can advance to the next stage. Away Tournament at Sunnyvale A disappointing sign-up of only a dozen golfers chose to participate in the first away tournament of the year at nearby Sunnyvale Golf Course. With summer vacations starting after the end of the school year, World Cup contests and, apparent lack of interest, this tournament drew very little interest. In any case, of those who chose to play, Alfred Bogenhuber and Rick Salzer tied for first place with an even par net 70, with Bogey winning first place in a match of cards. John Edmondson grabbed third place with a two over par 72. Two-Man Chapman – Alternate Shot Tournament In this format, each player tees off, partners then hit their partner’s ball for the second shot, then the partners select one ball and alternate shots until the ball is holed. The event drew 18 teams. The top three finishers in each of the two flights: Flight 1 Flight 2 1st David Delbon-Ed Ferguson Bret Evans-Michael Brosnan 2nd Brian Cresta-Tim Cleary Tim Cole-Dave Koons 3rd Jason Pollard-Mike Shaffer Walter Koning-Steve Rued Rules Corner 1. A player's tee shot on a par-3 hole landed on the putting green, then rolled back into a yellow penalty area that was between the teeing area and the putting green. The player may, 1. under penalty of one stroke, deem the ball unplayable and drop a ball on the putting green. 2. under penalty of one stroke, drop a ball on the putting green, providing that point is within two club-lengths of and not nearer the hole than the point where the original ball last crossed the edge of the penalty area. 3. under penalty of one stroke, drop a ball anywhere along the ball's line of flight prior to where it last crossed the edge of the penalty area. 4. without penalty, play the ball as it lies. 2. In stroke play, which one of the following results in a single two-stroke penalty for player A? 1. On the first putting green, A realizes one of the 14 clubs in their bag which they have not used is non-conforming (bent shaft) and doesn’t use it. 2. On the 5th tee, A realizes they started the round with 15 clubs in their bag. 3. On the 8th hole, A inadvertently uses B's wedge to make a stroke from the fairway onto the putting green. 4. A purposely bends their putter over their knee after missing a short putt on the 12th hole and then taps in the ball. 3. In stroke play, a player’s ball is struck towards a penalty area and is not found. It is neither known nor virtually certain that the player’s ball is in the penalty area, but they drop a ball under Rule 17.1d(2). Before they play the dropped ball, their original ball is found within the three-minute search period. What is the ruling? 1. They must not play the original ball. If the original ball was in the penalty area they gets a one-stroke penalty under Rule 17.1d(2) and must continue with the dropped ball. If not, they must return to where they last played and re-drop the ball with a one-stroke penalty under Rule 18.1. 2. The player dropped under an inapplicable Rule. They are penalized two strokes, must abandon the dropped ball and proceed with the original ball. 3. The player dropped under an inapplicable Rule. They are not penalized, must abandon the dropped ball and proceed with the original ball. 4. The original ball must not be played. They must abandon the dropped ball and proceed under stroke and distance getting the one-stroke penalty under Rule 18.1. Points to Ponder Help someone when they are in trouble and they will remember you when they’re in trouble again. In the USA, we have the right to remain silent but few have the ability. The older I get, the more I realize golf is less about distance and more about not doing something stupid twice. As I’ve grown older, I realize that pleasing everyone is impossible…but pissing them off is a piece of cake. How is it that “fat chance” and “slim chance” mean roughly the same thing? Stewardesses is the longest word that is typed with only the left hand. Answers to Rules Questions 1. –4. without penalty, play the ball as it lies. 2. --3. On the 8th hole, A inadvertently uses B's wedge to make a stroke from the fairway onto the putting green. 3. --3. The player dropped under an inapplicable Rule. They are not penalized, must abandon the dropped ball and proceed with the original ball. Explanation Since the ball was dropped under a Rule that did not apply (Rule 17.1c) and a stroke was not made with it, the player must abandon the dropped ball and proceed with the original ball - Rule 14.5a.