Two Recent Holes in One That Were Really Cool

Holes in One are pretty special any time, but a couple of recent ones were spectacular and worthy of note.

During the annual Guns Thornes and Roses Tournament with the ladies, Tom McNary aced No. 8. And a few days later, in an early morning round, Steve Rodriguez knocked one in on No. 14, with a 7-wood!


Not too shabby, guys.

Adopt-a-Hole Program Coming Next Year

The ASMC Board of Directors has approved a plan to creat an Adopt-a-Hole program in the coming year in hopes of further encouraging players to repair divots, rake sand traps, pick up trash and generally participate in keeping the golf course in top shape.

The idea is NOT to take the place of the Seascape Golf Course grounds crew, which remains responsible for maintenance and upkeep of the gold course. The object is to further encourage what everyone ought to be doing already, but in a more concentrated way.

When the program's signs are up, they'll announce at each hole which portion of the ASMC membership is assigned to a particular hole. While members should continue to fill divots, fix pitch marks, rake traps, etc. throughout the course, they'll also have one hole on which they'll have a special responsibility to do the right thing.

Here's the tentative breakdown of the course, alphabetically divided. Players whose last name begins with the letter A, for example, will "adopt" Hole #1. Players with last names from Ba to Bl will "adopt" Hole #2.

Hole  Last Name Begins With ...
1        A
2        Ba-Bl
3        Bo-Bu
4        Ca-Ci
5        Cl-Cr
6        D
7        E-F
8        G
9        H
10      I-K
11      L
12      Ma
13      Mc-Mu
14      N-O
15      P-Q
16      R
17      S
18      T-Z

So, for example, ASMC President Danny Braga would put special effort into Hole #3 while Tournament Chairman Steve Olson would pay special attention to Hole #14.

There's nothing stopping you from starting right now. It has worked at clubs throughout the US and we think it will improve everyone's experience here.

2013 Turkey Shoot Raises Cash for 2nd Harvest while Two Teams Break 60

The 2013 Turkey Shoot was a smashing success again with 52-two man teams winning turkeys and some sizzling best-ball net scores.

Phil Trounstine and Bob Tomasi shot a net 59, as did Bob Postle and David Moore and members contributed more than $600 ($10 a head to play No. 16 from the forward tees) and a full barrel of food donations to the Second Harvest Food Drive.

Here are the best-ball net results for the top teams in each flight:

First Flight
	Phil Trounstine, Bob Tomasi		59
	Garth Watrous, Gary Nelson		62
	Steve Rodrigues, Leon Johnson		64
	Bobby Sayous, Teddy Kosciolek		65
	Mike Wade, Pete Pappas		65
Second Flight
	Mark Hogue, Jeff Stanga		61
	Chris Wilmouth, Marc Darrow		61
	Danny Braga, Joe Claridge		61
	Mike Cloward, Gary Paul		64
	Bob McCormick, Bill Campbell		66
Third Flight
	Mike Howley, Raul Grau		60
	Jon Twaddle, Bob Twaddle		63
	Michael Blas, Peter Porfido		64
	Bill Daitchman, Franz Vaiarello		65
	Jim Gosciminski, Jim Morris		65
Fourth Flight
	Bob Postle, David Moore		59
	Bert Post, Ferdinand Larocca		64
	Russ Nicholson, Jack Marshall		65
	William White, Paul McGillicuddy		67
	Grant Butcher, Steve Maciel		69

Closest-to-the-pin results:

Hole # 8 -- O’Hara - 2’2”, Nelson - 3’4”,Gosminski - 3’10 1/2”

Hole # 12 --Watrous (Garth) - 8’6”, Black - 10’ 4 1/2”, Postle - 10’ 5”

Hole # 16 -- Karafa - 4’4”, Watrous (Garth) - 7’3”, Wade - 11’8”

It's the 2013 Holiday Party!

2013 A.S.M.C. Holiday Party

Please join us for a great evening of food, dancing, and fun!

Friday December 6, 2013 @ 5:30 p.m.

With live music featuring the smooth sounds of “TSUNAMI”

Cost: $40.00 a person (Wine Included)

It’s going to be a good time, so please come out and support our club, meet other members, and have a grand evening.

For each ticket purchased by November 22 you will receive your name in a drawing to win a $150.00 American Golf gift card. (We will draw name at the party!)

Name:______________________________________________________

Number of Attendees:_________________________________________

Amount Enclosed:____________________________________________

Please make check payable to ASMC.  Please drop in the men’s club envelope in pro shop, or checks can be mailed to:

ASMC PO Box 431, Aptos, CA 95001

Troy Rettig Beats Jeff DeRoza on the 40th Hole to Win the 2013 Club championship

It took until the 40th hole in their 36-hole match, but Troy Retting bested Jeff DeRoza to emerge as the 2013 Club Champion, played at scratch.

Brad Ryno took Tom McNary 4-and-3 in the Directors Flight, played with handicaps among those who lost their first match in the Championship Flight.

Jay Karafa beat Charlie Parker 2 up to win the First Flight; Breese White bested Gerry Catalano 8-and-7 in the Second Flight and Steve Robertson beat Rodd Doerr 2-and-1 in the Third Flight

In the Fourth Flight, Channe Carvalho took Dave Frock 3-and-2 and in the Fifth Flight, Jack Marshall won 3-and-2 over Dave Schulz.

ASMC had 96 players with matches once a week, Sept. 4, 11, 18, and 25. Closest-to-the-pin was paid for those playing on the 4^th and 11^th.

Winners were Garth Watrous, Jeff DeRoza and Paul MacGillicuddy on #8 on the 4^th; Breese White, Bob Tomasi, Jim Boulware and Phil Trounstine on #12 on the 4^th.  On the 11^th, the winners on #8 were Steve Rodrigues, Bob Norton, Jim Geesman and Tom McNary; and on #12 the winners were DeRoza, Watrous, Bill White and Gary Nelson.

Most accurate drive on #9 on the 4^th was steve Rodriguez and on the 11^th Josh Christenson put it right on the line to win.

Another Primer on 'Par Plus' vs 'Equitable Stroke Control'

Although we’ve reviewed it a number of times, we still find members who don’t understand the maximum allowable strokes they are permitted to take on a hole, in part because there is confusion about “par plus” and “equitable stroke control.” So let’s review.

Equitable Stroke Control

In posting a score for completed holes, Equitable Stroke Control (ESC) is followed for handicap purposes. It is used when a player’s score on a hole exceeds a pre-set maximum number of strokes that may be taken on any hole. ESC is based on the following table:

Handicap 0-9 = double bogey

Handicap 10-19 = 7

Handicap 20-29 = 8

Handicap 30-39 = 9

In other words, a 36 handicapper can post no more than a 9 on any hole. If he had a 10, it has to be adjusted before he posts. Likewise, a 6 handicapper might make a 7 on a par 4, but when he posts, that 7 has to be adjusted down to a 6.

If, for example, a 16-handicapper knocks two shots out of bounds on No. 3 and then takes three more to get on the green and two putts, he should record a 9 on the card. But this must be adjusted to a 7 when posting his score because he is not allowed to post more than 7 strokes on any hole. (The computer program will do this automatically when the Tournament Committee is posting scores for tournaments.)

This is not the score a player may post if he picks up. For that, a player must use “par plus” or the most likely score he would have made. For example, if 30-handicap player is in the bunker on No. 12, he can’t just pick up and record a 9 because that’s his maximum allowable score using ESC. He has to honestly assess what he likely would have made.

Par Plus

“Par plus” means adding one’s handicap strokes to par for that un-played hole. Let’s take an example:

-- No. 15 at Seascape is rated on the scorecard as the number 8 handicap hole. If a player has a 10 handicap, he gets a handicap stroke on that hole. So if he stops playing before No. 15, he would score No. 15 as a 5 on his card because he would take par plus his handicap stroke. He does NOT score 7, which his maximum allowable postable score under ESC.

-- A player with a 26 handicap would get 2 handicap strokes on No. 15. If he picks up before completing the hole, he must score 6 – par plus his 2 strokes. He does NOT score 8, which is his maximum allowable postable score under ESC.

-- On the other hand, a player with a 6 handicap who stopped after No. 14 would have to record a 4 on No. 15, because he would not get a handicap stroke No. 15.

If a player stops playing a hole for any reason before par plus becomes valid, he must use his "most likely" score that he would have made if he had completed the hole. In other words, he cannot just pick up and take the maximum allowable score under the Equitable Stroke Control rules. The "par plus" rule is especially important when playing in a match play tournament. It must be used for all holes after a match has been won by an individual unless he scores a par or better.

Reisdorf, Catalano, Geesman and Lovell Snag Top Honors in August "Cha-Cha-Cha" Tournament

The team of John Reisdorf, Gerry Catalano, Jim Geesman and Gary Lovell shot a sizzling 123 in the August "Cha-Cha-Cha" tournament, in which teams took their lowest net score on No.1, two lowest on No. 2 and thee lowest on No. 3, repeating the cycle through 18 holes.

We had 104 players in 26 teams and we paid prize money to 45 members in this tournament -- 43% payout.

Team Standings  PAR = 142

1st  John Reisdorf, Gerry Catalano, Jim Geesman, Gary Lovell -- 123

2nd Dave Webb, Jeff Collins, Tony Riccabona, Charlie May -- 123

3rd Joe Clardige, Mike Cloward, Bob Norton, Peter Tyzack -- 124
4th Jesse Reuter, Dan Olia, Jim Ford, Rich Lakely -- 127 

5th Bill Halward, Don Urfer, Frank Paz, Tim Carl  -- 128 

6th Post, Rich Wameling, Fred LaRocca, Paul Ciraulo -- 128

7th Franz Vaiarello, Shanne Carvalho, Bill Daitchman, Mickael Blas -- 128

8th Phil Trounstine, Jerry Woods, Jorgen Hagglof, Glenn Taylor -- 130

9th Bob McCormick, Bill Campbell, Ray Geisick, Dick Staniford -- 130

 

CPT # 8                              CPT # 12                          Proximity Drive # 9

Rich Lakely  8' 11"            Ray Geisick  2' 3 1/2"           Bob Martinelli  2"

Don Schwartz 11' 1 1/2"   Keith Rushing 3' 8"

Jim Gessman 13" 3/4"       Phil Tournstine 4' 5"

no entry better                  Travis Stephens 5' 9"

Stephens, Darrow, Catalano, Lovell, Carl and May Win Their Fights in July "39" Tournament

Travis Stephens won the first flight with an extraordinary +6 in the July “39” tournament – a modified Stableford format in which players subtract their handicap from 39 at the start and then get points for pars, birdies and eagles, aiming to get to zero or better.

All the winners in every flight did better than reaching zero: Marc Darrow and Charlie Parker made +4 in the second flight; Gerry Catalano and Gary Lovell made +2 in the third and fourth flights; Tim Carl and Charlie May did an amazing +8 in the fifth and sixth flights.

The standings were as follows:

Flight One                             Flight Two                   Flight Three

Travis Stephens +6              Marc Darrow    +4       Gerry Catalano +2

John Reisdorf     +1              Charlie Parker +4        Ron Lindsay      -1

Jerry Woods       +1              Mike Beebe     +3        Joe Guttadauro -1

Bob McCormick  -1              Mike Oliver       +2        Jim Geesman   -1 

Pete Pappas       -1              Joe Clardige     -1        Leon Johnson   -1 

Flight Four                             Flight Five                     Flight Six

Gary Lovell           +2             Tim Carl            +8        Charlie May         +8

Craig Matthews    +2              Dick Staniford  +2        Tony Riccabona  +7

Jeff Stanga           +1              Barry Baker      -1         Paul Ciraulo        +5 

Jorgen Hagglof      0               Dave Frock       -1        Willard Schwartz +4 

Bob Tomasi          -1               Mike Howley     -2        Don Schwartz      +1 

CTP # 8                            CPT # 12                    Proximity Drive # 9

Tim Carl  1'  7 1/2 "           Bob Postle 5' 5"          Jon Twaddle   3' 8"

Ron Lindsay 4' 4"             Marc Darrow 9' 9"   

Bill Campbell 4' 4 1/2"     John Peterson 10' 3"

Leon Johnson 4' 10"        Phil Trounstine 11'4"        

Upadate on Some Holes-in-One

Last month, on July 3, Mike Coyle, a former club champion just now getting back into serious golf since his retirement, aced No. 6, with Julie Howe as his witness.

Quite a feat, acing No. 6. But for sheer hole-in-one accomplishment, you gotta hand it to Travis Stephens, who aced No. 6 on May 15 to go along with his hole-in-one on No. 8, his two on No. 12 and one on No. 16. Only No. 14 has yet to escape Travis’s deadly ball-striking.

By the way, your ASMC contributes $100 to an open bar tab every time a member has a hole-in-one.

Lovell and Reisdorf Win 2013 Dave Webb Two-Man Match Play Tournament

Gary Lovell and John Reisdorf  defeated Tim Carl and Don Urfer 3 and 2 to win the 2013 Dave Webb Match Play Tournament, surviving undefeated from a field of 64 players in 32 teams.

Winners of the Consolation Bracket (after losing their first match) were Danny Braga and Brad Ryno who took Michael Blas and Peter Profido in 20 holes.

Third and fourth Places in the Championship Bracket were shared by the teams of Don Bonnel and Don Schwartz and Gerry Catalano and Dave Schultz.

In the Consolation Bracket,  runners up were Dan Olia and Jesse Reuter and Scott Humphreys and Chris March.

This tournament was organized and overseen by Dave Webb, with players competing throughout the Spring and finishing in June.

Ryno, Riccabona, Nicholson and Cranston to Represent Seascape in NCGA Net Amateur

Brad Ryno (64), Tony Riccabona (62), Russ Nicholson (65) and John Cranston (64) posted the best first-round net scores in the ASMC June Eclectic Tournament which made them qualifiers for the sectional playoff of the NCGA Net Amateur Tournament to be held Sept. 12.

Results of the Eclectic, where a player's score is his best net on each hole over the two rounds, were was follows:

Flight 1 -- Brad Ryno, 68; Mike Coyle, 59; Matt Ryan, 61; Scott Humphreys, 63; Travis Stephens, 63.

Flight 2 -- Frank Paz, 58; Jerry Woods, 61; Charlie Parker, 62; Fred O'Hara, 62; Don Urfer, 63.

Flight 3 -- Jim Geesman, 53; Peter Profido, 59; John Twaddle, 60; Steve Robertson, 60; Danny Braga, 61.

Flight 4 -- Jeff Collins, 59; Rick Duquette, 59; Jeff Stanga, 60; Dale Seamons, 61; Michael Blas, 61.

 

Flight 5 -- Tony Riccabona, 54; Russ Nicholson, 58; Don Bonell, 58; Fred LaRocca, 60; Steve Olson, 60.

 

The most improved Ecelectic player was Gary Lovell who picked up a staggering 19 shots during his second round.

During the first round, closest to the hole honors on No. 8 went to Tony Riccabona, Steve Olson, Jay O'Gorman and Keith Rushing. On No. 12, the winners were Dale Poor, Bill Halward, Sean Jiggins and Jim Morris. Glenn Taylor had the closest drive to the center line on No. 9.

In the second round, CTP winners on No. 8 were Frank Paz, Rick Duquette, Gary Lovell and Steve Robertson. On No. 12 winners were Dale Poor, Rodd Doerr, Jerry Woods and Joe Claridge. Scott Humprheys hit the drive closest to the center line on No. 9

Darrow/Catalano and Taylor/Lindsay Will Represent Seascape in NCGA Senior Four-Ball

The teams of Marc Darrow and Gerry Catalano and Glenn Taylor and Ron Lindsay were the low-scoring qualifiers for the NCGA Senior Four-Ball Tournament, played May 15 in conjunction with the ASMC Memorial tourney. Their sectional qualifer will be held August 7.

Winner of the Memorial in the First Flight were Bob Alustiza/Mark Houge, 63; Bob McCormick/Bill Campbell, 66; Jay Karafa/Kip Jackson, 66, and Garth Watrous/Martin Guerrero 68.

 

In Flight Two winners were Marc Darrow/Gerry Catalano, 58; Glenn Taylor/Ron Lindsay, 61; Peter Profido/Michael Blas, 64, and Bob Norton/Joe Claridge, 65.

Flight Three winners were Bob Twaddle/Jon Twaddle, 60; Ferd LaRocca/Bert Post, 65; Breese White/Bill White, 65, and Steve Olson/Rich Richardson, 65.

Braga and Pappas Advance to NCGA Four Ball Finals; Finish 14th Out of 60 Teams

Danny Braga and Pete Pappas, who qualified for the NCGA's 46th Annual Four Ball Sectional Qualifying round during the ASMC Two-man Eclectic in March, ham-and-egged their way to a sizzling 62 at the NCGA tourney at Rancho Canada, tying for first and advancing to the championship, June 24-25 at Spyglass and Quail Lodge.

The other ASMC qualifiers, Tim Carl and Don Urfer, also did the ASMC proud, shooting 68 -- not bad, given the cold and windy conditions that day -- but not quite good enough to make it to the championship.

Here a report from Danny about their showing:

"We finished tied for 14th out of 60 qualifying teams with a total of 134 (69-65).  The winning team from Boulder Creek GC won with a 127.  Pete shot a gross 82 at Spyglass on a cool and misty first day.  Quail Lodge saw us play better along with the weather."

Jeff DeRoza is the ASMC Spring Medal Champion

Jeff DeRoza shot a net 138 to claim top honors in the two-day ASMC Spring Medal Tournament.

 

 

First Flight			Fourth Flight
Jeff De Roza	71-67--138		Dave Frock	69-72--141
Travis Stephens	74-68--142		Gary Lovell	79-66--145
Bobby Sayous	72-72--144		Jim Morris	77-68--145
John Reisdorf	69-75--144		Mike Howley	71-74--145
Matt Ryan	77-68--145		Martin Guerrero	70-75--145
Second Flight			Fifth Flight
Jesse Reuter	69-72--141		Ferd LaRocca	74-70--144
Don Urfer	81-63--144		Jack Marshall	76-79--155
Bob Alustiza	73-72--145		Tony Riccabona	82-74--156
Peter Porfido	72-74--146		Jim Ford	76-82--158
Mark Hogue	75-73--148		John Cranston	71-88--159
Third Flight
Rodd Doerr	70-69--139
Shanne Carvalho	74-69--143
Ray Geisick	75-72--147
Ron Lindsay	75-73--148
Ed Arredondo	77-72--149

Hagglof Scores His First Ace at Seascape

How do you celebrate your 75th birthday?

Make your first hole in one at Seascape. That's what Jorgen Hagglof did on April 30. He scored the ace on No. 8 with a 9 wood to a blue flag. The shot bounced once, hit the pin and dropped into the hole -- Jorgen's first ace at Seascape in 14 years of playing here.

Here he is, in the middle, celebrating the open bar tab after the round with his playing partners.

RIP Former ASMC President Ric Kirkish

Services for Ric Kirkish, 68, president of the Aptos Seascape Men’s Club 2003-2004,  will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, April 6, at Venture Christian Church, 16845 Hicks Rd., Los Gatos. He died March 11 at the VA Hospital in Palo Alto.

Richard Kirkish was born on the Fourth of July 1944 in San Francisco, the son of Nassim and Maria Tompson Kirkish. He grew up mostly in Cupertino but graduated from Monterey Bay Academy. Ric later joined the U.S. Navy, serving in the Seabees in Vietnam from 1968-1970.

He had been drawn to the stair-building business by his uncle Ned Kirkish and later transformed his Campbell company, Kirkish Stairs, into Stairbuilders Inc., with headquarters in San Jose. Ric was active in the Building Industry Association and participated in writing the California uniform building code for stair construction.

After the downturn in the home construction business, Kirkish closed Stairbuilders Inc. in 2010 and the following year earned his real estate license, practicing with Alain Pinel Realtors in Los Gatos.

“His heart was into cars,” Sue Kirkish, his wife of 32 years, said of Ric, who collected and showed Corvettes, winning several awards for his prized possessions.

ASMC members know his heart was also into golf and Seascape, where he was an avid and competitive player for years as well as a popular men’s club board member and president.

Ric was diagnosed with lung cancer the week before this past Christmas and the disease had already spread into other parts of his body.

In addition to Sue Kirkish of Los Gatos, Ric is survived by a daughter from an earlier marriage, Nicole Kettermann of Lacey, WA, and two step-children, Jeffrey Michael Goldsmith of Newport Beach and Jondel Suzanne Goldsmith of Malibu.

Hogue, Gosciminski, Butcher and Cranston Card Card Crazy Low 109 in the March ABCD Shamble

Mark Hogue, Jim Gosciminski, Grant Butcher and John Cranston stitched together at sizzling 109 (that’s like a 55 and 54, sports fans) to win the March 20^th ABCD Blind Draw Shamble tournament.

The field was divided into four groups (A,B,C and D) from which one player was chosen at random, forming a team of players from all handicap groups. From one drive, competitors played their own ball and the two best net scores were used. Each player’s tee shot had to be used at least three times.

Mark Darrow, Ron Lindsay, Rich Richardson and a blind draw player came in second with 110. (The blind draw was necessary because five players failed to show, leaving their teams without a player.)

Third place was won by Jay Karafa, Bill Campbell, Shanne Carvalho and Don Bonnel who carded 111. Steve Henriques, Al Fernandes, Rodd Doerr and Wayne Fort took fourth place with 112.

Mike McCraw, Frank Paz, Gary Lovell and Don Schwartz too fifth with 112. Sixth place went to Brad Ryno, Mike Cloward, Jay O’Gorman and a blind draw with a 113.

John Reisdorf, Jon Twaddle, Ben DeMarco and Dick Staniford took seventh place with a 114. Dale Poor, Michael Blas, Paul McGillicuddy and a blind draw took eighth with 114.

Closest-to-the-pin winners on #8 were Steve Rodriquez, 10’ 1/2"; Brad Ryno 4' 1"; John Reisdorf 5'; Dale Poor 5' 2". Winners on #12 were Mike Cloward 4' 5"; Fred O'Hara 4' 6"; Gary Lovell 5' 1"; Rodd Doerr 8' 3".

Braga/Pappas and Carl/Urfer to Represent ASMC in 46th Annual NCGA Four-Ball Sectional Qualifier

The ASMC Eclectic Tournament has always been so popular that this year the Board decided to add a new tournament to the rotation -- a two-man eclectic -- and top honors in the first flight went to ASMC President Danny Braga and his partner Pete Pappas who carded a sizzling net 53 over the two days.

Phil Trounstine and Ron Lindsay won the second flight with 56; Tim Carl and Don Urfer took the third flight with 56, and Dick Staniford and Ray Geisick won the fourth flight with a 55.

Two teams qualified (on the first day of the tournament) for the May 23 NCGA 46th Annual Four-Ball Net Sectional Qualifying round -- Braga and Pappas, and Carl and Urfer. If they advance, they'll play in the championship at Spyglass and Quail Lodge on June 24-25.

Other winners in the first flight were John Peterson and Tom McNary, 56; Frank Paz and Bill Halward, 57; Fred O'Hara and Mark Darrow, 57.

Other second flight winners were Mark Hogue and Jeff Stanga, 57; Bob Norton and Joe Claridge, 59; Paul Sanders and Jeff Scaletti, 62.

Third flight winners included Shanne Carvalho and Joe Guttaduaro, 58; Peter Porfido and Michael Bliss, 60; Bill Daitchman and Franz Vaiarello, 60.

Other winners in the fourth flight were Don Bonnel and Steve Bonnel, 57; Tony Riccabona and Frank Cavallero, 57; Ben DeMarco and Steve Olson, 58.

Many players thought the new format was a blast. But it helps the Board and tournament committee to know what you thought. Let them know if you want to keep this tournament in the lineup.

Semons, Urfer, Gosiminski and Boulware Are Top Qualifiers for NCGA Zone

Bob Erickson won the first flight with a net 72 in the January ASMC tournament, followed by Brad Ryno at 74, Bruge Driggs 75, Bob Alustiza 76 and Bill Halward at 76.

Don Urfer won the second flight with a 68, followed by Jon Twaddle at 69, Pete Pappas 70, Danny Braga 70 and Fred O'Hara 70.

Top honors in the third flight went to Jim Gosiminski at 69, Jim Boulware 69, Bill O'Connor 75, Gary Paul 75 and Ed Dueck at 76.

Dale Semons shot 65 to win the fourth flight, followed by Dave Frock at 69, Jeff Collins 71. Glenn Taylor 71 and Ben DeMarco at 73.

Jack Marshall won the fifth flight with a 70, followed by Jay O'Gorman 72, Don Bonnel 72, Tony Riccabona 73 and Bob Twaddle at 75.

The four qualifiers based on their best net scores (with card-offs) were Dal Semons, Don Urfer, JimGosiminski and Jim Boulware. They'll represent ASMC at Quail Lodge and Del Monte in the Zone qualifier April 25 and 26. If they move on, the playoffs will be Aug. 26 and 27 at Spyglass and Del Monte.

Good luck gentlemen!

What You Need to Know About Posting Scores

By Leon Johnson

Chairman, Handicap Committee

From time to time, the ASMC Handicap Committee hears complaints and concerns about members who don’t post scores after matches or who don’t fully understand how to post scores on a regular basis. To help address those concerns, we thought it would be worthwhile to remind everyone of some of the scoring rules that we depend on to have accurate handicaps.

That in turn will lead to fair, competitive tournaments in addition to friendly, competitive rounds when playing for fun.

First of all, everyone should know it is the responsibility of the Handicap Committee to verify as much as possible that members post all acceptable scores for handicap purposes and to ensure that recorded scores are available for peer review. The second, of course, is what makes the first possible. 

One of the reasons that complaints of inaccurate or non-reporting of scores is made is that some members do not know the rules along with the understanding that posting of scores must be done for all rounds – nine and/or 18 holes -- completed when played following the accepted rules of golf.

As a matter of routine, golfers should:

1. Post scores in person immediately after the round at the course if possible. The handicap computer accepts both nine and 18 hole scores, but you do have to identify your round as a nine-hole entry when you have played at least seven and no more than 12 holes (see #2 below). The computer is programmed to accept the 18-hole score automatically. Individual ASMC tournament scores are posted by the Tournament Committee only when the rules sheet says they will.

2.  Understand that posting scores is required when a player plays seven holes of golf under the accepted rules of golf. If seven to 12 holes are played, a person must post a nine-hole score. If the player has completed 13-18 holes, he is required to post an 18-hole score. Uncompleted holes are to be recorded using “par plus” scoring.

This is NOT the same as the maximum allowable score. “Par plus” means adding one’s handicap strokes to par for that hole. Let’s take an example: No. 15 at Seascape is rated on the scorecard as the number 8 handicap hole. If a player has a 10 handicap, he gets a handicap stroke on that hole. So if he stops playing after No. 14, he would score No. 15 as a 5 on his card because he would take par plus his handicap stroke. On the other hand, a player with a 6 handicap who stopped after No. 14 would have to record a 4 on No. 15, because he would not get a handicap stroke No. 15.

If a player stops playing a hole for any reason before par plus becomes valid, he must use his "most likely" score that he would have made if he had completed the hole. In other words, he cannot just pick up and take the maximum allowable score under the Equitable Stroke Control rules (more on that later). The "par plus" rule is especially important when playing in a match play tournament. It should be used for all holes after a match has been won by an individual unless he scores a par or better.

3.  In posting the score for the round, Equitable Stroke Control (ESC) rules are followed for handicap purposes.  It is used when a player’s score on a hole exceeds a pre-set maximum stroke number on a hole.  ESC is based on the following table:

Handicap 0-9 = double bogey

Handicap 10-19 = 7

Handicap 20-29 = 8

Handicap 30-39 = 9

Again, this is not the score a player may post if he picks up. For that, a player must use “par plus” or the most likely score he would have made. For example, if 30-handicap player is in the bunker on No. 12, he can’t just pick up and record a 9 because that’s his maximum allowable score using ESC. He has to honestly assess what he likely would have made on the hole, which might include taking two shots to get out of the bunker and two putts for a 5.

On the other hand, if a 16-handicapper knocks two shots out of bounds on No. 3 and then takes three to get on the green and two putts, he should record a 9 on the card but this must be adjusted to a 7 when totaling his score for posting because he is not allowed more than 7 strokes on any hole. (The computer program will do this automatically when the Tournament Committee is posting scores for tournaments.)

There are many other things involved in developing a handicap, but these are the basics for everyone to understand in order to make our competitions fair and honest to all players. The No. 1 source of complaints is the perceived failure of players to post scores from all rounds they play. So please, post your scores every time you play a round.

Feel free to email me with any questions or complaints. There is, on the top of the computer at Seascape, a small booklet which details the above information and much more. I can be reached at leonj@comcast.net or 831-662-2668.