TWO GUYS LOOKING FOR A LOST BALL OR ARE THEY JUST SHOOTING THE BULL

Transcription

1 Saddlebrooke Ranch Men s Golf Association Jan 2017 THE SCORECARD Message From the President Worst Golf Gift Ever.. 3 Golf Rules.. 4 Golf Humor The Board and Committee Chairs.9 Patronizing Our Sponsors.11 Remember Our Sponsors.. 12 Mark Your Calendar.12 TWO GUYS LOOKING FOR A LOST BALL OR ARE THEY JUST SHOOTING THE BULL 1

2 Saddlebrooke Men s Golf Association Jan 2017 DURING THE MONTHS OF DEC, JAN and FEB PLAY ON THURSDAY WILL BEGIN AT 9 AM Message From the President Mark Klicker President Saddlebrooke Ranch Men s Club Welcome to all our new members, and welcome back to everyone returning. I hope you re all looking forward to some great golf in 2017! We re pleased to have four new members on our board: Bob Christianson as Treasurer, Guy Shelton as Sponsorship, Rob Nemecek as Rules Chairman, and (welcome back to the board) Jack Gressingh as Events. Harley will still be on the board as Special Events and assisting Jack. Thanks to our departing board members - Ted Wierman (Sponsorship), Mike White (Treasurer) and Bill Moore (Rules) for contributing their time over the past couple years. We re looking forward to continuous improvement within the men s league. Among the things our sponsors have covered again this year are the cost of range balls, and we expect to have more closest to the pin competitions. Our sponsors are prominently displayed on our web site and with signs on 2

3 Saddlebrooke Ranch Men s Golf Association Jan 2017 Thursdays. Please consider shopping at their places of business and thank them for their support. The improvements to the golf course last year were great, especially the bridges on #10 and #11. We also added new trees, bunker liners, bunker rakes, and cart paths. In the next week or so our golf course improvement sub-committee will be revisiting our original list of improvements and meeting with the developer. If you have ideas on changes you d like to see please send them along to me, Sam Rossi, Bill Moore, Dave Bott or Steve Thomson. In case you re wondering about the bunkers last year s work was part of a three year plan. Another third of the bunkers will have liners added to them this year with work expected to start as early as May. I was glad to see you all at our annual meeting on January 19th at Bubb s Grub. Mark WORST GOLF GIFT EVER 3

4 Saddlebrooke Men s Golf Association Jan 2017 Golf Rules Ed Robertson Rules and Handicap Assistant Like most civilized activities, the game of golf has a lot of rules, many of them quite complex. A basic understanding of these rules is necessary to preserve the integrity of the game and competitions played. It is my hope that this series on golfing rules will appeal to those who would like to know and understand them better, so that they may continue to participate with integrity and respect for those they play with and the game we love. What is a provisional ball? A provisional ball is a 2nd ball hit with the intention to save time by not requiring you to return to the previous shot location. When is one hit? A provisional is hit when you think your 1st ball is 1) out of bounds or 2) lost outside a water hazard. These are the only 2 reasons that are allowable to hit a provisional. It is provisionally in play but 4

5 Saddlebrooke Ranch Men s Golf Association Jan 2017 becomes the ball in play, with penalty if the original ball is not found. Now applying this concept to our course, should you hit a provisional on hole 13 if you think that your original tee shot may have gone into the lateral water hazard? Before you answer, read the USGA decision regarding this. 27-2a/2 - Provisional Ball Played Solely in Belief Original Ball Might Be in Water Hazard Question: A player's tee shot might be in a water hazard, but clearly it is not lost outside a water hazard or out of bounds. The player announces that, since his ball might be in the hazard, he is going to play a provisional ball and he does so. Rule 27-2a seems to prohibit a provisional ball in the circumstances. What is the ruling? Answer: The player did not properly play a provisional ball which, according to the Definition of "Provisional Ball," is a ball played under Rule 27-2 for a ball which may be lost outside a water hazard or may be out of bounds. The second ball from the tee was in play since it was not a provisional ball. After reading that, what do you think? The answer to the question above is "No" Example: This rule affected Greg Norman in the 2004 Honda Classic. He told his fellow competitors that he was going to play a provisional tee shot for his original ball that he thought might be lost in a water hazard. As explained above, the Rules only permit a provisional to be played if the original ball is believed to be lost or out of bounds, not when it is in a water hazard. He then found his original ball in a bunker. He picked up the ball that he thought was a provisional from the middle of the fairway and played the ball from the bunker. This was a mistake because what he thought was a provisional, was not, but was the ball 5

6 Saddlebrooke Men s Golf Association Jan 2017 in play (lying 3).By playing from the bunker, he played the wrong ball and incurred a 2 stroke penalty for that and an additional 1 stroke penalty for picking up the ball in play. Remember that the only two circumstances when you can hit a provisional ball are also the only two times when you are required to proceed under stroke and distance if you cannot find your original ball. Continuing our quest for Rules knowledge, let's examine a situation I recently observed on hole 4. The golfer had a wonderful tee shot. I envied that shot! It landed in the center of the fairway, about 210 yards out. Unfortunately his second shot wasn't as good, with a power fade to the right side about 150 yards away. He announced that he would hit a provisional. This was reasonable and allowable since he thought his shot was possibly out of bounds. His first ball was found, but it wasn't good. It was in bounds, but right smack in the middle of a cluster of prickly pear cacti. What were his options? Abandon that ball and use his provisional? Before you answer, let's look at Rule 28 for an Unplayable Lie. The player may deem his ball unplayable at any place on the course, except when the ball is in a water hazard. The player is the sole judge as to whether his ball is unplayable. If the player deems his ball to be unplayable, he must, under penalty of one stroke: a. Proceed under the stroke and distance provision of Rule 27-1 by playing a ball as nearly as possible at the spot from which the original ball was last played (see Rule20-5); or b. Drop a ball behind the point where the ball lay, keeping that point directly between the hole and the spot on which the ball is dropped, with no limit to how far behind that point the ball may be dropped; or c. Drop a ball within two club-lengths of the spot where the ball lay, but not nearer the hole. If the unplayable ball is in a bunker, the player may proceed under Clause a, b or c. If he elects to proceed under Clause b or c, a ball must be dropped in the bunker. When proceeding under this Rule, the player may lift and clean his ball or substitute a ball. 6

7 Saddlebrooke Ranch Men s Golf Association Jan 2017 Why can't he just use his provisional? Because his first ball was not out of bounds or lost, the second ball was no longer provisional. Since the first ball has been found in bounds, it is the ball in play and the golfer has to proceed in accordance with the above rules. You may ask why he shouldn't just consider the ball he hit as a provisional as the ball in play and save himself a trip back. This is not allowed. The concept is that you don't get to choose which ball you like better. There is only one ball in play and that is the ball found in the cactus, and you must make your decision about that ball on its own merits. Thanks for taking the time to read this. If you have any questions regarding the Provisional Ball rule, please don't hesitate to ask or me at eddie737@me.com. Feel free to contact the Handicap and Rules committee with any questions or concerns you might have. We are always open to hear your suggestions and comments. Our address is handicap@sbrmga.org. GOLF HUMOR A man goes to confession and says, Forgive me father, for I have sinned. The priest asks if he would like to confess his sins, and the man replies that he used the F-word over the weekend. The priest says, Oh okay, just say three Hail Marys and try to watch your language. The man replies that he would like to confess as to why he said the F-word. The priest sighs and tells him to continue. 7

8 Saddlebrooke Men s Golf Association Jan 2017 Well father, I played golf on Sunday with my buddies instead of going to church, the man admitted. The priest says, And you got upset over that and swore? The man replied, No, that wasn t why I swore. On the first tee, I duck-hooked my drive well left into the trees. The priest said, And that s when you swore? The man replied, a little testily because of the constant interruptions, No, it wasn t. When I walked up the fairway, I noticed my ball got a lucky bounce and I had a clear shot to the green. However, before I could hit the ball, a squirrel ran by and grabbed my ball and scurried up a tree. The priest asked, Is that when you said the F-word? The man replied, No because an eagle then flew by, caught the squirrel in its sharp talons and flew away. The priest let out a breath and queried, Is that when you swore? The man replied, No because when the eagle flew over the green, the dying squirrel let go of my golf ball and it landed within five inches of the hole. The priest screamed, Don t tell me you missed the f ing putt! 8

9 Saddlebrooke Ranch Men s Golf Association Jan 2017 THE BOARD and COMMITTEE CHAIRS Pesident: Mark Klicker Vice President: Sam Rossi Secretary: Bruce Deverman The Scorecard: communications@sbrmga.org 9

10 Saddlebrooke Men s Golf Association Jan 2017 Membership: Tim McCauley membership@sbrga.org Webmaster: Doug Strueber Treasurer: Bob Christianson Weekly Events: Jack Gressingh Special Events Chairman: Harley Schlachter Handicap and Rules: Rob Nemecek AGA Delegate: Mark Martin 10

11 Saddlebrooke Ranch Men s Golf Association Jan 2017 SPima Cup: Paul Lapatosky Sponsorship Chairmen: Guy Shelton PATRONIZING OUR SPONSORS You are probably aware that the various sponsors who have generously given money to the Saddlebrooke Ranch MGA has resulted in an increase in the prize money that is available to the members who play on the various Thursday events. This money is a form of advertising on the part of the sponsors who believe that the membership of our MGA will patronize their establishments and consider using their services. Whenever you can try to show our appreciation by considering using their services whenever you can 11

12 Saddlebrooke Men s Golf Association Jan 2017 REMEMBER OUR SPONSORS For 2016, we are pleased to have three Platinum sponsors and nine Premier sponsors. The Platinum sponsors are Coyote Golf Cars, Golf Cars of Arizona, and Kim Tucker MD The Premier sponsors are Gerry Hause Long Realty, Community Church at Saddlebrooke, Robson Resort Communities, Oracle Ford, Outdoor Creations, Brakemax, Concierge Cooling Sonoran Design Landscape and DDS Patrick Shaffer MARK YOUR CALENDER Ryder Cup Feb 9 Ryder Cup Feb 15 Ryder Cup Feb 16 Pima Cup Highlands Feb 27 Pima Cup HOA#1 Mar 9 Pima Cup SBR Mar 29 Pima Cup Ventana Apr 17 Pima Cup May 10 12

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