THE SCORECARD Inside this issue: An exciting part of the SaddleBrooke Ranch Men s Golf Association (SBRMGA) activities this year has been participation in the Pima Cup, a season long series of tournaments involving six golf clubs in the Tucson area. The third round was played on December 19 at the Oro Valley Country Club. Team members for that round were Dave Bott, Jim Dougherty, Gerry Hause, Ken Hull, Kim Newton, Frank Sciannella, Bill Seay, and Doug Streuber. Ken Hull and Bill Seay won their D level competition while the others had a good time playing the beautiful course! We were pleased to host the Pima Cup here at SaddleBrooke Ranch on January 15. George Kramer (SBRMGA s General Manager of Pima Cup Operations ) worked tirelessly with Mike Jahaske, Jeff Mitchell, the Bistro, and their staffs to assure that everything ran smoothly. George enlisted more than a dozen SBRMGA volunteers to brave the O-dark-30 start and the cold to attend to every detail. From an Adopt-a-Hole standpoint, Mick Borm reported compliments about how beautiful our course was and what great condition it is in. There were virtually no broken tees on the tee boxes, very few unfilled divots in the fairways and nary a ball mark on the greens! For the record, our A team (Mick Borm and Rick Snowden) tied its counterparts from La Paloma, our C team (Pat Larkey and Jim Taylor) won its match, and our B team (Bill Moore and Hank Eidenmuller) and D team (Ken Cook and Marty Lenzini) lost their matches. In cumulative team scores after four events have been completed, our young SBRMGA team remains, shall we say, firmly in the second division among the six clubs. Many thanks to all who made our first hosting of this event a real success! The final two events will be held at SaddleBrooke HOA1 on March 3 and at El Conquistador Golf Club on March 17. For more information, contact George Kramer at gkramer@yahoo.com. The Pima Cup 1 Thank You, Golf 2 Course Crew Mark Martin 2 Hole-in-One Starting Times for 3 Thursday Play Pace of Play 3 Tips Mark Your 4 Calendars Three New 4 Members Jan 7 Board 5 Meeting Golf Quote of the 5 Month Remember Our 6 Sponsors Mike Jahaske 6 Clincs at SBR Contact Us 6 Scenes 7 Ken Steinke, Mike Jahaske, Mike Dench PAGE 1
Thank You, Golf Course Crew Thank you golf course crew. Thank you Ranch residents. Whether or not we golf, all can enjoy our attractive and groomed golf course. The ten fulltime golf course employees and their superintendent Jeff Mitchell do yeoman s work in this effort. In the early mornings, cold, heat, wind, and even snow, we predictably either see the headlights or hear the sound of their machinery. Bundled up in winter and covered up in summer, the crew is always at work. So to say thank you, both our SBR Women s and Men s Golf Associations sponsored a holiday gift fund for Jeff and his maintenance crew. Our grateful residents responded generously! On behalf of SBRWGA, SBRMGA, and Ranch Residents, Colleen Carey and Paul Lapotosky presented our holiday gift to Jeff Mitchell. No doubt the holiday season became brighter and more cheerful for some very deserving employees and their families. Mark Martin Hole-in-One Congratulations to Mark Martin for his hole-in-one on the SaddleBrooke Ranch course on December 27! He got it on Hole 5 from the Pine tees using a 5 iron into 15 mph gusts to a blue flag. Mark said he had no credible witnesses, just his son Kevin and SBRMGA members Joe Houck and Harley Schlachter. Mark s hole-in-one is believed to be the third recorded here, the second by an SBRMGA member (Paul Lapotosky being the other one). PAGE 2
Starting Times for Thursday Play Since formation of the SBRMGA in March 2010, Thursday play starting times have been based on Robson s seasonal schedule for all the courses: 9 a.m. from November through February, 8 a.m. from March through April, 7 a.m. from May through August, and 8 a.m. in September and October. Those are the first starting times; subsequent times are staggered to accommodate the number of golfers signed up for play. The vision of the SBRMGA Board had always been to move to shotgun starts once there were enough players. Shotgun starts allow us to meet as a group prior to tee off and go over rules and announcements; and they allow us to finish at the same time so we can meet at the Shack as a group. In November, the Board voted to accept Mike Jahaske s offer of 8 a.m. reverse shotgun starts beginning in mid-november. That decision was discussed in detail at the December 5 Annual Membership Lunch Meeting with Mike Jahaske answering questions. At the January 7 Board Meeting, the Board listened to complaints from members about the 8 a.m. shotgun starts in the cold weather months. After more than an hour of discussion, the Board voted (not unanimously) to revert to the staggered seasonal starting times. The starting times will again begin at 9 a.m. as of February 13, change to 8 a.m. in March, etc. as cited above. Mike did, however, indicate at the meeting that there will be no return to reverse shotgun starts for the foreseeable future because of his need for long term planning. Pace of Play Our past and current Rules & Handicap Chairmen have compiled a series of "tips" for playing "Ready Golf". If we follow these guidelines we will greatly improve our pace of play. The Scorecard will include one or more useful pace of play tip each month. Please read each one and be sure that it is incorporated into your regular routine on the course. Pace of play really boils down to one thing: common courtesy to the other members of the group that you are playing with and to the players stacking up behind your group. Tips of the Month The following are pace of play guidelines from the USGA. We should all try to maintain these guidelines. The first group to start will be considered out of position if, at any time during the round, the group is behind the prescribed time schedule. Any following group will be considered out of position if (a) it is taking more than the allotted time to play and (b) it reaches the tee box of a par-3 hole and the preceding group has cleared the next tee; it reaches the tee box of a par-4 hole and the putting green is clear; it reaches the tee box of a par-5 hole when the preceding group is on the putting green. Both (a) and (b) must apply for a group to be out of position. PAGE 3
Three New Members We have three new members who joined us in December. Welcome to each of them! Mark Your Calendars Feb 6, 13 SBRMGA President s Cup Feb 9 Sunday Couples Golf (tentative) Feb 10 Mike Jahaske Golf Clinic at SBR Mar 3 Pima Cup at SaddleBrooke HOA1 Mar 12-14 SBRMGA Ryder Cup Mar 17 Pima Cup at El Conquistador CC Apr 13 Community Golf Event (tentative) May Robson Cup Ron Noble Ron and his wife Sandy will move into their new home on S. Egret Trail in February. They currently live in Estes Park, Colorado. They plan to make SaddleBrooke Ranch their primary residence in the near future and look forward to being active here. Ron was formerly an executive in financial services /mortgage banking for over 30 years, and currently operates a business in Estes Park. Ken Gorman Ken and his wife Linda moved from their California High Sierra home north of Lake Tahoe to Saddle- Brooke Ranch in December 2011. They live on Misty Basin Road along the 18th fairway. Ken wants to resume playing golf in earnest after having played a lot of pickleball in the last couple of years. Richard Osterlund Richard and his wife Jeanne closed on their Arroyo Vista Drive home in December and he promptly joined the SBRMGA. He has retired from the Navy after serving for 28 years. Since Jeanne is still working (as VP of Sales for a national health care company), they will not be full time residents here until April or May, instead commuting between SaddleBrooke Ranch their house in San Diego. PAGE 4
January 7 Board Meeting Our bimonthly SBRMGA Board Meeting was held at La Hacienda on January 7. The 2 ½ hour meeting included discussion of preparations here for the Pima Cup, considerable discussion about our reverse shotgun starts in November, discussion of the 2014 budget, discussion of possible Pace of Play actions, course improvement priorities, and committee reports. Paul Lapotosky, President, also thanked our outgoing Board members for their service. Tony Seales (past Special Events Chairman and Sponsorship Chairman) and Steve McLaughlin (past Rules & Handicap Chairman and Vice President) are two of the three founding MGA members. George Kramer (past Special Events Chairman and Membership Chairman) will continue to serve in a nonvoting capacity as Webmaster and General Manager of SBRMGA Pima Cup Operations. Minutes for the meeting are available on our website after Member Login under the Communications tab as Latest Board Meeting Minutes. Golf Quote of the Month If you lift your head, all you ll see is a bad shot. Richard Russo, novelist PAGE 5
Remember Our Sponsors! Our Platinum Sponsors are Coyote Golf Cars and Express Employment Professionals. Our Premier Sponsors are Arizona Golf Cars, Arizona Proscapes, Canyon Community Bank, and The Great Outdoors. Please remember them when shopping for a golf cart, cart accessories or service, banking needs, plants, and landscaping services. Also, be sure to thank them for their sponsorship! Mike Jahaske Golf Clinics at SBR Mike Jahaske held his first free one hour golf clinic of the season at SBR on December 9. His second one was held January 13 on the topic chipping. The next one will be held on February 10 on the topic putting. All residents may sign up by phone or in person at the Pro Shop. Bring your putter The Scorecard SaddleBrooke Ranch Men s Golf Association Contact Doug Streuber, Communications Chairman, at communications@sbrmga.org with any questions or suggestions about The Scorecard Photos are provided by Dom Miglionico CONTACT US Webmaster George Kramer Contact Brian Svedberg at membership@sbrmga.org for information about joining the SBR MGA SBRMGA. All rights reserved. PAGE 6
S a d d l e B ro o k e R a n ch M e n s G o l f A s s o c ia ti o n (S B RM G A) JA N UA R Y 2 0 1 4 Scenes Photography by Dom Miglionico PAGE 7