There was a threat of heavy rain throughout the day last Sunday at Westview golf course. Was this the main reason only twenty-two players showed up? Few players stayed away but the rain stopped before 10 a.m. in most part of the GTA. For members who played, they were rewarded with weather phenomena as the sun broke through about an hour into the round, and by late afternoon the Aurora region was gleaming.

Aside from the fact that the greens retained most of their firmness, these very same greens created a lot of frustration to a lot of players who were unable to cope with the putting speed. I remembered a year or two years back, when the mirror-like greens were much worse then. Everybody predicted high scoring affair due to course conditions. Magic number was net 74. Funny though about the three people who tied for the winning score of 74, none entered the Nassau contest. Who made the most of conditions softened by heavy rain earlier in the day? One of them is a senior who just got accolades of scoring lowest net last week. Fred H. who never dared of thinking fading into the sunset yet did it again this time. Manny C. who is quietly asserting himself once again as one of SGC notables, was in there as well. Saed J. making huge noise in our tourney this summer with hard-luck, good baby stride performance was as well making it known to succeed by contending in most categories. All three members proudly smoked the course with a net of 74 better than anyone else.

 

Nassau: Not knowingly he just made an eagle shot on the ninth hole of Homes course, Rey P. helped himself by winning the front nine together with the handsome prize of that eagle shot. Then there was this name once again in the winning podium – Jojo D. tied up for bagging the back and overall with the smooth accurate swinging Mar DV.

 

 

 

 

Nassau 16 and under format:

Front – Joey C., Jojo D., Oscar J.

Back –  Joey C., Jojo D., Dave N.

Overall – Joey C., Jojo D.

Oscar J.

Dave N.

 

 

 

Closest to the pin: The effervescent Fred H. wowed us with that shot on bunker inundated seventh hole while sharpshooting Manny C. made it two weeks in a row by getting the closest on the thirteenth hole.

Race to Month 5:

1. Fred H.  211
2. Jojo D.  215
3. Saed J. 219

Race to MIP:

1. Jojo D.     – 0.90
2. Jimmy M. – 2.40
3. Dave N.   – 4.90
4. Joey C.    – 7.80
5. Saed J     – 8.30

Race to Senior POY:

Vertex no. to replace

1. Ricky R.      691                       74
2. Joey C.       693                       74
3. Bong M.      693                       73
4. Seho O.      696                       72
5. Bert C.       703                        75

Race to POY:

1. Jojo D.             356.167
2. Jimmy M.         309.600
3. Joey C.            292.330
4. Seho O.           291.833
5. Dave N.           289.347

ANNOUNCEMENT:

For the last two SGC games entry fee of $10 for each game of the Closest to the Pin contest for all par 3s is imposed. A player can win as many holes there is but a hole-in-one shot wins the entire pool collected for all the par 3s.

Congrats to the winners.

Last Sunday’s golf event was abandoned by bad weather conditions. Ideal weather with a little nippy temperature on the side suggesting a warmer clothing to put on. Cart path only course of action was imposed by Century Pines golf course as management declared rain saturated course prior to Sunday’s game but other than that, it was perfect. Thirty-two players bothered to show up but most of them replied with plenty of fine golf.

The soft course gave way itself to aggressive play. The bigger issue was soft conditions that had allowed for very little roll, making the course a haven for big hitters, and a monster for those who were not. One senior who posted the more impressive romp and did not care at all what golf conditions were presented to him, signed a net of 65. Fred H. was nice enough to share the winning podium with Jojo D. who also finished off his round of net 65. Way to go Freddie! The way it is going, Jojo is making a statement this year. You will hear from him more before this page ends.

 

Nassau and Nassau 16 & under format: Guess what, because of that scintillating barrage of birdies and pars, Jojo D. took both front and overall score for both contests. Seho O. not to be counted out, also seized the back nine for both regular Nassau and 16 & under. Boy, talk about monopoly.

 

Closest to the pin: Two SGC sharpshooters got their mojo going. Manny C. who just missed getting himself a hole-in-one took the fifth hole – that was ever close. Brian K. who won two weeks ago, got nobody to contest his shot on the fifteenth hole.

Race to Month 5: Who else would you think would lead this race? The incomparable Fred H. with total of 137 in two games so far sits number one followed by Jojo D. three strokes behind. Four behind in third place is Brian K.

Race to MIP: Battle of the Js. No, not the Blue Jays who lost two in a row in Baltimore. We are talking about Jimmy J. and Jojo D. Jimmy holds on to the mere lead of .30 points even after a wonderful performance by Jojo last Sunday. No one is closer to these two and obviously one or the other will take the crown. Dave N. is the only one who got a say to all of these who is a distant third. Who knows, golf’s got its own way of doing things.

 

Race to Senior POY: Ahhh…this is one race that ever changes like the autumn leaves. Guess who snuck into the top? Yes, none other than Ricky R. While co-leaders Joey C. & Bong M. remained idle, with a net of 71 Ricky catapulted himself atop the leaderboard with total of 691. Second placers Joey & Bong are two behind while Seho O. drops down to fourth place five points behind the leader.

Race to POY: We have a new leader as well this time. Jojo D. yes that name again, took over the lead from Jimmy M. who relegated to second place. With three games to account for, it is safe to say that this race is still anybody else’s ball game. Remember that consoling mammoth 50 points if you win a round?

This is somewhat gloomy story. We heard through the grapevine that these two members – Levi M. & Julio R. are shutting down for the season. Hopefully with three more games left they will change their minds and rejoin us. Look at this, we welcome back Paolo B. who showed up and played two games in a row now after a long absence.

Rumour mill: Whispers and thoughts from a lot of members getting bushed of joining GTAA tournament next year. Why? Specifically, the way other golf associations declared and submitted their member’s handicaps making the playing field harder to compete and enjoy the game of golf. Other than that, it was OK but it was not hard to notice other noticeable players from other clubs equipped with  disputed handicaps or dubious…..or should I say gifted handicaps. Why was this happening every time there was a huge event like this? Sour grapes or not? Do we see a point of SGC continuing to join? Let’s hear from you. Attend the meeting next month and voice your opinion and vote.

Suggestion box: (Are you listening officers?) If you are away or for any other reason you will not be able to attend SGC’s annual meeting and vote, may I suggest to email our Prez of your opinion a week ahead of the meeting which was declared to be held on October 25, 2014 provided the topic is presented at the table and voted on. Hate to say this but NO word of mouth is allowed because it gets distorted along the way. Idea of this concerns is presented early on to give members better chance of getting heard and make our golf summer fun more enjoyable for years to come. Suggestions are warmly welcome. Your vote counts.

Public service: Going to Westview golf course take East Bloomington then left to Woodbine Ave., another left to Vandorf Sideroad. Do not take Leslie St. as the construction there might be still going on.

Well, you are updated. Congratulations to the winners.

Cloudy conditions and only a gentle Toronto heavy traffic smog breeze with high 75 degrees opened play at Royal Woodbine last Sunday. Playing a round at this time of year was so dicey because of our start time of almost 2 o’clock in the afternoon. It was a little late start, mind you. Didn’t we ever learn? Finishing the day for the last three groups were disappointing just as conditions began to deteriorate as it was getting pitch dark. Heard grunting from few people of the last groups but startlingly enough all finished their respective rounds despite the darkness. It’s worth noting that condition like this, it is the member‘s prerogative not to finish his/her round because of darkness. This will result according to SGC’s local rules to everybody else’s score for that particular day nullified. Simply put, this is the same as a round being cancelled. Thirty-seven players including one guest showed up and were mostly gratefully contented upon learning that the remaining four games in the schedule did not have late afternoon tee times.

Well let’s begin with the storyline for last Sunday’s round. Winners we did have. We have a member who had been through a lot of personal difficult moments and he always had been able to handle them. We marvelled at how all that old brilliance could give way so quickly to the same doubts that had given us pause since he returned from his personal woes. This time an SGC senior old timer Nap P. signed in for a round net of 68 for the game winner. Given the chance to watch him played was an honour as I happened to be in the very same group. Another never-giving-up senior who likened the direction he’s headed put himself in the position to get the job done – Rey P. took care of business and carded a net of 68 as well tied with Nap for the best net score.

Nassau: Rey P. with his convincing net of 68 took the front and overall. Ricky R. who consistently grabbed a prize or two from previous weeks, got himself another one by winning the back nine.

Nassau format 16 and under: Dave N. who won one corner last week got his mojo again going this time by winning the front and overall. Three people tied winning the back nine – Jojo D., Brian K., & Ed I.

Closest to the pin: Compelling shot by Don C. on the fourth hole earned him the prize. Most Sundays of this year weren’t awe-inspiring like that

win last year by our defending POY champion Ed I. It was nearly as head-scratching to this point on. Nice to hear from him again by winning the tenth hole.

Nothing to report for the rest of the contests so far as there were no changes at all as far as the leaders were concerned. Jimmy M. still leads both Race to MIP and POY. Joey C. & Bong M. still tied atop the Senior POY leaderboard.

 

Congratulations to the winners.

Another ideal weather conditions last Sunday at Royal Ontario golf course. Well what do you know, thirty more days and we are hopefully lucky to be blessed with the same idyllic weather temperature conditions. Going twenty-one games into the season, pretty soon they will all become distant memory. Thirty-one players dared to show up and more than most contested the biggest catch of the month – the Super Series. This golf course provided members the best playable situation as far as location was concerned because of its proximity to the west and to even to those who lived extreme east of the GTA.

If you happened to be playing golf for the past two decades, it was not easy not to hear about this wily veteran who belonged in the Filipino golfing elite. Jun P. got everything going his way last Sunday after he carded a net of 65. He must had been thinking, “I’m still here guys”.

Nassau: Alright, who made the most of winning this pressure packed Sunday? Joey C. & Sennix B. did not mind sharing the front nine while Ricky R. took the solo back. You know what they say, when you’re hot you’re hot. Sennix B. and Ricky R. proudly shared the winning lowest net total of 66.

Ricky R.

Sennix B.

 

 

 

 

 

Nassau format of 16 and under winners:

Front – Joey C.

Back  – Brian K. & Dave N.

Total  – Joey C. & Brian K.

 

Closest to the pin, par 3s: Brian K. got it close on the eight hole from the elevated tee box. Bert C. with sheer luck got the 105 yard eleventh hole without using a driver.

 

 

Month 4: As predicted Ricky R. captured the monthly honours while Sennix B. coming from nowhere to grab second place from Bong M. who came third.

Catch of the day……..the Super Series. Not sure what made Jun P. decide to join this contest at the last minute but he probably knew something we did not. He got his hand on this prize by blowing the field with net 65. With a tacky net of 66, Sennix B. and Ricky R. tied for second. And from the abyss, nice to see two enthusiastic seniors – Pat D. & Exe N.  shared fourth place.

Race to MIP: Guess who’s back in the saddle and fronts this race again. Jimmy M. capitalizing on a subtle performance by Jojo D. now leads Jojo by a mere 0.30 points. So far no changes with regards to the rest of runners-up. Dave N., Joey C. and Saed J. place third, fourth and fifth respectively. A reminder to these contenders – you cannot rest on your laurels for the rest of the remaining five games. By simply playing good and beating your handicap ensure your top position.

Race to Senior POY: This race also is getting interesting. Why? Nothing is conclusive until the very last game of the season. This is how it kinda shapes up.  Top five players are separated by ten strokes and less. We have a tie between Joey C. & Bong M. for the top honours. Seho O. lags in third place behind by five strokes while Ricky R. who is getting noticed with his performance of late sits seven strokes behind in fourth place. Bert C. drops down to fifth.

Race to POY: Who is going to blink first? Wish upon a star. Nothing is impossible. All these clichés come to place with still five games to go. Win the humongous fifty points in the offing and you are a lot closer to this prestigious award than you can imagine. In the meantime, this is how it played out after last Sunday’s round:

POS	PLAYER	BEST12
1	Manguerra, J.	306.767
2	Dizon, J.	301.667
3	Oh, S.	285.333
4	Cruz, J.	277.330
5	Munson, B.	275.700

 

Notice how the names of same people are mentioned in the winning podium most of the times? Simple folks – consistency. Good performance always is rewarded –that is the name of the game but nothing, nothing replaces playing for fun

Congratulations to the winners.

We all miss these two members – Paolo B. & Seb DM. Hope to see both playing soon.

ANNOUNCEMENT: A possible start of 1:30 PM at Royal Woodbine. Please come early.