Golf Report - October 30, 2008

FUTURE DATES
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Saturday, November 1st
10:08 - 10:16 am Azalea-Dogwood
74°, Sunny Rain: 10%, Wind: 5 mph
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Tuesday, November 4th
10:00 - 10:08 - 10:16 am Azalea-Dogwood

61°, Partly Cloudy, Rain: 10%, Wind: 10 mph
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Thursday, November 6th

ROAD TRIP - (Ladies Special event)
72°, Mostly Sunny, Rain: 20%, Wind: 6 mph

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Saturday, November 8th

TBA

69°, Sunny Rain: 10%, Wind: 10 mph

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We had a nice turn out this morning after finally getting our group back together again after a few diversifications. The fall weather is proving to be great golfing weather....until it turns cold. But right now, it's great to be playing golf in Aiken, SC.

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*****POINTS*****

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We had a couple of visitors this morning (see ITEMS below) and they ended up winning the individual points competition quite handily (+8). Had they not been involved, today's winner would have been the Head Puppy - Dr. Larry. He of the +5 points group. Second place went to a trio of "heavy hitters" Walt, Louie and Hergy, all with +3's. Bob and Hergy tied for the medalist honors with 86's. Next to them was Larry and Tommy with 89's.

*****SCORES*****

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Not a lot of real good scores this morning, not sure why. Part of the "problem" dealt with slow play on the front (Dogwood) and then a switch to the "nasty" Laurel course to get away from the rush. In any event here are the qualifying scores:

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-41- Louie

-42-

-43- Hergy(2), Bob (2), Ron

-44- Don, Larry, Tommy

-45- Larry, Tommy

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*****TEAM COMPETITION*****

The team competition ended up in some degree in the same place as the points competition. Our visitors and Ron won 2/3rd's of the pot.

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The only team to break the "visitor" barrier was the team of Walt, Louie, Hergy and Don. They posted a +2 Dogwood and a +5 Laurel to finish at +7. They were able to win the Laurel nine with a +5.

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The last group of Larry, George, Tommy and Bob had a fun time and a very enjoyable round of golf with no stress or pressure. They had indentical scores of -2 on each nine for an 18 hole total of -4. Keep swinging Fellas!

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*****ITEMS*****

BLOGGERS SOAPBOX: There seems to be some confusion as to how we as a group should treat our guests with regard to including or not including them in our individual and team games.

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We have some individuals that are allowed to participate without question and then some are excluded and this differential is causing confusion and could result in "ill will". In an attempt to consolidate opinions on the subject, I am proposing that we follow along these lines:

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1. Anyone in our group may invite friends, relatives, aquaintenances to play with our group anytime they wish. You, as their host, should expect to play your round with them.

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2. If someone doesn't like your choice of friend(s), they can ask to excluded from your foursome. Don't expect the "friend" to be excluded from the outing to suit you.

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3. If the possibility that your friend/acquaintnece will play with us from time to time, let me know so we can begin to track them on the database and get an established HHH & S handicap.

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4. Advise me that they are playing so I can validate their scores before we end up on the tee box without the correct handicap information.

5. Until the visitors have posted 5 scores with our group, they will be excluded from playing in our "regular" games, (i.e. Point games for the individuals and team bets). You can play any other game within your foursome or between foursomes (i.e. Nassau, best ball etc.) that you want. Our "usual" games will be reserved for the "regulars" that form our core group.

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6. If we are not playing our regular games, visitors can/will be invited to "play for pay" as the situation warrants.

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7. After reaching the threshold of 5 scores, their handicap will be the lower of their normal USGA handicap or our 5 (or more) scores posted on our databank.

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8.Even though the visitors may have a USGA handicap and 100+ scores on the Houndslake courses, it doesn't matter. Our handicaps are unique to our group in that they are established from the gold tees, with our "unique" set of rules. (I would hazard a guess that our handicaps are at a minimum 3-5 strokes less than they should be if we played the according to USGA rules of golf.)

Assuming that you think we need to clarify this situation and if a majority of you agree to the above, I would suggest that we adopt this or something like this as our visitor policy.

Please feel free to comment, change or modify anything I've noted above.

Duh Editor