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HeathcotteGolf.com |
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2007 Summary |
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The 3rd Annual HVNHSCGMIGT was held on Saturday December 8, 2007 at Coldwater Golf Club.
Tee times and pairings (tee box) 8:00—New Tradition Group Brandon H., Joshua H. (green) *Jason R. (green) Andrew H., Matt C. (green) 8:07—Blue Men Group *Brock H., Blaine G. (blue) Sean C., Marc S. (blue)
Distances from tee boxes: Blue 6305, Green 5798, Red 5147. (*) denotes team captain for 2007.
For 2007, Team Heathcotte added a third member, Joshua Heathcotte. To honor this new team member, an attitude-appropriate Bible passage was added to the logo.
Team Non-Heathcotte had three returning players (Jason Robert, Matt Chew, and Sean Cunningham) and three new players (Marc Sobelman, Blaine Gadow, and Andrew Hamilton).
Two weeks before the tournament it looked like there would be as many as 17 players, but a steady attrition brought the number down to 12. This was followed by the sudden withdrawal of all the women from the tournament when it rained the night before the scheduled round. Although not technically a woman, Chris Ewell also withdrew and therefore belongs in the same category. When the sun rose on the tournament, only nine players were at the course.
Every player purchased one mulligan, which came with two tournament logo balls, and a bag of 10 souvenir tees. The tournament rule that mulligans could only be used off the tee came under fire but held firm. Marc Sobelman actually hit his mulligan ball three times but never used it because he always found his original drive. Near the end of the round, a question arose about what would happen if the mulligan was not used. The tournament rules committee decided that players may file form 47-e requesting a refund (obtain form from the IRS). Whether players may carry the mulligan over to the 2008 tournament remains undecided.
Non-participant Dan Anstett placed the odds at 4-1 in favor of a repeat victory for team Non-Heathcotte. These odds were generally considered utter nonsense, and proved to be just that.
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GRAND PRIZES Jason Robert, captain of Team Non-Heathcotte graciously obtained some great gifts for the Grand Prizes. Jason purchased the prizes from the Phoenician Golf Club Pro Shop and awarded them to:
2007 Tournament Champion Marc Sobelman won the Grand Prize for Performance (a box of Taylor Made balls) for his outstanding round of 84.
Andrew Hamilton won the Grand Prize for Sportsmanship (a digital score keeper) because he joined in the festivities despite having to rent clubs to play.
There was supposed to be a prize for the champion female player but all the women wimped out due to inclement weather.
For the first time ever, no prizes were awarded to members of the winning team. For this failure, Jason is banned from team captaincy for a period of one year.
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Coldwater Golf Course is par 72 with a rating of 69.5 and slope of 115 from the blue tees (6,305 yards). |
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The team competition was a blow out. Team Heathcotte came out of the gate strong by scoring six points on the first three holes, and led 15-1 through twelve holes. Brock, Brandon, and Joshua all contributed pars as the Non-Heathcottes were humbled early. A late rally led by Marc Sobelman gained a measure of respect for the losers. The final tally was Team Heathcotte 16, Team Non-Heathcotte 7.
There was naturally much complaining at the post-round lunch about the system of scoring for the team competition, mainly because the multiple graduate degrees held by the competitors remain insufficient to understand the scoring rules. The tournament rule committee stands by its scoring method which has resulted in one team winning and one team losing for each of the three tournaments, and thus should be considered effective. |
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BIRD REPORT By Matt Chew*
The Coldwater golf course and its immediate vicinity offer relatively little habitat value for birds. Of the three basic habitat components (food, water, shelter), shelter (or lack thereof) appears to be the limiting factor, especially on a cold, wet weekend. There were no large trees and few massed shrubs to provide wind breaks or thermal cover. The upshot: small birds were virtually absent. A couple of dozen American Coots and a few pairs and individuals of a few species of ducks occupied the pond at the par three 8th hole. The ducks included possibly resident Mallards and presumably wintering American Wigeons and Common Redheads. A turkey vulture made a brief appearance late in the round, attracted, perhaps, to the heady aroma of the Non-Heathcotte team's decaying fortunes. All photos were shamelessly purloined from the Interweb.
* Matt Chew, PhD has many years of experience counting, identifying and categorizing birds of all kinds. He also was the first person in the history of the HVNHSCGMIGT to card a birdie—3rd hole at Aguila in the inaugural tournament of 2005. |
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American Widgeon |
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Coot |
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Turkey Vulture |
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Mallards |
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Redhead |