Into the sand trap

Here's a little inside scoop on what occurred during last Friday's Stapleford gathering.

Scott Deitz, unfortunately, hit his second shot into the sand trap on the right of number five green. It happens. Scott took a thundering swing at his sand-trapped ball, but sadly, it remained embedded in the trap. Scott's next attempt was successful; he came out with his ball and onto the green. After raking his way out of the trap, Scott looked at his watch. One of “those” watches that knows everything. His watch warned him that a fall had been detected and that emergency services should be contacted. He had taken a mighty sand trap swing, which his watch interpreted as a fall. The ambulance didn't come. Brushing that incident aside, Scott finished his eighteen holes by shooting what he defined as an S-89. Scott created a new local golf definition. An S-89 means Scott shot an 89 with the (S)ame ball. There are no lost balls. Nice round, Scott. There were no lost balls and no ambulance. Playing in Scott's group, Butch Carlstadt also shot an 89. Not sure if it was an S-89, but it was two shots under Butch's age. Congratulations, Butch, always impressive. At the end of the round, the nine Stapleford golfers gathered in the Pro-Shop to draw pees to determine the winners. Butch won first place individual accumulating 35 Stapleford points. Jim Corsar and Larry Miller captured first-place partners with a combined total of 62 points. Placing second was Jim Ellis and Roland Johnson with 60 “Stabies.”

Due to wind, weather, and waves, the NCGA 4Ball Qualifier, scheduled to play on Sunday, February 18th, was canceled. The next hopeful date is Sunday, February 25th. The long-range weather forecast looks promising for the NCGA event next Sunday. So, there you are, you're the person who writes the golf column, and the event you were to write about is canceled. Now what? In this case, the Golf Notes writer sits in his granddaughter's house in Novato, listening to the rain pelt the roof. A call to Lindy Peters at the Pro-Shop confirmed the NCGA event was canceled. Lindy also reported that the golf course was closed Monday, and gazing out to the ocean, Lindy said, “You would not want to be out there today, even in a large boat.” I am in Novato as part of an extended birthday celebration for my wife, Jan. Yesterday, the Novato gang and I journeyed to San Francisco and spent three and a half hours touring the seven floors of the SFMO, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Quite an adventure. Recommended, but not a single painting or sculpture related to golf. Come on, Dan Barrett. Be the first.