DGA a NJ Golf Club
December
2023
December 30, 2023 (Quail Brook)
It was a bit cold with some wind but overall a great winter day. Course was in good shape despite the rain - water in some fairways so not much roll. Rick and Reese dominate winning all the pots except one that JR tied. Reese had 4 birdies and Dave and Mike thought he would win in a walk until Rick showed up with his 67. Congrats to Reese for winning the money title for the first time - this is unofficial - Doug will veryify. Another less notable first for MJ - he was in the bunker left of the green on 4 and proceeded to miss the ball entirely. Dave and Reese thought he had taken a practice swing! Can't make this stuff up.
It was a misty rain all day with a soaked course due to 2 inches of rain on Wednesday. Despite this the course was in very good shape - some the greens even had a little pace. Reese winx by 3 over MJ depite two 8's - Mike forgot how to putt short ones missing 3 inside 2 feet on the back. Mike did win an amatuer and a senior skin a total of $101 by making birdie on the brutal par 3 12th - rolling in a 20 foot downhill putt. JR got closest to the pin on #9 for $86. Dan made a guest appearance in DGA on one his favorite winter courses but it wasn't his day.
December 26, 2023 (Quail Brook)
The boys from the south were up for the holiday and decided to play a round in "cold" (mid-40's) New Jersey weather.
Adjusting to the weather wasn't their only issue. It seems that neither of them have walked a course or carried their
bag in 6 months. Bruce's back tightened up after the 2nd hole and Dave complained about the looooog walk between
9 & 10. They pushed through the pain and both shot 74 to tie Rick for first place. They could have easily won, but the
fatigue effected them in different ways. It caused Bruce to 3 putt four greens and Dave was totally exhausted after taking
4 shots to get out of the front bunker on 11 on his way to an 8. If only he had triple bogey'd.
December 23, 2023 (Spooky Brook)
Merry Christmas to the DGA! We had another great December day for golf. Getting a bit chillier but no wind and soft greens. There was still a lot of water on the course from the heavy rain early in the week. Jim P wins by a stroke over George. They teamed up to finally take some money from the fearsome Rinaldi / Newport team who have been cleaning up on a pretty regular basis it seems. George drained a long birdie putt on 16 after a a motivational team meeting with Jim P who suggested that maybe George should start putting lefty since righty wasn't working well. (The putt was made righty) Jim R seemed to have a decent round based on the scorecard but he was rumored to have been talking to himself quite a bit during the round and after taking an 8 on 18 went straight to the practice green. We didn't see him at the Stagehouse so not sure how long the practice session went. Charlie had an 8 on 17 but had no thoughts about additional practice and made the Stagehouse a priority. Mike started the round with a chippy / birdie from just off the front of the green. Charlie continues to argue week after week afer week to no avail that it can't be a chippy if it was putted. Nobody listens to Charlie as he has been known to whine about various nonsense during DGA rounds. He also thinks you shouldn't have to play the ball out of a divot in your own fairway during the regular season. (this is heresy of course since this is f'ing golf for God's sake. However, rumor has it we may be able to just tee the ball up in the bunkers next year so we don't have to deal with the sand at all.) Greg played a really nice round and won the net birdie pot highlighted with a birdie on the par 5 fifth hole and a par on the difficult par 4 fourteenth hole with a great drive right down the middle and a spectacular second shot to the front of the green. On the par 3 eighth hole Greg thinned his chip shot from just left off the green screaming past the hole and over the green on the right side and cooly commented "man, I had that right on line" and this is the kind of positive attitude we all need to have. Merry Christmas.
December 21, 2023 (Shackamaxon)
Mike and JR tie with 71 nipping Rick by one shot. It was a fine first day of winter with temps of 40 and very little wind. Course played long due to the recent rains. There were some fantastic up and downs from everyone.
December 16, 2023 (Quail Brook)
Another amazing December summer day. Most players taking off at least 2 layers of jackets on the front nine as it started cold but warmed up quickly. Greens still had some ice to start out. For some reason all the tees were back and holes were playing longer. Jim P was the first person there on the range, hitting balls, practicing sand shots and putting and he was ready to go. He parred the first 6 holes and shot 39 gross / 34 net on the front and continued the strong play on the back 9. Jim R had a few "uh-oh" swings in a row on the driving range but according to Jim it was his putting that led to a net 80 for the day. George caught fire on the back nine and went low with 7 pars, 1 bogey and 1 birdie for a gross 36 / net 29 and was the big money winner. He had his first winning experience in Nines and collected 1 dollar from Charlie and 50 cents from Jim. Charlie also caught fire on the back nine with 7 pars, 1 bogey and 1 birdie for a gross 36 / net 31 but it meant absolutely nothing apparently and doesn't even cash in for second place. This brought back traumatic feelings from childhood competition in the Connors family. George almost completed a scorecard for the round. He had his gross score nailed down but that was it. Charlie hit a nice 3 wood second shot onto the 17th green about 30 feet past the pin and came up 3 feet short on the eagle putt.
December 14, 2023 (Metuchen GC)
Reese has a very strong showing with a net 69 - good enough for the win and 2nd place in the Amateur division. JR was in great shape in the senior division until the last 2 holes. As a side note JP not playing DGA wins the Senior Division with a net 70.
December 9, 2023 (Spooky Brook)
The weather was exceptionally nice for mid-December. There was a 30 minute frost delay. It was overcast to start but the sun eventually came out and I think we reached mid 50s with no wind. Billy and Reese played exceptionally well with 4 birdies each. They tore up the back 9 both shooting 2 under par gross with net 30s and 3 birdies each. Charlie and Min were no match for them and it cost them $16 each. Min only had to ask them both twice to stfu while he was playing his shots on 17 and they were still high-fiving and fist bumping. Charlie and George may want to take more time before the round actually getting ready to play, maybe hit some range balls and figure out how to putt. Other miscellaneous advice: Don't come home from a great day of golf and post-golf gathering at the Stagehouse and try to take a "quick nap" before going out to dinner with your wife and another couple. This does not work as the quick nap turns into a deep slumber and you wake up in the middle of the night wondering what day it is and where you are and whether you are still married or not.
December 7, 2023 (Cobblestone Creek)
Jim nips MJ by 1 shot on a cold day at Cobblestone Creek. We had snow flurries for most of the first 9 holes then a bit of rain - temps in the high 30s maybe 40. At least there wasn't much wind and we finished in just over 4 hours.
December 2, 2023 (Quail Brook)
The weather held out nicely. A bit overcast but got into the 50s. Greens were soft due to overnight rain. Reese shoots a steady 1 under par with only 1 double bogey on the card to win by 1 stroke over Rick. Rick had a great round going but ran into a little trouble on 17 getting into the front bunker with a back flag location and hitting his sand shot over the green leading to a triple. Jim R had a net eagle on the first hole and continues striping his driver. Apparently Rick and Jim R have been paired up the last few rounds against Jim P and have been consistently taking his money (and mine yesterday). It is not official but based on last few rounds Jim P may be the best lag putter in NJ narrowly missing many birdie putts. Lastly, Jim P and Jim R are convinced that the Roth IRA is a superior investment vehicle for retirement and should be the investment of choice because you put in after-tax funds and don't pay taxes on withdrawls and there is no required minimum distribution. Charlie, however, after going through the math with Jim P at the bar is still not entirely convinced. More to come next week.