James B's Big Trip - US and UK

[Brent Hutto]

It was a Greek tragedy....I lost three dollars.

You have my deepest sympathy and I mean that from the bottom of my wallet. I wish I could have been there to see such an unprecedented event...to offer condolences of course.

[Mike Hendren]

Mr. Huntley reaching into his wallet would have been the all time great a** pic in GCA history.  

Heck, I galleried him and three GCA stallwarts once at MPCC and somehow managed to lose money in the wolf game notwithstanding the fact that I didn't even play.

Mike

[Tom Huckaby]

Bogey - best audible yuks in a very long time.

 

But I no longer have faith in verities, as my vocabulary-advantaged Dad has said to me many times.  For those of us at the kids' table, that means I can't believe any more in anything I've accepted as gospel truth.  Mr. Huntley has lost money in a wolf game.

 

[Mike Hendren]

Tom,

With apologies to Ernest Lawrence Thayer:

Oh, somewhere on the peninsula the sun is shining bright;
The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light,
And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout;
But there is no joy in Carmel – Bob Huntley forked it out.

Mike

[Tom Huckaby]

OK, we have a new leader in the audible yuks category!

 

[ed_getka]

Tom,
   That was my second go at the Dunes course. Surely you remember the first time when I topped my first two tee shots.  I was beyond horrified. On the plus side, after having done that in front of you, Rich, and Bob, I don't get first tee jitters anymore.
    As far as Wolf goes I remain clueless, I always bring an extra $30 to pay out. Somehow I have had money given to me the last two times, but don't ask me how as I have no idea. I'm much more likely to master quantum physics.

[Marty Bonnar]

I've read and re-read this about a dozen times and still don't have a CLUE about how WOLF is played!
I think I might owe Bob about $612 though...

Wolf
Format: Team

No. of Players: 4

Wolf is a game in which the players in a foursome establish a tee off order on the first tee and rotate that same order throughout the round. The player that tees off first is the Wolf. The players take turns playing the Wolf based on the rotation of the established tee off order.

The Wolf has the following options:

1) Choose one of the other three players as a partner for the hole (see example), or

2) Play the hole alone against the other three players.

Example:

The Wolf would tee off first.

The second player in the rotation tees off next.

Based on the results of the second players drive, the Wolf has the option to select the second player as a partner or pass. (Here is where the strategy begins). Once the third player hits their tee shot, the second player is no longer eligible as a partner for the Wolf. Likewise, once the fourth player hits their drive, the third player is no longer eligible as a partner for the Wolf.

Once the fourth player tees off, the Wolf must select the fourth player as a partner for the hole, or play the hole alone against the other three players.

Wolf can be played low ball or low total.

Points are earned as follows:

Winning team:  2 points each player
Wolf plays alone and wins:Wolf earns 3 points
Wolf plays alone and one player beats Wolf: All players earn 2 points except Wolf.
No Points earned for ties.

A Dazed and Confused,
FBD.

[Tom Huckaby]

Martin - those are the basic rules - only the scoring is not so simple as the point system you listed, at least not the way Bob does it.  I'll leave it to him to explain - but a very key element, and one that can really get the dollars flowing (right, Mike B.?) is that at a certain point in the round the man in last place can call that the hole is worth up to half of what he's behind....

Ed - my bad, I do recall that glorious round oh so long ago.  I don't recall your topped tee-shots though - so see, it wasn't that bad!

 

TH

ps - check your IM....

[Marty Bonnar]

Hell,
does this mean I owe you $612 too!?!?!

 
FBD.

[Tom Huckaby]

Martin... well... that day we played, I did end up ahead.... a very rare occasion indeed!

You more than paid any debts you might have had, it was all in good fun - remember a certain beverage you brought for me, and for Mr. Benham?

 

[Marty Bonnar]

Anytime I see the tins in the Supermarket, or a Tap in a Pub, I get a very nice Californian glow...



Yum! I will try to ensure Mr Dodd returns stateside with the next consignment!

FBD.

[Tom Huckaby]

You just made my day.

 

[Sean_Tully]

Ed-Thanks for dinner and I should be seeing you in again in June.

Sean, does this mean you are planning to play in the Kings Putter in Palm Springs?  Hope so, as I need to chat with you about November when we'll be in SF.

Bill, things are lining up in just the right order so I should be able to get down there for the KP, looking forward to it!

Tully

[Mike Benham]

Anytime I see the tins in the Supermarket, or a Tap in a Pub, I get a very nice Californian glow...



Yum! I will try to ensure Mr Dodd returns stateside with the next consignment!

FBD.

I introduce to you the Belhaven Best Golf Team ...

[ed_getka]

700 pix later, James is in sunny Las Vegas for a few days to rest up before going on to tackle the east coast line up. Looking forward to the commentary on the west coast swing. James was sorry to have missed an opportunity to meet Tom H, but he did manage to hook up with Pete Galea and Dan King. Sir Bob went above and beyond the call to ensure some great memories.
     Thanks to James I now have the VERY cool screensaver of New South Wales that goes through all 18 holes one by one every 15 seconds. Man, it is going to be a loooooong year waiting for my trip down under.

[James Bennett]

Things I discovered on my west coast trip.

Wolf - understand the rules when you have the honour!  And pick your partner wisely.  I got out of a terrible predicament by picking Bob Huntley, who holed the most magnificent long putt on a par 5 near the beach.  I was in David Duval territory without that putt!  And watch the fun when two people argue about wolf rules (Bob H was one of them).

Kohler.  First thing I saw at Pacific Grove at 11.00pm at night (when I finally made it) was Kohler.  I knew he made bathroom fittings, but I didn't expect to see his name staring me in the face.

Fivesomes.  I have never played in a fivesome before, especially at a revered private club.  Things are just different.  FBD - you should see the rules book for five-ball wolf - you pick your partner and play against the other three, or if you pig and three putt, you pay out a veritable shxx-load to the other four.

I received $9 for my second game of wolf, and broke even on my first game.  I will always remember a fellow player Ed Dieran (sorry about the spelling) and his abject dismay at missing a three foot putt on the ocean carry par 3 on the dunes course.  I think this hole was woth 15 or so, not 4.  He didn't retireve his ball, he just practised a long putt in the general direction of the adjacent Pacific Ocean.  He directed the putt at the Hitachi factory in Japan, and his attempt nearly made it!

Everywhere I went, I got some sunshine.  However, each time I visited a Mackenzie course, I got a mixture of rain and sun (Meadow Club, Cypress Point Club and Pasatiempo).  It just bucketed down at Pasa on Friday night.  The rain really shows the drianage and slopes on the Pasa greens, which I will post eventually.

Vegas is a flying visit, and it looks like no glf here - no time.  This is my first internet for a week, so sorry to those I haven't caught up with.

Had a great time with Pete galea and his boss Charlie.  Hope Charlie saved a chocolate for you pete.  And dinner with Dan King in downtown Santa Cruz.  I felt a lot safer down there with Dan by my side.

Sorry I missed seeing Mike Benham and Tom Huckaby whilst I was there - something to look forward to next time, or perhaps they will visit down under.  And, of course, my sincere gratitude to Saint Robert of Monterey for everything, including the $9 (I did lose the dice game for the drinks afterwards, so I didn't keep the $9 for lomg! ).  And, I look forward to Tully's posts on recent research he has found.And of course to Mr Ed of Pleasanton.

By the way, if you are in Las Vegas in April, The Celebration of Golf shop in the venetian has 40% to 70% off everything in shop, including golf clubs.  Well, nearly everything.  For books, it is 30% off.  And they have a great selection, including several of Shacklefords, Bahto's Evangelist, Tillinghurst Essay books, Mark Rowlinson's book, George Thomas's book (which appears difficult to get) etc etc etc, all for 30% off.  I have weight restrictions and have to carry whatever I buy for five more weeks, so a copy of Geo Thomas and Shacklefords Golden Age of Architecture was my limit.

If anyone has sent me an email - I'm about to check that.

All the best, I'll see some of the NY and Philly guys over the coming week or so.

James B

ps  my feet hurt

[Tom Huckaby]

James:

You do not know Wolf regret until you have chosen Mr. Huntley as partner on #18 after having made the hole worth all that you're down... and then blowing said hole, costing HIM those funds in the process.  I find it amazing he still speaks to me.

 

Too bad we couldn't cross paths.  I don't believe I'll ever get to Australia, but of course never say never.

And why did you have to leave?  The rain sure as hell has returned and we do need your good luck.

TH

[Sean_Tully]

James-

Good to hear things are going well for you. Thought I would give you another weather update.

37 out of the last 45 days we have had measurable rain for a total of 24.25 inches

We have already doubled our April totals. We recieved 4.23inches in the last 24 hour period(Apr.11th)and had two road closing mudslides(about 5 smaller ones) on Bolinas Road. We are getting more rain today and the next three days before we start seeing any sun  in the forecast.

We are currently sitting at 72.3 inches for the year, which is just now getting into the top 5 for rain totals from the last 25 years. It is hard to imagine, but in the late 1890's the rain totals for two consecutive years was over 100 inches.

Lookiing forward to some sunny weather.

Have a good remainder to your trip.

Tully

[Bill_McBride]

72" is pretty amazing for NoCal.  That's about what we get here annually in Pensacola and along the Gulf Coast.

I can remember years like 1978 where we got less than 20" in Northern Cal, so 72" is amazing.  How is the drainage handling all that at Meadow Club or other Bay Area courses?

[Kevin_Reilly]

72" is pretty amazing for NoCal.  That's about what we get here annually in Pensacola and along the Gulf Coast.

I can remember years like 1978 where we got less than 20" in Northern Cal, so 72" is amazing.  How is the drainage handling all that at Meadow Club or other Bay Area courses?

Two data points...Tilden is a sloppy mess, OC was better due to the sanding that has been done.  Courses on clay elsewhere in the Bay Area are a mess.

[Tom Huckaby]

Bill - courses with good modern drainage are truly proving their worth this winter and early spring.  Those that don't have such give new meaning to the word "quagmire."

 

[Sean_Tully]

72" is pretty amazing for NoCal.  That's about what we get here annually in Pensacola and along the Gulf Coast.

I can remember years like 1978 where we got less than 20" in Northern Cal, so 72" is amazing.  How is the drainage handling all that at Meadow Club or other Bay Area courses?

Bill

1978 as you may alreaady know was not a normal year, as it stands for the past 25 years the Meadow Club has averaged 52" per year.  As other Bay area people know Marin is not average in anything especially in rain totals. It is the direction of the storms in combination with Mt. Tam that gives us our high rain totals. The storms stall on Tam as they spin into shore and dump rain on Tam at Ross and Fairfax. An example of that would be the rain storm from 1982 when they recieved close to 12" in an 18 hour period.

We have a lot of drainage at Meadow Club, but when you get the long and persistant rain on our heavy soils you just have to wait it out. Most of our members go to the desert to get away from the weather so it is not a big issue. After we get 35"s the soil tends to stay "wetter" longer, and at 72"s it feels like the soil is in saturation .

Right know we are just waiting for the rain to go away.

Our 4.23" total for yesterday was greater than our average for the whole month of April!

Tully

[Mike Benham]

72"?  Really?

Precipitation at SF Airport is as follows:

PRECIPITATION (IN)                                                    
                       Total     Norm   Last Yr
  SINCE JUL 1     24.34    19.07   25.10    
  SINCE JAN 1     13.61    12.35   14.23


Remember, it wasn't that long ago that it was 70 degrees and dry in the middle of February ...

[Sean_Tully]

Really!
This is a little more representative of our location not too different from Pasatiempo in the Santa Cruz Mtns. Look at the bottom of the page for rain totals.They are taking the readings at Lake Lagunitas which is just over a mile from MC, you can see that they are close to our numbers. We check our rain gauge every day at 7:30am and log it into an excel spreadsheet that has 25 years of weather data. We take our rain seriously!

The sky actually cleared up a bit today and I was blinded by the sun and it felt good!

Tully

[Bill_McBride]

Kevin, I recall Tilden was always a bit on the mucky side.