DGA a NJ Golf Club
December
2022
December 31, 2022 (Spooky Brook)
It was foggy to start and got foggier as we went. Basically you could only see the ball 150 yards on most holes and on others you couldn't see the surface of the green from 100 yards. No balls were lost but we did hit a handful of provisional shots. Mike makes DGA history with 6 birdies as he holed in 195 feet of putts including 2 from the fringe. Mike had no idea that 5 was the long-standing record until he rolled in a 40 foot putt on #12 for his 3rd in a row and 6th overall and JP and JR told him. We managed to finish in under 4 hours just as the rain was coming in.
It was a great late December day at Knob Hill - temps rose to 55. Mike and Jim dueled it out on a shortened course since the fairways were hard and some tees were up - Mike made a par on 18 to nip Jim by 1. Mike finished second in Caliendo senior net and Jim R was fourth.
December 27, 2022 (Spooky Brook)
It was cold to start and we had frozen greens and fairways the entire day. Rick started out on fire - nets on 4 of the first 5 holes but he doubled 10 and 18 and Mike caught him with a late surge. Many creative shots were required due to the conditions - it was about as good as it gets on a late December day. We were supposed to play at QB but Reese showed up first and was told the course was closed. There were plenty of tee times at Spooky.
December 20, 2022 (Quail Brook)
Min wins by 4 shots over Mike on another great December day. Quail Brook pulled the blue tee markers so the first group elected to play from the gold tees. They were longer than the blue tees normally are but the green tees were 800 yards+ shorter including 100+ yards on 13 and 120+ yards on 14. Plus, the fairways were hard and fast. Min complained loudly coming down 13 calling the tees "asinine" yet he won by 4 shots. Just sayin, The guys in the first group had no way of knowing the tee marker placements but the green tees were 80 yards up on #1 so it seemed like the right decision. Going forward on weekdays we will play the hole marker as the blue tees. Nice to see Charlie play a weekday round - Mike, Reese and Charlie enjoyed a 'few" beers at Stagehouse after the round and discussed at length many important topics!
December 17, 2022 (Quail Brook)
Mike birdies the first hole and never looks back - cruising to a 10-shot win over Shawn. Mike wasn't sure but thinks this might be his career best at QB. JP and Rick tried to rattle him a bit on number 11 - asking if he was going to miss a shot - he made a 6-foot birdie after JP rolled in a 20-foot birdie. Rick settled for a par and lamented that it cost him $3. JP then said "I made birdie and didn't win the hole!" Jim Rinaldi makes 3 sandy's for a career best. It was another great December day - 45 and sunny with a little wind occasionally. The fairways were wet in places but still there were some good rolls if you hit it as high as Rick normally does!
December 13, 2022 (Quail Brook)
The ageless one - Min jumps in this morning and trounces the field with a brilliant 64 net. He shot 2 better than his age. He hit his tee shot on 11 to 18 inches and made his 5000th birdie (just a guess). Min and Reese won or shared every pot. It was a great December day - sunny with light wind. Frozen greens and lots of run to start - gradually softening up. Min had such a good day that on 15 his drive hit one of the posts by the hazard and bounced back into the high grass - he knocked it up just short and almost made the 3 but settled for a 4. Reese said you couldn't hit that post if you tried 250 balls - lots of laughs. Just a sidenote - the side match was a breakeven with Jim and Mike winning the back and overall (the front was a tie) and Min and Reese had plus 6 junk.
December 10, 2022 (Spooky Brook)
Mike rallied after a double, double start to win by 4 over Fitz and Reese on a pretty decent December day. Fitz rated it "one of the 100 artic days to start" but changed his mind by the 5th hole. It was sunny with a light wind. Reese was very disappointed that more guys didn't come out thinking it would be too cold. Greens were frozen to start and the fairways hard but things softened up by the end. Reece left an eagle putt just short on #1 and made the only birdie of the day.
December 8, 2022 (Cobblestone Creek)
Jim Rinaldi breaks out of a longish slump with a 5-shot win over Mike. Course was wet with virtually no roll and has plenty of 4 par 4s well over 400 yards on the back. Green have tons of undulation and if you were in the wrong spot forget it.
December 5, 2022 (Quail Brook)
Mike wins by 2 over JP on a perfect early December day - sunny and 45 with a light wind. Course was in great shape. Lots of people playing including Shu and Bylina and some other guys from the senior league. We finished in 4 hours and 10 minutes despite waiting on some holes.