Conference 7.286::golf

    
    	It seems that just guys are signing up for this tourney.
    	It is most definitely open to women also...! Come on girls
    	get your names in too...

    
    	Gene

    
       Gene,
    
           Can you publish a count of how many have signed up so
         far?  Just curious.  
    
    -rick

    
    	Hi Rick,
    
    	So far I think we have 21 or 22 names...
    
    	Gene

    Hi Gene,
    
    I'm keen.
    
    I'm interested.
    
    Could I have your cost centre for flight and hotel costs?
    
    
    Mark in Toronto
    
    Good luck with it and have fun!

    Don, Gene...
    
    Mark from Toronto has a great idea. Wouldn't you guys just 
    love to have a couple of non-U.S. players in the tournament? 
    I mean fancy getting one back over a European!!
    
    So what's the chance of getting some sponsorship via your
    contacts? How much could I get a flight for and where would I 
    stay?
   
    Promising to leave the British weather at home....
    
    
    Phil - the long distance noter.
     
    
    
     
    
     

    
    >>     So what's the chance of getting some sponsorship via your
    >>     contacts? 
    
    I second that thought!  Hell I'd even behave myself. :-}
    
    
    					KO

    
    >>     So what's the chance of getting some sponsorship via your
    >>     contacts? 
    
	Maybe we should consider a home & home series!  Personally
	I wouldn't mind my American butt being kicked all over St. Andrews,
	Troon, Royal Lytham, Ballybunion,....as long as someone else was
	paying for it.

Larry

	Here is the current list of people who are interested in
	participating in the "FIRST ANNUAL GOLF NOTERS TOURNEY".
	If we have missed anybody please let either Don Topaz
	(CALLME::MR_TOPAZ) or myself (MSEE::KELLEY) know ASAP.

	If there any other people that are interested please let
	us know by tomorrow. It is guaranteed to be a good time
	so come on out and give it a shot...

	If you have any suggestions as to a course that would be
	good to have this outing at and one that would be willing
	to allow us to have this tourney at (in the north-central
	Mass area), please send mail to Don or myself, DO NOT post
	it here...

	Thanks
	Gene

		ICO::BLAISDELL		! (Rick)
		SIOUXI::BREEN		! (Bill)
		BUFFER::BURKE		! (Jeff)
		DEPOT::CARBONE		! (Mike)
		BIGONE::CORMIER		! (Jeff)
		SALEM::CORRIGAN		! (JOE)
		JAWS::DIAZ 		! (Octavio)
		WJO::EORDORGH		! (Imre)
		MILVAX::FENTON		! (John)
		WJO::GRISE		! (Mark)
		LEDER1::HAMLIN		! (Patricia)
		MSEE::KELLEY		! (Gene)
		SALEM::LOWNEY		! (Bill)
		WONDER::MADRY		! (Greg)
		MTWAIN::F_MCGOWAN	! (Frank)
		ABM::MCGUINNESS		! (Brian) 
		ATEAM::MOE		! (Greg)
		ENOVAX::MOORE		! (Rich)
		PARITY::MUTH		! (Bill)
		WORDS::NISKALA		! (Keith)
		TRACTR::OSBORNE		! (Stu)
		STUDIO::PIEL		! (Ken)
		MSEE::POULSEN		! (Don)
		THEP::RASPUZZI		! (Mike)
		COGMK::RESIDE		! (Bob)
		WMOIS::RHEAULT		! (Bob)
		AKOV12::ROBBERTZ	! (Tony)
		MERLAN::SRYAN		! (Steve)
		DSTEG::SOUZA		! (Steve)
		NSG018::STOPERA		! (Peter)
		MSEE::SULLIVAN		! (Barry)
		CIMNET::DSULLIVAN	! (Dave)
		TPLVAX::THOMAS		! (Bob)
		CALLME::MR_TOPAZ	! (Don)
		ENGINE::WARFIELD  	! (Larry)

       Out of curiousity I tried to get a flavor of who would be playing
       in the 1st Annual Golf.note Tournament. Matching the list of people
       entered in the tournament to the Golf-registry note (#61) produced
       very few hits (about 1/3 have registered).

       How about all those other folks?  C'mon over to note 61, enter and
       sign-in please!  Tell us a little about yourselves. We'ld love to
       hear from you.  I provided a newly updated intro of me...Al Franken,
       in note 61.102 for anyone that is interested.  I gotta know who 
       the competition is!

-rick_really_not_Al_Franken

       The 1st Annual Golf-note Tournament will be held at Tory Pines CC,
       in Francestown, NH, on September 10.  Information about tournament
       fees and registration procedures has been sent to everyone who
       sent mail to Gene or me -- if you sent mail and haven't got
       registration info, please contact Gene or me ASAP.
       
       --Don

       Anyone interested in playing Tory Pines next Monday or
       Tuesday afternoon?  
       
       Send mail....
       
       --Mr Topaz

    I would like to see us play some regional qualifying all over the
    world and then take the winners of those tournaments and find a
    tough course. A tournament back east is just not feasable for some
    of us lowly people.  If we could get our favorite company to sponsor
    this, we could have one hell of a good tournament.
    
    Bill
        

	Re: .-1

	I think that is a great idea.  Does anyone know how the hockey
	tournament works?  There were teams representing many diverse
	regional areas.  Does Digital foot the bill?

	At a minimum we could use the various Digital golf leagues as
	some sort of qualifying mechanism.  (Not stated because my team
	has a lock on first place.  In fact going into tonight the last
	week of the league we are locked in a heated duel for the MEDIAN
	position!)

	I can suggest a ton of places we could hold the competition.
	(Harbour Town, Pebble Beach, Pinehurst, opps I just realized that
	I was being too national, lets not forget The Royal & Ancient,
	Troon, etc.)

	Larry

    I don't know if anyone is going to DEC's Southwest tournament on
    Sept 10-11 maybe this could be a western get together for some of
    the noters in the West. We are playing at Foothills Golf Club. I'll
    be there for CXO.
    
                          Jeff

    As noted in .14, Sept 10-11 will be the DEC SW tournament which
    will include Albuquerque, Phoenix (Union Hills), Colorado Springs,
    Tempe and probably Denver Sales.  Maybe Jeff could organize some
    of the noters from our SW tourney and we can offer a challenge from
    us "colonials".  I think Augusta, GA would be an appropriate spot
    to meet -:).         
    
    
                             Chuck

    Good idea chuck I know the CSC Manager in Atlanta and he'd love
    to play. Overall though I haven't had much response on who's going
    to play golf...
    
    
    Jeff

    
    I had the opportunity to play Tory Pines this weekend and I can
    ttell you all you are in for an interesting round of golf!!!  The
    front nine is an excercise in frustration,  very narrow tees, not
    a flat lie to be found and greens the size of postage stamps with
    lightning speed make for some real "fun" shots.  Definitely not
    a side for the big hitter as most holes are rather short and if
    you go for them there is much trouble waiting for you.  A real position
    side of the course,  all shots need to be thought about, no "hittin
    and hopin" here!!!
    The back nine is much more traditional,  wider,flatter fairways
    and the greens seemed to be in better shape here.  A good side to
    score on.  Par fives are reachable so you can knock a few strokes
    off there.
    All in all a pretty good course,  you need to play all the shots
    to score and you really need to think about what you are doing.
    Only one hole I didn't like and that was the seventh,  for those
    that have played here you know why, for those who haven't boy do
    you have a treat waiting for you!!!!!
    
    See you all on the 10th
    
    Mike

    Re: < Note 343.17 by DELNI::M_CARBONE >
    
        Sounds like it behooves us to play the course at least once
        to reduce the frustration factor! I plan to play there this
        Sunday. Did you have to reserve tee times for your round?
        Anyone out there have directions to the course?  Thanks.
    
    -rick

    
    I would recommend playing beforehand if you get the chance. I know
    I will play very differently (both club and shot selection) now
    that I know the layout a little.  I had a tee time but there was
    noone in front or in back of us the whole round.  I saw very few
    people there for a Saturday.  I can give you directions from N.H
    if you want but if you are comiung from Mass I'm afraid I can't
    help you out.  The only thing that might help is its right across
    the street from Crotched Mt Ski Area.
    
    Good luck

       Some comments about a few holes at Tory Pines:
       
       1st -- Like many of the holes to follow, the 1st is short but
       demands both an accurate tee shot and an accurate approach shot.
       Keep your tee shot to the right -- it will roll down toward the
       left. 

       4th -- A short par-5 that dog-legs sharply to the right at the
       bottom of the hill.  There's plenty of room to the left (though
       it's not visible from the tee).  A booming tee shot down the left
       side of the fairway will give you a good approach on your 2nd
       shot. 

       6th -- A short, downhill par-4, the fairway slopes from left to
       right.  A long and perfect tee shot can find the green, but you'll
       be in the woods if you're too far to the right (or too long!).
       The smartest tee shot goes about 200 yards, favoring the left side
       of the fairway. 

       7th -- A grotesque and unfair par-3, with a ridiculously sloped
       green.  To stay on the green, you either have to hit the ball
       with lots of backspin, or roll the ball down from the right side
       of the green.

       10th -- Cross the street to reach the 10th tee.  You'll need a
       long tee shot over the water here in order to hit a short iron to
       the green.  The green is elevated, and guarded by a sand fortress
       in front.

       12th -- The 12 is a tough, uphill par-3, sloping severely both to
       the left and right of the green. 

       15th -- The ideal tee shot on the 15th will land about 170 yards
       from the men's tees, on the right side, giving you a good 2nd
       shot into the green

       16th -- A tough par 4 dog-leg to the left, demanding accurate tee
       and approach shots.  The tee shot should be about 190-210 yards,
       favoring the left side of the fairway.  Be careful not to hit the
       tee shot too far, or you'll go through the fairway.  The 16th
       green is large, but watch out for water both to the right and the
       left.

       18th -- A par-5, reachable in two, but the approach to the
       green requires a long carry over a lake.

    Played the course (Tory Pines) today from the blues. We are playing
    from the blues, right?  Comments thus far have been right on. The
    front side is very difficult, the back side is even harder.

    The course is short, narrow fairways, very small sloping greens and
    except for the infamous 7th green, is in very good condition. In
    what will become the 1st in a long list of horror tales of the 7th
    hole, I hit a 9 iron to the middle of the green and spun it off to
    the left fringe. I grabbed a three putt and left happily.

    For what help it might be, I'll post the scorecard. Yardage is from
    the blue tees.

       Hole #   Yardage    Handicap  Par    Comments
   
        1        368          8      4   Stay to the right!
        2        370          6      4   Stay to the right!
        3        407          4      4   Stay to the right! Great hole!
        4        485          2      5   Blind drive. Stay to the left.
        5        242         14      4   Narrow. Take what it gives you.
        6        313         10      4   Blind drive.  Get the iron out again.
        7        137         18      3   You gotta see it to believe it.
        8        304         12      4   See comments for #6.
        9        177         16      3   Selecting the right club is the key.
                   
                2803                35

       10        342         11      4   Tiny elevated green.
       11        350          9      4   Real tiny green!
       12        150         17      3   Uphill all the way. 
       13        185         15      3   Beautiful hole from elevated tee.
       14        467          3      5   Blind 1st and 2nd shots.
       15        290         13      4   Wierd hole. Narrow, narrow fairway.
       16        410          5      4   Hit it past the dogleg!
       17        359          7      4   Can you hit it straight again?
       18        500          1      5   Beautiful hole. Gives you choices.

                3053                36
                5856                71

      A couple of small nits. One is that a lot of the tees give you
      a hook stance (sidehill/uphill lie).  I'm a righty who plays the
      ball right to left, and I really had to fight to hit it left to
      right, which is the recommended shot for many of the holes.

      Secondly, if the ball goes in the woods, and you are allergic to
      poison ivy, forget it. The ball is lost.


      It will be a lot of fun, and I'm looking forward to playing the
      scramble format.  This is a perfect course for a scramble. But
      not medal play. Yipes!

     -rick

How much are the greens fees regularly?  Telephone # to call
for tee times?
                     Thanks, Robbie

    re. 22
    
    	Thanks Rick for throwing in the yardages. Last year the MKO
    league had its end-of-season at TP and I had forgotten what the
    holes were like. Seeing the "card" I can now remember them. As
    most of the folks have noticed, there are some short par 4's and
    the par 5's are relatively short. In our scramble last year, some
    of the guys drove the greens on the short 4's and were on in 2 on
    the 5's. Also we birdied #7. It had rained the 2 days prior and
    was still soggy. One of our group plugged his ball about 2 feet
    below the hole aand with 4 putts to make it....
    	Looking forward to meeting all on Sept 10th and having a real
    good time.
    
    						Keith

>>How much are the greens fees regularly?  Telephone # to call
>>for tee times?
 

Answering my own question, 18 holes on the weekend is $15.00.
Tee times start at 8:00 am on Thursdays and their telephone #
is 603-588-2923.

                     Robbie

       We'll have a field of 40 players for the inaugural Golf.Note
       Tournament at Tory Pines.  As is evident from the descriptions
       in this note, the course is not dull. 
       
       Teams for the tournament will be made up within the next 2 or 3
       days, and players will get complete information about tee times
       and other important stuff in the mail within the next week. (If
       you are playing in the tournament and won't be in the office next
       week, please get in touch with me this week.) 
       
       The weather forecast for a week from Saturday is clear, warm,
       and dry.
       
       --Mr Topaz

       re: .-1
       
>       The weather forecast for a week from Saturday is clear, warm,
>       and dry.

	Of course.  It NEVER rains at the golf course! ;-)

	Larry

 I got a chance to play Tory Pines on Monday and the course won
on a TKO.  Although this course is short, the payback is the 
dime-size greens.  If you don't stay in the fairway, it'll be a long day.
  Shot the worst round of my life, I hope my partners don't read this!
The greens for the most part do have brutal slopes, but if you
get your shot below the hole you will be able to score, as one member
in my group did consistantly.  Should be even more interesting
if greens are dry!

Robbie

    RE: .28
    
    	Your captain remands you to the practice area for the rest of
    the week. 
    

 At least I can tell you where to go! :*)  Will do on the practice.
                  Robbie
    

    
       It's been awfully quiet in this file the last couple of days.
       Is everyone at Tory Pines getting a little practice in?  ;^)
     
-rick

       re .31:
       
       Well, that's where Gene and I were yesterday.  
       
       After we got through playing (and Kelley nearly had back-to-back
       birds, except he missed a short putt on 14), we convinced the
       weather people to change their forecast, so it'll be sunny and
       warm tomorrow.
       
       --Mr Topaz

     First of all, I want to say I had a great time at this tournament.
     The scramble format is a lot of fun and my playing partners were
     terrific. The course was in good shape and the weather cooperated
     very nicely.

     To Don and Gene.  You guys did a great job!  For the wonderful idea
     and all the great work organizing and pulling the event off, thank you!
     
     I hope there is a 2nd Annual Golf.note Tourney!

-rick

    Re:< Note 343.33 by HBO::BLAISDELL "Hey, this is fun" >

    I second Rick  thanking  Don  and Gene, I had a great time.  But next
    time I play Tory  Pines,  I will definitely rent a cart;  my legs are
    still sore!
    
    My team, the Sand Blasters,  finished  second  with 6 under, the same
    score as first place, but they had more  birdies.    I don't remember
    the names of the first place.
    
    Scramble is a lot of fun, and allows someone like me  to  boast  a  6
    under par score!  Ken  Spencer was a mayor contributor to that score,
    but I helped with three good  birdie putts (Don't ask me about my tee
    shots).
    
    Tavo

       The 1st Annual Golf.Note Tournament was a huge success.  Thanks
       to everyone who participated and helped out. 

       A full field of 40 players turned out at Tory Pine Golf resort on
       Saturday.  The weather was perfect (despite midweek predictions
       of gloom), and the course was in excellent shape.

       The Team Championship and 1st prize went to the team of Gary
       Wilson, Bill Lowney, Steve Ryan, and Bob Thomas.  Their round of
       65 included two eagles, five birdies, and (amazingly) three
       bogeys.  In spite of the short par-5's on the course, no other
       team could manage an eagle.   The team of Kent Spencer, Bill
       Breen, Octavio Diaz, and Jane Brechlin also finished 6-under, but
       lost 1st prize in a tie-breaker.   (The Spencer team was 7-under
       going into the 18th, but they couldn't get down in 5.)
       
       Two teams were tied for best 9-hole score of 31: Gary Wilson's
       team and the team of Rick Blaisdell, Mimi Overman, Mimi Struck,
       and this reporter.  The big contributions to our team were
       successive downhill birdie putts by Mimi and Mimi on the 2nd and
       3rd holes -- Overman's was about 25 feet, Struck's was about 35. 
       
       Rick Blaisdell, apparently not satisfied with just one prize, hit
       a fine 8-iron (I think) on the 9th hole, finishing about 12 feet
       from the pin and winning the closest-to-the-hole prize. Larry
       Warfield's shot on 9 was second-closest. 
       
       Bill Breen hit a brilliant 5-wood into the wind and onto the 13th
       green, winning himself the closest-to-the-pin prize on that hole.
       Breen and Kent Spencer were the only ones to hit the 13th green
       all day.  
       
       Jack Souders, playing in the very first group, won the long drive
       contest on the 18th hole.   Mimi Overman was a double-winner,
       having the longest drive among the women and falling short of
       Souders' drive by only a few yards.  The 18th proved to be a tough
       fairway to hit -- accuracy was more important than muscle on the
       hole. 
       
       Best, or maybe most outrageous, shot of the day went to Bob Thomas
       on the par-3 7th.  Bob skulled his 9-iron, and the shot skidded up
       to the green and stopped 2 inches BEHIND the pin. I guess that's
       the way that the 7th is meant to be played.
       
       The toughest hole proved to be the par-3 12th, with 5 of the 10
       teams taking bogeys.  Although the hole is short (143 yards), it's
       all uphill, and any shot missing the green is likely to be
       bunkered or at the bottom of a hill. 
       
       Thanks again to everyone -- it was a great time and a lot of fun.
       
       --Don Topaz 

    
    	My thanks to MR_TOPAZ for coming up with the idea for the
    	tourney and for doing a fine job in organizing and running
    	it.
    
    	I would also like to thank everyone for showing up, it was
    	great to see that we had 100% turn out. Thanks also to my
    	team and the weather which made for a great day (if only
    	those putts would have dropped)...
    
    	I am looking forward to another such outing next year.
    	Do I hear somebody wanting to volunteer to run it...?!!
    
    	Congrats to all the winners...
    	Gene
    
    	BTW, next year if you want to participate you MUST at least
    	register in the notes file, after all it is supposed to be
        a GOLF NOTERS tourney...!
    	

    I would also like to thank Gene and Don or a great day at Tory Pines.
    It was a very enjoyable day, in spite of our putting woes.  I had
    the pleasure of playing with Pat and Gene Kelley, and Jack Souders.
    We finished three under par, and just couldn't get the putts to
    drop.  We had one bogey for the day, and everyone contributed to
    a very consistent round.
    
    I was glad to hear that one of my teammates (Jack) won the long
    driving contest on 18.  Gene informed us when we teed off that we
    had to keep it in the fairway to qualify ..... unfortunately he
    didn't say which fairway.
    
    Oh well, the best part of the day was meeting some new people, playing
    a new course, and chasing the little white ball.  We were all winners
    as a result, and I look forward to seeing all of you next year.
    
    Regards,
    
    Bob
     

	I would like to thank Don and Gene for sponsoring the first
	GOLF.NOTE tournament.  It was a great event and sets a high
	standard for future ones to measure up to.

	The scramble format was perfect for this type of outing.  It
	makes the event a true team effort.  Even the highest handicapper
	is a significant contirbutor.

	Our team went on a tear birdieing 4 out of 5 holes on the front
	nine.  You sort of could get the sense of how Lanny Wadkins feels
	when he lights it up.  (However on the back nine we found out how
	the pro's feel when they are missing greens and grinding out pars.)

	The only suprise was the 7th hole.  I was worried after reading
	all the notes describing how difficult it was.  It was pretty easy
	(two of us put it within 6 feet.)  All you have to do it hit the ball
	pin high on the right side of the green and let it roll down!

	Once again thanks for a fun time and I am looking forward to next
	year.  

	Larry

    Well, I originally was psyched to play in this tournament and in
    fact sent mail to Mr. Topaz as soon as I read the note in this file.
    Then I found out the date and it conflicted with a prior family
    commitment.
    
    Believe me, I would have really preferred to have been in NH playing
    golf!!!
    
    It's truly a good feeling to read all the good comments about this
    tournament. I really hope to get to play in any future GOLF.NOTE
    events.
    
    Congratulations to all winners (and you all were winners!).
    
    Mike

    	My thanks to Don and Gene, also. It was a real enjoyable time,
    even though our team had the putting blues. We managed to get under
    par finally when we birdied #18, putting us -1 for the day. We basicly
    played the whole day bogey, then birdie back to even, then par,
    then the cycle again. Just didn't make putts, nothing longer than
    10 feet except on the last hole. It is a tough course to walk, I
    did it for 27 holes, playing another 9 after having 2 brewskies
    in the lounge. My legs felt it the next day. Looking forward to
    another tournament next year.....
    
    	Maybe next year we could have 2, an opening-of-the-season, and
    an end-of-the-season. Take care all.

    
    
    	I would also like to congratulate Mr_Topaz and Gene on a fine
    job running the first annual noters tourney. I know my group had
    a great time and not only because we won. By the luck of the draw
    my foursome consisted of new fathers within the last 5 months. Our
    up and down play (3 bogies, 2 eagles with some pars and birdies)
    can be explained by all four of us NEEDING some sleep on the same
    holes and just enough of us waking up on the other holes. So during
    our awake holes, including the 19th, we had funny discussions about
    shots and kids. 
    
    	Regards,
    
    Gary