Peter Martin III and Kevin Weeden win Monday Night Duffers League
by Kevin Weeden
Dewstomper Golf Notes
Every Wednesday morning a group of guys, anywhere from 15-25 gather to play in the “dew.” With an approximate 8 am start, there is a wide range of golfing abilities that show up. Using the modified Stableford system, 1 point for bogey, 2 points for a par, and 4 points for an eagle, and a handicap based on how you play, the pace of play is brisk. Two hours is the anticipated pace of play. Bogey is the worst score you can take, so play keeps moving. All prizes paid out that day. Come on over and join the fun. Done by 10 am.
Results from September 30
Rained Out.
Monday Night Duffers League Championship Match
The finals pitted the #1 seeded team from Flight A of Peter Martin III and Kevin Weeden vs the #4 seeded team from Flight B of Dale Dearstyne and Jeff Hull. Lets review how they got there. Peter and Kevin came from behind to beat #4 seed Jack Daigneault and Bob Shoemaker. Then they played #2 seed Rik Seiler and Larry Donovan. In an early morning match, Pete shot even par and his team was never in danger, getting out to an 8-4 lead after 6 holes. Dale Dearstyne and Jeff Hull upset the #1 seed team of Chris and Gerry Harrington. Then in the second round they battled the #2 seed team of Henry Rose and Garth Duclos. They lost the holes 9.5 to 8.5, but won total by 1 stroke to get the 2 points and advance to the finals with their 10.5-9.5 victory. Now to the finals. Kevin and Pete were giving Dale and Jeff five strokes each. One stroke of the first 4 holes and 1 stroke on hole #9. Dale was tired of reading about how well Pete had played this year. Dale came out with a par, birdie, par, and a bogey on 4 of the toughest 5 holes. He was getting a stroke on each hole. Pete had 2 pars, a bogey and a great putt on those first 4 holes but couldn’t get any points. Kevin carried the team through the first 4 holes with 3 straight pars and a birdie on hole #4. Kevin won 3.5 points out of the first four holes. The score stood at Jeff/Dale 4.5 and Kevin/Pete at 3.5. Kevin and Pete had shaved off only 4 out of the 10 strokes they were giving. On hole #5, Pete got his first win with a birdie. Kevin picked up a full point too. The match was now 5.5-4.5 in Kevin and Pete’s favor. They had also cut the strokes down to 1. Kevin and Pete extended their lead by both winning hole 6 taking a 7.5-4.5 lead. After Kevin and Jeff tied hole 7 with a par and Pete picked up his third win in a row, the match was at 9-5 and Pete and Kevin had taken a 6-stroke lead. With 20 points possible in the match, the first one to win 10.5 is the champion. Kevin and Pete both had birdie putts on hole 8. Kevin missed his and tied Jeff, but Pete sank the birdie to end the match. They had 10.5 points and the match was over. Kevin was 1 over through 8 holes and Pete was 2 over through 8 holes. Awesome. Pete had 3 birdies in the semifinals and 2 birdies in the finals. This was the first time he had 5 birdies in consecutive rounds all year. Dale Dearstyne had a remarkable net score of 31 (40-9). His round of 40 tied his best round all season. Pete and Kevin were 6 under their handicap as a team after 8 holes. Kevin had 5 pars, 5 greens, and a birdie. A great finish to a remarkable season. As a team, Kevin and Pete had only 3 losses all year and they were all 9.5-8.5. Individually, Pete had only 3 losses all year in 21 weeks!! Kevin had 15 wins in 21 weeks. These numbers could not be matched by any other players in the league.
Life Lesson
So the question remains. Is the journey greater than the achievement? I made a commitment to go to the golf course and chip around the green from 6:15 – 8 am every morning for 3 weeks, then vacation got in the way. I had fun getting up and practicing a new grip and success followed, but I never had a chip in during a Monday match. (One chip in during Wednesday league). It was fun and most days the family was still sleeping when I returned home. Never forget the hard work that it takes to get there. That is the fun part. Preparation is the key to success. Make practice count. Practice doesn’t make you better, perfect practice makes you better. Have a great off-season and be safe my friends.