From Mark aka “Bones” Nieters

Well guys, after our first round bye, the playoff season didn’t end like we had hoped.

Pinehurst was a very good team and they flat-out played better than we did on Sunday. We lost 45 – 35 to finish the season at 5 – 2. Eddie James and BJ Richardson were our lone bright spots winning their match but we fell in the other 3. BJ must be going to the gym or something because his driver was a thing of beauty all day.

It was a challenging year to say the least with all the COVID changes, restrictions, etc. I want to thank the Tanglewood staff for bending over backwards to accommodate our matches and all of the CGA protocols. I’m sure it put them in a bind at times but you wouldn’t have known it.

If the committee is so kind as to allow us to field a team again next year, I am willing to head things up again. I think we will continue to be very competitive on the state level and hopefully will advance further next year.

We always have a good problem in that there are more people wanting to play and only a limited number of spots each match. It stunk a lot of times trying to put a roster together while knowing how much each person in our association wanted to compete. I wish I could have played 12 or 16 guys each time! One thing that Pinehurst did on a regular basis was field an “alternate” group every time they played. We have gotten away from that and I think it would be beneficial for us to bring it back. Some clubs might not be able to field the extra 2 spots but I don’t see us as having that problem. Nothing wrong with playing a twosome, right? It would be a great way to expand our roster, keep guys tournament ready, and also have a “proving ground” so to speak for guys interested in competing.

I really enjoyed this season and look forward to next year. I wish everyone a wonderful holiday season and hope to see you soon on the course.

Bones