Last weekend (Saturday and Sunday) we held our annual Blueberry Pines Club Championship. The event was preceded by our annual men's and ladies shootouts on Friday.
Winning the women's shootout was Connie Wadman and second place went to Kim Rasmussen. The men's net shootout was won by Terry Ristinen with second place going to Doug Sorenson. In the men's gross shootout, Jerry Wisuri outlasted the field for first place and second place went to Jay Baarstad.
This year's Club Championship for the men truly came down to the last shot of the event. Lee Davis jumped out to the early lead by firing a 76 on Sunday. Things were tight with seven players within five strokes of the lead after Saturday's play. Gary Marjama, the 2005 Club Champion, was just two shots back at 78, Jim Emerson was three strokes back with a 79, and three players - 2003 Club Champion Jay Baarstad, Jim Novack and Ron Litzau - were knotted five strokes back at 81.
After Sunday's first 18 holes of play, Marjama maintained a one-shot lead over Jim Emerson after both players carded 76s. Davis stumbled a little carding an 81, but was still within reach three shots behind.
Sunday's third and final nine-hole round crowned the winner as the lead group approached the No. 18 green. Emerson holed out his final putt for a nine-hole total of 39 and a total of 194 for 45 holes. Marjama needed just a tap-in 2-footer to tie and send it to a playoff. Marjama hit his putt, only to have it rim the cup and come right back at him. That left Marjama one shot behind Emerson, the new Men's Club Champion.
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The Women's Division was not as tight, although after Saturday's round it looked a little closer. Shelly Miller jumped out to an early four-shot lead by firing an 84 on Saturday to lead Kim Rasmussen, who was just four strokes back with an 88. Rasmussen and all the other competitors fell back during Sunday's play, leaving Miller with a four-peat. This is Miller's fourth straight Women's Club Champion title after carding rounds of 84 and 84 for a 36-hole total of 168. Miller beat her nearest competitor by a whopping 16 strokes.
The rest of the newly crowned Club Champions are as follows: Mark Anderson won the Men's Net Club Championship by finishing with a net total of 139. Gary Marjama won the Senior Men's Club Championship with a 36-hole total of 154. Jerry Wisuri was crowned the Men's Senior Net Club Champion with a 36-hole net total of 150. Connie Wadman won the Women's Net Club Championship with a total of 140 to claim her fourth women's net title. Bev Hepokoski won the Senior Women's Club Championship with a 36-hole total of 200. Connie Bennett won the Senior Women's Net Club Championship with a 36-hole net total of 150.
The other winners were as follows: In the Men's Championship Flight, second place low gross went to Lee Davis with a 45-hole total of 201. Second place low net went to Tom Marcussen scoring a net 140. In the Men's First Flight, first place low gross went to Andy Williams with a 167. Second place gross went to Jeff Massie with a 171. First place low net went to Ron Usher with a net total of 148. Second place low net went to Tim Pederson scoring a net 149. In the Women's Championship Flight, second place low net went to Brenda Keller finishing with a net total of 141. In the Women's Senior Flight, Dolly Dissmore won second place low net carding a 151.
Also last Saturday, we hosted the 7th annual Sons of Norway Norsk Open 4-Person Scramble. This event is played in loving memory of Ken Erickson and Ken Underwood. First place went to the team of John Phillips, Dan Christenson, Bob Aitken and Tony Nicholson firing a 68. First place net went to the team of Tony Platz, Bill Cowman, Larry Bexell and Jerry Gordan scoring a net 67. The nine-hole division winners were Frank and Sara Forsberg and Tom and Irene Weise scoring a 41. A huge thank you goes out to all the participants and to the organizers - Don and Clarice Schieck - who created this fabulous event.
Next Saturday (Sept. 20), we are hosting our annual Blueberry Pines Couples Tournament. The format is to play a nine-hole scramble and a nine-hole best ball. We will flight players by the low player's handicap and the team's total handicap. This has traditionally been a great event. The entry fee of $50 per player for non-members includes your golf, cart, prizes and a meal following play. Grab your favorite guys and gal and sign up today for the 10 a.m. shotgun start.
The Men's Night event on Sept. 3 was individual low gross and low net. First place gross went to Andy Williams carding an even-par 36. Second place went to Jim Novack with a 40. First place low net went to Gary Marjama with a 32. Second place net went to Ron Usher with a 33. Third place went to Dustin Berttunen carding a net 35. The longest drive on hole No. 1 went to Andy Williams, closest to the pin from the tee on hole No. 8 went to Tom Marcussen and the longest putt made on hole No. 9 went to Paul Haldorson. Tim Bloomquist remains on top of the Men's Night money leader list.
The Ladies' Night event on Sept. 4 was a four-lady shambles, best 2 of 4 balls. First place went to the team of Suzanne Steele, Judy Love, Connie Wadman and Dianne Salmela scoring an 83 to win a scorecard playoff over the second place team of Mary Williams, Penny Voss, Joy Torvinen, Denise Ristinen and Karen Weappa. Closest to the pin from off the green on hole No. 1 went to Judy Love, closest to the pin from the tee on hole No. 8 was Suzanne Steele and the longest putt on hole No. 9 went to Joy Torvinen. Connie Wadman remains in the lead on the Ladies' Night money leader list.
Tip 1 of the week: Control your wedge distance. Do you have trouble controlling the distance of your wedges? I would suggest working on three different swing lengths: full swing, 3/4 swing and 1/2 swing. Not only work on your backswing, but also on your follow-through. Example: 3/4 backswing and 3/4 follow-through. This will allow you to swing in tempo while producing three different distances, eliminating the guess work.
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Tip 2 of the week: Hit it solid when chipping. When chipping, keep your backswing short and compact. The problem is when your swing gets too long. It is easy to decelerate the club through impact, plus lose your spine angle during the swing. The solution is to keep your swing action compact back and through. You will hit crisper chips with better distance control.
Tip 3 of the week: How to become a shot maker. Next time you're on the range, try hitting a 100-yard flag or marker with every club in your bag. You'll quickly gain a good sense for playing a lot of shots.
If you need help with your golf game, please contact Jim, the PGA professional here at Blueberry Pines, or call your local PGA professional.
Good luck and good golfing.
