5th Annual Barbara Fay White Cup

"You've got to get to the stage in life where going for it is more important than winning or losing."  Arthur Ashe

And that is exactly what fifty-two ladies did on October 22 and 24 at the 5th Annual Barbara Fay White Cup Team Matches competition held at Palmetto Country Club.

With really cool temps at tee off times, both days turned into beautiful, picture-perfect golfing days for the twenty-four two-lady teams.

As a tribute to the several ladies in our clubs that have battled/are battling cancer, all the ladies wore pink headgear.  Our hearts and prayers go out to those special ladies not only in our golfing group, but all over the world, who are going through this dreaded experience and are conquering or have survived it.

The format of the tournament was a two-lady scramble on both days, with the East (Blue) team vs the West (Green) team.  Each two-lady team was handicapped, but the teams were so closely matched that handicap never came into play in determining the winner of any match.

After Day 1, the teams were tied 6 to 6 and Day 2 was just as tightly played.  But when all was said and done, the West Team won 6 1/2 points on Day 2 while the East Team won only 5 1/2 points, for a grand total of 12 1/2 points to 11 1/2 points.  NOW THAT'S CLOSE!  The West Team retained its title from last year, totaling three wins in the five competitions of the BFW Cup Championships.

It was a great two-day event and we're already looking forward to next year.  Time and place will be determined after the first of the year.
 

LWGA State Senior Championship

Beautiful Bayou DeSiard Country Club was the site of the 2013 State Senior Championship.  Unfortunately, only forty-seven ladies participated in this event that had absolutely beautiful weather.  Mornings were a bit chilly, but it soon warmed up to perfect.

Seven of our local ladies made the trip to Monroe and played in the two-day event on October 7 and 8.  Two of our seven came back as award winners:  Mary Lynn Stuart won 3rd Gross in the first flight and Donna Cobb won 1st Gross in the second flight.  But everyone was a winner, because we had a GRAND time!

Next year's Senior Championship will be held in Kenner, LA, just northwest of New Orleans, at the Chateau Country Club on March 16-18, 2014.  If you are 50+ years young, then you are eligible to play in this stroke play event.

2013 SWGA Championship

Beautiful weather, beautiful facility, beautiful course.  What could be better?  Not one thing!  It was a great championship!

Thirty-five ladies vied for championship honors on September 25 and 26 at Southern Trace Country Club, with Mary Lynn Stuart, of EastRidge CC rising to the top on the second day to win the Championship with scores of 83 and 78.

Mary Lynn was two strokes behind the first day Medalist Lillian Granger of Southern Trace who shot a really nice 81, but came back with that outstanding 78 to edge out Lillian by just 3 strokes.  Good playing, ladies!

The Net Medalist for the first day was Suzanne Patton of Querbes with a net score of 70 which lead her right to the top for the Overall Low Net Champion with net scores of 70 and 69.  Suzanne is a rookie in SWGA and has just this year become very active in tournament play.  Congratulations Suzanne!

Chef Danny, as usual, did an outstanding job with the awards luncheon.  Just check out the picture in the slideshow!

And we send out thanks to Jimmy Granger who generously furnished the best tasting cold apples, and to Lillian Granger and Kathy Davis for their work in putting this event together.

Overall Gross Champion
Mary Lynn Stuart (ERCC): 83/78

Overall Low Net Champion
Suzanne Patton (BWGA): 70/69

Day One Low Gross Medalist
Lillian Granger (STCC) 81

Day One Low Net Medalist
Suzanne Patton (BWGA) 70

Overall Low Putts (2 days combined)
Joanne McDonald (BWGA)

Championship Flight
1st Gross: Lillian Granger (STCC) 81/83
2nd Gross: Teri McGuire (WGAS) 84/95
1st Net: Kathy Davis (STCC) 74/71
2nd Net: Debbie Magee (WGAS) 84/80

First Flight
1st Gross: Shirley Pettitt (BWGA) 91/90
2nd Gross: Donna Cobb (BWGA) 95/96
1st Net: Mary Coker (STCC) 74/74
2nd Net: Martha Lawhorne (BWGA) 81/72

Second Flight
1st Gross: Cathy McDonald (BWGA) 93/95
2nd Gross: Gayle Gansfuss (ERCC) 103/91
1st Net: Margo Myatt (ERCC) 79/69
2nd Net: Jeanie Ward (PCC) 80/80

Third Flight
1st Gross: Joanne McDonald (BWGA) 100/99
2nd Gross: Bobbie Jo Almond (PCC) 102/104
1st Net: Vien Wheeler (STCC) 73/71
2nd Net: Grace Ireland (PCC) 80/77

Closest to the Pin
Mary Coker (STCC) and Mary Moore (FRLGA)

Most Accurate Drive
Hui Bordelon (FRLGA)

Longest Drive
Teri McGuire (WGAS)

Next year's SWGA Championship will be hosted by the Broadmoor Assn. at Querbes and by that time, there will be a brand-spanking new clubhouse and pro shop!

Twice as Nice Tournament

Texarkana Country Club hosted its Twice as Nice tournament on September 11 and 12.  One hundred ladies participated in the two-day event with a best-ball format the first day and scramble the second day. 

Ten of our Shreveport area ladies made the trip north to Texarkana, AR, and six of them came back as winners.  Mary Lynn Stuart and Connie Pharis (both of ERCC) won 2nd Low Gross in the Championship Flight with their nice scores of 79/72.  In the First Flight, Debbie Magee and Kim Darnell (both of WGAS) won Low Gross with scores of 80/78.  And in the Second Flight, Donna Cobb and Martha Lawhorne (both of BWGA) won Low Gross with scores of 90/76.  Great playing, ladies!

This is truly an all-inclusive tournament.  The entry fee included a welcome party; two full, hot breakfasts; and two wonderful lunches.  For an additional $20, if you had the energy to do it, there was also a team shoot-out over four holes.  Debbie Magee and Kim Darnell made it to the third hole where they were eliminated by a chip-off.  Good going girls!

Squire Creek Invitational

One hundred ladies met at Squire Creek Country Club in Choudrant, LA, on September 12th to compete in the annual invitational.  The two-lady scramble format is always loads of fun and this one was no different. 

Ladies from our Shreveport area associations accounted for about twenty of the players, and eight of those were winners.

With the low gross score of the day, Kathy Davis (STCC) and Amy Johnson shot a really nice 65 in the Championship Flight.  In the First Flight, Lillian Granger (STCC) and Lisa Russell won low gross with their 72.  Becky Hollier and Jane Smith (both of WGAS) won 2nd Net in the Third Flight with their net score of 71.  In the Fourth Flight, Mary Moore and Mary Gallagher, (both FRLGA) won 2nd low net with a net score of 71.  And in the Fifth Flight, Pat Strother (STCC) and Tina Doggett won low net with a really great 66.  And after a bit of confusion, Judy Pratt and Susan Wright were also awarded 1st Low net in the Fifth Flight.  (Mistakes happen!)

And for a little icing on the cake, Marianne Leslie (WGAS) had a hole-in-one on Hole #12!

Congratulations, ladies!

SSWGA Playday Querbes

Only twenty ladies braved the heat to play the SSWGA Playday at Querbes today on what turned out to be a rather pleasant day, with low humidity and a gentle breeze.

The overall low gross score of the day came out of the second flight with Martha Lawhorne (BWGA) shooting a really nice 87, followed by Moise Allen (STCC) with an 88.  Overall low net for the day, not counting Martha's 69, was Kyong Lee's (BWGA) 70.  Overall low putts was 30 putts by both Martha Lawhorne and Tommye Engelcke (BWGA).

FIRST FLIGHT
Low Gross: Moise Allen (STCC) 88
Low Net: Donna Cobb (BWGA) 73
Low Putts: (tie) Teri McGuire (WGAS)/Dot Henson (WGAS) 33

SECOND FLIGHT
Low Gross: Martha Lawhorne (BWGA) 87
Low Net: Robbie Fisher (BWGA) 72
Low Putts: Joanne McDonald (BWGA) 32

THIRD FLIGHT
Low Gross: Kyong Lee (BWGA) 93
Low Net: Tommye Engelcke (BWGA) 74
Low Putts:  Pat Rice (BWGA) 31

Chip/Putt-ins:
Carmen Leach (FRLGA)
Dot Henson (WGAS)
Tommye Engelcke (BWGA)

SWGA Playday at Southern Trace

This was the largest group of ladies we've had for our 2013 playdays this year with 51 ladies signing up to brave the heat and play their practice round for the 2013 SWGA Championship.  And it WAS hot!  And the course WAS beautiful with super-fast greens.  For those of you who like "numbers", the AVERAGE number of putts was 36.4!

And speaking of putts, Overall Low Putts for the day (and bringing down our total average putts) was Suzanne Tinsley (WGAS), for the second week in a row, with an amazing 28 putts!  I need a putter like hers!  Right on Suzanne's heels for putting prowess was Kathy Davis (STCC) with 29 putts.  Great putting, ladies!

Overall low gross for the day was a fabulous 78 shot by Mary Lynn Stuart (ERCC), followed closely by Suzanne Tinsley with a great 81.  Overall low net score was a 69, again by Suzanne Tinsley (maybe it's not just her PUTTER, huh?) Second low net was Gayle Gansfuss (ERCC) with a really nice 70.
 
FIRST FLIGHT
Low Gross: Mary Lynn Stuart (ERCC) 78
Low Net:  Suzanne Tinsley 69
2nd Gross: Kathy Davis (STCC) 84
2nd Net: (tie) Lillian Granger (STCC)/Marianne Leslie (WGAS) 75
Low Putts: Suzanne Tinsley 28

SECOND FLIGHT
Low Gross: Moise Allen (STCC) 92
Low Net: Robbie Fisher (BWGA) 71
2nd Gross: Jimmie Zey (PCC) 93
2nd Net: Kathryn Salpietra (STCC) 79
Low Putts: (tie) Robbie Fisher/Kathryn Salpietra 33

THIRD FLIGHT
Low Gross: Gayle Gansfuss (ERCC) 91
Low Net: Jane Smith (WGAS) 74
2nd Gross: (tie) Cathy McDonald (BWGA)/Mary Gallagher (FRLGA) 95
2nd Net: Hui Bordelon (FRLGA) 78
Low Putts: Cathy McDonald 30

FOURTH FLIGHT
Low Gross: Kathleen McCoy (BWGA) 95
Low Net: Margo Myatt (STCC) 77
2nd Gross: (tie) Mary Moore (FRLGA)/Kyong Lee (BWGA) 104
2nd Net: Cheryl Smith (WGAS) 85
Low Putts: Mary Moore 34

FIFTH FLIGHT
Low Gross: Martha Bordelon (ERCC) 104
Low Net: Pat Strother (STCC) 78
2nd Gross: Bobbie Almond (PCC) 105
2nd Net: Vien Wheeler (STCC) 79
Low Putts: Pat Strother 34

Our next SWGA outing is our Annual Championship held this year at Southern Trace on September 25-26.  There is an entry form here  if you don't have one already.  Please get your forms in asap so that the committee can make their plans accordingly.

Mystic Creek Golf Club

For the 99.9% of you who have never heard of this course, I wanted to share a little information about this "gem" of a course located in El Dorado, AR, just two hours from downtown Shreveport and due north of Ruston. 

We heard about the course from a golfing buddy who recommended it highly, and he was right.  It's still a "work in progress".  As we neared what the GPS told us was our turn to the course, all there was to indicate a golf course was a sign that said "Golf Course" and an arrow pointing down a dirt road.  Hmmmm.  Not looking so great.

We turned down the dirt road and then into a big, concrete parking lot with large planting areas that were unplanted and a tiny white metal building, seemingly lost in the expanse of space.  And we're thinking "are we REALLY fixing to pay $75 to play THIS?"  And then we topped the hill and saw the course....

IT IS BEAUTIFUL!  There isn't a flat spot on the course except for the six sets of tee boxes on every hole.  The distances range from 5100 yards to 7400 yards (yikes).  The course just opened in May, but instead of seeding it for the grass, it was totally sodded from the beginning.  Looks like it's been there for years.  And it IS challenging with the rolling terrain.  To check out their site, click here. 

Right now, the price to play is $75, no matter what time of day, how old you are, or what day of the week it is.  It includes range balls and lots of practice areas, including sand trap practice.  The only break in price is if you get a group together and it can come down to $50 if you have twenty.

When this place is finished, it's going to be fabulous.  If you want to make a short "day trip" for some exciting golf, take a little trip up to El Dorado, Ar.  It will be beautiful in the Fall!