THE YEAR IN REVIEW
By Ted Antonopoulos, Head Golf Professional
Thank you to all of the Mayacama Members who contributed to another great year of Tournament Golf at Mayacama. From our Championships to the biannual Sip ‘N Swings, a record number of Members enjoyed playing and competing in our 2015 Tournament Program! Please join us in congratulating our 2015 Champions:
THE ST. PATRICK’S DAY FOUR-BALL
The St. Patrick’s Day Four-Ball kicked off our Golf Season with 43 Teams (86 Players) braving the sunny conditions for another celebration of Golf and all things Irish at Mayacama. The Players enjoyed the Four-Ball Stroke Play (better ball of the two partners) format almost as much as they did the Guinness; dressing up as if they all just flew in from the Emerald Isle!
CHAMPIONS: Paul Puccioni & Jim Fisher
THE CADDIE-MEMBER
One of our more popular events, the Mayacama Caddie-Member celebrates the special bond between Mayacama Members and their Caddies! The Caddie-Member pairs a Mayacama Member with a Caddie partner to form a two-person team in the Four-Ball Stroke Play (better ball of two) format.
CHAMPIONS: Aiden Pinch & Kim Edwards
MAYACAMA FLIGHT CHAMPIONS: Jesse LePera & Suzanne Badenhoop
THE VINTNER CUP
The Vintner Cup celebrates two of life’s pleasures and the foundation of our Club…Golf and Wine! It’s like a Pro-Am wine country style! Members sign up as a team of three players and draw their “Pro”, in this case a Mayacama Vintner Member, to form their four-person team for this unique event. And to top it off, the Players receive one of the greatest tee prizes in golf…a magnum of wine from their Vintner Member Partner. The Vintner Cup is followed by our marquis event – The All Vintner Pour!
CHAMPIONS:
Carol Hansel of Walter Hansel Winery, Malin Giddings, Kim Edwards, & Nick Caufield
THE MAYACAMA CUP – THE ANNUAL MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIPS
The first of our two “Medal” Events, The Mayacama Cup celebrates the oldest format in golf – Match Play! The Men’s Championship Flight is played at Scratch from the Back Tee Markers and determines the Mayacama Match Play Champion. The Men’s Mayacama Flight is played from the Middle Tee Markers with full Course Handicaps to determine this flight’s Champion. The Women’s Mayacama Flight determines our Women's Match Play Champion and is played from the Forward Tee Markers using full Course Handicaps. The names of all three Champions Mayacama Cup Champions are engraved on their respective perpetual Championship Trophies on permanent display at the Club, the Mayacama Cup Champions Boards, and earn a seat at the prestigious Champions Dinner on the eve of The Club Championships in August.
CHAMPION: Mark Mance
WOMEN’S MAYACAMA FLIGHT CHAMPION: Malin Giddings
MEN’S MAYACAMA FLIGHT CHAMPION: Paul Puccioni
THE MEMBER-MEMBER
The Mayacama Member-Member has taken on many different looks and formats over the years, but most popular of late is the five 9-Hole Match Play format used in the Men’s Member-Guest. Players are flighted according to handicap and play a 9-hole match against each team in their flight, accumulating points along the way. Each flight winner then represents their flight in a 4-hole “Shoot-Out” with the other Flight Winners to determine the Overall Champion!
MEN’S FIRST FLIGHT & OVERALL CHAMPIONS: Steve Barker & Shane Brisbin
WOMEN’S FLIGHT CHAMPIONS: Laura Bellows & Diane Livingston
MEN’S SECOND FLIGHT CHAMPIONS: Don Grant & Paul Puccioni
MEN’S THIRD FLIGHT CHAMPIONS: Brian Duffy & Jeff Yee
MEN’S FOURTH FLIGHT CHAMPIONS: Dwight Haldan & Greg Brown
THE HUSBAND & WIFE CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP
This Championship utilizes the “Chapman” or “Pinehurst” format to identify the best Husband and Wife “Team” in the Club. The format requires both players to truly play as a “team” rather than relying on the skills of the better player. Both players tee off, they then hit each other’s ball for the second shot. After the second shot, the players select the ball with which they wish to complete the hole and play that ball alternating shots until the ball is holed.
CHAMPIONS: Bill & Marlena Palyo
MAYACAMA FLIGHT CHAMPIONS: Greg & Lisa French
THE PARENT-CHILD
Like the Husband & Wife Club Championship, the 18-hole division in The Parent-Child utilizes the Chapman format to identify the best-playing “team” among the Parent and Child teams. In the 9-hole division, the players play a two-person scramble with an emphasis on camaraderie and the experience of a fun round of golf with parent and child. Players of all ages compete in both, with the more experienced players competing in the 18-hole division.
CHAMPIONS: Mike & Stephen Wright
MAYACAMA FLIGHT CHAMPIONS: Tina Feeney & Alex Johnson
9-HOLE DIVISION CHAMPIONS: Kirk Bowman & Sam Sobeck
THE ANNUAL CHAMPIONSHIP OF MAYACAMA GOLF CLUB
Fifty Four Holes of Stroke Play determines the “Champion Golfer of the Year" for Mayacama Golf Club. Players test their skill, patience, and mental fortitude over three days of Stroke Play at Mayacama. It’s not for the faint of heart, but the Club’s best player is always identified after 54 holes of Stroke Play. Congratulations to our Annual Champions of Mayacama Golf Club for the year 2015:
CHAMPION GOLFER OF THE YEAR: Brady Exber
WOMEN’S CHAMPION GOLFER OF THE YEAR: Marlena Palyo
MEN’S MAYACAMA FLIGHT CHAMPION: Paul Puccioni
WOMEN’S MAYACAMA FLIGHT CHAMPION: Malin Giddings
THE WOMEN’S MEMBER-GUEST
Our largest Women's Member-Guest to date! 48 players enjoyed two days of gifts, golf, food, wine, and special contests. And did we mention gifts? Congratulations to all of our players for continuing to build and enjoy this premier event at Mayacama!
FIRST FLIGHT & OVERALL CHAMPIONS: Emily Scott Pottruck & Doreen Justice
SECOND FLIGHT CHAMPIONS: Laura Bellows & Penny Wright
THIRD FLIGHT CHAMPIONS: Mary-Ellen Smith & Margie Truter
FOURTH FLIGHT CHAMPIONS: Suzanne Badenhoop & Danielle Dasher
THE MEN’S MEMBER-GUEST
Another sold-out field of 60 teams (120 players) for our Annual Men's Member-Guest! Three days of Four-Ball Match Play followed by a 4-hole Shoot-Out among the 10 flight winners determines the Overall Champion. Members and Guests from around the country enjoyed perfect conditions for golf, food & wine, not to mention a Peter Millar shopping spree!
OVERALL CHAMPIONS: Jack Rose & Wes Dalton
FIRST FLIGHT CHAMPIONS: Paul Balatti & Jim Fisher
SECOND FLIGHT CHAMPIONS: Harley Williams & Brian Hull
THIRD FLIGHT CHAMPIONS: Jim Silveira & John Moore
FIFTH FLIGHT CHAMPIONS: Nick Caulfield & Taylor Meyer
SIXTH FLIGHT CHAMPIONS: Paul Puccioni & Todd Renko
SEVENTH FLIGHT CHAMPIONS: Brian Duffy & Larry Jackson
EIGHTH FLIGHT CHAMPIONS: Ted Simpkins & Larry Wardrup
NINTH FLIGHT CHAMPIONS: Will Santana & Bob Stockham
TENTH FLIGHT CHAMPIONS: Stephan Vermut & Brian Stern
THE MEN’S SENIOR CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Men's Senior Championships identify the Champion "Senior and Super-Senior Golfers of the Year" for Mayacama Golf Club. The format is 36-hole stroke play, played over two days. And as none of us can avoid growing older, so too does the size of this Championship, as evidenced by another large field of Senior and Super-Senior Competitors!
MAYACAMA FLIGHT SUPER-SENIOR CHAMPION: Vincent Steck
MAYACAMA FLIGHT CHAMPION: Brian Duffy
SENIOR CHAMPION: Paul Balatti
SUPER-SENIOR CHAMPION: Ted Simpkins
THE PROFESSIONAL-MEMBER INVITATIONAL
Our Championship Season concludes with the Professional-Member Invitational. This event continues to grow in popularity both with our Members and the "Invitational" invitees. Each year, a number of special invitations are sent to select Clubs from around the country for their Professional to invite a Member from his/her Club to join us for three days in The Wine Country. The result is a competitive field of Professionals and Amateurs for the 36-hole Four-Ball Stroke Play Championship!
CHAMPIONS: Brady Exber & Craig Barlow (web.comTOUR)
MAYACAMA FLIGHT CHAMPIONS: Rich Coombs & Jason Schmuhl (Windsor Golf Club)
REVISED MAYACAMA HOLE-IN-ONE FUND
According to the National Hole-In-One Association, the odds for an amateur making a hole-in-one are 12,500 to 1! Still, the age-old custom of having to buy drinks for everyone at the Club on the day that you make that elusive “Ace” can get quite expensive. We’re not sure exactly when or where…or even why this odd custom began, but it is one that can severely affect your bank account if you’re unlucky enough to make a hole-in-one on a busy day at Mayacama. But have no fear; help is on the way through the Mayacama Hole-In-One Fund! Each Membership at Mayacama is initially billed $5.00 for the Hole-In-One Fund. When a Member of the Fund makes an Ace at Mayacama, they advise the Golf Shop and Mayacama Bar about the feat and everyone present at the Club that day is offered a complimentary drink (beer, wine by the glass, or well drinks) courtesy of “The Fund”. To further commemorate the feat, the flag from the hole on which they scored their Ace is removed from the hole and framed with an engraved plate, which honors the accomplishment. Any remaining dollars in the fund are then given to the player in the form of Golf Shop Credit! The Fund is replenished after each hole-in-one is made. While the billing of the Fund is automatic, it is completely voluntary and those Members wishing not to participate should inform the Golf Shop via email at [email protected].
HOLE-IN-ONE ODDS
- For a Professional Golfer: 2,500 to 1
- For a Low Handicap Golfer: 5,000 to 1
- For an Amateur Golfer: 12,500 to 1
- For Two Amateurs in the same group on the same hole: 26,000,000 to 1
MAYACAMA HOLE-IN-ONE FACTS
- First Hole-In-One: Ken Wallace on August 12, 2001 (Opening Day for Mayacama Members)
- Most Holes-In-One by a Member: Kim Edwards with five
Three on the 11th
One on the 5th
One on the 14th
- Holes-In-One by Men: 121
- Holes-In-One by Women: 38
- On the same hole in consecutive rounds : Doreen Justice in 2006 on the 11th Hole on Sunday, 28th May and then again on the same hole in her very next round on Wednesday, 31st May! What are the odds of that??
- There have been a total of 159 holes-in-one to date at Mayacama. Here is the breakdown by hole:
Third Hole: 39
Fifth Hole: 45
Eleventh Hole: 38
Fourteenth Hole: 22
Seventeenth Hole: 16
BEN HOGAN HOLE-IN-ONE LORE
It is often said that Ben Hogan was one of the best ball strikers to ever play the game, and yet rumor has it that he never had a hole-in-one. And according to legend, Mr. Hogan’s response when asked about why he never had a hole-in-one…“I rarely aimed at the hole. I was always trying to leave my ball below the hole so that I’d have an uphill putt!”
Another great hole-in-one story surrounding Ben Hogan involves an incident that took place in the 1947 Masters Tournament (pronounced “Toonamint” if you’re from that part of the world). Mr. Hogan was paired with Claude Harmon, father of noted instructor Butch Harmon. When the two arrived at Amen Corner and the famous par-three 12th hole, Harmon had the honor and proceeded to hole his tee shot for a hole-in-one! Known throughout his career for his deep concentration, Mr. Hogan then stepped up to the tee and struck his shot to within a foot from the hole. After holing his putt for a birdie two, he said to Harmon as they walked to the 13th tee, “I think that’s the first time I’ve ever birdied that hole. What did you make there Claude?”
THE "SPIRIT" OF THE GOLF CAR "PILOT PROGRAM"
Mayacama Golf Club was founded as a “Walking-Only” Golf Club, and since our inception we have remained true to that Custom. Playing the game while walking, especially with a Caddie is one of the features that attracted the majority of our Members to the Club, and we continue to hold dearly to that custom today.
The Club does lease a small fleet of Golf Cars so that we can accommodate those players who are over the age of 65, or who are physically unable to walk the golf course. However, several years ago we instituted a “Golf Car Pilot Program”. The purpose of the program was to permit Members to enjoy a late afternoon round of golf after the Caddie cut-off time had passed without having to carry their golf clubs. The “Pilot Program” start time was established at 3:30 pm and in use only during Summer Months, since it was expected that Golf Car usage would not be available during the “rainy season”. With the drought that we’ve experienced over the past few years, the program was extended into the winter months on those days when course conditions permitted golf car usage. The Winter start time hours for the program was established at 1:30 pm, 90 minutes after the Caddie cut-off time. Players taking advantage of the “Pilot Program” are required to start off of the First Hole. The reason for the program’s start time and for the first-hole start is in keeping with the spirit of the "walking-only" custom of the Club. It’s kind of like the metering lights…we want to allow those players who wish to play after the Caddie cut-off time and walk and carry their clubs the ability to do so, without golf cars coming up directly behind them. Lately we have had Members attempting to abuse the program in several ways, including asking for a golf car at the turn because they are now within the “Pilot Program” time frame. Players in golf cars also attempt to start play on the tenth tee, either cutting off players who are making the turn or running up on those who are walking. And we’ve also observed players in carts driving around players who are walking in order to jump ahead to an open hole. None of these practices is within the spirit of what was intended for this program, and we ask that Members observe the walking custom of the Club. If you wish to take advantage of the Golf Car “Pilot Program”, please do so in accordance with the Customs that have been established for the program.
THE CADDIE CORNER
By Jim Brooks, Mayacama Caddie Manager
Happy New Year from your Mayacama Caddies!
As our Club continues to grow, we would like to touch on an aspect of the Club that sets us apart from so many other golf clubs. Back in 1999 at the club’s inception, it was decided to partner with CaddieMaster, Inc. to help manage our Caddie Program. CaddieMaster is the leading Caddie Management provider in the world and manages caddie programs at Pinehurst, Sea Island, Pebble Beach, Whistling Straits, The 27 Club in Tianjin, China and Gleneagles in Scotland and many, many more. I have been fortunate enough to manage the Caddie Program at Mayacama for the last 10 years and it is my goal to provide the best, most professional and skilled Caddies to the Members and their Guests at Mayacama Golf Club.
During my tenure as Caddie Manager, Members have always expressed an interest in what goes into creating and maintaining a quality Caddie Program, including how much training caddies receive before being able to go out on the grass and work as a Caddie. Of course we always seek candidates with golf knowledge, and it might interest you to know that all of our Caddies are certified by a professional from the PCA (Professional Caddie Association). For the last two years that person was Chris Holshbach who came out from Whistling Straits, Wisconsin. Chris works with our Caddie candidates for 5 days before we will send any of them out on a loop. We then try and break them in gradually by assigning them single bags and have them work with our veteran Caddies.
Another question I am often asked is what do the Caddies do when they are not working? First, we are very lucky to work at a club like Mayacama that provides us a very comfortable waiting area. We have TV, foosball and card games to keep us busy, as well as an extensive Caddie library for Caddies to utilize. Of course our Caddies would much rather be out on the course with you. All of our Caddies are independent contractors. As such, they earn money only when they are working on a loop. As we enter the cold, wet days of winter it is much more challenging for Caddies to get jobs. Some of our Members have been very nice about requesting single bag Caddies during the winter months so as to spread out the smaller amount of work available. Also, because of the shorter days, we have changed the Caddie cut off time to 12:00. If you would like a Caddie after 12:00 please call the Golf Shop at 707 569 2915 or the Caddie Office 707 569 2911 and we will be very happy to make sure that we have one of our World Class Caddies available for you.
RULES OF GOLF CHANGES GO INTO EFFECT ON 1/1/16
Every four years, revisions are made to the Rules of Golf. The objective of the four-year cycle is to monitor developments in the game and respond with changes that keep the best interest of the game in mind. The R&A and USGA collaborate closely throughout the four-year cycle in order to implement those changes and improve the clarity with which the Rules are written. The revisions that go into effect in 2016 reflect four years' work by the Rules of Golf Committees of the R&A Rules Limited and the USGA.
CLICK FOR HELPFUL LINKS ON CHANGES NOW IN EFFECT:
Changes to the Rules of Golf 2016
Rules Revisions & Clarifications
CHANGES TO USGA HANDICAP SYSTEM FOR 2016
In addition to the changes to the Rules of Golf, the United States Golf Association announced key changes to the USGA Handicap System which will take effect on January 1, 2016. Of those key changes, the one with the most immediate impact to the majority of golfers will be the change regarding posting rounds when a player plays alone. No longer will players who play alone be able to post those rounds for handicap purposes.
CLICK HERE CHANGES TO THE USGA HANDICAP SYSTEM:
Changes to Handicap System 2016
Handicap Manual
ONLINE SHOPPING
If you were  unable to make it up to the Club for your Holiday Shopping, visit our Online Golf Shop on the Member’s Only website to see offerings from brands such as Bobby Jones, Brooks Brothers, Club Glove, Donald Ross, Dunning, Fairway & Greene, Fore Kids, Golftini, J. Lindeberg, KJUS, Sterling Cut Glass, and Zero Restriction to name a few. Whether for yourself or for choosing gifts for friends or family, your orders can be shipped to any address.
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part-time in local day spas, been raising two fabulous boys with her wonderful husband, and earned a Black Belt in ATA Taekwondo. Providing facials gives Kristine the opportunity to do what she loves. "I feel very grounded when I'm working with clients. Skin care can be like a puzzle; what works for one person may not be ideal for another. My job is to find the right combination for each person. I am also so pleased to be working at Mayacama. We have some amazing treatments and it is the perfect place to branch out from a massage to a body treatment or facial. Our treatments are very thoughtful and we use only the highest quality products."
