¶ Course Information
The first (annual?) HAF League Fall Four-Ball was played at Kennedy Golf Course in Denver, CO on 15 November, 2020. Click on the logo if you'd like to visit the Kennedy Web site.
The address of Kennedy Golf Course is:
10500 E Hampden Ave
Denver, CO 80014
Their phone number is 720.865.0720.
¶ Review
We had several new folks join us, including Bruce and Jack Dakin, Chris Lundhagen and Curt Balcerzak. They fit right in with the other regulars. All of them indicated they enjoyed themselves. We certainly enjoyed having them. It was Jack's first round of golf. We were all happy to be part of it! All of the new folks will be invited and more than welcome to join us going forward! Unfortunately, Donny was experiencing flu-like symptoms and decided to stay home out of caution. That meant Todd had to play by himself which he accepted with his typical grace.
The weather was perfect for a November day - about 60 degrees, sunny and not very much wind.
The course was in very good shape. The fairways were dried out and firm as is reasonable to expect in November in Colorado but otherwise in good condition. The greens were green and rolled well and fairly. We played the Babe Lind and Creek courses. The Babe Lind course is fairly easy, the Creek a bit more challenging. All in all, everyone indicated they enjoyed it. We would certainly look to go back for a future event.
Almost all of the group walked. The Babe Lind course is an easy walk. The Creek course, however, is very long. It is about 2/10 of a mile between the 3rd and 4th holes and an equal distance between 16 and 17. If we were to play there again and the Creek course was part of the 18 hole setup, people may want to consider whether they would want to ride. The bridge was out between between 18 tee and green on the Creek course as well, adding another quarter mile to the walk. We would want to check whether that had been fixed before considering walking in the future as well.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the course had some different rules. The pro shop was closed. To pay for golf, the group had to call the shop and pay by phone. To get range balls, one had to request them when calling the shop and had to have the balls brought to them by a range attendant. That worked well, though. The marshalls were friendly and helpful with information about paying, finding the starting holes, etc. It was a little challenging to find out where to pick up carts. The carts were nothing special but totally expected for a public course and worked well.
As for practice facilities, the range is big and long enough to hit every club. There is no hitting off of grass - it is mats only. Oddly, there were no tees on the mats. Tees would also not go through the mats. This made it hard to practice hitting driver. If we go back, this would be something to check to see if it has changed or that should be pointed out to the group. The practice green is on the smaller side and fairly flat but rolled fairly true to the greens on the course.
We finished right around sunset. The restaurant/bar was open but closed shortly after 5:00. This left many in the group unable to get a post-round beverage which was disappointing. Indoor capacity was limited to 25% because of COVID-19. Those that got beverages drank them in the outside seating area. The selection of beverages was limited with a small selection of domestic big name and craft beers. The food, it was reported, wasn't good. That would be something about which to warn the group if we go to Kennedy again.
This was the first time the HAF League tried an actual tournament. We played a four-ball tournament among six pairs of golfers. It was thrown off because John Allen, who made the scoresheets for the four-ball, was told the 18 hole track was going to be made up of the Babe Lind and West courses. The scoresheets were made accordingly. Since the 18 hole track was actually made up of the Babe Lind and Creek courses, the scoresheets were thus useless except to record gross scores. Fortunately, John had the Excel workbook used to create the scoresheets. He was able to correct the Excel sheet with the correct hole handicaps for the Creek course as well as to update the handicap strokes for all the golfers based on the different slope and course ratings for the Creek course. After doing so, scoring went reasonably smoothly with each pair reading off their gross scores and entering them into the Excel sheet. This was a good experience in preparing for future tournaments.
After compiling the scores, John and Chris Lundhagen ended up being the winning team. Congratulations to them!
¶ Results
First Place:
Team 1: John Allen, Chris Lundhagen
Total Score: 69
Second Place (tie)
Team 5: Travis Hubbard, Vicki Hubbard
Team 6: Scott O'Hare, John Day
Total Score: 70
Fourth Place
Team 2: Curt Balcerzak, Marcus Fast
Total Score: 77
Fifth Place (tie)
Team 3: Bruce Dakin, Jack Dakin
Team 4: Todd Hubbard (playing solo because Donnny was sick)
Total Score: 78
For those that are interested, the final scoresheet can be downloaded in PDF form. The red background on the net scores for each hole indicate the player whose ball counted on that hole.
¶ Rates
These were the rates at Kennedy at the time of the event.
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Greens Fees | $43 |
| Cart | $18 |
| Walking Cart | $7 |
| Club Rental | $20 |
| Range balls | $5 per token (about 40 balls per token) |
¶ Tee Times and Pairings
¶ 11:40
Team 1
| Players | Strokes |
|---|---|
| John Allen | 24 |
| Chris Lundhagen | 20 |
Team 2
| Players | Strokes |
|---|---|
| Curt Balcerzak | 14 |
| Marcus Fast | 29 |
¶ 11:50
Team 3
| Players | Strokes |
|---|---|
| Bruce Dakin | 9 |
| Jack Dakin | 29 |
Team 4
| Players | Strokes |
|---|---|
| Todd Hubbard | 29 |
| Donny Ohu | 8 |
¶ 12:00
Team 5
| Players | Strokes |
|---|---|
| Vicki Hubbard | 23 |
| Travis Hubbard | 28 |
Team 6
| Players | Strokes |
|---|---|
| Scott O'Hare | 11 |
| John Day | 22 |