¶ Notes
The March 2022 HAF League outing was played at the Todd Creek Golf Club in Thornton, CO on 20 March, 2022. Click on the logo if you'd like to visit their Web site to learn more about them.
We had a beautiful spring day for golf at Todd Creek. It was a little breezy but not so much as to make things really hard. The course was in decent shape for the time of year. The fairway grass was still dormant and thus shots still ran a bit but the greens were in good shape and held shots. The roughs were mown fairly close and didn't present too much challenge. The houses are out of the way (except one John Allen managed to hit with a bullet of a pulled tee shot).
Reviews of the course among the group were mixed. The course is more bunkered than many we play and most of us spent more time than normal in the sand. Most thought that was an interesting challenge. The mixed part was about the course design. It's got a links character - few trees and what would appear to be long native grasses during the summer. Some felt many of the holes didn't have much design to them but others disagreed and were really looking forward to playing it again when it is in summer condition. We were allowed to use the 90 degree rule for riding carts which was excellent. This course would be a bear to walk or play path-only. Restroom availability was adequate. We'll probably give it another shot in the future.
Facilities at Todd Creek are comprehensive. The driving range allowed hitting off of grass. The range is a little short but plenty long for warm up. The pro gave us a couple of large buckets of balls for brining a group. They have a nice big putting area. They have a good pro shop and a really nice bar/restaurant with a great panoramic mountain view. Service in the bar was slow but the service staff was very nice. Selection in the bar was very good.
We played a modified Stableford that people really liked. It helped the high handicappers come out on top. We may tweak the point allocation (closer to a typical Modified Stableford) the next time to balance things out a little. We'll definitely use the format again in the future. The final scoresheets and payouts are available below. There is both an Excel format that shows all the formulae and a PDF version for those that don't have Excel.
¶ Rates (as of 20 March 2022)
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Green Fees | $70 (riding) $52 (walking) |
| Riding Cart | Add $18 for a single cart based on availability |
| Walking Cart | Not available |
| Club Rental | $50.00 (Srixon ZX5 and ZX7) |
| Range balls | $6 (small), $9 (medium), $12 ( large) |
¶ Competition Format
We played a modified Stableford tournament. All six attendees participated. Stableford encourages people to be aggressive because it rewards good play more than it penalizes bad play. In Stableford, everyone competes individually. Points are awarded based on the score for each hole. There are several different systems for determining the points for a hole but the one we used was:
| Score | Points |
|---|---|
| Ace/Albatross | Win the whole thing |
| Eagle | 8 |
| Birdie | 4 |
| Par | 2 |
| Bogey | 1 |
| Double bogey | 0 |
| Triple bogey | -1 |
In Stableford, the highest 18 hole total score wins. NOTE: only a natural ace or albatross (NOT gross) will take the whole pot. Putts for birdie or better had to be holed; otherwise, "inside the leather" applied. Handicaps were allowed and incorporated in the scores. The results may be found in the scoresheets in the "Notes" section.
The entry fee for the tournament was $10. Prizes were awarded as follows:
| 1st | 2nd |
|---|---|
| 70% | 30% |
¶ Tee Times and Pairings
10:30
Mike Bull
Scott O'Hare
Travis Hubbard
Andrew Blunk
10:40
Curt Balcerak
John Allen