¶ Outing Coordinator
John Allen
email: john@zallen.org
call or text: (719) 337-6349
payment info:
Zelle, PayPal or Apple Cash to the phone number
Cash App with Cashtag $P3gasusJA
Contact John to RSVP by 5 August and with questions, comments or concerns.
¶ Overall League Championship Weekend Information
The second annual Club Championship will be played August 18-20, 2023 at three courses in the Castle Rock, Colorado area.
Summary: The HAF League Club Championship is played as a three day event. League members and guests may play with the club on any or all of the days and will be eligible for prizes in daily competitions if they choose to participate. Please see the description of each day's event for more details. However, anyone trying to win the club championship must play all three days.
Everyone that chooses to participate in a given day's daily competition will be eligible to win prizes on the day(s) they play, awarded at the end of each day. Each day of the competition will use a different competition format. The number and monetary value of prizes will be determined once the number of participants for each day of the competition has been set. In addition, at the end of each day, standings for the Club Championship will be tallied and announced. The Club Champion will be determined based on a three day aggregate (total) score. The manner in which each day's competition contributes to the aggregate score is described in the section for each day of the competition.
Only those that regularly play with the club (anyone on the club roster) will be eligible to win the Club Championship and overall prizes. Accordingly, only those that are eligible and competing for the Club Championship need pay the overall entry fee. In addition to prize money, this year's winner will receive a trophy! It will be present at all 3 weekend events so people can see what they're playing for (or what they're missing!).
A handicap index is required to participate in the Club Championship. The club is willing to accept a USGA handicap index from another club for participation in the HAF League Club Championship. Many members of the League are members of other clubs and their handicap indexes will be used. 18Birdies handicaps are also acceptable for those that play with the League regularly and enter their scores. Players that want to participate in the Club Championship and do NOT yet have USGA or 18Birdies handicaps should contact John Allen to discuss participation and handicap index. The simplest way to get a handicap index is to join the HAF League. There is a $42 fee for this, the entirety of which goes to the Colorado Golf Association, the USGA Allied Golf Association for the state of Colorado.
¶ Daily Event Information
¶ Friday
The Friday round of the tournament is at Red Hawk Ridge Golf Course in Castle Rock, CO. You can click the link above to visit their Web site. Their address is:
2156 Red Hawk Ridge Drive
Castle Rock, CO 80109
Their phone number is (720) 733-3500
¶ Notes
The League has only played Red Hawk Ridge once but it's a favorite of many in the group. It's a Jim Engh design. Engh has designed courses around the world but much of his work is in Colorado. It includes courses that the group either really enjoys or are very highly regarded including Four Mile Ranch, Fossil Trace and Redlands Mesa.
Red Hawk Ridge is definitely a mountain course. There are considerable elevation changes on almost every hole. Riding is strongly recommended. The greens fees include a cart and a small bucket of range balls to warm up.
The club has an expansive (somewhat short) driving range but it's uphill so one can hit all their clubs in warmup. There's also a chipping and pitching area and a pratice bunker as well as a very large putting green. There is a comfortable grill and bar where we'll meet after the round to award daily prizes.
¶ Rates
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Greens Fees | $113 |
| Riding Cart | included |
| Walking Cart | TBD |
| Club Rental | TBD |
| Range balls | included |
¶ Weather
¶ Competition Format - Modified Stableford
The Friday competition is will use a modified Stableford format. As always, participation in these competitions during a HAF League event is optional. Members and guests are welcome to just come play alongside those competing. Please let the outing coordinator know whether or not you intend to play as soon as you've decided.
Modified Stableford is a format the club has used before. Stableford encourages people to be aggressive because it rewards good play more than it penalizes bad play. That's particularly true in this modified version that disproportionately rewards low scores. In Stableford, everyone competes individually. Points are awarded based on the gross score for each hole as follows.
| Score | Points |
|---|---|
| Ace/Albatross | Win the whole thing |
| Eagle | 8 |
| Birdie | 4 |
| Par | 2 |
| Bogey | 1 |
| Double bogey | 0 |
| Triple bogey | -1 |
Once a player has reached triple bogey, that player's ball should be picked up. Triple bogey is the maximum hole score. If a player is keeping their score for handicap purposes but reaches triple bogey, the player can use the USGA's "most likely score" rule to estimate the number of strokes to record for the hole.
Handicaps will be incorporated but in a way that is easier to manage. Maximum playing handicap allowance is 30 strokes. Each player will be required to achieve a point total based on the difference between 36 and their playing handicap (calculated based on handicap index, tees and course difficulty). This difference is a given player's target point total. Players that achieve more points than their target will receive a negative score. Lowest score wins.
For example, suppose four golfers are competing in this format with handicap indexes as follows:
| Player | Handicap Index |
Playing Handicap (PH) |
Target points (36 - PH) |
Stableford Total |
Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amanda | 21.2 | 19 | 17 | 16 | 1 |
| Bob | 35.0 | 30 | 6 | -2 | 8 |
| Carol | 5.4 | 5 | 31 | 34 | -3 |
| Dan | 11.3 | 10 | 26 | 27 | -1 |
Carol would come out on top with the lowest score, followed by Dan and Amanda.
The outing coordinator will assign tees according to handicap indexes and knowledge of each participant's abilities. Scoresheets will be made available to use for the competitiion. The target score will reflect the course's slope rating and course ratings of the tees assigned.
For those competing in the Club Championship, the score will be incorporated into the aggregate score for the tournament and represent the initial standings.
There will also be a Par 3/Closest to the Pin competition going on in parallel. Closest to the Pin is contested on each par 3 hole. To win, a player's tee shot must come to rest on the putting green and the player must make natural/gross par or better. The player that meets these criteria and whose tee shot winds up closest to the pin wins that hole. Markers will be give out to everyone to mark the closest tee shot in their group with the name of the person that landed closest. Subsequent groups will move that marker if someone in their group is closer. The last group through each par 3 will pick up the markers and give them to the outing coordinator. If no one wins a given par 3, the prize money for that hole will be divided among the other par 3 holes.
Buy-in for the competition is $20. Prizes will be awarded as a percentage of the total of all entry fees as follows:
| Prize | Amount |
|---|---|
| Stableford low score | 40% |
| Stableford second place | 20% |
| Par 3s | 40% |
¶ 18Birdies Info
Tournament Code: TBD
¶ Saturday
The second round of the weekend will be played at Plum Creek Golf Club in Castle Rock, CO. Click the link to visit their Web site. Their address is:
331 Players Club Drive
Castle Rock, CO 80104
Their phone number is (303) 660-2200
¶ Notes
Plum Creek is a Pete Dye design. It's a fun, challenging course with Dye's typical design features, including long par 3s over hazards, sharp doglegs, railroad ties around greens complexes and firm, quick greens. It is managed by the same company that manages Bear Dance. It is almost always in top notch shape. The League has played it once and thoroughly enjoyed it.
They have a grass range with about 20 stations. There's a very large putting green and a separate chipping area. Information about the clubhouse and beverage service will be updated shortly.
¶ Rates
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Greens Fees | $95 |
| Riding Cart | TBD |
| Walking Cart | TBD |
| Club Rental | TBD |
| Range balls | $5 (small), $10 (medium), $15 (large) |
¶ Weather
¶ Competition Format - Peoria
We'll play a stroke play competition using the Peoria scoring system. Buy-in will be $20. Winner take all.
In Peoria, 6 holes are chosen at random. Two par 3s, two par 4s and two par 5s will be chosen, one of each from the front 9 and the others from the back 9. The holes will be chosen in secret and in advance by John Allen's wife and put in a sealed envelope. At the end of the round, the envelope will be opened. Each player's score to par on those six holes will be totaled and multiplied by 3 to arrive at a course handicap for each player. Max score for any given hole is double bogey. The course handicap will be subtracted from each player's total number of strokes to determine their final scores. Lowest score wins.
To give an example, suppose for a given round holes 3, 4, 5, 12, 13 and 14 are chosen for the Peoria (unbeknownst to anyone ahead of time - more on this in a minute). The four golfers from the previous group have a card that looks like this:
| Player | ... | 3 | 4 | 5 | ... | 12 | 13 | 14 | ... | Total | Peoria | Net |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Par | ... | 4 | 5 | 3 | ... | 3 | 4 | 5 | ... | 72 | ||
| Amanda | ... | 4 | 6 | 5 | ... | 4 | 4 | 6 | ... | 93 | 15 | 78 |
| Bob | ... | 3 | 6 | 5 | ... | 6 | 6 | 6 | ... | 101 | 21 | 80 |
| Carol | ... | 3 | 5 | 3 | ... | 3 | 5 | 5 | ... | 77 | 0 | 77 |
| Dan | ... | 4 | 4 | 3 | ... | 4 | 4 | 5 | ... | 81 | 0 | 81 |
Bob is a total of 7 over on those six holes - -1 on 3, +1 on 4, +2 on 5, +2 on 12 (double bogey max), +2 on 13 and +1 on 121. Multiplying by 3 gives him a Peoria handicap of 12. Carol's Peoria comes in at 0 - her birdie on 3 is cancelled by her bogey on 13 and 0 x 3 = 0. The same holds for Dan, whose birdie on 4 is cancelled by his bogey on 12. Amanda is a total of 5 over for bogeys on 4, 12 and 14 and a double on 5, giving her a Peoria handicap of 15. Carol edges out Amanda.
For those participating in the Club Championship, like Friday, tees will be assigned by the outing coordinator and will be shown on the scorecard provided for the competition. This will be used to calculate a playing handicap which will also be on the scorecard. The playing handicap will be calculated according to the USGA formula as normal. A net score for each player will be calculated using their playing handicap, NOT their Peoria handicap score. The par for the course (72 for Plum Creek) will be subtracted from that next score. This number will be added to the result of the first day to determine overall standings. Following through the example started in the Friday tournament description, given playing handicaps like the following:
| Player | Handicap Index |
Playing Handicap (PH) |
18 Hole Individual Gross |
18 Hole Individual Net |
Score (Net - Par) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carol | 5.4 | 5 | 77 | 72 | 0 |
| Bob | 35.0 | 30 | 101 | 71 | -1 |
| Amanda | 21.2 | 20 | 93 | 73 | 1 |
| Dan | 11.3 | 10 | 81 | 71 | -1 |
After the second day of Championship competition, the standings would be:
| Player | Friday | Saturday | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carol | -3 | 0 | -3 |
| Amanda | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Dan | -1 | -1 | -2 |
| Bob | 8 | -1 | 7 |
There will also be a Skins competition going on in parallel. In a Skins competition, the net score for all players on each hole is compared. If one player has a lower score on that hole than all other players, that player wins a "skin." A prize fund will be allocated for skins. The monetary value of the skins will be the total prize fund divided by the number of skins won. For instance, given the players above, if their net scores on the front 9 were as follows:
| Player | Hole | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | |
| Amanda | 4 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 4 |
| Bob | 4 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 3 |
| Carol | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 |
| Dan | 3 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 4 |
Dan would win a skin for the first hole as the only player with the lowest net hole score of 3. No skin would be awarded on #2 because two players tied for the lowest score or 4. Following the same logic, Bob would win a skin on #4 and Amanda a skin on #8. If the prize fund for skins was $60 and these were the only 3 skins for the round, Dan, Bob and Amanda would each win $20.
The buy-in for the competition is $20. Prizes will be awarded as a percentage of the total prize pool as follows:
| Prize | Amount |
|---|---|
| Peoria low 18 score | 50% |
| Skins | 50% |
¶ Sunday
The final round of the event will be played at Arrowhead Golf Club, which is technically in Littleton, CO but reasonably close to Castle Rock. Click the link to visit their Web site. Their address is:
10850 Sundown Trl
Littleton, CO 80125
Their phone number is (303) 973-9614
¶ Notes
Arrowhead will be a new experience for the League. It is a favorite of several members of the League, including Scott O'Hare and Jerry Ohu. It was designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. and Jr. It winds through sandstone cliffs (similar to the Garden of the Gods and Perry Park Country Club, for those familiar with them). It is one of the 10 most photographed courses in the world. It is not an easy golf course as one can see from the scorecard. There is water on 8 holes. There are several large elevation changes, especially on #13 which plays sharply downhill between sandstone cliffs. Like most Jones courses, the greens are well protected with bunkers and slope back to front. Bring your A game and your camera!
The practice facility is comprehensive. In addition to included range balls, players will a boxed lunch and 2 drink coupons to use with the beverage cart or in the clubhouse. We'll gather in the clubhouse (with spectacular views) to award the daily prizes and Club Championship!
¶ Rates
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Greens Fees | $214.95 |
| Riding Cart | included |
| Walking Cart | N/A |
| Club Rental | TBD |
| Range balls | included |
¶ Weather
¶ Competition Format
On Sunday, we'll do a conventional stroke play competition (low 18 net, strokes - handicap, wins). The buy-in will be $20. As always, folks are welcome to just come and play and not paticipate in the competition. Two overall place prizes will be awarded. Tees will be assigned and playing handicaps will be calculated from those tees. The maximum playing handicap will be 30 strokes. Skins will also be awarded Sunday as they were on Saturday. The breakdown of prizes as a percentage of the prize pool is as follows:
| Prize | Amount |
|---|---|
| Low net | 40% |
| Next lowest net | 20% |
| Skins | 40% |
For those in the Club Championship, the net score to par for each player will be calculated in a manner identical to Saturday. This net score will be added to the total from the first two days to determine the club champion. Completing the example, suppose the scores from the final day came in as follows:
| Player | Handicap Index |
Playing Handicap (PH) |
18 Hole Individual Gross |
18 Hole Individual Net |
Score (Net - Par) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carol | 5.4 | 6 | 83 | 77 | 5 |
| Bob | 35.0 | 30 | 95 | 65 | -7 |
| Amanda | 21.2 | 19 | 85 | 66 | -6 |
| Dan | 11.3 | 11 | 88 | 77 | 5 |
The final Championship tournament would then be:
| Player | Friday | Saturday | Sunday | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amanda | 1 | 1 | -6 | -4 |
| Carol | -3 | 0 | 5 | 2 |
| Bob | 8 | -1 | -7 | 0 |
| Dan | -1 | -1 | 5 | 3 |
Amanda, with a stellar round, along with Carol's sub-par round (for her) would result in a stunning come-from-behind victory and crowning as the HAF League Club Champion!
¶ General Rules for All Three Rounds
- Play ready golf. The USGA and R&A (golf's rulemaking bodies) encourage it for stroke play. Safety comes first, so use judgment when making a stroke to avoid potentially hurting someone. When you get to your ball, immediately begin assessing your lie, figuring out your distance, pulling your club, etc. Don't wait for everyone behind you to hit to get ready - be ready to hit when it is your turn. You may play out of turn if you are at your ball and ready as long as no player behind you is also ready to play. If you get ready to play but see another player in front of you already over their ball, in their stance with their club, let them go ahead and hit first. This also applies to the tee box - if the player with honors is taking a bathroom break or buying something from the beverage cart, everyone else should feel free to hit. Try to make sure someone is always playing unless it would mean hitting into a group in front.
- Pick up when reaching the max score set for the competition round. Each round has a maximum hole score as defined in the description of the competition for each day. Once a player reaches that score, the player will write that score for the hole and pick up their ball. For example, the max hole score is net double bogey, if a player is getting one handicap stroke on a par 3, they should pick up their ball once they make six strokes (3 for par plus 2 for double bogey plus 1 for handicap). The USGAs rule for arriving at a "most likely score" may be used in this case for writing down a score for the hole for handicap score posting purposes. Extending the example, if this player was six feet from the hole when picking up, they would take one additional stroke according to the "most likely score" rule and enter a 7 for the hole in GHIN.
- "Breakfast Ball" allowed on the first tee ONLY A player may choose to hit a second drive on the first hole of each round ONLY and play the better of the two drives.
- Putts "inside the leather" are considered holed for one additional stroke. If a player is on the green and the distance between their ball and the hole is less than the distance from the top of the putter head to the bottom of the grip, the player may pick up their ball and count the putt that would have been made as good. For example, a player on a par 4 hits their third shot within a foot of the hole. The player places their putter head inside the cup and lays the handle next to their ball. The ball is closer to the hole than the bottom of the putter grip. The player picks up their ball and adds a stroke for the assumed holed putt, writing down a 4 for their hole score. If it doesn't slow down play, players may attempt the putt anyway for practice but need not record any additional strokes if the putt is missed.
- Tee It Forward. Players that don't hit the ball as far others or that don't play very well (yet) will not play from the same tees as the longer hitters or lower handicappers in this tournament. For those interested in the rationale, the USGA has a whole marketing campaign on "Tee It Forward" with the aim of making golf more fun and less time consuming. Helping the more golf-challenged by playing closer to the hole should speed up play. The tees for each day of the competition were assigned by the outing coordinator based on the ability of each player measured by handicap index or their friends' opinion. The tees from which each player will play is given in the tee sheet for each day of the competition. If players have a different opinion on the selected tees they should take it up with the outing coordinator. Players that are not participating in daily competitions may play from any tees they choose but may want to consider the "Tee It Forward" initiative when doing so.
- The USGA's alternate role for a ball lost or out of bounds will be in effect. If one loses a ball or it goes out of bounds, the only relief option is to take a stroke and distance penalty, meaning losing the distance and dropping/teeing from the spot of the previous stroke while taking a one stroke penalty. The USGA introduced an alternative to speed play that allows a player to estimate where their ball was lost or went out of bounds, mark the nearest point on the edge of the fairway parallel to that spot and drop a ball within two club lengths of that spot no nearer the hole. A player incurs a two stroke penalty for doing so. More information may be found on the League main page.
¶ Tee Times and Pairings [Tees for competitions in square brackets]
¶ Friday - Red Hawk Ridge
12:30
Scott O'Hare
Curt Balcerzak
John Allen
¶ Saturday - Plum Creek
8:48
Scott O'Hare
Curt Balcerzak
John Allen
¶ Sunday - Arrowhead
9:30
Todd Hubbard
Vicki Hubbard
Travis Hubbard
Skip Jackson
9:40
Dante Kobek
Chris Lundhagen
Sam Martella
Marcus Fast
9:50
Scott O'Hare
Curt Balcerzak
John Allen
Patrick Calhoun
¶ 18Birdies Tournament Information
Tournament Code: See daily course information
Gallery Code: See daily course information
Our league uses 18Birdies to allow us to manage scores during and after a round. We can also communicate with one another before (to RSVP or ask questions), during (trash talk!) and after the round through the app, upload pictures of our outing and other good things. We can see an ongoing leaderboard of how our fellow members are doing. Oh, and just for keeping track of scores, it's free! We highly encourage it. If you're viewing this on an iOS device, click the icon above to download the app!
Use the Tournament Code in the Play section of the app to join the tournament and follow how your fellow golfers are doing on the course. Use the Gallery Code to watch from afar if you're interested. There will be different 18Birdies tournament and gallery codes for each day of the event. Check each day's course/competition info to find them.
¶ Attendance
Please validate your attendance and notify John Allen by text at (719) 337-6349 of any changes. We encourage bringing guests! If you would like to invite someone, please send John their cell phone number so he can communicate information with them and share this Web site with them for more information.
| Player | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
|---|---|---|---|
| John Allen | Y | Y | Y |
| Madeline Allen | N | N | N |
| Curt Balcerzak | Y | Y | Y |
| John Bachman | N | N | N |
| Mike Bull | N | N | N |
| Patrick Calhoun | N | N | Y |
| Tyler Carroll | N | N | N |
| Bruce Dakin | N | N | N |
| Marcus Fast | N | N | Y |
| Elisabeth Fast | N | N | N |
| Dawn Ferris | N | N | N |
| Sam Ferris | N | N | N |
| Rob Franco | N | N | N |
| Pete Friesen | N | N | N |
| Danny Gonzales | N | N | N |
| Kevin Heim | N | N | N |
| Todd Hubbard | N | N | Y |
| Travis Hubbard | N | N | Y |
| Vicki Hubbard | N | N | Y |
| Skip Jackson (Vicki's brother) | N | N | Y |
| Jim Kellum | N | N | N |
| Dante Kobek | N | N | Y |
| Mitch Leitner | N | N | N |
| Chris Lundhagen | N | N | Y |
| Jake Markus | N | N | N |
| Sam Martella | N | N | Y |
| Julia Martin | N | N | N |
| Will Martin | N | N | N |
| Ken Moon | N | N | N |
| Pom Moon | N | N | N |
| Scott O'Hare | Y | Y | Y |
| Jerry Ohu | N | N | N |
| Brad Pace | N | N | N |
| Mike Rothwell | N | N | N |
| Jacob Skorka | N | N | N |