¶ 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 Allen at (719) 337-6349 to RSVP by 14 July and with questions, comments or concerns.
¶ Course Information
The location for the July 2024 HAF League monthly outing will be the Blue Course at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, CO. Click on the logo if you'd like to visit their Web site.
The course doesn't really have an address in a traditional sense. You can find it in any mapping software by looking up Eisenhower Golf Course. You can use the map below to find it, too.
Their phone number is (719) 333-2606 option 2, then option 2
¶ Notes
The Eisenhower Golf Course Blue Course was designed by legendary golf course architect Robert Trent Jones, Sr. It has large greens that generally slope back to front, long teeing grounds and fairway bunkers requiring 250-yard carries. Like other mountain courses, the Blue Course has fast greens with the dominant break and speed coming away from the mountains. It has no out-of-bounds and only a few small water hazards. Instead, it relies on tricky greens and steep slopes to make it challenging.
The facility has a good sized driving range and a putting green near the first hole. There is also a chipping area and practice bunker that are in weird place (between the left side of the driving range and the 10th fairway). They've got a restaurant with American staples and a spartan beer and spirits collection where we'll gather after the round to tally scores.
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Greens Fees | DOD Civilian (including retirees): $49 Civilian Family: $65 Civilian: $90 |
| Riding Cart | $18 |
| Push Cart | $12 |
| Club Rental | $50 |
| Range balls | $6 (small), $9 (medium), $12 (large) |
¶ Weather
¶ Competition Format
As always, folks are welcome to come along and play with the group without participating in the competition. For those that do want to participate, this month's competition is a four ball tournament. See here to learn more about four-ball tournaments. In summary, players will compete in teams of two. Each player will play their own ball. The best score among the two players on a team is recorded for each hole. The team with the lowest 18 hole score wins! There is $10 entry fee per player to compete in the tournament. The entry fee should be paid to the outing coordinator on arrival to the course. Cash is preferred but the electronic payment methods listed at the top of the page will work, too.
This competition will be handicapped. Each player will be given a number of strokes on each hole based on their ability as measured by a handicap index. The handicap index for each individual will be decided by the outing coordinator. This will be the individual's official USGA (GHIN) handicap if available and 18Birdies handicap if not available. If a player has neither of these the outing coordinator will work with the individual to figure out a fair index based on information the player has about their playing history. Because both players on a team have a chance to score for a team, per guidance on four ball handicaps from the USGA, each individual will get 85% of their course handicap (handicap index adjusted for tees played and course difficulty). Players may play solo if their cart mate chooses not to participate. Such players will receive 100% of their handicap index (since there is only one person to score for the "team"). The handicap for each player and the recommended tees are as follows. Please contact the outing coordinator to discuss if you want to change something (e.g. the tee from which you want to play). The yardages on which the tee choices are based may be found here. Players are free to play from any tee they choose - they just need to play from the same tee throughout and let the outing coordinator know which tee they played.
| Player | Handicap Index | Tee |
|---|---|---|
| Ken Moon | 7.3 | Green |
| Chris Cortenez | 5 | Blue |
| Jerry Ohu | 12.6 | Black |
| Rob Franco | 15.1 | Green |
| Mike Bull | 12 | Green |
| Curt Balcerzak | 14 | Green |
| Kelly Banta | 54 | Yellow |
| Scott O'Hare | 10.9 | Green |
| Will Martin | 30 | White |
| Steven Pierce | 25 | White |
| Derek Hood | 40 | Yellow |
| Marcus Fast | 36 | White |
| John Allen | 27 | White |
| Tyler Carroll | 32.5 | Yellow |
| Todd Hubbard | 37.7 | Yellow |
| Travis Hubbard | 26.4 | White |
Teams will be given a scoresheet by the outing coordinator when they pay their entry fee. There are spaces on the scoresheet for each player to write their gross score for each hole (the number of strokes they made to hole out) and their net score (the gross score minus the player's handicap strokes on that hole). Course handicap strokes are allocated to each hole from hardest (1 handicap hole) to easiest (18 handicap hole). For example, a player with a playing handicap of 5 would get one stroke each on the five hardest holes and a player with a 30 handicap would get two strokes each on the 12 hardest holes and one stroke each on the rest. Players won't have to calculate those numbers. The number of handicap strokes per hole are listed on the scoresheet. Players simply have to write their gross and net scores, then write the best net score on a hole as their team score. Again, team with the lowest 18 hole total for their team hole scores wins!
Three places will be awarded. In the event of ties, the payout will be split. The payouts, as a percentage of the total kitty, will be as follows:
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
|---|---|---|
| 60% | 30% | 10% |
¶ General Rules
Local rules in place for this competition are:
- Breakfast balls are allowed. On the first tee only, if a player doesn't like their first tee shot they may hit another one.
- 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.
- 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 as most others or higher handicappers 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 Colorado Golf Association just published a Q&A on why this is a good idea: https://www.coloradogolf.org/molly-i-want-to-move-up-a-tee/. Tees will be assigned for the competition by the outing coordinator and printed on the scorecards. Those not in the competition may play from any tees they like but are encouraged to follow the "Tee it Forward" guidance.
- Take advantage of a drop option for lost balls to speed up play. If you hit a ball, learn it went out of bounds or was lost and you didn't hit a provisional that is in play, you have another relief option. Rather than go back to the previous spot and hitting again with a one stroke penalty, you can take a drop in the fairway parallel to where you think the ball went out of bounds or was lost for a 2 stroke penalty. For amateur golfers like us this may be a better option. Advancing a ball from the kinds of places balls are usually lost in Colorado may take at least the one additional stroke. It also speeds up play to do this. More rationale on the rule may be found on the home page.
¶ Tee Times and Pairings
Pairings subject to change.
12:42
Ken Moon
Chris Cortenez
Jerry Ohu
Rob Franco
12:51
Mike Bull
Curt Balcerzak
Scott O'Hare
Kelly Banta
1:00
Will Martin
Steven Pierce
Derek Hood
Marcus Fast
1:09
John Allen
Tyler Carroll
Todd Hubbard
Travis Hubbard
¶ 18Birdies Tournament Information
Tournament Code: TBD
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. Follow/friend your favorite player in the app to get notifications of round start and end and to be able to follow their progress.
¶ Attendance
Please validate your attendance and notify the outing coordinator by text of any changes. We encourage bringing guests! If you would like to invite someone, please send the coordinator their cell phone number in order to communicate information with them and share this Web site with them for more information.
| Player | Golf |
|---|---|
| John Allen | Y |
| Madeline Allen | N |
| Curt Balcerzak | Y |
| John Bachman | N |
| Kelly Banta | Y |
| Mike Bull | Y |
| Patrick Calhoun | N |
| Tyler Carroll | Y |
| Chris Cortenez (Ken's friend) | Y |
| Bruce Dakin | N |
| Marcus Fast | Y |
| Elisabeth Fast | N |
| Dawn Ferris | N |
| Sam Ferris | N |
| Rob Franco | Y |
| Pete Friesen | N |
| Danny Gonzales | N |
| Kevin Heim | N |
| Derek Hood | Y |
| Todd Hubbard | Y |
| Travis Hubbard | Y |
| Vicki Hubbard | N |
| Jim Kellum | N |
| Dante Kobek | N |
| Mitch Leitner | N |
| Chris Lundhagen | N |
| Jake Markus | N |
| Sam Martella | N |
| Julia Martin | N |
| Will Martin | Y |
| Ken Moon | Y |
| Pom Moon | N |
| Scott O'Hare | Y |
| Jerry Ohu | Y |
| Brad Pace | N |
| Steven Pierce | Y |
| Mike Rothwell | N |
| Ryan Sagastume | N |
| Jacob Skorka | N |