¶ Notes
The Club Championship Weekend for 2024 was the best attended yet! A total of 17 folks played across one or more of the three days of competition. Four people competed for the Club Championship. Congratulations to Curt Balcerzak who successfully defended his title!
¶ Friday
The Friday competition was at Fox Hollow Golf Course. Click the logo above to visit their Web site and review current information if interested. The was the first time for the League at Fox Hollow. It was designed by Denis Griffiths, who has also designed other courses in Colorado (Homestead, Pole Creek) as well as across the USA, Thailand and Scotland (at the Fairmont Saint Andrews).
There are 27 holes at Fox Hollow. The group played the Links and Meadows nines. That particular routing is a good test of golf. Fairways are reasonably accomodating. Missing them is punitive. The Links course open to the wind in links style but features a good amount of elevation change. There is water on those nine holes but it isn't really in play. The Meadows is fairly flat but the course winds through trees and has quite a bit of water that IS in play. There a several significant doglegs throughout the course requiring players to choose to cut corners to try to go low (and maybe wind up in the punishing rough/native areas/water) or play shorter clubs to safety. The hole designs are interesting. There some very pretty views of the Front Range throughout.
The weather was hot the day the League played. Fortunately, there were water stations set up throughout the course as well as well-positioned comfort stations.
The practice facilities were good. There is a grass range (at least during the summer when the League played) that has approximately 20 hitting stations. Balls may be purchased at the range. There is a chipping area all the way on the other side of the clubhouse from the range. Once nice feature is that each nine has a putting green near the first hole so folks can dial in their green speeds right before teeing off.
The course would be walkable for those inclined to do so. It was designed to be accessible. However, the League was required to buy a package for $100 that included carts and range balls (list price, no markup or discount) and thus no one walked. The electric carts have GPS. The 90 degree rule was in effect when we played and seems to be preferred by the facility.
The restaurant in the clubhouse has a small-ish indoor seating area and a larger outdoor area. Beverage selection was a fairly typical assortment of beers and spirits. The food was very good - several League members commented on that. The 9th hole on all 3 courses passes by the parking lot. One has to drive all the way through the parking lot to GET to the clubhouse to get food, though, if it is wanted at the turn.
The League played a modified Stableford competition. Buy-in was $20. Nine of the eleven people that attended elected to participate. In this modified Stableford (a.k.a. Chicago), each player was given a quota of points to score of 39 minus the player's course handicap (course handicap of 20 means a quota of 19). Points were scored as follows:
| Score | Points |
|---|---|
| Ace/Albatross | 1000 |
| Eagle | 8 |
| Birdie | 4 |
| Par | 2 |
| Bogey | 1 |
| Double bogey | 0 |
| Triple bogey or more | -1 |
Chris Cortenez, joining our group for just the second time, ended up winning the competition. The remaining scores and awards may be found below in either Excel or PDF format. There was also a Longest Putt competition. It was the first time the League did the Longest Putt but the folks that joined the competition enjoyed it. Those results may be found in the same files.
Day 1 Scoresheet - Excel Format
Day 1 Scoresheet - PDF Format
The feedback from the group that played Fox Hollow was that they'd be happy to go back. The League didn't get to play the Canyon nine. It will be the priority for the next time the League decides to visit the course.
¶ Saturday
The second round of the Championship weekend was played on the Champsionship Course at Foothills Golf Course in Lakewood, CO. Click the link to visit their Web site to review current information about the course. As with Fox Hollow, this was the first time for the League at this course. The course was designed by Dick Phelps. He designed several courses up and down the Front Range that the league has played and really likes including Saddle Rocka and Cheyenne Shadows.
Unlike most of Phelps' designs in Colorado, though, Foothills is a fairly typical parkland-style course. There is a little bit of elevation change on the front 9 but for the most part the course is flat. It has mature trees lining the fairways and water on a few holes. Like most Phelps courses, though, there are some definite risk/reward challenges, especially on the par 5s. It's definitely possible to get in trouble and take some extra strokes playing out of position from behind trees or in long native grass so keeping the ball in the fairway is important. There is also environmentally sensitive area on several holes, especially on the back 9. The greens typically slope back to front. The course was in excellent condition. Greens rolled true and speeds were moderate. The fairways were in great shape.
Foothills is definitely walkable for those that would want to do so. None of our group did because the group had to book a rate that included a cart in order to book a group of our size. The course has older gas carts. The weather was hot the day the League played. Fortunately, there were water stations set up throughout the course as well as well-positioned comfort stations.
The practice facilities are okay at Foothills. There is a large putting green but it's crowded. There is a fairly large grass range and a small chipping area. The range and chipping area are fairly far away from the starter for the Championship Course, all the way on the other side of the parking lot. It is most of a five minute walk from the chipping area to the first tee. Plan extra time to get to the first tee after warming up.
The clubhouse at Foothills is brand new. It has a large pro shop with all the gear one would need including plenty of branded stuff. It has a spacious restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating and a large menu with very good food. Eight members of the group stayed to eat after the round and universally enjoyed the food they got. The restaurant also has a good selection of beer, wine and spirits. The clubhouse also has a snack bar right on the turn of the Championship course that has a good selection of grab and go items and drinks.
The daily competition was a Peoria with a $20 buy-in. Only half of the 12 people that attended elected to participate. Austin Shea won the competition by playing a great overall round. He shot a 73 which came out to 67 with his Peoria handicap. The spreadsheet can now be used to show a "what if" score to show how each player would have fared had they chosen to participate. Second and third would have come out differently. 
The final results for those that did playbelow in either Excel or PDF format. There was also a Closest to the Pin competition. Those results may be found in the same files.
Day 2 Scoresheet - Excel format
Day 2 Scoresheet - PDF format
The feedback from the group that played Foothills was that they'd play it again. It's above average for a muny and a Dick Phelps track.
¶ Sunday
The final day of the 2024 Club Championship weekend was played at Bear Creek Golf Club in Larkspur, CO. Click the logo to visit their Web site for current information about that club. The club hadn't played Bear Dance for three years. It's a favorite of many of the members of the club and this outing did nothing to dampen members' enthusiasm for it. We'll definitely play it again.
The club was was designed by four PGA professionals pros who worked together at a course that one of those pros designed in Arizona. To this day, it is the home of the Colorado Section of the PGA of America. It is still run by one of the four original pros.
Bear Dance winds through the forest just to the west of I-25 near Larkspur. It has a lot of elevation change and water on six holes. That written, many of the errant shots can be found and played because there is no out of bounds on the course except near homes. We were informed by a marshal that the Club has a standing local rule for balls hit into the trees that line every fairway and are unplayable or lost. They are played as if they were hit into a red penalty area. That rule came into play many times. The greens were very quick and the rough was long. It was a great test of golf for the last day of the Club Championship.
The League enjoyed the spectacular views of the Front Range and Roxborough Park on many of the holes, especially 12, 14 and 16. Because of all the elevation changes and the distance between many of the holes, the course doesn't allow walking. That was just as well because, aside from not being fun, the day was hot (although not as hot as the first two). The golf carts (included in the greens fees) have GPS and the true distance to the day's pins as well as showing the location of carts in front, something that comes in handy at Bear Dance that has its share of blind shots. For future reference, note that the course is non-smoking.
The practice facility is extensive, as you'd expect for a place designed by golf professionals. There's a large pro shop stocked with everything one could want. There's a very large driving range with range balls included in the greens fees, as well as a large pitching/chipping area and multiple practice greens. Folks were advised to hit some putts before the round to get used to not just the speed of the greens but their typical contours. That was great advice. There is a snack bar right across from the pro shop and right underneath the restaurant that is easily accessible on the turn. They have a nice selection of snacks, grab and go food and beverages.
The restaurant makes tasty food and has some upscale options compared to many courses the League plays. Unfortunately, the service was extremely slow. That might reasonably be expected late on a Sunday. Since that's when the League usually plays, it's something to keep in mind for the future. They have a decent selection of beer, wine and spirits.
The daily competition for Sunday was a stroke play competition. The buy-in was $20. Pom Moon edged out Austin Shea, shooting a net 75 to Austin's 76. Skins were also awarded. There were a total of 7 skins won, 3 by Austin. The full results may be found in the documents linked below, in Excel and PDF formats.
Day 3 Results - Excel format
Day 3 Results - PDF format
¶ Club Championship
The Club Championship was a stroke play tournament run concurrently with the daily competitions throughout the weekend. Curt Balcerzak, Scott O'Hare, Travis Hubbard and John Allen competed. Participants played golf by the book. Irrespective of the rules of the daily competitions, these players played every hole until they holed out, took appropriate penalties, etc.
On Friday, Curt finished up a stroke on Scott (+9 to +10) with Travis and John in striking distance (+11 and +16, respectively). By the end of the day Saturday, after fairly miserable rounds, Travis and John had taken themselves out of contention. However, after great rounds at Foothills, Curt (+1) and Scott (even par) were in a dead heat at +10 total. Curt separated himself fairly early on Sunday and rode that margin to the end to win his second consecutive Club Championship. Hail to the victor! The detailed results may be found in the linked documents below in Excel and PDF format.
2024 Club Championship Overall Results - Excel format
2024 Club Championship Overall Results - PDF format
¶ Errata/Outing Coordinator Incompetence
Finalizing of the results from each day's competitions identified a few mistakes that need to be corrected. Those affected have been sent their winnings.
Since Pete Friesen had elected not to participate in the Friday competition, Travis Hubbard should have been awarded the $16 3rd place prize rather than John's mistake of encouraging/accepting entry after the fact. That means Jacob Skorka won second place and an additional $16.
Since Scott O'Hare had elected not to participate in the Saturday competition, Mitch Leitner should have won second prize instead of third ($21 instead of $11) and Marcus Fast should have been awarded the $11 third prize.
When John realized he hadn't completely entered Mitch Leitner's scores, it turned out Mitch actually tied for 3rd in the Sunday stroke play and won $5.
Changes to the spreadsheets should ensure these kinds of mistakes don't happen in the future. Please accept the outing coordinator's humble apologies.