¶ 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 13 September and with questions, comments or concerns
¶ Summary
TL;DR
- The outing will be held at King's Deer Golf Club in Monument, Colorado
- There will be a barbeque immediately after the round at Curt and Laura Balcerzak's home - details are on this page
- Cost is $93 to ride
- Walking isn't allowed weekend mornings so all participants will need to ride
- Tee times are TBD - can't be made until 14 September
- Fees must be paid to the outing coordinator by the 13 September RSVP date
- Anyone that says they're coming but ends up unable to attend will get a refund if the outing coordinator is notified by the RSVP date.
¶ Course Information
The September 2025 HAF League outing will be played at King's Deer Golf Club in Monument, CO on 21 September 2025. Click on the logo if you'd like to visit their Web site.
Their address is:
19255 Royal Troon Dr.
Monument, CO 80132
Their phone number is 719.559.4500.
¶ Notes
The League has played King's Deer but it's been five years since the League visited during the COVID-19 pandemic. It's a prairie dunes-style course typical for eastern Colorado with lots of open spaces, lots of hills/mounds bordering the holes, few trees and little water. It has some very substantial and interesting elevation changes (like the 100' drop on the 10th hole). The holes are largely surrounded by native grass. The fairways are somewhat narrow. It makes for a good test of golf. A course flyover and scorecard are available on their Web site.
The course doesn't allow walking on weekend mornings to keep up pace of play. Accordingly, our group will be riding.
The practice facilities include a short driving range with about 15 hitting stations almost always hitting off mats. It does have a large practice green.
There is a nice restaurant/bar where we'll meet after the round to award the competition prize and folks can swap stories about their round.
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Green Fees | $93 |
| Riding Cart | included |
| Walking Cart | N/A |
| Club Rental | TBD |
| Range balls | TBD |
¶ Weather
¶ Competition Format
If we get enough participation, in honor of the Ryder Cup the following week that uses the format, we'll play a four-ball competition. As always participation is optional. For those that choose to play, the competition is between teams of two people. In four-ball, each player plays 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 winning team will take all of the money. The entry fee should be paid to the outing coordinator on arrival to the course.
Players will receive handicap strokes on each hole. For the four-ball competition, the team score will be the lower of the two hole scores after subtracting each player's handicap strokes. GHIN handicaps will be used if available. 18Birdies handicaps are also acceptable. If you want to participate and don't have one of those, contact the outing coordinator to arrange an alternative. Paper score sheets will be provided to each team when checking in. Fill in the actual number of strokes taken by each team member with a pencil. The numbers will be transferred to a spreadsheet used to calculate the results immediately after the round.
If we don't get enough players or enough interest for a four-ball competition, we'll do a regular stroke play compettion (low net score, total strokes - handicap strokes, wins). The remainder still applies ($10 entry, winner take all).
Rules in force for this competition are:
- Once one member of a team holes out, if the other team member cannot improve the team's score, the other team member can pick up their ball if they wish. It may be desirable to do this to maintain pace of play. In this case, for handicap scorekeeping purposes, the other team member may use the USGA's rule 3.3 for estimating their most likely score. See the USGA Web site for more information. For instance, if one member of a team getting zero strokes on a hole holes out in four strokes and the other member of the team getting 1 handicap stroke has already made their fifth stroke, the other team member may pick up their ball and estimate the number of strokes they'd have taken to complete the hole. The other team member would then write down this score and enter this estimated score in GHIN for handicap purposes.
- 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.
- 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. Players may feel free to play from any tees they like. For those in the daily competitions, the USGA playing handicap formula accounts for playing from different tees and grants different numbers of handicap strokes. Players in competitions must inform the outing coordinator of the tees they plan to play in advance and must play the same tees throughout each round.
- The USGA's alternate rule for a ball lost or out of bounds (Model Local Rule E-5) will be in effect. If one loses a ball or it goes out of bounds (on the other side of a boundary marked by white stakes or white paint), 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.
- Be safe around wild animals. Wild animals happen in Colorado. One relevant example happened at Arrowhead where the League played in August 2023. The rules of golf generally permit replacement of the ball on its original spot if the animals are gone or penalty area relief if they're still present. The HAF League amendment to this rule is to drop one club length from nearest spot where you feel safe from the animals no closer to the hole. Don't take unnecessary chances and use your best judgment to drop in a spot that doesn't give you an advantage.
- "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 Times and Pairings
10:00
Scott O'Hare
Kelly Banta
Jago Smith
Bryan Russell
10:10
Patrick Calhoun
Gabe Calhoun
Jonathan Holden
Pete Friesen
10:20
John Allen
¶ 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. Use the Gallery Code to watch from afar if you're interested.
¶ Attendance
Please validate your attendance and notify the outing coordinator, 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 | Golf | BBQ |
|---|---|---|
| John Allen | Y | Y |
| Curt Balcerzak | N | Y |
| John Bachman | N | N |
| Kelly Banta | Y | Y |
| Parker Beller | N | N |
| Mike Bull | N | N |
| Gabe Calhoun | Y | ? |
| Patrick Calhoun | Y | ? |
| Madeline Carroll | N | N |
| Tyler Carroll | N | N |
| Chris Cortinaz | N | N |
| Bruce Dakin | N | N |
| Marcus Fast | N | Y |
| Elisabeth Fast | N | N |
| Dawn Ferris | N | N |
| Sam Ferris | N | N |
| Rob Franco | N | N |
| Pete Friesen | Y | Y |
| Jason Gallen | N | N |
| Danny Gonzales | N | N |
| Jonathan Holden | Y | ? |
| Derek Hood | N | N |
| Todd Hubbard | N | N |
| Travis Hubbard | N | N |
| Vicki Hubbard | N | N |
| Jordan | N | N |
| Chris Kim | N | N |
| Dante Kobek | N | N |
| Mitch Leitner | N | N |
| Chris Lundhagen | N | N |
| Jake Markus | N | N |
| Sam Martella | N | N |
| Julia Martin | N | N |
| Will Martin | N | N |
| Jared McMahan | N | N |
| Ken Moon | N | N |
| Scott O'Hare | Y | Y |
| Jerry Ohu | N | N |
| Spencer Ohu | N | N |
| Brad Pace | N | N |
| Steven Pierce | N | N |
| Mike Rothwell | N | N |
| Bryan Russell (Scott's other buddy) | Y | Y |
| Austin Shea | N | N |
| Ryan Sagastume | N | N |
| Jacob Skorka | N | N |
| Jago Smith (Scott's buddy) | Y | Y |
¶ Annual League Barbeque Information
The annual League Barbeque will be held at the home of Curt and Laura Balcerzak in Black Forest. Their address is:
8310 Tannenbaum Road
Colorado Springs, CO
Those attending will head out to Curt and Laura's immedately following the awarding of the daily competition prize. Curt asks that everyone bring what they'd like to drink. All are also welcome to bring a side dish or a dessert but it is not necessary. Folks are welcome to bring their significant others and kids. When responding to the outing coordinator, please indicate how many people will be attending the barbeque.