Road Trip Golf

This week I took a trip to Portland, Oregon, and was able to take advantage of the fantastic weather to slip in my first nine holes of the year (actually, my first 13 holes of the year) on Tuesday afternoon. My buddy Ralph and I teed off on the Great Blue Course, a Robert Trent Jones, Jr. layout at Heron Lakes in Portland.

Ralph chips one close.

The course is pretty wide open, with a lot of water, rolling hills and fast greens. There are not a lot of trees that come into play. It's a fun layout that is reasonably priced and with a very friendly staff. It's a pretty course, too, with the back nine featuring impressive (and gorgeous) views of Mount Hood 45 miles distant.

I shot a 51 on the front (mid season form!), striking my drives well and struggling a bit with my short game (mid season form!). Although I had to cut my round short due to dinner obligations, it was a lot of fun to get out. I would definitely recommend Heron Lakes to anybody playing in the Portland, OR area.

Mt. Hood looms.

Golf Course Links

Place holder for Golf Course Links

Record Book

Place holder for JMI Classic Record Book

JMI #4

Scarborough, Maine, 8/12/00.

The fourth installment of the historic Joe Merrill Invitational Golf Classic (JMI 2000) proved to be a record-shattering event. Under partly cloudy skies that defied the dire predictions of rain, a course softened by the wettest summer in recent memory yielded unprecedented low scores under some intense competition.

Team Higgins, a foursome of strapping young gentlemen appearing for the second time after failing to field a full squad the previous year, led the assault on the storied Willowdale Golf Course. Behind the steady play of Drew Turnbull and Dave, whose last name escapes me, the Higgins team fired a total of 153 under the best-two-balls-of-four format, shattering the tournament record by six strokes and besting the second-place finishers, Team Kwiatkowsky, by eight (also a tournament record). Brock Kwiatkowsky, the captain of the team bearing his name, realized that the core of his team needed some help if they hoped to contend. And help he did find in the person of Mark Hall, the first professional ever to enter this event. Mr. Hall shot a 74 to brake the long-standing tournament record, previously held by Drig Fournier, by one stroke and capture the coveted Cup bearing Fournier's name, symbolic of the low gross score for the tournament.

Led, as always, by the Brothers Matero, Team Matero, heretofore perennial runners up after capturing the inaugural event, followed with a 163, good for third place. Despite missing the crown once again, Tim Matero continued to fill out his golfing paraphernalia with a variety of JMI 2000 prizes, thanks to his long drive and closest-to-the-pin awards. Team Fournier led the second division teams, finishing fourth with a disappointing 169. The disappointing play of Drig Fournier, who struggled to an 87, cost the team any real chance to compete. Following in fifth place was Team Collins, a beefy crew indeed who came in at 172. Last place, alas, was left to Team Merrill, captained by Joe Merrill, the tournament's visionary, who once again failed to field a squad of effective ringers. As putt after putt failed to fall on hole after hole, the heroic struggle was lost, and the Merrill foursome staggered in at 173.

All in all it was a grand day of competition, as not only did the winning records fall, but the scores on the high end of the spectrum were also lower than ever. Evidence Team Merrill and the Sandbagger Award, captured by Dave Fournier at 116, the first time no player in the tournament exceeded 120.

Following are team and individual scores and awards:

Team Higgins (153):

Dave Marr (80); John Higgins (108); Bill Higgins (105); Drew Turnbull (77)

Team Kwiatkowsky (161): Earl Conrad (106); Colt Kwiatkowsky (102); Mark Hall (74); Brock Kwiatkowsky (98)

Team Matero (163): Scott Sancomb (112); Tim Matero (84); Dave Matero (86); Doug Austin (107)

Team Fournier (169): Dave Fournier (116); Don Fournier (93); Drig Fournier (87); Alan Lipman (106)

Team Collins (172): J.P. (110); Greg Collins (94); Russ (89); Frank Cushing (99)

Team Merrill (179): Joe Merrill (105); Rick Martel (100); Paul Fazio (103); Rich Stanley (91)

Individual Awards:
Long Drive, 2nd Hole: Drew Turnbull
Closest to the Pin, 7th Hole: Tim Matero
Long Drive, 10th Hole: Tim Matero
Closest to the Pin, 15th Hole: Greg Collins
Sandbagger: Dave Fournier
MVP (spread vs. teammates): Mark Hall, 24 strokes
Drig Fournier Cup (low score): Mark Hall

(Mark Hall, Tim Matero, Greg Collins, Drew Turnbull)

JMI #3

Scarborough, Maine, 7/24/99.

The third chapter in the storied history of this tournament started under cloudy skies which quickly turned to torrents of rain. Soon enough, the clouds cleared and under the sunny late afternoon skies was crowned a surprising new champion. Team PGL, a group of players from the Pioneer Plastics Golf League captained by Jake Turner followed the hot hand of Alan Ayer to a score of 167, 27 strokes over par.

Led by Ayer's 84, PGL used effective team play to eke out a one stroke victory in the closest Classic in history, one that also featured the largest field ever entered. Team PGL was followed at 168 by 1997 champs Team Matero and Team Fournier, led by Drig Fournier, who anchored the 1998 champion Team Merrill Squad. Teams Kwiatkowsky and Martel tied for fourth at 174, while the defending champions Team Merrill, minus their top player, fell to 179 and a sixth place finish. Team Mark, a rookie threesome, withdrew after nine holes due to the inclement weather.

The weather was the other big story of the day. Torrential downpours while most of the entries were playing the front nine slowed play and increased scores from the previous year's record-setting levels. After a brief delay, during which Team Mark withdrew, the players took to the back and were quickly met by clearing skies. Scores improved slightly as the day went along, save for the PGL team, which had made the turn at 80, a three stroke lead. Their score ballooned to 87 on the back, but in the end it was just enough to pull out the narrow victory.

Individual prizes were more evenly distributed than previously. Once again, a member of Team Matero won a long drive contest. Tim Matero edged out his brother David to take the award on the second hole. A mix-up on the 14th left no clear-cut winner, but after some debate the prize was awarded to Corey Martel, a member of Team Martel. Despite their sixth-place finish, Team Merrill swept the Closest to the Pin competitions, with Greg Collins claiming the seventh hole at 12' 10", and Brian Ketchum taking the 11th at 20' 6". Awards were presented to David Matero and Ann Martel for correctly guessing their final scores. The coveted Sandbagger award (highest round) was presented to Ann Martel for her record-setting 130. And for the first time ever an award was presented for the lowest score. The Drig Fournier Cup, named for the player who set the scoring standard in the previous two tournaments, was presented to Drig Fournier, who once again led the way with a 79.

Following are team and individual scores and awards:

Team Pioneer Golf League, 167:

Alan Ayer 84, Jake Turner 104, Suzann Milheron 104, Chuck Drinkwater 100

Team Matero, 168 (MC): Bill Higgins 105, David Matero 90, Scott Sancomb 113, Tim Matero 83

Team Fournier, 168: Dave Fournier 115, Drig Fournier 79, Alan Lipman 93

Team Martel, 174 (MC): Rick Martel 106, Ann Martel 130, Corey Martel 98, Ray Bennett 89

Team Kwiatkowsky, 174: Pat Hayes 92, Earl Conrad 102, Colt Kwiatkowsky 103, Brock Kwiatkowsky 94

Team Merrill 179: Steve Merrill 122, Joe Merrill 105, Brian Ketchum 90, Greg Collins 102

Team Mark (WD): Mark Goode, Mark Tibbets, Howie ???

Individual Awards:

Long Drive, 2nd Hole: Tim Matero

Closest to the Pin, 7th Hole: Greg Collins, 12' 10"

Closest to the Pin, 11th Hole: Brian Ketchum, 20' 6"

Long Drive, 14th Hole: Corey Martel

Sandbagger (high gross): Ann Martel, 130

Score Prediction: Ann Martel, 130; David Matero, 90

Long drive (unofficial), 18th Hole: Pat Hayes,

Drig Fournier Cup (low score): Drig Fournier, 79

JMI #2

Scarborough, Maine 8/22/98

Another chapter was added to the storied history of the Joe Merrill Invitational Classic under warm, sunny skies today. The tournament, which for two years has attracted some of the region’s top mediocre golfers, was captured for the first time ever, in record breaking fashion, by the event organizer and his team of ringers. Team Merrill, led by the consistent play of Drig Fournier, buoyed by the addition of low-handicapper Brian Ketchum, and highlighted by the dramatically improved performances of the Merrill brothers, won with a score of 159. The score shattered by fifteen strokes the previous tournament record, set last year by Team Matero. For its part, Team Matero bettered the old mark by ten strokes in finishing second at 164 under the best two of four balls scoring format.

Willowdale Golf Club was again the site of this historic event. Some of the logistical problems encountered the previous year were alleviated by the organizers in not scheduling the tournament on the same weekend as the Phish concert. As a result, the traffic snarls caused in 1997 by golf fans and rock fans vying for the same highway space were avoided and all entrants were able to make their tee times. The ideal conditions found on the golf course contributed to dramatically low scores, as only one team failed to beat last year’s winning score. This despite the two remaining teams, Team Higgins and Team Pioneer, being handicapped by the lack of a fourth player. Also of note were three players breaking 80, led by Drig Fournier’s 76, where Fournier was the only player to even break 90 in 1997. Given the unexpected competition, the event organizers are considering adding a low gross prize in 1999.

The individual awards were again dominated by the Merrill and Matero teams. Closest to the Pin prizes were awarded to Drig Fournier and Tim Matero, while Long Drive prizes went to David Matero and Joe Merrill. Accuracy proved to be of paramount importance on both driving holes, as both winning drives were greatly outdistanced by shots which failed to remain in the fairway and the truly long hitters went away empty-handed. The Sandbagger Award (high score) was handed by last year’s winner Steve Merrill to Doug Austin of the Matero squad. And as a new twist this year, all participants were asked to predict their finishing score. A prize was given to the golfer whose guess was most accurate (Brian Ketchum) as well as the golfer furthest below his predicted score (Scott Sancomb). Due to a clerical error, this award was not presented at the tournament. An additional award was presented to the golfer furthest above his predicted score (John Higgins).

Following are the team and individual results:


Team Merrill, 159: Brian Ketchum 93, Steve Merrill 109, Joe Merrill 93, Drig Fournier 76

Team Matero, 164: Doug Austin 122, David Matero 90, Tim Matero 79, Scott Sancomb 107

Team Higgins, 169: Drew Turnbull 77, Bill Higgins 101, John Higgins 120

Team Pioneer (178): Bill Ramirez 94; Rick Martel 96, Jake Turner 111

Individual Awards:

Drig Fournier Cup (low gross): Drig Fournier 76

Long Drive, 2nd Hole: David Matero

Closest to the Pin, 7th Hole: Drig Fournier

Closest to the Pin,11th Hole: Tim Matero

Long Drive: 14th Hole: Joe Merrill

Sandbagger (high gross): Doug Austin - 122

Closest to predicted score: Brian Ketchum 93 (Actual) 93 (Guess)

Furthest below predicted score: Scott Sancomb 107(A)/120(G)

Furthest above predicted score: John Higgins 120(A)/106 (G)

Long flight: Drew Turnbull (Arkansas to Maine)