Overnight rain and intermittent morning showers didn’t interrupt or slow play this past Thursday as four dozen LMGA members braved the elements and a threat of continuing storms. “It is what it is,” was the prevailing sentiment among those who showed up for the Magnolia course round. As it turned out, the few last-minute dropouts missed what ended up being a pretty good weather day for golf.
Two Flights teed off in a game of “One Plus,” and after 18 holes one Flight ended closely contested while the other ran away with the win. In first place for Flight 1, the team of Ron Thomas, Dave Johnson, Chuck Moore and Don Snyder carded 22 under par to edge out a foursome manned by Don’s brother, Greg, and his teammates Ken Ritz, Scott Happ and Gary Poleynard with 21 points. Third place honors in Flight 1 went to threesome Jeff Nibley, Rich Emmons and Dave Ryan with 17 under.
Flight 2 was a whole other story as the first-place foursome of Mike Allen, John Garone, Don McVay and Sam Story romped at 26 under par over Rick Cricenti, Alex Ingles, Dave Creasy and James Headley with 21 under. A distant third with 14 under was Greg Maloof, Bill Tomassini, Mike Morris and David Evans.
Despite a number of net birdies by contestants on stroke holes, only one—by Bob Gardner on Hole 1—survived the competition to earn a skin, while five net eagles by John Garone, Kevin Brandon, Mike Allen, Steve Krolikowski and Rick Cricenti managed to avoid competitor duplication to share the prize pool.
Membership Notes
Rick & Trish Tallon moved to The Landings in 2020, but he only recently became a LMGA member and is still sharpening his game as he looks forward to playing with the group. And although they were golf club members at home in Branson, Missouri, he rarely played before retirement. “My friends there only invited me to play for the entertainment, not for the competition,” he claims. “My work was my hobby.” Now that he has time for the game, he’s begun practicing in earnest. When asked what his most exciting golf memory was, he said he hadn’t yet played enough to recall one—other than when he recently hit one of the club pros with an errant shot during a lesson. “It was just a glancing blow,” he said in his defense, and the pro “didn’t seem to mind. I guess it’s a hazard of the game.”
Wednesday Night Scrambles
If you can’t make regular Thursday LMGA play days (or even if you can), everyone’s invited to join in the fun 9-hole scrambles that tee off every Wednesday at 6:00 p.m., weather permitting. For an all-inclusive $10 fee, cash prizes and complimentary beer & soft drinks are provided at the end of each round. Landings Club golf members not enrolled in LMGA are also invited to participate on a one-time trial basis. All players are required to sign up through the clubhouse on the day of play.