By Rick Colvin
Member John Evans shot a stellar 78, including three birdies, to lead his team to victory in Flight 2 in the first LMGA tournament of the year, a team Stableford event on Oakridge Jan. 7.
Evans, a 14 handicapper, sank a long putt on the difficult No. 17 for his first birdie. His second came at No. 18, where he chipped in from 30 yards. His third birdie -- the team started on the back -- came on the short No. 8 par four. He drove into the left bunker, then pulled his second shot, winding up well below the green on the left. He wasn’t able to see his wedge shot roll across the green and into the hole, but he heard teammate Charlie Bradford shout “Boom shaka laka. Boom shaka laka” in celebration.
Evans and Bradford combined with Jay Carey and Peter Clarke to score 139 points. Evans himself scored 25 points on just the back nine, but he stressed that everybody on the team contributed. Kevin Brandon, Don Snyder, David Martin, and Ken Carlough took 2nd place with 128 points. Close behind with 127 points was the team of Pete Quinn, Steve Thomas, Kevin Olson, and Dick Higgins.
The Flight 1 winning team of Paul Lieberman, Jim Golz, Bob Hainly, and Alan Kane scored 138 points. John Higgins, Tom Stephens, Mike Towson, and Randy Gladden took 2nd place with 133 points. In 3rd was Warren Lewis, Paul Warhola, Ed O’Donnell, and Tony Marino with 130. Seventy-nine players competed.
Highlight Reel
Frank Schepis did something few golfers have ever experienced on hole No. 10. A drive that failed to fade gave him a 190-yard shot to the green. He said the contact on his drive felt strange, but not as strange as when he hit his second shot and the ball, a yellow Calloway soft, literally split in half, with one chunk going right and the other left…Paul Lieberman turned a sure seven into a birdie on the par 5 No. 15. After a poor drive, he topped his second and saw it stop literally one inch in front of the cross-fairway hazard. From there, he hit a hybrid to 15-feet and sank the putt.
Membership Notes
New member Tony Marino and his wife, Vicki, were about to buy a home in Bluffton, S.C. before visiting friends Cindy and Peter Altman at The Landings. “We fell in love with the community immediately,” Tony says. They’ve been splitting their time between The Landings and suburban Philadelphia, where Tony owned a sales rep agency. Two of his favorite courses are Merion Golf Club and Oakhill in Rochester, N.Y.
Paul “Ice Man” Patrick and his wife, Anne, bought a home in The Landings in 2016 and moved here full time from Charlotte, N.C. in 2018. The nickname has nothing to do with his steely nerves on the course and he's never been a fighter pilot. He and his family once owned an ice business in Connecticut and the name stuck. Paul is still working as a sales executive with a software company but plans to retire in June 2022. His favorite golfing experience was at the heavily-bunkered and scenic River Club just north of Atlanta, where he and Anne were members for 10 years.
Retired cardiologist Ken May and his wife, Karen, whom he describes as the “truly good” golfer in the family, bought a home in The Landings in 2012 but spent most of their time in Harrisburg, PA. until his retirement. He joined the LMGA three years ago to support the organization but played Jan. 7 for only the second time. His favorite course is Pebble Beach but says he is “constantly amazed” by the six courses we enjoy here.
Tim McDermott and his wife, Marilyn, have lived in The Landings part time since April 2019. Until his recent retirement, they spent most of their time in Syracuse, N.Y., where he was in the IT business. He says he joined LMGA because they plan to spend more time here. He, too, says Pebble Beach is his favorite course.