Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner

By Greg Johnson, for The Mountain Times

Hello once again my dear readers. Welcome back to yet another addition of the only golf -related monthly article found in the greater Mt Hood area. For most of you, the golf season is coming to a close, and many of you will be swapping the clubs for a pair of skis or a trusty snowboard. That of course is assuming Mother Nature chooses to cooperate this year. While the bulk of you may be calling it a season, I know that there is still a group of die-hards who will never put the clubs away. I know, because I see the same familiar faces each and every winter, slogging through the dampness and the biting chill of the mountain air. It’s like a cult of sorts, a collective group of people with a like-minded sense of misery, in search of that euphoric payoff, which never seems to come. But we keep at it, delusions of grandeur in mind, and justify it by telling ourselves that it's good exercise.

With the season coming to an end, I’d like to take a moment to thank all of the golfers who participated in the Mt Hood golf club festivities, and to acknowledge all of the big winners from the year. It gives me great pleasure to write about the accomplishments of my peers and it has been an even greater pleasure playing with many of you and watching your games grow over the past year. Win or lose, it’s all about the comradery on the course and being around friends and neighbors whol share a common interest and an enjoyment of being outdoors. While my game seemed to have taken a step back this year, I know there are many folks who made great strides in their game, which is all around fantastic.  

There were several big winners on the ladies’ side, which they refer to as the Ace of Aces. This year’s top honors for the nine-hole crew went to the ever-amazing Joanne Stalsberg for low gross, while low net was won by the alluring Terri Erickson. The 18-hole Ace of Aces titles were bestowed upon the magnificent Lyn Miskowicz for low gross, and the low gross was captured by the demure Mary Thomson. I wish I had more space to add all the participants, but I have this pesky word count cap. Congrats ladies.  

On the men’s side, there were a few new names atop the leaderboard this year, which made for some exciting competition. Club champ in the Super Seniors division was eked out by the formidable David Kocer, and the mid-division was captured by stoic and steady Rick Asai. The big boy prize, men’s club champion, was won by the ever-deserving David Ater.  David was dialed in this year and has spent countless hours honing his craft, and I am happy to see that it paid off for him, as he has the heart of a champion and he now has a trophy to back it up.  

Sadly, I am quickly running out of space, so I guess I’ll have to bid you adieu. I thought that this may be the last submission for the season, but I have had such a fun time writing this, and I feel I still have more to share, so unless I am told otherwise, you will be seeing my byline again next month.  Until then, be safe, be smart, and repair your divots.