Ocean City Amateur Golf Association

(picture: Paul Ruth listens in on Lazarchick telling Shaw the secrets of Emerald Links while reminding Scotty of his duty to “fly” the Polish Falcon. In foreground, David Hamm visualizing a strong finish on 18. In background, Art & Don, just trying to remember.)

DATELINE JUNE 2, 2013:  Scotty Shaw owns Emerald Links once again! Last year was disappointing, but nobody could complete with Lazarchick’s 77.  The year before however, Scotty Shaw delivered his own 78 to take the tournament. This year Scotty was back on target winning by placing an 80 on the Scorecard! The front nine, in howling wind, slapped him with four bogeys and a double. Four pars however, gave him a nice 43 after nine.   The back was a piece of cake, 2 bogeys, one birdie and a bunch of pars translated into a one over, 37. Sweet! The Polish American Tavern was jubilant toasting his rise to second place in the overall points, helped with another 3 points for CTP on #9.

Tommy Hunt delivered his own round of  pleasure. He fought the wind on the front nine, collected a lot of bogeys, but avoided any big numbers. The back was friendlier. He chipped in a Birdie on #11 , collected three pars thereafter and only a tough triple bogey on 17 kept him out of the winner’s circle. A net 68 was good enough for 2^nd.  Hunt’s Stock jumped dramatically, the second biggest one day gain since President Reagan declared ketchup a vegetable.

Pictured: Hunt on route to a 7 on # 10, one hole before his Birdie!

David Hamm, enjoying his higher handicap, played well on the back after fighting through a tough 51 on the front. He had 5 pars and a Birdie on 14, missing an eagle putt that stopped 2 inches short of the center of the cup. Yes, he clocked a monster drive and beautiful fairway wood to less than twenty feet from the cup. Hole 18 was a heart breaker. A beautiful drive, followed by a short iron left him with a four footer. He slid past the cup missing the Bird, but was good enough for 3^rd place overall. The highlight of his round for onlookers, was the lovely Emily (where is her picture Jack?), who carded David when he ordered a beer, smiling and flirting through the whole process. Hamm’s Beer lodged an official protest when they discovered she was not carrying their brand on the cart.

Jack Haines, Official OCAGA News Blog Photographer, showed off on his home course. He collected three pars and a Birdie on the tough 14^th hole. He was extremely pleased with his game & Haines Berry Farm suspended picking to watch the final holes. He took 4^th place.

Marc Bohan delivered the low gross score of the day (78), with deliberate, meticulous, precision. On the front he finished one under par, with one bogey & two birdies surrounding pars. The back presented more of a challenge with triples on both 11 and 18 preventing  a really low score. Purportedly Bohan Advertising is erecting a 15 foot statue of Marc at their Nashville entrance.

Art Czachorowski, Charlie Ranucci, Andy Swanson, Mike Unger & Andy Swanson rounded out the top ten.

After his meal, the Godfather was drinking Strega, pleased with the point leaders at mid-season on the OCAGA Tour. He hated hearing the revelry emanating from the Polish American Tavern as the  Emerald Links tournament unfolded,  but he was confident this is Big Charlie’s Season regardless of who gets in the final four. At the Italian Bistro, he upped the betting odds for those believing that father and son Hamm would both hold on to their spots.     Pictured: Facing off Andy Swanson before the tournament. When it was over, Big Charlie was once again, a “Giant Killer.”

TOP TEN WITH FOUR TO GO                           

77           Ranucci, Charlie

69           Shaw, Scott

65           Hamm, Glenn

57           Hamm, David

53           Bohan, Marc

53           Swanson, Andy

52           Haines, Jack

52           Czachorowski, A

51           Spickler, J

47           Stocker, Phil

SCATMAN

  Picture: Don loves to collect those bucks!

Don St George continues to collect multiple SCATS in the Handicapped group. He adds two along with Glenn & David Hamm. Marc Bohan took the lion’s share in Scratch with 5 SCATS.

next:    GOLDEN PHEASANT  –   JULY 14th

Post Script:   Not just a pretty face, the Girl Scouts swooned when the colored coordinated  Phil, dressed by his wife, strutted his stuff. Pictured below is their latest trading card!

Pretty Boy

Pre

Photo:  President Shaw watched the Starter to ensure top Customer Service. Buechner is unable to extract SCAT money from Eddie Borillo. Jeff Spickler whispers, “You cannot win if you don’t get in!”

The early season OCAGA Tour continued to present challenges for many of the players. Not quite as chilly, not quite as windy, with Greens not quite as bumpy, the Vineyards still prevented over half from breaking 100.  Current Champion Glenn Hamm was not one of those individuals. A few errant drives were followed by beautiful saving second shots and only the tough 6^th hole caused any real damage as Glenn collected a snowman! Otherwise, three front pars helped secure a front 45. Shifting to championship form, the back presented far less challenge. Two Birdies and two pars highlighted a Scorecard marred only by one double bogey. With a net 85 Glenn Hamm won the tournament sending Hamm’s Beer stock skyrocketing!

Photo: Phil Stocker teaching Andy Swanson how to scientifically organize a Golf Bag to eliminate frustrations during golf play. Both played well!

    Phil Stocker sent some laser shots down the fairways and seemed to be working a little harder than his normal to get up around the greens.  Overall however, the two time Club Champion delivered a really steady outing. He avoided any big numbers much because his Texas Wedge was red hot.   Dropping 3 for par and many for bogey, Phil took second place with a sweet 90 for the day.

Don St George looks fantastic after his year on the disabled list. Many questioned if he would be able to return to competition. Not at St George’s Pub where the revelry was electric, especially when Don sent a dart closest to the pin on # 5.   Don sunk six for par, delivering a stunning round, taking third place on the day.  The wily St George grabbed three SCATS for a nice payday!

Jeff Spickler  was not happy with the 9 he took on #6. What he did not know was the field played the hole a whopping  46 strokes over par! Indeed,  Andy Swanson was the only player to par the hole collecting the elusive par SCAT! Jeff did birdie # 3 but unfortunately so did both Grandpa and Grandson Czachorowski (no SCAT). In an exclusive interview with the OCAGA Investigative reported, Jeff lamented his frustrations, unable to Spickler  Closest to the Pin. “How can we call it CTP when I was actually closer than the winners but on the fringe?”  Jeff did add 3 pars to his Birdie and played well enough to capture fourth place. Meanwhile Andy who played the first 4 holes at 9 over par, delivered a hot back nine. With a total of 6 pars he took 5^th place.

Jack Haines, Tom Hunt, Ed Borillo, Paul Ruth and Charlie Ranucci rounded out the top ten.

Top 11 after Three

SCATS:   Glenn Hamm, Don St George and Scotty Shaw each took 3 Handicapped SCATS for $36 total. Glenn and Scotty Shaw took the meager Scratch pool at $11.50 each.  Hamm and Shaw are now tied for the Handicap SCATMAN of the Year race. Glenn has a strong lead in the Scratch SCATMAN.

Next June 2nd    EMERALD LINKS

   Brigantine  showed the ware and tear of Hurricane Sandy,  the deadliest and most destructive hurricane of the 2012 Atlantic Coast Season.  In places the greens were far from what is normally experienced and the sparse fairways displayed considerable patches of dry mud. Well below normal spring temperatures, gusty wind further cooled the already chilly day.

The OCAGA Blog photographer showed the disturbing aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. That is a boat between those houses in the background and far less than a lush fairway.

Marc Bohan was not happy with his game. He failed to sink any of his birdie attempts, settling for 9 pars, placing a gross 83 on the Scorecard.  While Marc suffered with minor irritation, nearly half the field could not break 100. Dispelling the notion that his low handicap prevents him winning, Marc took the second tournament of year.  The first four all finished with net 74, positions separated only by handicap.

The Godfather was still lamenting the tragic loss of Little Tony Sickler. Tony was clearly the favorite on the path to the championship title, when his heart gave out late last season, opening the door for Glenn Hamm to get in to the final four and end up taking the title. Sipping a glass of Amaro Montenegro  and watching the golf tournament on his private satellite feed, a smile broke the lamentation. Big Charlie was delivering . A slow start, only 1 par, frustrated Charlie during a tough front nine 47. The back however, was a different story. Three more pars and no sixes totaling 42, gave Charlie second place with a gross 89. After winning the first tournament and dropping closest to the pin this day on 7, for three additional points, Charlie Ranucci holds a 15 point lead over second place Bohan!

Mike Unger with a booming drive, followed by a nicely executed fairway metal, opened with a Birdie on 1. He thought just maybe this will be my day.  Avoiding those nagging big score holes on the front, he delivered a sweet 45 and with his handicap enjoyed a big lead over Marc Bohan. The back was chillier, but he held the lead until Marc finally tied him on 16. He battled Bohan even over the last two holes and secured third place.

David Hamm was licking his chops.  His handicap had finally climbed back up to a reasonable number (24) and the belief that maybe now he could actually have a shot at winning a tournament.  After one miraculous finish early in his OCAGA tour career his handicap dropped down below his father, 12 to open the 2010 season.  A raggedy finish last season however, placed him in position to challenge Bohan this year until the end. After dropping 5 strokes on 15 and 16 to one behind, David came back to tie Marc on 17 and played 18 even, placing overall 4^th for the day.

The Polish American Tavern in beautiful downtown Pittsburgh was filled with early season revelry. The celebration last season when Mike Lazarchick finally broke through to win a championship, the Emerald Links Monday Night League. The Tavern placed his picture in the elaborate shrine featuring young Stud Scotty Shawlinski, the OCAGA 2011 Champion and living legend Art Czachorowski, 5 Time OCAGA Champion.  Now in 2013, the early Chant is Artski Sixski!  Czak was steady, played pretty much bogey golf, with 3 pars that easily could have been Birdie. When his putting stroke gets to mid season greens, watch out, so say the true believers. Art finished 5^th, just two strokes off the pace.

Rounding out the top ten were Glenn Hamm, Jeff Spickler, Ed Borillo, Jack Haines and Mike Lazarchick.

TOP TEN AFTER TWO

51           Ranucci
36           Bohan
32           Hamm, G
31           Czachorowski,A
29           Shaw
28           Unger
28           Hamm, D
28           Borillo
27           Spickler
26           Beuchner

SCATS      Ranucci and Swanson each had two in the Handicapped SCATS.  In the Scratch SCATS  Bohan and Ranucci each had three.

NEXT THE VINEYARDS       MAY  5TH

Opening Day was not quite as bad as most in recent years, but it was chilly and windy. The greens were far from perfect just having undergone early season renewal, filed with those tiny holes. Charlie Ranucci was not happy with his game. He started with 6 straight fives (one was a par), followed by a six and a seven and finally a four on the par 3 ninth for a whopping 47! On the back his game clicked in. He dropped 4 for par, 1 for a double and the rest were bogey. The 42 gave him a Gross 89. What he did not know walking off the course,  no one else would break 90 on the day! Charlie Ranucci won the Sand Barrens with a net 74.

Josh Czachorowski rolled in at the last possible minute. It was his first tournament at the Barrens. The front was challenging as he managed only to par the par threes while also collecting 3 sevens and and eight. On the back however, he was on fire, dropping five for par and finishing 18 with a Birdie. Placing a gross 40 on the Scorecard, he delivered the best 9 holes of the day and took second place.

John Beuchner delivered some beautiful drives looking more like mid season than early spring. On a day with over half the field not able to break 100, his play was good enough to finish 3rd.

Scotty Shaw delivered some beautiful drives and captured the second low gross score with a 90. He suffered through the tough greens, as did the rest of the field, taking 4th place.

Current Club Champion Glenn Hamm blasted drives way down the fairway, perhaps sending a message that he plans to defend his title. On the fifth hole, par 3, he dropped the ball 3 feet from the hole for an easy Birdie. His net 78 was good enough for 5th place.

Ed Borillo, Art Czachorowski, Andy Swanson, Don St George and Mike Lazarchick rounded out the Top Ten. Eddie Borillo made “A Faint Glimmer of Hope” into a Championship during the 2002 season. Art Czachorowski won his fifth Championship in 2010. Andy Swanson was on his Home Course experiencing moments of brilliance. Don St George was returning to the league and looking fairly healthy after a tough year on injured reserve.  Mike Lazarchick, with a record holding five second place finishes in the finals, missed 5 drives off the tee, really bad. He managed to avoid a really big score with precision chipping and nice saving putts.

SCATS were up for Grabs. Glenn Hamm was the big winner on the day earning $71.25.

Next Tournament Brigantine on April 21st.