Ocean City Amateur Golf Association

Did you ever have one of those days on the golf course where your confidence took control of the game?  Drives are in the fairways, minor mistakes are erased with superb recovery shots and the putts begin to drop from all distances with increasing regularity.  Your putter is so hot the heat touches your face as you place it back in the bag!!!  You know, days when golf is oh, so very much fun! When you are done, you are reveling in blissful accomplishment. You want to tell people about the magic and almost immediately thoughts about getting back out on the course are creeping into your mind.  Phil Stocker cut 33 strokes from his last tour event, to win Avalon by placing the low gross score of the day,  82,  onto the Scorecard.  Avalon was a clear vindication for the aggressive move instituted by the Shaw administration of offering  a shorter course to the  eldest on the tour or those carrying a heavy handicap.  The Gold tees were over 600 yards shorter than the White.  From the Polish American Tavern and Irish Pub to Norwegian Cruise Line, Shaw is now being heralded as the greatest President in OCAGA History.  No longer are we hearing complaints about not being able to hit long enough drives. When a player is competitive and scores well, the game is really a lot of fun.

Rob Juliano delivered an 83 as did Art Czachorowski.  Art has stated publicly he will not be going back to the white tees.  Shooting his age is now a real possibility. Juliano, still very much in his prime,  gets very accurate when he does not have to take his driver out of the bag and his distance with lessor, easier to hit clubs, made the track a cake walk for him, from the white tees.  Ron finished the Regular Season as the High Point winner 145, edging out current league Champion Scotty Shaw.  Marc Bohan was on his way to his second straight sub 80 round,  repeatedly opting for a lessor club on one of the shortest courses on the tour, when a fall by Mia took him out of the tournament to care for skinned and bruised knees.

Art Czachorowski was lamenting after the tournament that the one he missed cost him a trip to the final four.  He captured the closest to the pin 3 points and caught up to John Buechner  for a regular season,  fifth place tie, just five points behind the Doctor. Yes, LZ held on to the fourth spot in the finals thanks to Phil, Rob, OB, and Don St George finishing ahead of Art Czachorowski , who finished ahead of Ed Borillo, who finished ahead of John Buechner.  LZ was just good enough to squeak into 8^th place after John.  Both John and Art needed the points of first, second or third place.

FINAL  FOUR

145         Juliano, Rob

144         Shaw, Scotty

138         Bohan, Marc

126         Lazarchick, Mike

FINAL POINTS FOR THE REST OF THE TOUR

121         Czachorowski, Art

121         Buechner, John

117         Ranucci, Charles

111         St George

93           Stocker, Phil

81           O’Brien, Mike

80           Hamm, Glenn

65           Borillo, Ed

54           Reed, Roger

51           Swanson, Andy

49           Hunt, Tom

44           Fowler, Chris

43           Chabotar, Glen

9              Marc Pagano

SCATS

SCATMAN OF THE YEAR WAS CHARLIE RANUCCI WITH TOTAL WINNINGS OF    $212.13  ON THE SEASON

• Handicap Scatman of the Year was Charlie Ranucci garnering a total of $146 for the season.
• Scratch Scatman of the Year was Marc Bohan garnering $112.90 during the season.

Championship   and  Hanko Memorial Tournament

GREATE BAY      OCTOBER 2^ND    10:30 AM

Marc Bohan was indeed poetry in motion at Running  Deer.  The gallery was aflutter with “oohs and aahs,” watching fluid, effortless swings send the ball gracefully and ever so accurately to the greens. It was as if the opening double was a clarion call to excellence. Marc parred 2,  then birdies 3,  before a bogey on 4 drew out a slight grimace. A birdie on 5 elicited a smile, but was offset by a bogie on 6. The Doctor took the early lead and Andy Swanson was putting on a show of his own ( the girl scouts screamed double entendre because they think Andy is sexy when he putts). Andy placed two birdies on the Scorecard. Big Charlie was staging a comeback after a shaky start. Undaunted, Marc expanded his putting finesse. Par, Par, Birdie to finish the front,  left would be challengers in the dust. One over par for 9 was his best on the tour this year.  The battle was destined to be be for second place.

Andy Swanson 42 was two better than Scotty Shaw at the turn without looking at handicap. More surprising however was John Buechner’s  46, just two beyond Shaw in raw score and in firm control of the lead.  Meanwhile at the Polish American Tavern, Stanislaw and  Kazimierz started a “brew ha ha”  when they noticed Mia Bohan had a device that looked like a laptop and suggested it was giving Marc an unfair advantage.  Burps ended speculation on electrical waves being sent to his clubs and needed beer refills interrupted their fairly weak focus of attention.

The top five finishers were Bohan, Buechner, Swanson and Shaw followed by Tom Hunt. The doctor was focused on beating Big Charlie and Art Czachorowski to hold on to fourth place, which he did.  However, John Buechner leapfrogged the pack and now is only 6 points out of fourth place.  Depending upon how many show for the finale at Avelon  , the final spot appears to be still be in play.

Top Ten With One to Go

• 136         Shaw, Scott
• 131         Bohan, Mark
• 122         Juliano, Rob
• *****   Below the battle for 4th
• 113         Lazarchick, Mike
• 107         Beuchner, John
• 105         Ranucci, Charles
• 101         Czachorowski, Art
• *****   Below,  mathematically eliminated
• 92           St George, Don
• 80           Hamm, Glen
• 68           Stocker, Phil

Shaw, Bohan and Juliano are most certainly in the final four, especially if they  show up for Avalon. Buechner, Ranucci and Czachorowski are all within striking range if they can deliver a top finish while the others  in contention do not play as well. Lazarchick finished 6^th at Running Deer, 10 points behind second place John Buechner!

Last season Lazarchick played his worst game on the tour in recent memory allowing Scotty Shaw to catch him and take away fourth place, at Avelon May 1015

AVELON    SEPTEMBER  25^th    Tee Time  8:30 am

Bruno did not quite understand what was happening but he knew it was no ordinary day. The Godfather had asked for the D’ Amalfi Limoncello Supreme, the gift he received from the Pope. No, not Frances or the German or the  Polish guy, Albino Luciani, the last Italian Pope. He  faintly remembered that the Godfather liked the smiling Pope and conducted an extensive, yet inconclusive private investigation when John Paul the 1^st lasted only 33 days as Pontiff.   As the golf tournament came to a close the godfather told Bruno to send the diamond studded  empty bottle with white roses in it to supermodel,  Monica Bellucci. Okay thought Bruno, this is obviously a special day for the Italians.

Big Charlie beat Marc Bohan by 4 strokes and Scotty Shaw by 6  on the Scorecard, while  Rob Juliano slammed the door in Lazarchick’s

Big Charlie Towers Over Carts

face. Buena Vista traditionally calls for the best to strut their stuff. The greens are never fast enough and the rough is tough and always too close to the greens. Only Charlie, Marc and Scotty broke 90 and Rob’s 91 was fourth low gross.  As he watched Charlie’s swing and control on the course, the Godfather asked for the Limoncello.   He told Bruno he was already pleased with Rob’s decision to keep the driver in the bag.  At Buena, the driving iron was obviously plenty of club for this young Italian and better control meant low scoring. He felt confident that Juliano was going to be in the final four.    And Big Charlie was making a statement.   Charlie cleaned up playing both SCATS, while Rob collected a bundle in Scratch.

Bruno was not able to grasp the meaning of all the numbers. At the turn Glenn Hamm was in the low gross lead with a 40, followed by Bohan’s 42, Charlie’s 43, Lazarchick’s 44 and Juliano’s 45. Glenn started the back with double snowmen and would not recover.  Marc would make a charge,  but could not close the gap enough. Scotty was only able to beat Charlie’s gross score by taking him by two strokes on 18. Rob ( 7 on both 15 & 18) and the Doctor (snowman on 10 & 7 on 16) fell into a battle for 4^th place. Charlie won Buena Vista with relative ease. An unlucky 7 on 18 made it look closer than it really was.  Big Charlie has clawed his way into a tie for 5^th place with two to go!

Top Ten with 2 to GO

117         Shaw, Scott

113         Juliano, Rob

106         Bohan, Mark

98           Lazarchick, Mike

91           Ranucci, Charles

91           Czachorowski, Art

84           Beuchner, John

77           St George, Don

69           Hamm, Glen

61           Stocker, Phil

The Italian Bistro became very quiet as the Godfather gave his assessment of the tour thus far. With the season winding down, it is likely that the top three will make the final four.  Shaw and Juliano appear to be too far ahead of 5^th place to be caught, especially with the low turnout the league has experienced this year. Last place at Buena, still garnered 9 points.  VEGAS  he said, predicts Marc Bohan making the finals. If he shows, it is unlikely that he will be challenged by those below.  As always, it is fourth place that needs to be decided.   5 Time OCAGA Champion, Art Czachorowski  is always a threat,  already the oldest ever  to win the OCAGA Title.  Clearly however, it is Charlie Ranucci who is moving in the right direction and is likely to finish very near the top while the Doctor may falter.  Beuchner, St George, Hamm or Stocker need to Win and probably take closest to the pin for points to have any chance of contending.

Meanwhile down the street outside of the Polish American Tavern there was an open protest by disgruntled  fans. It was not known at press time whether or not the president received a formal request demanding he explain why so many tour players are not making tournaments?  What happened to young Roger Read, fast becoming a fan favorite, now mysteriously not showing?  Why is Tommy Hunt globe trotting?  Scheduler Art Czachorowski made a public statement a month ago on the subject stating that the schedule is set well in advance of the season giving the players plenty of time to schedule around tournaments. However, Art missed Buena and according to the Buena Staff he never called to confirm and did not send a deposit.  Scurrilous verbiage and Polish Jokes abounded in the street.  Even though there was room and the tour played, the attack towards President Shaw was relentless. Foul language spewing from their mouths, they claimed he was the problem because  every person in his administration other than himself, has missed a tournament this season.  Shaw was adamant with full faith for his administration stating they are the best money can buy!

Next:   RUNNING DEER      Certainly everyone will show for this new addition to the tour!

Hobbling down the side of even a small hill and clearly no longer having the strength before his unexpected heart surgery not all that long ago, two time OCAGA Tour Champion and 2012 Emerald Links Monday Night League Champion, Phil Stocker is as gritty as they come. Few are as hard on their self or talk to themselves on the course as he does. You know when his frustration is reaching fever pitch  when you hear, `“Philip Roy what are you doing?” It was Phil on a Myrtle Beach Trip who championed the idea of moving up to the senior tees. He argued then that golf is about having fun and we really are not what we once were from the middle tees.  He has fully won over Mike O’Obrien and Art Czachorowski. They both say they are never moving back and really enjoy how competitive they are once again, playing from Gold. Scotty Shaw’s presidential approval rating shot through the roof when the league approved his multiple tee play idea during competition. Stocker fans of course are quick to comment on you know “who” really deserves a Debt of gratitude.

The OCAGA News Blog Reporter attempted to get comments from President Shaw on several occasions concerning his approval rating , including direct questions on whether or not he felt Phil Stocker had helped in improving his image.  Shaw was apparently speechless, unable to say  any words about Phil.

Muffled sounds as if his mouth was full.

Always Humble Phil accepts praise on his apparent victory in Bar after the tournament.

Meanwhile, Phil Stocker was amazing winning Golden Pheasant by 6 strokes over low gross player Scotty Shaw. The greens were slow and the rough was high, clearly a result of no maintenance because of so much rain just prior to the tournament.  Only the lowest two handicappers, Shaw (83) and Hamm (88) were able to break 90. Lazarchick who finished 1^st, and then 2^nd twice the past three years, finished 3^rd this year matching Phil’s gross score of 90. Stocker placed 4 pars on the Scorecard and had one of the strongest finishes to secure the win. He lost no ball that day and avoided a meltdown hole.  The OCAGA News is investigating whether or not Norwegian Cruise Lines actually has a purported “Phil Stocker Putting Green” on their Caribbean Cruises.

After winning last month, John Buechner remains in the hunt finishing 4^th, also pleased with the opportunity to play from the senior tees. Both he and Phil have found success with a slowed down swing, no longer feeling as if they have to kill the ball to remain in competition. Glenn Hamm after a blazing front 9, fell off the pace on the back and despite 2 Birdies could only finish in  5^th place.

Shot of the Day

Getting on the hill was no easy task but Don  made it happen. Considered by some to be somewhat of a showoff, Don St George not quite over the hill, hit the ball on the hill, climbed the hill using his club as a walking stick, and  caught the attention of the gallery by taking the shot from the hill,  onto the green.

TOP TEN AT THE HALFWAY POINT

96           Shaw, Scott
91           Juliano, Rob
91           Czachorowski, Art
83           Bohan, Marc
81           Lazarchick, Mike
73           Beuchner, John
66           Ranucci, Charles
65           St George, Don
56           Hamm, Glen
51           Stocker, Phil

Apparently last minute child care problems kept Marc Bohan out of the tournament and he dropped out of first place. Shaw jumped to the top spot and a second low turnout for tournaments kept Juliano and Czachorowski up high in the race for the final four.  Lazarchick, after missing Pinelands, stayed in 5^th overall, a little closer to the top and farther away from pack behind.

Scotty Saw pushed out the wheelbarrow collecting Big Bucks in the SCATS Competition.

NEXT  BUENA  VISTA    AUGUST 7^TH   @   11

John Buechner was superb at Pinelands, not shanking even one drive. Playing from the Gold Tees was just what the doctor ordered, allowing a smooth, slow swing and the needed perfection.  The gallery was amazed as John dominated the very hot Rob Juliano by 4 strokes on the Scorecard.  Pinelands fairways were in remarkably good shape, however the greens, as expected,  were still on the slow side. The course is tight and quickly penalizes errant shots.  John purportedly has been practicing Tai Chi and Qi gong movements to improve his form and concentration. Clearly the practice paid off.  Stock in Buechner  Incorporated, the jewelry giant, skyrocketed, steady growing faster as the tournament neared completion! John clearly is now in contention for the final four.

The Godfather was sipping Limoncino, sent from his close friend Sandro Bottega in Italy. Rob Juliano who was blazing hot winning Ocean Acres, continued to smolder at Pinelands.  Rob tied Marc Bohan for low gross on the day (85). Rounds of free drinks were flowing at the Italian Bistro. Bruno knew something was happening not remembering how long it had been since  his patron was so happy.  Not only did Rob take second place, Big Charlie came in fourth. The Godfather lowered the odds on two Italians making the final four!

In the reduced field Don St George finished 3^rd.  Still playing from the white tees, this time the strategy worked for St George. He is back in the hunt for a return trip to the final four.  Bohan was 5^th followed by Shaw, Hamm, Czachorowski and Chabotar.  Everyone raked in points with last place delivering 12!  The rescheduled tournament did not work for too many of the league players. This was the lowest showing ever for a mid-season tournament. Weeks after the Shaw administration achieved the highest approval rate in modern OCAGA History, the fickle fans lambasted Shaw for the poor tournament draw!

TOP TEN AFTER FOUR  –  Bohan, Juliano and Czachorowski have comfortable leads at the half way point.  Shaw taking 4^th is formidable wanting to defend his title. The missed tournament dropped the Doctor to 5^th, but he does like Golden Pheasant finished 2^nd the last two years.  Buechner, St George and Ranucci could use a very strong showing in the next tournament.

83           Bohan, Marc

77           Juliano, Rob

76           Czachorowski, A

67           Shaw, Scott

60           Lazarchick, Mike

54           Buechner, John

53           St George, Don

53           Ranucci, Charlie

46           O’Brien, Mike

39           Hamm, Glenn

33           Fowler, Chris

SCATS

Charlie Ranucci and Scotty Shaw took the Big Bucks!

Golden Pheasant    Next

Rob Juliano, “Leave me alone, I’m in the Zone!”

Bruno approached the Godfather with a little timidity.  The President  of  the National Association of  Italian American Women had called again. They were complaining and Bruno was talking the brunt. They have continued to argue that Little Tony has been gone now for several years. They want an immediate change on who’s picture is featured  next to Big Charlie in the Italian American Bistro Wall of Fame.   The Godfather was sipping Amaro Montenegro just shipped in from Bologna. He was actually pleased and thought perhaps now is the time to make changes.  Not since the glory day of Little Tony had he seen such blasts from Italian Clubs. Rob Juliano was hardly using his driver,  yet blasted shot after shot down  the fairway. He was in low handicap foursome with Hamm, Fowler and Lazarchick. They were tight early but slowly fell off the pace while Rob continued to improve. When he did hit the driver he sent power fades that looked as if they we shot out of a cannon! At the turn he was 4 up on Chris and Mike and 5 ahead of Glenn.  He putting was superb, forceful on the “slow” greens.  Bruno asked if Rob was in the Zone. The Godfather nodded his head with a wry smile. When it was over, Rob had toasted the field. He did not need the strokes he was being given by the “low handicappers.”  He delivered the  low gross score of the day (82) even besting Marc Bohan , Scotty Shaw and Roger Read! He easily won the Ocean Acres Tournament, beating second place finisher, living legend Art Czachorowski by 5 strokes.  Had Juliano played in the Scratch SCATS, he would have needed a wheelbarrow to take home his winnings.

Glen Hamm had to make up some ground after missing the last tournament. He posted three Birdies on the Scorecard.  Here, below right, Glenn is pictured doing his famous On the Green Birdie Dance. He dropped three at Ocean Acres. Hamm’s Beer stock jumped up quickly.

At the Polish American Tavern, the old guard jubilation was pure euphoria.

Art Czachorowski’s Chips are among the sweetest on the OCAGA Tour!

“Artski Sixski”  chants abounded!  Art’s short game and the ability to play from the senior  tees  are a deadly combination. While Lazarchick fell off the blistering pace of his first two tournaments, Art was still in play and Scotty Shaw was climbing the ladder with a 3^rd place finish. Glenn Hamm finished 4^th and Mike O’Brien took 5^th place.  Bohan, Hunt, Chabotar, Lazarchick and Fowler rounded out the top 10.

TOP TEN AFTER THREE

66           Bohan, Marc
63           Czachorowski, A
60           Lazarchick, Mike
52           Shaw, Scott
51           Juliano, Rob
46           O'Brien, Mike
34           Ranucci, Charlie
33           Fowler, Chris
32           Read, Roger
32           St George, Don

With both Lazarchick and O’Brien not playing at Pinelands, Juliano and Shaw are poised to move into the top Four.  The next tier needs to step up their game to get into the race to the Final Four. Meanwhile, a debate at St George University pondered the rational of  Don St George playing from the back tees. The majority are perplexed! It was Don’s short game that got him into the final four last season, not long drives. The advocates want to see Don swing on a shorter playing field.

Next  Pinelands

Marc Bohan leads the league after two tournaments edging out the Doctor who shared the presence of Mia Bohan in the first two tournaments.  Clearly there is magic emanating from

Magical Mia Bohan with a Smile the Brightens the Day

the younger Bohan because Marc’s swing was the epitome of perfection, LZ turned into a putting machine by the back nine and Art Czachorowski  …….. well,  they were chanting  Artski  Sixski so loud you’d think he was walking down 18 with a 5 stroke lead on Championship Sunday!   There are rumors, that arguably the best French restaurant in the United States, Le Bernardin, is changing their name to Le Bohanardin .  They have already posted a picture of Mia over a wishing fountain  promising good luck for even the smallest of donations.

The Doctor did win Emerald Links despite missing a 4 inch putt, yes a back handed “tap in” that went 3 ¾ inches.  He missed several other makeable putts on the front, but by the back he increasingly was dropping virtually everything in range, which allowed placing birdie on the scorecard down the stretch on both 15 and 17.

Giant Flower discovered by the Doctor at Emerald Links on his path to Victory

More impressive  than his play however was the apparent discovery by the Doctor of a new flower which was found  growing near an Octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane ventilation tube protruding from underneath the course. There was also a small turtle that seemed a bit confused about

Turtle having difficulty making decisions.

which direction to travel to the find the nearby pond.

Marc Bohan was a stroke back in the tournament to finish second followed by Phil Stocker and then Art Czachorowski.  Scotty Shaw was 5^th.

Two Votes were taken at the tournament. Once again ”Raking the Sand Trap” was voted down. Young Roger Read purportedly tendered the latest call for change suggesting the raking of traps when the ball is in a footprint and then placing the ball exactly where it was in the trap.  Unfortunately, despite President Shaw’s efforts to get this new rule passed, a wave of obstructionism came forth from within OCAGA.  Immediately, protesters suggested the obstructionism was pure bigotry and would not have happened if Shaw were a “white non-polack.”  The final issue was watered down and the club voted down raking all sand traps, not just footprints. No prior president of OCAGA has endured such biased unrelenting obstructionism from day one of their administration.

Meanwhile Shaw  was successful getting every player over 80 the right to play from the senior tees, everyone over 65 with a handicap over 19 the right to play from the senior tees and anyone with a handicap over 29, regardless of age, the right to play from the senior tees.   Even more remarkable, Don St George showed up at the tournament with a printed copy of his new handicap index, making the tournament 100 % legal under the new duel handicap system, a feat detractors suggested the Shaw administration would never pull off! The obstructionists pontificated that there would be too much advantage from the front tees on par threes! Yet, all five Closest to the Pin were won from the white tees.   Reputable sources are now saying that historians of the future will rate the Shaw Presidency as one of the greatest of all time.

Early Season Leader Board           There is a lot of time for Changes!!!!

51           Bohan, Marc

48           Lazarchick, Mike

40           Czachorowski, A

31           Shaw, Scott

29           O’Brien, Mike

29           Buechner, John

27           Ranucci, Charlie

26           Stocker, Phil

26           Juliano, Rob

22           Read, Roger

22           Fowler, Chris

SCATS

Marc Bohan the Big Scratch Winner thus far and Chris Fowler holds the lead in Handicapped Category.

Ocean Acres     Next  June 12^th    10AM

Shaw New Club Champion

The 2016 Season opened with tumultuous outrage as loud and bombastic as the worst under the most scandal ridden of OCAGA  Presidencies. Yes, the dark days before the OCAGA News came into existence and the Investigative Reporter, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting, came on the seen.  At the first tee with fans and apparent player support, the call for resignation of the secretary once again surfaced. Scotty  Shaw immediately entered the Wonder Woman Power Pose.

Power Pose

It raises testosterone and  helped him exude confidence. He delivered a strong statement  of defense for his entire administrative staff, unequivocally supporting his secretary. Shaw whose presidential  campaign slogan was “I will Make this League Great Again” was seen by some critics as a narcissistic buffoon devoid of credentials necessary to serve as the president. His supporters of course see him as a breath of fresh air. Was it not Scotty who said, “Since we have to think anyway, why not think Big?” With huge winnings on the tour as a perennial SCAT gatherer and with a  rapidly dropping handicap and increase in skill gathering  huge side bet money, the big paychecks  from Polish Beer  commercials after taking the Tour Championship,  Shaw  clearly is not in need of lobbyist money.   No one can say he was or is an “establishment” flunky.  When asked point blank if his administration was scandalous, Shaw replied, “I am the club Champion and Everybody loves me!”

Memes began to show up on the Internet, for example this true quote from the Most Interesting Man in the World.

Most Interesting Man in the World

The  OCAGA Investigative Reporter immediately began to seek answers. Shaw was known to have said, “ I like  Mike O’Brien and think he should be able to move up to the senior tees. “  Was there a deal made with the owner of the Irish Pub?   Why else would Shaw jeopardize his Zywiec Brewery contract?

Shaw not only proposed the changes but supposedly ordered his secretary to begin a surreptitious campaign to pass  other new rules.  Not only did they pass, almost immediately it became clear that  many  of the tour players may not have fully understood.

Questions began to emerge:

• Was the age 65 to move forward part of the deal because Phil Stocker was partner of the secretary in a 2012 Championship year at Emerald Links?
• Who decided players with a handicap under 20 could not move forward and why? The intrigue continues to grow now that a new (Duo) handicap system is in place.
• After the club voted unanimously to make Rich Antczak the Handicap Chairperson and use his system for those without GHIN handicaps, why did Rob Juliano attempt to subvert the process and create confusion by creating a competing system to the one managed by Antczak?
• OMG is Buechner the only person in an OCAGA leadership role who is not Polish?

The OCAGA Investigative Reporter did confront Bruno outside the Bistro and ask point blank if the Godfather has spoken recently with Juliano. Bruno said he could not recall?

What Socialism Does

Further investigations found that the Secretary was accused of leaning towards socialism by Trekkies who remember Captain Picard’s famous quote.  Was the slow implementation of 2 handicap systems created to cause confusion?

The Polish Tavern old guard was outraged at the thought that anyone felt Art Czachorowski, after staying alive for so long , should be denied the opportunity to play from the senior tees.  They claim that everyone over 80 has a “constitutional right,” according to the federalist papers,  drowning out  any verbiage from detractors with the growing popular, “Artski  Sixtie” chant.

On April 17^th, 2016, the OCAGA Tour finally opened at the Sand Barrens after two weeks of cancellation due to inclement weather. There was a slight murmur from a few fans  about Chem Trails causing rain. Finally, it was actually a pleasant day and of course,  stirred talk about making a later start a permanent part of the OCAGA season.

Marc and Mia Bohan were in the last group, transversing the course with  Andy Swanson and the Doctor. Andy and LZ did their best to make it a match and were respectable on the front nine.  With a Birdie on the second hole and another on the ninth however,  Bohan made a statement to start the season.   He placed a sweet 37 for the South track on the score card and followed with a 43 on the North. With 6 pars and 2 Birdies he easily won the first tournament. Lazarchick took second with an 87. Third place went to Art Czachorowski  who moved up to the forward tee carrying a much higher handicap than in any of his championship years. Clearly the short game still had considerable sparkle.  Charlie Ranucci placed 4^th and John Buechner secured 5^th place.  Read, O’Brien, Juliano, Swanson and Shaw rounded out the top ten.

TREASURY REPORT

Art Czachorowski successfully closed out the bank account from Wells Fargo which was charging outrageous fees despite the loyalty of OCAGA. We are now in the Jersey Shore Federal Credit Union,  a member-owned, not-for-profit financial cooperative. They advertise, “Our doors are open to anyone who lives, works, worships, volunteers or attends school in Atlantic or Cape May counties.” Apparently Art convinced the local president that we play golf on Sundays religiously.

DECISIONS & CHANGES    Meeting to be held at Emerald Links

Informal Vote: Members decided (not all were queried) any player over 80 could absolutely choose to play the forward tees regardless of handicap. If you object, say something at the next meeting.

Members will vote on whether or not any player can move to the forward tees at age 65, regardless of handicap. Currently for the senior tees we are using:

• Over 80   (Maybe that should be 70)
• Over 29 Handicap
• over 65 with over 19 handicap

Handicap Indexes will be listed the week before a tournament. Handicaps will be determined using the slope of the tee played at the tournament, reduced by the difference in Course Rating between Average tees and Senior tees .

Members will vote on lifting, raking and placing the balls that land in sand traps.

NEXT:    Emerald Links

Scotty Shaw took the OCAGA Championship to a new level in 2015. While breaking 90 in the past was generally good enough to secure the title, Scotty posted a sweet 81 on the scorecard, besting second place finisher, and four time champion, Glenn Hamm by 7 strokes. The revelry in the Polish American Tavern erupted to a fever pitch on the very first hole. A booming drive, followed by a precision fairway swing and perfect putt yielded an opening hole Birdie! Scotty was getting a stroke from Glenn and 4 strokes from Marc Bohan. They would never catch up. Don St George was not able to play with the pace and quickly gave back the 7 strokes he was getting from Shaw.  After 3 holes Don was done. He was 10 stokes down, putting Scotty up 3. Hamm managed a Birdie on 3 to bring him within 2. He would not get closer. Marc played a tough front nine. and went ahead by one in gross score on 7, still 3 behind counting handicap. Shaw however was not playing to win with “gifts.” They were on their feet in the Tavern, pumping fists, vicariously winning 8 and 9! It was sheer jubilation at the turn, Bohan 42, Hamm 44, St George 56 and Scotty…..  yeah, the indomitable Scotty Shaw used only 41 strokes to transverse the front.

The famous Super Scotty Poster was quickly posted on the Bar. Clearly this was a day of destiny. Art Czachorowski won a record 5 titles.  Dr. Michael Lazarchick finally captured the crown last season. Now Scotty Shaw was setting a new standard of excellence!  The braggadocio was flowing.  Someone belted out that next year we need to see Art, the Doctor and Richie Antczak to give him some competition.

The Godfather, down the street at the Italian Bistro, could hear the Chant inside:  “2016 All Polish Final!” Outside  the girl scouts were selling cookies and singing little songs. “Richie, Richie he’s too cute and Scotty is a Hunk.”

Through 10 & 11 & 12, Glenn and Marc each were able to shave off one stroke. On 13 Scotty Shaw put the pedal to the medal with the first of five straight Pars. The pace was electric. The Tavern was in a Frenzy. They we standing and toasting raising their arms into  gestures of Victory. It was the most dominant Championship Victory in the modern history of OCAGA Tour.  Scotty Shawlenski made history on Championship Sunday!

Shaw  81       Hamm 88     Bohan 89     St George  WD

Meanwhile the Hanko Memorial Tournament featured a three man scramble. The Doctor lead his team to an impressive 5 stroke victory (71) over a second place team lead by Roger Read (76).  Teamed up with Glen Chabotar and David Hamm, they made the track look easy. Lazarchick was strong across the board and was rewarded  with great shots at just the right time by his partners.