here we go again!

the Bernardsville Country Club proudly presents!!!come one, come all, just you, or bring a crew, it's true, the Bernardsville Country Club welcomes you, members and guests!
come early cause we've got plenty to do!!! at dusk then...
photo above taken just two days after the Tick Open

"The BCC Cup Comes Home!"

the Bernardsville Country Club held this year’s Tick Open a little late in the season but the golfing gods were on the club’s side this october 26th, 2008. it was cold and raining the day before and changed to snow days afterward. but what the members were greeted to was a soft (but not too wet) BCC golf course and a sunny day with temperatures up to 60 degrees, absolutely beautiful conditions. i, the BCC groundkeeper, was lucky to have set the course up for play days earlier before the rains. the course opened at 11 am and the first member to arrive was two time defending champion, SVCC greenskeeper billy jo, trying to get a little jump on the competition.
soon other members joined the warm-up, derek “hit man” schults and robert’, randy and “rodeo clown” matt, pete “the eagle” johnson and x-champ jeff wood, along with some new blood for the club membership, the BCC is proud to introduce, “tsuki” ginn and dr. joe, along with “all u need is” rob and dr. mark, who was TCB.
then the players gathered, the rules and format were discussed for the newer members and a tee was tossed to decided the three groups that would compete in the eight clockwise hoops of the first qualifying round. that round was highlighted by the last group that included derek, jeff wood, myself and the newcomer, dr. mark. in the eight hoops we made six birdies, keeping me scoreless for the first five holes! everybody was scoring points, two for winning the hoop, one for a tie. billy jo had 8 points, dr.mark 7 points, rob and pete 6 points, i had 5, derek and randy both had 4 points. wow!
in the second round counterclockwise seeded qualifier, the cream of today's crop rose to the top, the defending champ billy jo (14) and yours truly (15), the two new rookies rob (13) and dr. mark (15), and finally, derek (9) who won the “cinderella story sudden death” against randy to decide who would be the fifth man in the final round. earlier a 5'7" shot at #5 won me the Octopine trophy.
by now we all knew the ground was indeed soft, balls not stopping far from where they landed, knowing that one could fire at the flags without concern of balls rolling O.B. or into a hazard, it's pin hunting season. on #1 O.K. Corral (95yds), i took the first shot, a sand wedge to 18’ and a delicate chip into the hoop, birdie. that momentum went O.B. when i hooked my tee shot on #2 one bad apple (127yds), O.B. stakes that had been protested but looked so good. derek, who had just missed his birdie at #1, jumped on the opportunity with a par and two points after dr. mark and rob began finding out how small the hoop got in the final round. points were given to me at #3 Sight Unseen (113yds) when i made par and two points. at the no.1 handicapped hoop, #4 Octopine (103yds), derek knocked in a birdie and got two more points while watching me recover from the tree’s ever growing tentacles. two competitors had jumped out of the pack, four points all. time was running out for the others and that hoop wasn’t getting any bigger. golf golf golf golf, drink it up, drink it up!
at the short #5 Octopine’s Revenge (83yds), any momentum derek gained when he made his birdie chip was lost when my birdie chip of about the same length was made to halve the hoop. still all tied up, but the score didn’t tell the story, shots were being made by all. i made my move at #6 Pine’s Gauntlet (109yds), a solid wedge pin high and a nice 20’ chip but only one point when the defending champ knocked in his birdie to halve the hoop. derek had hit short and dr. mark hit O.B.. at #7 Big Roundup (129yds) derek and i made pars and at #8 Barn’s Window (111yds) we all missed shots at birdie, mine being the last, long by inches. but the tap-in par was enough to halve the hoop with derek and dr. mark (who finally found it). i thank all the members for making this the great event that it was. and YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, the silver BCC Cup is coming home to the Bernardsville Country Club!!!

the BCC Tick Open

the Bernardsville Country Club proudly presents!!!course opens @ 11am tournament begins promptly @ noon

"Groundskeeper Tames SVCC Invitational"

it's pin hunting season, enjoy...the SVCC course was beautiful. i had arrived early, on that gorgeous day, with my GPS skycaddie in hand and three ping golf clubs in my bag (a nine iron, wedge & sand wedge). after greeting a surprised and busy greenskeeper, i began confirming yardage's and getting the swing ready for the SVCC’s last major of the year, the “Invitational”. “i really love this format”, i says to myself. ten golfers, first round is stroke play (a backyard golf exclusive), and then in the second round, match play to qualify for the final (another backyard golf exclusive). brilliant! again the Steeple View Country Club staff was wonderful, from the food, to the new scorecards, from the SVCC course itself to the post championship hot air balloon landing, amazing! thank you karen, barbara and billy jo. as BCC inter-club captain i'd like to congratulate the BCC team on their fine performances, highlighted by jeff's backhand under the tree birdie @ #7 and mike's heroic match play battle with derek. as for myself, well, sometimes your lucky stars line up. it began with preparation and execution, and ended in those magical sandy hoops. it was a very special day. BCC NEWS
the groundkeeper's tournament statistics:
1st rd. stroke play - 5 under par, course record
2nd rd. match play - 4 & 2 over JZ w/ 3 birdies
final rd. SMSS - 10 pts. @ #7 w/ 3 birdies & an ace @ #2

2008 S.V.C.C. Invitational

The Steeple View C.C. announces that the 2008 Invitational Golf Tournament will be held on Sunday September 21st.
"that's good for me, ha ha." groundskeeper, BCC

Backyard Golf @ Block Island R.I.

VIVA LA BACKYARD GOLF!!!not long ago on a visit to block island i was introduced to a man named jeff, and his dog jake. i had heard that jeff had also created a golf course in his backyard and indeed he did. it wasn’t long before i was invited over for a match, and i eagerly accepted the challenge. when i arrived at the “Mike Memorial Golf Course” i must say i was in awe. a sight to be seen. holes! that’s right, holes! along with tight greens and fringes! and 4’ x4’ driving range mats atop leveled tee boxes! OMG! a sand trap! wake up! no, “wake up!”, he said, “we have to prepare the course”. so with a riding mower and specially adapted push mowers (for the green and fringe) we polished up a links course that already looked amazing. i could tell he was a perfectionist, and with this beautiful backyard gem he has succeeded. it's so cool. eighteen holes, three greens, two holes per green and six tee boxes. yardage's ranging from roughly 80 yards to a monster 175 yard finishing hole. but this course is not for the faint of heart, a lot of walking, up and down, back and forth, "billy goat golf" i called it affectionately. “your the only one whose ever played the whole course”, he said. i’ve since made the journey on more than a couple of occasions, having throughly enjoyed this very special golf course some five or six times. competing under the rules of match play, i was unable to defeat him and/or his golf course. bcc news what does the future hold in store?

"Groundskeeper Wins SVCC Steeplechase!!!"

"i'm on top of the world!", said the Bernardsville Country Club founder as he celebrated his SVCC Steeplechase victory into the wee hours.B-ville: the poster said the Fawkirk trophy was up for grabs again. it was. it asked, who would answer the call on july 20th? well guess who? with a slow start, scoreless in the first four qualifying holes, he turned it around making four birdies in the next five, he was on his way. yes, the BCC groundskeeper won the Steeple View Country Club's 2008 "Steeplechase" golf tournament with an impressive showing of short game skill and consistency. "it was a really f___ing hot, hell, thank god there was a pool!", the champ began the interview with a rum and coke in his hand, a champagne bottle on the table and a girl in each arm, "i thought about ken venturi when he won the US Open in 1964, f___ing hot!", we're in a dark smoky place, underground, at a club called the Elvis Room, he continued,"keep your eye on that guy derek!", the two had warmed up in the oppressive heat and battled all day,"SVCC hit man that's what he is!", he barked. "and the kid!, billy jo! (SVCC founder & greenskeeper) he's getting it together! getting closer! their good men!, all of them!", he then yells,"but i'm the wanted man!", he's had one too many, but how many can that be? he says, "golf is a head game. you know. the space between your ears." then,"bartender! how about another bottle of Veuve Clicquot!", to, "ya got to find the secrets in the dirt!", i asked him why? "because this bottle's f___ing empty!", seeing where this interview was going, i congratulated the champ who answered,"and i'll do it again!" and bid him goodnight, or was it good morning. anyway, there you have it. Gary Simpson, his name engraved on the Fawkirk once again, for a record 5th time.
oh my. "its an honor!", shouted the Bernardsville Country Club protagonist, "many thanks to billy jo, karen and barbara, the whole SVCC staff, for hosting another wonderful event".a bcc news production.
the full story of the tournament can be seen @ http://www.steepleviewcc.blogspot.com