We have had two aces so far this month. Dave Johnson aced #4 on June 1. Dave holed it out from 128yds, earning him the $620 cash prize. Rodney Guy also earned $620 with his ace on #17 (118yds) on June 17. Congratulations to both members.
Memorial Day Yellow Ball Results
We had 48 golfers to play in our Yellow Ball dogfight today. The 48 golfers were divided into 12 four golfer teams with each team having a a,b,c and d player. Twelve Yellow balls went out and 10 of them made it back to the clubhouse. A few of those 10 were in pretty bad shape.
The winning teams in the Yellow Ball portion of the dogfight were as follows: 1st place went to the team of Mike Sweatman, Brandon Fincher, Larry Hardwick and Brian Galloway. Their Yellow ball score was +5.4. 2nd place went to the team of Stan Elliott, Nate Whitfield, Buddy Butterworth and Steven Powell with a total of +.5. 3rd place went to the team of Jeff Bullen, Cole Fincher, Joe White and Jan Parton with a total of +.05.
The regular dogfight winning teams were as follows: 1st place tie between Sweatman, Fincher, Hardwick and Galloway and the team of Rodney Guy, Jeremy McCullars, Chris Robertson and Steve Willingham, both were +6 on points. The 3rd place team was Ray Ferguson, Matt Hardin, Randy Burnham and Missy Bullen. They were -1.4.
The closest to the pins were as follows #4, Shane Cleckler, #8 Austin Burnham, #14 Blake Woo and #17 Brandon Fincher.
Buddy Butterworth won the most over points award at +7. Missy Bullen, Jeremy McCullars and Tony Parton tied for 2nd at +6.
There were only three skins for the day and they went to Austin Burnham, Jeremy McCullars and Brandon Fincher.
Congratulations to all of the winners and thanks to all the golfers for participating today. Our next Yellow ball event will be held on July 4.
Congratulations to Steve Sorrell for his hole in one on #14 on Thursday afternoon March 17. The hole measured at 137yds.
2022 MGA Season Premier Dogfight Recap
We had 44 members to play in the dogfight. The players were divided into four divisions based on their dogfight points. A golfer from each division was placed on each group of four. The four golfer teams were drawn randomly, one from each division.
The MGA provided a breakfast buffet for all the golfers. The kitchen staff did a wonderful job and the food was mighty good. The dogfight was to begin at 9am but there was a 30 min delay due to frost. The dogfight was a shotgun start and the pace of play was pretty good.
The results are as follows:
Closest to the pin awards went to (#4 B G Simmons) (#8 B G Simmons)(#14 Jan Sweatman)(#17 Jeff Bullen)(Closest 2nd shot on #7 Chuck Woodard)(Longest put on #18 Eric Smith). Each of these awards was $50. There was a tie for most over their points. Matt Osborne, Tommy Vines and Andy Payant each received $33.
The MGA put up an additional $200.00 toward the skins pot also, making the skins pot worth $420.00. For the 1st time since we have reopened there was no skins won. The $220.00 that was taken in will be applied to the MGA bonus money that will be paid out in the Club Championship.
We had a tie for 1st place in the team portion of the dogfight. The team of Mike Sweatman, Jan Sweatman, Paul Baker and Tommy Vines tied with Max Whitfield,Eric Smith, Randy Martin and Don Carrol. The team of Jeff Bullen, Chuck Woodard, Don Hopton-Jones and Andy Payant finished in 3rd place.
After a frosty start, the weather was wonderful for a mid February day of golf. Congratulations to all the prize winners and a special thanks to all the members that chose to play in this dogfight. It gets our season started on a good note.
With the $220.00 that went to the bonus pot, the total as of this letter is $1415.00. This money will be paid out during the 2022 Club Championship. You must be a MGA member and participate in a minimum of 24 dogfight events prior to the Club Championship to be eligible for this bonus pot.
Monday, Nov 8 was a special day at Alpine Bay Golf. Golf Week is paying tribute to Robert Trent Jones Sr. during the month of November. Alpine Bay was on the list with some very fine Trent Jones courses that the Golf Week course raters was scheduled to play. The other courses were Ross Bridge, Country Club of Birmingham (West Course), Turtle Point Golf and Yacht Club in Killen AL and Oxmoor Valley. All of these are courses designed by The Trent Jones family.
The person responsible for setting up this event was Mr. James R Hansen. Mr. Hansen is the author of the New York Times Bestselling book (First Man) The life of Neil A Armstrong. He also authored the bestselling book (A Difficult Par) The history of Robert Trent Jones Sr and the Making of Modern Golf. A special thanks to Mr. Hansen for making this happen.
There were 44 golfers here along with Robert Trent Jones Jr and his son Trent. The golfers were aware of the recent history of our course and at the end of the day we received so many accolades and handshakes of approval that it was very gratifying. The golfers were from as far away as Northern Ireland, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, Pittsburg PA, Boston, Chicago, Hilton Head SC, Las Vegas NV, Tucson AZ. At least 10 golfers traveled over 1000 miles to be a part of this event.
This was the first time for either of the Jones to visit the course that Jones Sr. designed in the late 60s. As we went around the course they were constantly reminded of the course characteristics that are typical of a Jones Sr design. They went into detail as to why certain features of the course are set up the way that they are. It was such a treat for me to experience the trip around the course with them.
After the dinner, Robert Trent Jones Jr took the time to speak with us about course design and he also took questions from the course raters.
I want to thank all of our staff here at Alpine Bay for the extra time that each of them put in to make this a successful and memorable day.
Myself and RTJ Jr on hole #12. Such a blessing to play Alpine Bay with Mr. Jones and Trent
Robert Trent Jones Jr addresses the group after dinner. He discussed and answered questions concerning course design.
I had the pleasure of playing with Kevin & Jan Vail, Robert Trent Jones Jr and Trent Jones
Alpine Bay Golf’s Tentative Tournament Schedule for 2022
1) Friday March 4, Winterboro High School benefit scramble (Fund Raiser)
2) Saturday March 26, Talladega Junior Welfare League Scramble (Fund Raiser)
3) Saturday & Sunday May 7 & 8 Member/Member
4)Saturday May 28, Hopton Jones Memorial
5) Monday May 30, Memorial Day Yellow Ball Dogfight
6) June 18/19 Alpine Bay Member/Guest
7) Friday June 24, Racing City FOP scramble (Fund Raiser)
8) Monday July 4, Fire Ball Dogfight
90) July 30/31 2022 Clear Creek Classic
101) August 20/21 2022 Club Championship
11) Saturday Nov 9, Season ending MGA Dogfight
All times and dates are subject to change
On behalf of the staff at Alpine Bay, I want to wish each of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We dearly appreciate the fact that you have chosen Alpine Bay as your destination for golf at some time. We look forward to seeing you here again and hopefully soon.
Jimmy Ray had a hole in one on #4 during our Tuesday afternoon match on Sept. 28. The 138yd ace got him $500.00 in cash through the hole in one club. Congratulations Jimmy!!
2021 Club Championship recap
Alpine Bay had an impressive 72 members to play in our Club Championship this past weekend. The weather was as good as could be expected for late August.
The MGA (Men’s Golf Association) provided breakfast for everyone on Saturday and Sunday morning. Russell Howard food truck provided a catfish lunch after Sunday’s round. The food was excellent. If you are planning an event that requires a food service, I highly recommend them.
Twenty of our golfers were in the Championship flight. The Champion was not determined until the last shot was taken. B G Simmons was playing in the next to last group on the course. B G birdied #18 to give him a total of 145 (+1) for the tournament. Jeff Bullen and Joe Howard could birdie and force a playoff. Jeff had a long putt to come up 1″ short and Joe chipped from behind the green and his ball settled in the same spot as Jeff’s putt, both being so close to extending the tournament into overtime. Excellent playing by all three golfers. B G took home the 1st place purse of $1000.00. Jeff Bullen got $250.00 for his 2nd place finish. Joe Howard got $500.00 for 1st place net (130) followed by Shane Cleckler (137) $250.00
There were 13 golfers in the 1st Flight. Chris Robertson took 1st place (+12) ($500) Rusty Howard finished one shot back for 2nd place ($250). There was a tie for 1st place in the net category with both golfers posting a 135. Randy Burnham and Randy Martin split the $750.00 purse for the net score prize.
The Senior flight had 27 golfers and it paid three places in the gross and net scores. Our 2021 Senior Champion is Moe Basset. Moe posted a round of 68 on day 1 and followed it up with a 72 on day 2 for a tournament total of (140/-4). 2nd place went to Rodney Guy with a 145 and 3rd place went to Paul Woo with a 149. Don Hopton Jones finished 1st with a net score of 129 followed by Bob Whitmire and 3rd went to Doug MacMurdo.
Twelve golfers competed in the Super Seniors division. Tony Evans is our 2021 Super Senior Champion. Tony posted a two day total of (146/+2) and he was followed by Mike Griffin with a total of (152/+8). The net winners were Joe White (132) and Jim Gorman (136).
We had a $50 closest to the pin awards on all par 3’s. Winners were Wayne Crow, Tommy Griffin, David Donahoo, Ray Marsh, Tony Evans, Randy McDonald, Cole Fincher and Mike Sweatman. Congratulations to all of these golfers for their good play.
Thanks to all of our sponsors and our members that volunteered their time to assist us in whatever we needed. Hats off to the maintenance crew for having the course in very good shape. We look forward to next year’s Club Championship with hopefully another record turnout.
Alpine Bay is excited to announce the we will soon have a golf instructor on site. Willie Wilcox will be the instructor here at Alpine. Willie is a recently retired professional from the PGA and the Korn Ferry Tour.
Willie was born in Birmingham, Alabama. He played college golf at University of Alabama at Birmingham and Clayton State University He was a three-time All-American. He also won the 2008 Alabama Amateur.
If you are looking to improve your game, this is a viable option that you should consider. Golfing is fun and the better you play the more fun you have.
