As May comes to a close the weather warms up, so too does the competition at the weekly golf games at Camas Prairie Port Townsend and Discovery Bay. 

More and more women are coming out for play on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The past week 15 women from the Port Townsend Club and 11 from the Discovery Bay Club competed in the games of the week. 

In a tribute to Memorial Day the game at Port Townsend was “Plant Your Flag.” The game calls for each player to plant her small American Flag when her score reaches 35, which is  course PAR for nine holes, plus her nine hole handicap (HCP). 

If a player’s HCP is 10, when she reaches 45 strokes on the course, she must place her flag in the ground where her ball lands on the 45th stroke. In the fairway, the rough, the green, etc. She may continue the round of play, but the competitive aspect of the game is over. Only one player, myself, kept her flag throughout the entire nine hole round, having one stroke to spare after her ball holed out on number nine.

Competition was tight as three more players, planted their flags on number nine green.  Second place was Jayne Neu whose ball was two inches from the hole; third place was Rita Beebe eight inches from the hole, and fourth place went to Starla Audette, whose final stroke ball was 12 inches from the hole.

At Discovery Bay the women played “Disaster.” Focus is extremely important in golf. The best scores are usually carded by those women who concentrate on each and every shot, avoiding the disasters that can destroy one’s game. Going out of bounds, landing in a bunker, three putting a green, or the often humiliating whiff where one totally misses hitting the ball- these are just some of the things to avoid. In “Disaster” the player who has the least number of “mistakes” wins the game.

She may not have the lowest total score, but she encountered the fewest “disasters.” Both skill and focus come into play. First place was taken by Wanda Synnestvedt with only two mistakes in the 18 hole competition.

There was a tie for 2nd among four players with four mistakes: They were Cindy Westwood, Lynn Pierle, Cindy Breed and Jane Guiltinan. Wanda Synnestvedt also won low putts needing only 26 putts (36 is regulation) to complete her outstanding round of gross 86.

June will be the third month in the golf season with warming weather and more ladies coming out to enjoy the game of golf and one another’s company. Join in on Tuesdays and Thursdays by contacting the pro shops for details of play and tee times.