“And Lindy Peters is on the tee.” At the recent NCGA North Valley Zone Championship played at Poppy Hills and Del Monte golf courses, your name was announced on the first tee, signaling it was your turn to tee off. A retired Air Force officer, dressed in a sporty sports jacket, clipboard in hand, was the NCGA official starter. “And Scott Deitz is on the tee.” The other waiting players would clap as the announced golfer approached the tee. “And David Coddington is on the tee.” Even if the previous group was down the fairway, out of sight, your group had to wait until the starter’s clock clicked to your official, designated starting time.
I did not do a body count, but there were numerous other NCGA officials in golf carts monitoring the course, making sure groups adhered to the time. The time each team should finish each hole was inscribed on the scorecard. Officials were also available to assist with any rules questions, help find errant shots and address any questions a team may have. All putts had to be putted even if your ball was hanging on the lip. Relief on the fairway could be taken from immovable, manmade obstructions like wires supporting young trees or from animal-made holes. Relief from animal holes or mounds was only available if the golf ball was influenced. If the animal mound was on your stance, you had to live with it.
The Del Monte course, played on Tuesday, July 7, was more open and the greens smaller than the Poppy Hills course. The Little River team, Lindy Peters, Scott Dietz, David Coddington and Larry Miller, tied for ninth place with the Colusa Golf and Country Club, with a two-day team combined score of plus 2. Two over par, handicaps in play. Ninth place was the final place, last place. The winning team was the team Little River played with at Poppy Hills, the Grass Valley team, finishing at 29 under par. Twenty-nine under par. A pretty good round. Without a doubt, the Little River team won the oldest-team-in-the-field category.
A group from the Chico area has been traveling to the Little River course for the past 26 years to play a yearly two-day tournament called the Mendo Golf Championship. This year they visited on July 3 and 5. They play an interesting and creative format. Hole No. 1, they use a breakfast ball, a free mulligan. On Hole No. 2, closest to the pin subtracts a stroke from play. Hole No. 3, two-man scramble. Hole No. 4, team scramble. Hole No. 5, all players must hit the ball like Happy Gilmore. Hole No. 6 must be played with only one club. Hole No. 7, free drop if needed. On Hole No. 8, the player with the longest drive subtracts a stroke, and on Hole No. 9, a par or better is rewarded with a free breakfast ball on the next round. Fun. Golf offers so many creative ways to play the game.