SEVEN HILLS—When Seven Hills Golf and Country Club chose to use the Callaway Handicap scoring system for its annual general meeting club tournament, local pro Kevin Black said it would give every player a chance to win.
And that’s very nearly what happened.
By the time Black finished running the scorecards through the Callaway spreadsheet after Sunday’s nine-hole tourney, he was left staring at a leaderboard with seven players sharing the low-net title with scores of 34.
“Well, there is a way to break ties, but it’s a little complicated,” Black said while the 41 competitors adjourned to the dining room upstairs for lunch. “I’ll just find something to give everyone for a prize.”
Tim Demoe of Port Hardy actually topped the field with a low-gross score of 33, which also gave him a net total of 33. But once he was awarded the low-gross title, the low net title was to go to the next-best finish.
That honour was shared by Mike Aldersley, Clint Fiske, Ken Houghton, Alta Johnstone, Clay Jones, Mike Leblanc and Rick Marcotte.
Under the Callaway system, traditional handicaps are ignored and players’ scores are adjusted based on their gross totals. Players shooting at par get no adjustment, while those who have wild swings between high and low scores in a round see their scores “levelled” by trimming the worst-scoring holes.
“It’s a good system for new players and those who don’t have handicaps,” said Black. “But it does tend to leave everyone within a few strokes of each other.”
Sure enough, large groups of players were lumped just behind the seven net winners, with low-net totals of 35, 36 and 37.
Additional awards included Cora Eilertsen of Coal Harbour, who claimed the ladies long drive on hole 8, Aldersley, who earned the men’s long drive on the same hole, and Ray Phillips, who claimed both closest-to-the-pin on No. 4 and longest putt on No. 9.
Following the tournament and lunch, participants stayed for the club’s annual general meeting, where they were presented a report on the course by Black and president Al Petrie. The big prize was a draw for a one-year club membership, worth almost $1,000.
