AC-XI, Summer 2004
Carroll Valley Resort - Part Deux
(July 24-27)
Taking a chapter from (ancient) ACUP history, our crew returned to Carroll Valley to contest the eleventh redition. Kevin, the dedicated soul he is, was preempted from competition by the toils of work in the waning weeks before the event and had to withdraw, leaving the field at three for the second consecutive year (and skewing Chad's precognitive visions). With Kevin's absentee scores in place, the competition got underway.
Day 1, Saturday: Kicking off on a "semi-religious" note, Paul, Tom, and Derek visited the nearby (to Derek's house) Mount Airy Mennonite Church to compete for the hoops trophy. Local livestock provided both visual and audio backdrops. Derek's preparation was evident, perfoming stoutly from both the foul line and 3-point stations, cruising to the title. That was it for day one, as they hit the sack early in anticipation of an active day two.
Standings at the end of day 1: Derek 7, Paul 4, Tom 2, Kevin 1.
Day 2, Sunday: The boys traveled to Fairfield in the overcast morning. The weather forecast was quite questionable, and as the trio headed out on the first hole at Carroll Valley, mist seemed to be a prequel to rain. However, despite heavy clouds and cool temperatures, the gang stayed dry and completed an enjoyable round. In a very tight finish, Tom and Derek tied for low net score with Paul just 3 strokes back, and the defending champ was given his choice of accommodations, winning a single room. After placing a late dinner reservation, it was off to Fairfield High School for the tennis competition. Kevin's solid play in ACUP's past was noticeable by its absence, but what was not missed was hot, humid weather; the overcast sky, cool temperature, and slight breeze kept everyone fresh. None of the guys really got their "A" games going, but they did manage to complete all matches without injury, or any great embarassment. Derek's first place showing was more lopsided than expected, but it was nice to see that Paul's wrist had an apparent full recovery as he took second. After tennis, it was back to the resort for a shower and an excellent dinner, then a search for entertainment -- billiards, with a subsequent invasion of intoxicated older women on the adjacent table, and even more playing (?) ping pong. Tiring of the annoying interruptions of pink ping-pong balls, they went to a nearby bar and picked up a half-case of (allegedly) the "coldest beer" in the state -- only to find out one of the 6-packs was actually O'Doul's and had to be returned for "real" beer, and the other 6-pack was "skunky." With varied color golf tees for chips, it was many beers and many hands of Texas Hold'em for the rest of the night, using what was assuredly the prettiest deck of cards known to man.
Standings at the end of day 2: Derek 17, Paul 11, Tom 7, Kevin 2.
Day 3, Monday: After taking excessive advantage of the all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet, it was time for the stroke play competition at nearby Mountain View -- emphasis on the "View," as the course was rather ordinary, with a "view" of the nearby mountains. In yet another tight net score day, Derek nipped Tom by a mere stroke, with Paul just three more back. After a quick freshening, it was off to dimly lit Dobbin House Tavern in nearby Gettysburg for a terrific lunch and local microbrew. Backtracking to Edgewood Lanes for bowling, the kegglers were surprised to see that the cars parked there just an hour or so before were gone and the lanes were closed. After consulting the internet via wireless laptop, they headed to Taneytown (TAW-nee-town) Maryland's Thunderhead Lanes. Bowling was a difficult event to predict, with handicaps in place and very little, if any, practice play since last ACUP. Derek broke out of the gate early and surprised even himself with his "virgin" bowling ball. He took games 1 thru 3, but Tom captured game 4. Then it was back to the resort for another scruptious dinner, watching some baseball, and more Texas Hold'em.
Standings at the end of day 3: Derek 34.5, Tom 18.5, Paul 18, Kevin 6.
Day 4, Tuesday: Mother Nature was not very accommodating, dumping steady rain overnight and moderating between heavy downpours and light drizzle in the morning. Soooo, following another breakfast buffet feast, our guys picked up rain checks for a later round at Carroll Valley and headed back toward Mount Airy, but stopped back in Taneytown for some neighborly duckpin bowling (the manager really liked the ACUP crew). Uncertain as to how to complete the competition's Match Play golf, they meandered through Westminster, stopping for lunch at Johannsons, and decided to take a chance on Rattlewood Golf Course (see ACUP VIII). With about 90 minutes to complete the first 9 holes before leagues were to start, it was time for "speed golf," averaging less than 10 minutes per hole, with some at a mere 6 minutes. After teeing off on the 9th hole, it seemed apparent they would not beat the league off the 10th tee unless they skipped ahead -- which they successfully did. Slowing down, they played the back nine at a normal pace, and were fortunate to return to the open 9th hole to finish the complete round. Paul dominated the event, playing very solidly on all but a few meaningless "train-wreck" holes.
MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT FROM ACUP XI: Paul using Tom's crotch to stop his blistering greenside bunker shot on hole #5. (Tom appeared to suffer no injury).
Then it was back to Derek's house for the final tally. Derek had clinched the hoops, tennis, and bowling trophies, but after completing the official spreadsheet for the first time, the golf trophy appeared to be Paul's... or was it? After correcting the scoresheet to reflect Rattlewood versus Carroll Valley, as well as Kevin's corrected absentee score and Derek's missing handicap stroke, the golf trophy also went to a sheepish Derek, along with the coveted Cup.
Final Standings: Derek 42.17, Paul 28.50, Tom 20.67, Kevin 8.67.
