Flying L fairways welcome Bhakta & Watts

Charles Prokop

By Charles Prokop

If TV golf announcers are to be believed, Bermuda grass is an exceptionally difficult playing surface. When a tournament is held at a course featuring Bermuda greens and fairways, the play-by-play commentary is peppered with references to problems caused by the grass.

The announcers moan that the thick rough grabs the club and turns it off its intended course. The ball sinks into the grass and makes distance control next to impossible. The grain of the grass on the greens is difficult to read and affects the roll of the ball in unpredictable ways. If you believe the commentary, playing on Bermuda grass dooms a golfer to poor performance.

But for those of us who live in Texas and most of the south, Bermuda is the grass we confront every day. It's what we know and love. Listening to the tales of woe about the evils of Bermuda is puzzling, and sometimes downright entertaining. That's golf, we say. It's only grass. Grow up and quit whining. We're just happy when we've had enough rain to get thick grass. If it grabs our club, that's just fine.

Much to the delight of the Good Old Boys, the welcome rains have thickened the fairways at the Flying L. It's common to hear remarks about how nice the conditions have become.

The ball sits nicely on that evil Bermuda, and we love it. Let the rains come and let the grass grow deep and thick.

Two players took advantage of those great fairways at the last Good Old Boys tournament and raced to a tie at the top of the field. Nick Bhakta, the owner of the Bandera Lodge and a new member of the league, carded a nice 81 and earned 7 points. Retired Hondo rancher Byron Watts has been a regular player for several years.

Byron tied Bhakta's 7 points with a round of 87.

Charlie Thomas of Center Point finally got rewarded for his consistently great play. The Good Old Boys tournament director toured the course in an impressive 73 strokes, only 1 over par. Thomas earned 6 points and medalist honors. Richard Leeder of Boerne also turned in a nice round with a 79 that earned 5 points. Leeder's short game was particularly impressive, with great chipping and putting throughout the round.

Five players tied for fourth place with 2-point rounds. Boerne's Bob Savage shot 78 and Richard Mims of Medina shot 87. Banderans Van Tom "Coach" Whatley, Woody Clark, and Dock Dixon earned their 2 points with rounds of 80, 92, and 99, respectively.

Bob Savage was closest to the hole on number 2, Charlie Thomas on 7.

Richard Mims snuggled one up to the pin on number 12, and Charlie Prokop did the same on 17. There were 38 players in the field and points were worth $4.

• The next Flying L Men's Golf Association tournament will be held on Saturday, July 21, at 10 am.

Interested golfers are encouraged to sign up in the pro shop or call 796-8466 for more information.