April 25, 2022
By Jim Clawson
VaHGA was well represented at this year’s Southern Hickory Fourball hosted by Tad Moore at the Highland Park Golf Course in Birmingham, Ala. Terry Pemberton and Eric “the Hickory Hokie” Johnson teamed up as did Deal Hudson (now from Lilburn, Ga. but still a VaHGA Founding Member) and yours truly. Non-resident members Mike O’Donnell and Tyler Gutherie also competed in the event.
The course was in good shape; the greens were difficult. Every hole is different, requiring a multitude of shots. No. 4 requires a good drive and a strong approach over a deep ravine. No. 7 gives me nightmares; the approach over a concrete creek requires precision and length. The views from 15 and 17 tees are beautiful. See below for the tee shot on No. 5, a par 3 over a pond.
The scoring system this year was a Stableford “Quota” system which required some mental adjustments for old timers. In this system, each player competes against his own handicap, that number subtracted from 36 (18 holes at even par, 2 points for par). That number becomes the player’s “quota” or “target.” My handicap from the front tees was 16, so my “quota” or “target” was 20. I shot an 88 in Round One and “earned” 18 points, two over my handicap on this par 70 course, and my “Quota” score was -2 . So one is playing “against” one’s own handicap. At the end, one can simply add both players (or more if larger teams) scores to their “quotas.” Two partners who scored -2 and +2 to their quotas would have a score of zero/0 which beats any negative score but loses to any positive score. The Stableford Quota leaders after Round One were at +8, meaning they played better than their handicaps. Most teams were in negative numbers. This system simplifies playing team games (2+ players).
Winners. Some 60 players showed up this year. Peter Flory and Ted Kopec won the Open Division while Barb Kopec and Tad Moore won the Stableford Quota Division (+10).
During the awards ceremony, VaHGA recognized and honored host Tad Moore for his national and global support of hickory golf, his beautiful artistic golf clubs (mentioning Otey Crisman), and his warm generosity as a person, someone who is a “net contributor” rather than a net taker in society. We presented Tad with a VaHGA Medal of Honor and a lifetime honorary complimentary membership to VaHGA.
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- Deal Hudson, left, and Jim Clawson at the 2022 Southern Hickory Four Ball.
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- The fifth tee at the Highland Park Golf Course in Birmingham, Ala.
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- Deal Hudson, left, Jim Clawson, Dan Penny and John McGuire at the 2022 Southern Hickory Four Ball.
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- Heath Harrelson, left, and Mark Hollingsworth at the 2022 Southern Hickory Four Ball.
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- The scorecard tells all.
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- The Virginia Hickory Golf Association Medal of Honor presented to Tad Moore for his global support of hickory golf.