Greetings, golfers!

In case you haven/t noticed, it appears that summer is over.

How do I know this, you ask?

Well, I know that I/m rather slow, but the thunder and lightning were my first clues. Then, when the rains followed, I was convinced. So convinced in fact, that I broke out the sandbags at work, just in case. With all of the reports of floods this year, I figured I/d play it safe.

Just what you/d expect from a conservative golf columnist I suppose.

Anyway, while I was busy preparing for a tsunami, these reports came in from the local links.

Rancho Maria Couples Tourney

Our friends in Santa Maria are hosting a couples tourney and BBQ this Saturday, Oct. 22. The event begins at 12:30 and is open to all couples wishing to participate. For more information contact Mike O/Keefe, our man on the inside, at 937-2019.

Blind Golfers Coming next week

Bob Spencer, reigning U.S. national blind golf champion in the B-2 (20/800) division, has committed to attend next week/s sixth annual California Blind Golf Classic.

Spencer, an ex-Marine from Chandler, Arizona, will make his first visit to Santa Maria. He will encounter the most talented field in any division in the history of the event.

Already registered in B-2 are defending California champion Roy Holt of Gilroy, Dennis McCulloch of Winnipeg, Canada 7 the Canadian national champ 7 and Bill Davis of Rancho Cucamonga, winner of the B-3 (legally blind) division here last year but who is now competing in B-2. Davis was the B-2 net winner in the U.S. Blind Golf Association championship recently in Raleigh, North Carolina.

In B-1 (total) defending champ Brian MacLeod of Truro, Nova Scotia, the eight-time Canadian national titleholder who two weeks ago won the U.S. open, will defend against colorful Bob Comba, the beer quaffing Kelowna, British Columbia, resident who upset him here two years ago.

In B-3 7 with Davis gone 7 the field appears wide open with George Jones of Hilton Head, South Carolina, a national tournament contender, expected to challenge a number of California golfers.

The California Classic is the largest blind golf event in the West. The event benefits the Lions Club Sight Conservation Foundation.

Scorekeepers, for whom no experience is necessary, are still needed and openings for Sponsors Day foursomes on Sunday, Oct. 23, are still available. On Sponsors Day each foursome is assigned one blind golfer.

The tournament itself will take place on Monday, Oct. 24 at Rancho Maria. For information call Howard Shaw at 735-1807.

Good Advice

Bob Kotowski, our man in the know, has been gracious enough over the last few months to provide faithful readers with periodic tips on improving their game. Said readers will recall that some of those tips involved practice and preparation. What an interesting concept. Imagine one/s game improving with something as simple as practice!

Some of Bob/s suggestions included establishing a routine, and being consistent in order to get comfortable before a tournament. Heeding Mr. K/s advice, I have developed a routine… a routine of not playing very often, and as a result, not very well. Probably not the routine Bob had in mind, but hey, at least it/s a routine. And now my strategy is going to be tested once again as I prepare to make… Mistake #2

Faithful readers will recall that last July, the well-meaning folks of the American Junior Golf Association made the fateful decision to invite me to play in the Nike Junior-Am tournament. My performance there was so overwhelming that my team finished next to last and I haven/t since been asked to participate in another event.

Until now…

Yes, as hard as it may be to understand, I have once again received a personal invitation to play in another tournament.

Which tournament, you ask? What group of players could possibly put up with my game?

Perhaps the only players who can/t actually see my game.

Yes folks, and I am not making this up, I will be participating in the aforementioned California Blind Golf Classic this Sunday.

My sports editor has arranged for me to play side by side with some of the top blind golfers in the world.

I wonder if he/s trying to tell me something.

After all, he is the only person I know who reads my column every week, whether he wants to or not. He must know my game, or lack of it, better than anyone.

Anyway, upon hearing the news, my first response was one of instinct. Instinct brought from beyond the millennia, through countless years of human history… find an excuse.

So I said, &#8220But Mr. Editor, Sir, I have never played Rancho Maria before!C

Alas, Mr. Editor, being accustomed to lame excuses from subordinates, quickly replied &#8220That/s alright, Gregg, the blind golfers have never seen the course either!C

Thanks a lot boss, but somehow I don/t think that makes us even.

These guys shoot better with no eyesight than I do with good vision in two!

Oh well, the good news is that they won/t see my lousy shots.

The bad news is that I/ll still make those lousy shots and will be obliged to tell you all about them next week.

That is, of course, unless I can draw on my ancient human ancestry once again and find an excuse not to write a column! Or not.

I wouldn/t want to upset Mr. Editor. Check in next week for the inside story on playing blind.

Until then, keep swinging, keep your head down and FORE!!!

Editor/s note: Gregg may not want to tell you how he fares at the Blind Golf Classic 7 but we will. We/ll be covering the tournament and plan to bring you complete results 7 including Gregg/s 7 next week in your Lompoc Record.

7 Elliott Stern/Sports Editor

Gregg Ratcliff can be reached at 735-8909 or 10630@utech.net

October 20, 2005