[PokerBabe(aka)]

Greetings all golf enthusiasts. Last Friday, June 17th was the 2nd annual Babe’s Best Boys golf tournament.

Although many best boys were invited, several (Jason Brown and Bob S.) failed to show for the 2nd year in a row. ! Roy Cooke (who has not yet made the BB list), also cancelled a few days prior to the event. Dynasty cancelled at the last minute, saying that a 7:30 tee time was “too early” for him. He said he goes to sleep at 4-5 AM, so he couldn’t possibly make the event. However, my best boy and wonderful mentor Barry Tanenbaum keeps the same hours, and HE was able to make the event with no problem.

Our total count ended up being 9 players. I broke the teams into only 2 with 4 and 5 players, respectively.

Team A consisted of Babe, Dominic, J.P. (aka Old Fart) and Vic. Dominic and Vic made their debuts this year in the tourney and definitely will be invited back next year. Dominic is a newcomer to Vegas and Vic is a long time Vegas resident. J.P is a Best Boy, and of course, the Babe needs no introduction.

Team B was Babe’s hubby (Pete), Barry Tanenbaum, Jay Celesti, Abe Springfield (Dan) and Max Power (Johnathon).
Barry T and Pete are from Vegas, Jay is from Cincinnati , Dan is from Illinois and Max is from NY.

Did I mention that NONE of the boys were late? A+ for promptness boys!

While promptness was not a problem, we had a few guys that apparently didn’t get the memo about the cap color (sent out approximately one month prior to the event) . Andy Fox was gracious enough to provide the official BBB 2nd Annual Golf Tournament caps and we did them in powder blue with navy letters. They came out perfectly – THANKS ANDY! However, a few boys were not thinking about their “overall look” and failed to color coordinate their outfits with the caps. Next year, we are doing Pink, I think, so that should give everyone plenty of time to think about what to wear!

The format for the tournament (as always) is best ball. Everyone played from the middle tees except for Babe, who got to move forward. Each team was required to use all members’ drives in equal proportion. No mulligans allowed.

After some photo ops, we ventured out. I was the notetaker for my team, with Dominic keeping score. Jay was the notetaker and scorekeeper for team B.

I should mention that the wind was howling all during the play at anywhere from 25-45 mph. For some people, this would present too much of a challenge, but my Best Boys are FEARLESS .

Here are some highlights of the tournament.

Hole #1 -290 yd Par 4.

Team A starts off strong with Dominic’s drive straight down the middle. We par the hole with Dominic carrying us all the way. Team B is off to a good start as well, with Dan in the lead. Dan’s drive is a beauty and he also chips to within 3 feet of the hole. Dan makes that 3 footer and Team B birdies the first hole.

Hole #2 -465 yd. Par 5.

Dominic crushes one 250 yds. Down the middle as Babe drop kicks hers. J.P. hits a nice drive, but Dominic still is in front. I am really glad I have Dominic on my team (lol). I offer Vic a dollar if he can make the 215 yd second shot. Alas, it was not to be and we limp in to make par.

Team B also makes par on # 2 . Johnathon hits his tee shot in the trees, Barry hits his down the middle and Dan tests that cart path! Pete and Jay are about the same length and Pete’s drive is used at about 220 from the green. Nobody could convert the second shot, but Barry makes a nice chip on the 3rd shot to get within 10 feet of the hole. As with Team A, nobody can birdie here, and it’s a par for team B.

Hole #3- 96 yd. Par 3 over water

This is the front side “closest to the pin” hole.
It’s a cute little hole and Babe and Vic both smack it easily on the green. Dominic is on the fringe. J.P.’s ball is wet. We use my drive and miss the birdie op for yet another Par. Since I am ineligible for any prizes, we give Vic the “closest to the pin” honors here.

Team B is more fortunate than my team as Jays drive falls 8 feet from the hole. Pete’s ball is wet. However, Pete taps the ball for a birdie put and it looks short. However, the 45 mph wind actually pushes the ball into the cup (lol) ! Jay gets it “closest to the pin”.


Hole #4- 351 yd. Par 4

Vic KILLS the ball for Team A to just behind a bunker on the near right of the green. His tee shot is amazing at about 300 yards. However, we can’t use the shot since it’s behind a tree with no way out. J.P. saves us with a nice straight teee shot . Both Dominic and Babe miss the second shot into the bunker and we use J.P’s line again here. Once we chip on, Babe saves par for the team with a nice 10 footer.

Team B is on their game here, with ALL boys making excellent drives. Barry hits his 240, Dan 250, Johnathon 280, and Pete and Jay both over 300.
WOW.! Now, with 40 mph wind behind him, Pete chips it on to wihin 10 feet of the hole. Johnathon sinks it for his first birdie putt!. WTG boys.

Hole #5- 340 yd. Par 4

Gail force winds are in our face on this one. The wind must be close to 45 mph here. This should be a good hole for all !

Vic’s drive is aimed East to West to compensate for the wind. However, his ball goes West to East (LOL). It was hilarious to watch the laws of physics being denied on this shot. Oh wait, could he have misjudged his setup? The shot ends up in the bunder and Dom also goes into a sandy grave. J.P. loses his ball ( Hey, what is Dan doing driving around here?). Needless to say, the Babe has to save her boys and we use my nice drive that gets within 100 yds of the green. J.P. chips it on and we all proceed to miss a 10 foot birdie putt. Is that hole actually moving? Routine par for Team A.

Team B scatters their tee shots all over the course on this one. Jay hits a low roller and it’s ugly but still the best of the bunch. After numerous attempts to get on in 2, the B team comes up short. Dan actually picks up his ball in disgust. Oh wait, does his ball have a “Bellagio logo on it” or is that the lost ball that J.P. is looking for? Indeed, it was. J.P. now has Dan’s ball and vice versa. Team B’s Barry Tanenbaum is not at all confused about where his ball is, and he sinks a nice 9 foot putt to save par.


Hole #6 – 161 yd. Par 3

Team A’s balls all come up SHORT except for J.P.’s which falls nicely on the green about 20 feet from the pin. We par the hole after 2 putting it. Vic names our team “Pars are Us”.

Team B’s Dan crushes it over the green, Barry duffs one way short, Peter finds the trees and Jay must rescue his boys buy just missing the sand onto the green. After lipping the cup 3 times, Team B taps it in for par.

Hole #7 – 363 yd. Par 4

Team A can’t find a swing. It’s ugly and we make our first bogey of the day. We are now on “Golf TILT”.

Team B’s Pete rips one down the middle as the rest of the team huddles around the beer cart. Jonathon hits his shot of the day after taking a bite of a sandwich. Dan now hits a beauty as well. Barry , Jay and Pete now take a nap and let Jonathon and Dan finish up for a par.

Hole #8 – 416 yd. Par 4

The A team recovers from golf tilt to go back to their “routine par” status. Dom hits a stunning shot on from 215 here and we applaud his efforts.

Team B’s Dan tops his drive a huge 30 feet. Barry hits it high and short and Pete comes out like Tiger. Barry puts it on the green from 170 and after puts going left, right and OFF the green, Team B makes a BIRDIE putt by Pete.

Hole #9- 438 yd. Par 4.

This is the designated “long drive” hole for the front side.

Dominic knocks the heck out of this one. He wins longest drive in 9 at just about 300 yards. If the wind was not blowing 265 mph, he might have driven the green here. Babe makes the FIRST birdie putt of the day. It only took us 9 holes to get a birdie. Now we are ready to take on Team B.

Unfortunately, Team B also makes birdie, and we end the front side as follows: Team A = 36, Team B= 31