JSFL pre-draft golf tradition continued with two rounds of play in 2023
Three of the most tenured JSFL members (from left, Ron Hender, Bob Garcia and Vern Ahrendes) gathered on Saturday morning before the draft to continue a decades-long tradition of pre-draft golf, which is held these days at the Lomas Santa Fe Executive Course.
The final round of the FedEx Championship at East Lake had plenty of highs and lows, but not nearly as many as those recorded on San Juan Hills Friday in San Juan Capistrano, or in the final round Saturday on Lomas Santa Fe.
The Saturday morning round had to be called after 12 holes as too many damned birdies were falling to count – and because Jeff wanted to start the draft at 11 a.m.
But, recount we will to the best of our abilities and what can be pulled from the depths of our alcohol-addled brains.
And, count we will as Bob, Ron and I attacked both courses – Friday was more an attack of the senses and much of the wildlife, and Saturday was an assault of the course.
The name San Juan Hills is an appropriate one for this beast as it seemed we were playing uphill and into a stiff, 2-club breeze all day.
Had I known what was in store, I would requested a Howitzer to be part of my carry-on luggage for some of the difficult shots we faced all day.
At one point, I turned to Bob and asked, "Do we ever get to play downhill?" To which he replied, "How the heck should I know? I've never played here," said Garcia, who lives in nearby San Clemente.
There were no birdies to be found Friday as the three of us opted to play in a three-way scramble both days to save our sanity and the supply of balls we had with us. But, we did collaborate on a few pars Friday, and we felt good about that.
On Saturday, the par-3 course in Solano Beach was under attack all morning. We dropped four birdies – Ron dropped a 15-footer on the 141-yard 3rd hole and I dropped a 15-footer on 90-yard sixth, a 25-footer on the 130-yard 8th, and closed out the round with a 15-footer on the 121-yard 11th hole.
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