Week 1 in the books...three peat in progress ....Schulz week 1 MVP!

What a gorgeous night on the fairways and greens of the Carroll Country Club as week 1 of the 2010 men’s league got underway.

First I would like to thank Jim, Baron, Gary and all of the grounds staff on the excellent condition of the golf course especially after all of the winter tree damage that was suffered. It truly is a pleasure to play at the Carroll Country Club.

Your Bud Light team walked onto the tarmac in front of the pro shop as the back to back and defending Men’s League Champions. The respect was evident from the beginning as we were informed that we would be starting on the 10th tee. One has to wonder how many championships in a row are needed before respect is handed out on the first night of league. I am sure Mr. Schon was only looking out for the well being of the farmer and the dog sending them to the closer starting hole. How many championships have they won? My records from 2009 show them comfortably in 7th place in the Tiger Woods division. The lime light of starting on the 1st tee does appeal to some of the Soggy Subs as they beat Larry’s Automotive 42 to 30. For the record the fear of teeing off in front of all of the card players negatively affected the farmer and the dog as they both shot 43 and were a non factor in the teams win. Tom Duff and Pat “Spanky” Vollstedt were the work horses for the subs and was the Duffer chirping about it.

Your Bud Light team squared off with a tough La-z-boy team. 2008 Bud Light MVP Mike Schulz led the team by beating Doc Sporrer 11 to 7 and will be in lead in the 2010 Bud Light MVP race. Bud Two Troy Auen beat Randy Hockum 10 to 8 and long time subscriber, top local amateur, highly successful and more veteran golfer Craig Mertz was awarded low gross honors with a one under par 33. On course reporters noticed a couple of “chili chunks” from Mertz as he tied Bud One Jim Auen. For his efforts Bud One had a career shot on the par three 17th making birdie to stay in the match. A week ago Steve “Hans” Auen had a stellar round in preparation of the new season. Week 1 proved to be a struggle for Bud Three as he was beaten by Rick Kasperbauer 11 to 7. Overall a good night for your Bud Light team who are currently tied for 4th with the gun men of Volquartsen Customs.

The runners up Macke Motors team were run over by the buses of Windstar in week 1. Your Captain Mike Franey led the team for the Motors beating Ron Badding. Otherwise Captain Randy Bierl tied Tiger Tom Simons, Flying Bob Raue lost to Windstar front man Jeff Greteman 10 to 8 and Car Wash Todd Pettitt lost to the accountant Bob Muhlbauer 8 to 10. Motors team member Joel Flug has underwent hernia surgery so one member of your Bud Light team will be subbing for the Macke Motors club for the next 4 weeks. Now that is some true sportsmanship that maybe Tom Duff can learn from and quit chirping about his team teeing off the #1 tee.

In an interesting twist to this year’s league one team weekly will play against par. That team this week was Carroll Cycle Center. The Cycles scored 32 points. This will prove to be something to watch throughout the year.

Other results from the Zach Johnson division found the new Pizza Ranch team sizzling hot and taking care of the low interest rates Templeton Savings Bank 43 to 29. This report would like to welcome them to the Zach Johnson division. Frank Comito’s Stiff Sticks can no longer dodge your Bud Light team until the playoffs as they are new members to the Zach Johnson division. The Sticks were all square with Templeton Rye on week 1. Papa Joe Classic defending and back to back champion Dave Nelson came out a blazing in week 1 scoring 13 points against Mike Mosher to lead the Hawkeye Commodity Brokers to victory over the bank tellers of CCSB. Elin’s 9 irons hung tough with the gunners of Volquartsen Customs. How fitting that Elin’s 9 irons do not play in the former Tiger Woods division.

Over in the Phil Mickelson division Noah John Reiman’s dad Andy carried Carroll Glass to victory by clubbing Bill Badding 15 to 3. The glass men sit atop of the division with 45 points. Chico Kanne’s oil jobbers split with Linde Equipment. Ryan Milligan’s bankers were taken to the cleaners by Kasperbauer Cleaners. Too bad it was Tuesday night and not Wednesday because they offer a discount on Wednesday morning. Miller Lite hammered Badding Construction 42 to 30 with Tom Farner being the leading golfer for the other beer.

That’s a wrap for week 1. Week 1 ended with 2008 Bud Light MVP Mike Schulz and your Captain Mike Franey enjoying a delicious buffalo chicken pizza and washing it down with an ice cold Bud Light. Great work to Ray and his staff! Oh by the way your Captain had to stop eating to read the dinner tickets of both the farmer and the dog because they had forgotten their “cheater glasses.” Better not let them keep score this year!
This publisher apologizes for the late delivery of this weeks report so all subscription fees will be reduced by 50% for the upcoming year. Your Bud Light team is right where they want to be with eyes on the true prize……..a three peat! As always this buds for you and ON IOWA!

Fairways and greens to all
2008 and 2009 Championship Captain
Mike Franey

Welcome to the 2010 Men's League season!

Hello Golf Fans!

The quest for a three peat starts tonight! Your back to back and defending Carroll Country Club Men's League Champions step on 10th tee tonight at 5:30 to face off with Bud One Jim Auen's La-z-boys. Making the call tonight for your Bud Light team will be long time subscriber, top local amateur, highly successful and more veteran golfer Craig Mertz, Steve "Hans" Auen, Bud Two Troy Auen and 2008 Bud Light Golfer of the Year Mike Schulz. Schulz recently ended a two month hold out period by signing his contract on Saturday. Details of the arrangement have been sealed. During the negotiations Schulz was represented by Carroll sports power agent Bob Kelly. Schulz is officially on probation for the first two weeks of the season for missing the signing deadline.

2009 Bud Light Golfer of the Year Steve Sinnard is resting comfortably on the bench tonight and Your Captain Mike Franey will be subbing for the 2009 runner up team Macke Motors.

Other match ups of interest in the Zach Johnson division are as follows:

2008 and 2009 Papa Joe Classic Champion Dave Nelson will lead the Hawkeye Commodity Brokers against the tellers of CCSB. Frank Comito's Stiff Sticks face off against Templeton Rye. The TR team has two former members of the Carroll Country Club team of a year ago, Head Bar keeper Jason Scranton and Head Golf Professional and General Manager Nick Schon.

Last but certainly not least the Carroll Cycle Center has to themselves tonight.

Save the date! Tuesday, June 8, 2010 Your Bud Light team vs. the Carroll Cycle Center.

Over in the other division which has been changed to the Phil Mickelson division the Soggy Subs square off against Larry's Automotive. This publisher wonders how the Farmer and Dog will get along this year. Macke Motors plays Windstar. New father Andy Reiman's Carroll Glass team looks to conquer Utilicomm and Chico Kanne's oil jobbers look to side track Linde Equipment.

Fairways and greens to all!

2008 & 2009 Championship Captain

Mike Franey

Spring has finally sprung...cleanup is needed....lets get it done and get to swinging!

Trees.....Trees....and more Trees. Visions of large piles of trees are seen at various locations around our fine city. Your Carroll Country Club is ahead of the curve in clean up and now we the members need to help our club over the finish line. Below is all the information.


GOLF COURSE CLEAN-UP DAYS

We will begin clean up from the winter ice storm starting next week. A TENTITIVE schedule is as follows (weather dependent):

Tuesday, March 30th
2:00PM - ????
Report to the Clubhouse for details and assignments

Thursday, April 1st
2:00PM - ????
Report to the Clubhouse for details and assignments

Saturday, April 3rd
10:00AM - ????
Meet in the CCC parking lot and crews will be formed and assignments given

As mentioned before these times and dates are very weather dependent. If you are able to assist in the clean up, please bring a garden rake, truck, trailer, or chainsaw with you. We appreciate your assistance in getting our golf course cleaned up for the 2010 season.

See you soon on the links! Look for a Bud Light team update in the near future.

Mike Franey
Championship Captain of Your Bud Light Team
2008 and 2009 Supper League Champions.

Your Bud Light Team will be represented!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year from the Bud Light Report!

It has been almost four months to the day! Oh you remember August 25, 2009 was the night that Your Bud Light team stunned Macke Motors in the playoffs 48 to 24 to claim back to back Carroll Country Club Supper League Championships. 2008 Bud Light MVP and self proclaimed world's best putter Mike Schulz beat Captain Carpet Randy Bierl 11 to 7, long time subscriber, top local amateur, highly successful and more veteran golfer Craig Mertz shot a stellar round of 32 to beat Car Wash Todd Pettitt 11 to 7, 2009 Bud Light MVP Steve Sinnard shot a two under par 35 and waxed Flying Bob Raue 13 to 5 and your Captain beat Grandpa Uncle Bruce 13 to 5. As the curtain closed on the 2009 supper league season your Bud Light team was at the top of the heap once again! It has been a great year and life is good on top!

Seems so long ago as the ice and snow drifts into the Carroll area! It is Christmas time in the city! I hope all of you take time to spend with family and friends. It is at this time of the year that I stop and think how fortunate I really am! There are so many things to be thankful for including my family, my friends, everyone at Mid Iowa, my meals on wheels angels who brighten my day each and every Monday, all of my Chamber of Commerce colleagues, all of the subscribers of this report and the list goes on and on! Merry Christmas to all of you! Merry Christmas to Kirk Ferentz and the great Iowa Hawkeyes!

From my family to yours have a very Merry Christmas and here is looking forward to a great 2010!

Ho Ho Ho!

2008 and 2009 Championship Supper League Captain

Mike Franey

Presented by Subway!

It all started on a cool Iowa morning as we were heading West from Carroll on U.S. Highway 30. It was 5 AM and the four of us were answering a call from Subway team sponsor - Subway Mike Gute to fly to the Subway compound in Las Crues, New Mexico to discuss strategy that could help his Subway team compete in the Carroll Country Club Men's Supper League. 2008 Bud Light MVP Mike Schulz, 2009 Bud Light MVP Steve Sinnard, Long time subscriber, top local amateur, highly successful and more veteran golfer Craig Mertz and Your Bud Light team captain Mike Franey arrived at the El Paso Airport and proceeded the five minutes to the Butterfield Trail Golf Club to start our journey. At the Butterfield Trail Golf Club we met Mark "Crazy" O'Leary, Tator Tot Tim Gute, Subway Mike and El Paso Texas' Subway Dave "Chopper" Gute. Eighteen holes ensued on the fairways and greens of the Butterfield Trail Golf Club followed by a delicious brisket dinner at the home of Dave and Tina Gute. Our forty mile drive to the Subway compound seem longer as us early morning travelers were fading fast.

A good night sleep was just what the doctor ordered and in the morning we awoke to the sun rising over the Somona Ranch Golf Course - which would become our home for the next four days. As the opening round of the The 2009 Las Cruces International Players Annual National Open Invitational Tournament of Champions Masters Tour Championship Charity Classic
Memorial Legends Grand Slam Event of the Year Final Shoot Out in the Desert
at Sonoma Ranch World Cup Challenge presented by Subway approached all the golfers started one of several daily traditions.....breakfast buritos at the Sunset Grill.

Lots can happen in four days! We met great people like Head Golf Professional Justin Dahrling and all of his staff who treated us great, Rios and Taylor, Dede(our fine beer cart driver), B.T., Eric, Simon and a little fella that we simply called "Z". Z provided the four members of Your Bud Light team a place to stay and the humor that would break most people's ribs. Z also gave our friend Crazy a new nickname " el tigre loco" -meaning one crazy tiger. We played four days of golf at the beautiful Sonoma Ranch Golf Course and only retired to the patio at the Sunset Grill(another daily tradition) when Mother Nature turned out the lights. The Sunset Grill was this little establishment with a small kitchen where the food was fit for kings(or in this case the back to back champions of the CCC Supper League)! Long time subscriber, top local amateur, highly successful and more veteran golfer Craig Mertz had the incredible Beef Wellington back to back nights and then followed it up with his favorite cheese burger on Saturday night. Others enjoyed pasta, steak and tuna all that were recommended by our new friends.

Oh I just brought it up.....the only blemish of the whole trip......a four hour block of time on Saturday's midday! As we gathered in Subway Mike's living room thoughts of a Big Ten title and a National Championship in the Rose Bowl danced in our heads. As Ricky Stanzi lay motionless in the North end zone of Kinnick Stadium you could have heard a pin drop in that Las Crues, New Mexico living room. The leader of our black and gold was down. That game did not turn out like we wanted but we had to carry on because we had a tee time at Sonoma Ranch. The black and gold might have lost on the field that day but I wore my black and gold shirt into battle. Subway Mike and myself were facing off against against long time subscriber, top local amateur, highly successful and more veteran golfer Craig Mertz and 2009 Bud Light MVP Steve Sinnard. It was a rematch of day two when Subway Mike and I carved up the so called "Dream Team" like a twenty pound butterball turkey at Thanksgiving. This day would be considered a draw and left all that money that we collect on day two in our pockets. The "Dream Team" labeled Saturday as moving day but they forgot to call Car Wash Todd to line up the moving trucks. The sweet taste of victory!

Thank you Subway Mike! Thanks to Dave and Tina Gute, everyone at the Sonoma Ranch Golf Course, all the nice people that we met and our main man Z!

Fairways and greens to all!

Bud Light Championship Captain
Mike Franey

Oh by the way more discussion is needed and no decisions were made concerning the Subway golf team!

IN KIRK WE TRUST!

My mother in law Caryl Dukes sent me an email the other day because she worried that she did not receive my blog any longer. Never fear MeMa you are still a subscriber and you are going to love this post!
On a drizzly Iowa October night as a few of us left the wedding reception at the Arcadia American Legion to gather around the bar at the Front Street Station in down town Arcadia to watch our beloved Black and Gold mount a last second drive it soon became apparent that we were watching history in the making! As Marvin McNutt caught the pass from Ricky Stanzi the bar erupted and started to celebrate the Hawkeye's 8th victory of the season. I have to admit that I was a little worried about the outcome but never gave up the hope. In the words of the greatest voice of the Iowa Hawkeyes....I Love it....I Love it....I Love it!

The Official University of YOUR Back to Back Supper league Championship Bud Light team is in uncharted territories. A #4 BCS ranking was released on Sunday evening! The three teams above us are not too bad either.....Florida, Alabama and Texas! I received several text messages shortly after the game and many of them just contained one simple but powerful word....WOW! It's great to be a Hawkeye! In the famous words of Carroll Cycle Center's team Captain Terry Ruchti "It's our(he ussually says "your" but it fits better with "our".) time enjoy the ride!

Bud One Jim Auen's Iowa State Cyclones stole a victory away from long time subscriber, top local amateur, highly successful and more veteran golfer Craig Mertz's turnover prone Nebraska Cornhuskers on Saturday! Congratulations to the Cyclones.

In other news worthy items...........

• Happy birthday wishes this past Sunday to my father-in-law Phil Dukes!
• Congratulations to Bud One Jim Auen on his recent marriage. What a great event! This creates a split household as Deb is a Big Red fan. Well at least one of them were happy on Saturday.

Have a great week!

Mike Franey

2008 and 2009 Supper league championship captain

Craig Mertz wins 2009 Bill Franey Open and Wyatt Haukap cards hole in one!

Craig Mertz of Carroll shot a 27 hole total of two under par 106 to win the 4th Annual Bill Franey Open at the Raccoon Valley Golf Course in Jefferson on Sunday by one stroke over Scott Quandt of Mt. Carmel. Mertz also won the inaugural Bill Franey Open in 2006. Defending champion Wade Pettitt and 2007 champion Mike Eckerman were not in the field this year.
The tournament named after Bill Franey, father of Mike Franey of Carroll who passed away in May of 2006 attracted 24 Carroll golfers in the 56 player field. The tournament was formerly known as the Al Hoy Memorial where Bill Franey served as the tournament director for 25 years. In 2006 the Board of Directors of the golf course renamed the tournament the Bill Franey Open. Proceeds from the tournament support a scholarship given annually to a student training to be an electric lineman at Northwest Community College in Sheldon. Franey was a lineman for the Midland Power Coop in Jefferson for 31 years and served as line superintendent for another 10 years.
All golfers played 18 holes then the low 16 players qualified for a final championship nine. Adam Pick won the final nine medalist honors with a 2 under par 34.
Other Carroll golfers in the championship flight included Adam Pick 110, Pat “Spanky” Vollstedt 110, Kevin Vollstedt, formerly from Manning 114, Joe Pick 115, Lonny Lehrkamp 115, Andy Bernholtz 115, Steve “Cuda” Quandt 116 and Wyatt Haukap with a 117. Haukap recorded a hole in one on hole #5.
Terry Ruchti was second in the first flight with a 79. Others in the first flight were Steve Sinnard 81, Paul Tigges 81, Tom Duff 82, former Carroll resident John Dukes 83, Tom Dentlinger 84 and Andy Reiman 84. Dave Nelson was 4th in the second flight with an 87. Other scores in the 2nd flight were Bruce Pettitt 87, Jay Drees 89, Joe Hinners 89 and Mike Franey 90. Mike McDermott won the third flight with a 92 and Steve “Hans” Auen was second with a 92. Others in the 3rd flight were former Carroll resident Mark Cuddy 93, Jason Scranton 101 and Tom Snyder 110.

A big thanks to the Carroll girls for coming over and supporting all the golfers!