By Jim Crandall
Palms to Pines Golf Association handicap chairman

Idyllwild’s Palms to Pines Golf Association played a four-man scramble format tournament on Friday, Jan. 15 at Morongo Tukwet Canyon Champions Golf Course in Beaumont.
Instead of each person playing to win the tournament individually, in a scramble format, each foursome is a team competing against the other foursomes. In the team play, each team member hits a drive on each hole, then the team selects the best drive of the four, and each person plays their next shot from that spot. Play is continued shot-by-shot in that same way until the ball is holed. This format makes for low scoring.
During the 18-hole round, each foursome must use at least four drives from each team member. All foursomes are made up of both high and low handicappers, so strategy is involved in selecting the drive to use on each hole while making sure four drives are used from each team member during the round.
The team of Tony Viola, Gary Brown, John King and Paul Cozens shot an 8-under-par 64 to take first place. Jim Crandall, Tony McLean, Scott Schroeder and Lee Lanfried took second with a 66. There was a two-way tie for third between Chris Kramer, Norm Kyriss, Ken Garelick and Pete Holzman and Dennis Chavez, Pete Capparelli, Barry Wallace and David Hiemenz, who shot 3-under-par 69s.
Points toward the season-end playoffs were awarded as follows: First place received three points each; second place received two points each and third place received one point each, which was split to a half-point each because of the tie. Then, everyone who plays also gets a half-point.
There were also individual prizes for the closest to the pin winners on the four par-3 holes. They were Lee Lanfried on hole no. 2, Barry Wallace on hole no. 15 and Scott Schroeder on holes no. 8 and 17.
Here are the 2019/20 point standings for the new season which runs from August through July:
Place Golfer Points
1 Tony McLean 24
2 Gary Brown 20
3 Bob Wadlow 17
4 Paul Cozens 15
5 Jim Crandall 12
6 Norm Kyriss 9.5
7t Barry Wallace 6
7t Lee Lanfried 6
7t Scott Schroeder 6
7t Tony Viola 6
11 Dennis Chavez 5.5
12t Pete Capparelli 3.5
12t Ken Garelick 3.5
14t Danny Crosser 2
14t Jim Sullivan 2
14t Pete Holzman 2
B Flight stats (Flight B is comprised of high handicappers who don’t qualify to compete in the club championships).
Place Golfer Points
1 John King 30
2 Jerry Daquila 19.5
3 Barry Zander 18
4 David Hiemenz 12.5
5 Chris Kramer 12
6 Don DePalma 6
The top eight-point finishers of the year go into playoffs in August, September and October to determine the club champion. A member has to compete in at least five regular-season tournaments in order to qualify for the playoffs. The maximum handicap index allowed in the playoffs is 24.4. The champion goes on to play in the Southern California Tournament of Club Champions in December. Palms to Pines Golf Association plays a tournament off the Hill once a month at a different golf course. The games are usually played on the third Friday of the month but may be adjusted for holidays. Tournament fees range from $40 to $60 and the fees include green fees, tournament entry fees, golf cart and range balls. Guests usually pay $10 less since they don’t compete in the tournament. The club is a member of the Southern California Golf Association (SCGA) and is sanctioned to establish handicaps for members. If you are interested in joining the club or playing as a guest, please contact Jim Crandall at jimcrandall92549@gmail.com or 951-265-5732. You can also contact Pete Capparelli at pete@capparelli.com or 951-452-5552.