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NOT par for course

By KELLIE DIXON, Times Staff Writer
Published September 26, 2007

No. 3

Silverthorn says: De-mands both length and accuracy.

This green slopes towards the water, so choose carefully.

Wacky rules: Normal play, throw die for ball to be used.

Use putter like pool cue stick for putting.

Golfers joked about the lack of resin, and many tried to avoid it by chipping in.

Roxie Willett of Realty World groaned when Edward Hirst missed his possible chip-in.

That could have spared the group from the pool shot.

So she kneeled down and steadied behind the ball.

She nailed it.

No. 6

Silverthorn says: This long, tough par 4 is one of the best holes on the outward half. The heart of the fairway leads to a large, two-tiered green.

Wacky rules: Left/right hander switch on drive. Throw die for ball to be used. Putt with a croquet mallet. The strategies varied here. Michele Catchpole used a golf stroke, while group member Anne Fisher swung the mallet between her legs croquet-style. The golf-style swing was a popular choice, and one used by Patrick McInnis when his group played the hole about 30 minutes later. The ball rolled an inch right of the cup.

"That's it," Chris Kern of Ridge Manor told McInnis. "You're using that on every hole."

"I'm leaving them with one of these," McInnis said, threatening to take one of the two mallets. "You know what they say, 'Drive for show, croquet for dough."

No. 9

Silverthorn says: A good drive that avoids the bunkers right and water left will leave you a mid-iron approach to the green.

Wacky rules: Blindfolded on drive. Best ball used. Longest putt on green will be used.

Pity those that didn't read ahead. Charles D'Angelo looked up in shock when he saw the blue blindfold on the sign at the tee box.

His group predicted someone would get injured.

No injuries were reported, but finding a system was tricky.

McInnis put on the blindfold, stepped onto the tee box and started swinging.

After two misses and one unfortunate encounter with the ground, he heeded the advice of playing partner Mike O'Hara.

"Line up with the mask off and then hit it," O'Hara said. "You're not supposed to line it up blind."

Crack.

"Oh my goodness that's a beautiful hit!" Kern hollered. "Right down the middle."

McInnis smacked the ball almost 200 yards with his 3-iron. Maybe the wacky play was getting to him.

The club choice was his own.

Ever look at a croquet mallet and see a potential putter? Maybe you've wondered if gripping the club like a pool cue and getting eye level with the ball would help your putting. Rules of golf are sacred to some. And then there are tournaments like the one last week at Silverthorn Country Club. Scores didn't matter at the Wacky Golf Tournament. The priority: a good time. The tournament raised money for a new building for the Hernando County Association of Realtors. Randomness was the goal, and players stuck to the rules. They rolled dice, flipped coins, wore blindfolds and alternated clubs among other things. Here are three holes from the day:

[Last modified September 25, 2007, 20:09:07]