The Scorer - Spring Island, August 24, 2005

There's one in every group. But in this group of eight, there are at least four...

I'm playing in an informal VA vs. SC residents team match at Secession and Spring Island's Old Tabby Links this week. After two days and 54 holes, the VA guys lead by 1 point.

The format has been Better Ball, Better Ball, Modified Alternate Shot. Each hole is worth a point - if we halve it's worth a half point - and it's this close. Tomorrow we'll have singles matches at Secession.

Here's the SC captain, Kirk Davis, working on the afternoon scorecards today in the lounge at Spring Island Club. Beside him is Dennis Kern, one of the VA players. At the time of this shot, we're between rounds and waiting for lunch and, for me, at least, another round of beers.

I'm accustomed to being the scoring guy, setting up the groups, preparing the scorecards, tallying the scores... But this time there are at least four of us who do that sort of thing, and it's fun to watch: so many type A golf personalities, pencil in hand, counting and recounting, checking the dots.

Tonight over dinner we'll set the pairings for tomorrow's final matches. The Old Dominion, aka The Commonwealth, they're tough. But they're going down.