By Mike VanZandt
Dewey Jones, “El Hombre Sin Miedo”, or the man without fear, won four skins and most of the cash Wednesday when the Ranch Irregulars left the beach for, guess what, a golf outing. Three teams of three golfers competed in a five dollar modified Nassau combined with a skins game. Now known as “Half-a-Stroke Jones”, Dewey pocketed $50 for his

By Mike VanZandt
Golf course head pro and cat breeder Mike Mitchell pulled a rusty Wilson made clone of the famous Titleist Bullseye putter he used as a high school golfer from the trash heap 10 days ago. Mitchell needed only one week of play with the ugly flat stick to notch his first win from the turquoise tees in the Par 3 contest Thursday at the Ranch. Mitchell

By Mike VanZandt
John Milby birdied the tough first hole and David Buchanan birdied the easy third hole to win skins Tuesday and leave Shannon O’Brien skinless from the gold Par 3 tees despite an eight par-one double bogey 29 that captured low score. Mike VanZandt skulled a 6 iron to 30 feet and got up and down for the only par of the day on the 145 yard 4th hole

By Mike VanZandt
Mike VanZandt missed an eighteen-inch putt for par on the 6th hole Thursday to give Roy Strimple a well earned skin and deny John Milby a sweep of the cash. Milby hit a 158 yard eight iron on number 9 to three feet and tapped it in for his skin, the only birdie of the day in the windy conditions. Despite his choke on number 6 and another missed

By Mike VanZandt
Head golf pro Mike Mitchell reset the pins and tee boxes on the Gold Par 3 Course for Tuesdays contest amidst much grumbling from the contestants. Of course, everyone plays the same course so there is no fairness issue, but golfers like to score well and no one got close to par in the swirling winds at the Ranch. Shannon O’Brien, Dabney Harrison and Mike VanZandt tied for first place with awful

By Mike VanZandt (4-9-14)
The 25-35 mph north wind blew out the field Tuesday in the Par 3 contest from the Gold tees. Only Shannon O’Brien found anything resembling a golf game, shooting a nice 4 over par 31 to whip David Buchanan by a whopping three strokes. Mike Mitchell was third at 9 over par. This writer will no longer report scores above nine over par, except in

By Mike VanZandt (4-11-14)
Longtime friend of the Dabbler and missing-in-action golfer Rene McFarland brought the remnants of his once solid golf game to the Ranch Thursday for his first Par 3 experience since the event began 15 months ago and struggled to a nine over par 36. Welcome back Rene! Michael Comeaux returned to form with a nice three over par 30 for the win. John

By Mike VanZandt
Michael Comeaux fired a 29/30 59 on the 18 hole Par 3 course and a 42 from the white tees on March 29th to edge Shannon O’Brien by one stroke and John Milby and Mike VanZandt by three shots in the first combined championship at the Ranch. Golfers played both Par 3 courses before teeing off from the regular tees in the unique

Not since Mike VanZandt shot even par from the Gold Par 3 tees at the recent Club Championship has Michael Comeaux lost a par 3 contest at the Ranch. Since his career high 40 on March 20th, the Port Bolivar softball legend has dominated the Par 3 contests, shooting low score six consecutive rounds. On Sunday, Comeaux’s team of Mike Mitchell, Will Armstrong, and Dewey Jones

The Port Bolivar Cemetery and the residents of Port Bolivar were the big winners March 22 at the Ranch. Donations from over one hundred hole sponsors and a wildly successful Calcutta/auction at the Down Under the night before the tourney gave the 72 golfers entered lots of money to vie for in the 18 hole scramble. Jeremy Porter’s team, benefiting from a last minute substitution, shot a nifty

By Mike VanZandt
Paul Williams and John Milby split the double skins pot at the Ranch on 3/18/14 with birdies on #6 and #7 respectively. Shut out were Michael Comeaux and Shannon O’Brien, who both birdied the second and third holes to no avail. In the skins format, if two tie, all tie. Low scorer was Comeaux with a nice 30 while O’Brien was one shot back at

By Mike VanZandt
Shannon O’Brien drilled a tough ten foot putt on the last hole to salvage a par and a tie with Mike VanZandt at 3 over par Tuesday, 3,11/14, at the Ranch. O’Brien won the only skin of the day with a par on number 7 when his brother-in-law John Milby missed a two foot putt to tie. Wes Buchanan whipped aging dad David by a whopping five strokes

By Mike VanZandt
Sometimes the golf gods smile as you strike the elliptical spheroid with the flat stick and send it meandering over the mixed grass greens at the Ranch and then laugh with you when it falls inexorably into the bottom of the cup. I’m not saying that’s what happened Thursday from the Turquoise Par 3 tees, but the old Dabtician gleefully enjoyed a

By Mike VanZandt
Michael Comeaux’s par on the ninth hole at the Ranch secured him a tie for first place with Shannon O’Brien and Mike VanZandt and a skin worth $30 in the Tuesday Par 3 Shootout. VanZandt cashed the other skin with a solo par on the sixth hole. The seven competing golfers made zero birdies to go with 10 fat double bogeys. Mike Mitchell had

By Mike VanZandt
Michael Comeaux scattered two bogies amongst seven pars for a two over 29 on the Turquoise Course on Valentine’s eve. Comeaux beat everyone in the field by at least two shots and was the only golfer besides Massena New York Class “A” PGA Pro Brent Smith without a double bogey on his card. Dabney Harrison led the double bogey parade with

By Mike VanZandtShannon O’Brien proved again Sunday why he’s the luckiest guy on the beach when he drew hot El Rancho Mr. Everything Mike Mitchell as his partner and edged a weather weakened field by several shots. Dewey Jones and John Milby were second at one over par 37. Will Armstrong and Mike Comeaux parred the last six holes to shoot 38 which tied Charles Brannan and Mike VanZandt for next to last place.

Mike Mitchell had one of those weeks golfers dream about. In the January 19th Sunday scramble, Mitchell tied for first place, losing a chip off for sole first place. Two days later, the diminutive Ranch Pro saw his iron play dramatically improve but a balky putter kept him out of the money. Wednesday, Mitchell joined Shannon O’Brien, Wes Weisinger, and Michael Comeaux at Belle Oaks in Port Arthur and trounced them on the back nine with a three over

By Mike VanZandt

Buchanan All Smiles After Par 3 Shootout (2014-01-14)
The Par 3 Shootouts at the Ranch every Tuesday and Thursday afternoons are a Skins Game. Everyone…

O’Brien Wallops Stumbling Field (2014-01-16)
Class C+ Non-PGA Pro Mike Mitchell changed the turquoise tee boxes for Thursday afternoons Par 3 Shootout…

By Mike VanZandt

– Brannan, Pettit, Finch, Irvine Sweep Loaded Field

– O’Brien Falters; Comeaux/VanZandt Tie for First

– Comeaux’s Wedge Dashes Playoff Hopes for Six Golfers

By Mike VanZandt
Lyndon Johnson journeyed from the Adirondack Mountains of New York State to play in the Tuesday Par 3 tournament at the Ranch and enjoyed seeing his lifelong friend Brent Smith’s one over par 28 edge Michael Comeaux by one shot. David Buchanan shared the skin’s pot with Smith with a nice birdie on the fifth hole. Comeaux kept Mike VanZandt out

By Mike VanZandt
After an hour of practicing his chipping and putting Thursday afternoon, David Buchanan felt confident when he teed it up on the first hole of the Par 3 Turquoise Course. A three putt double bogey quickly brought him back to earth and proved to be the difference between his score and the eventual winners. Michael Comeaux hit his tee shot three feet from the

By Mike VanZandt
Michael Comeaux lapped the field by four shots Thursday, December 5th, but his one over par 28 brought him no skins as at least one of the seven other players tied Comeaux’s score on every hole. The skins pot carried over to Tuesday, December 10th. In order to win a skin, you have to beat the field by at least one shot on any given

By Mike VanZandt
Non PGA Head Golf Pro Mike Mitchell had just seen Class “A” PGA Professional Brent Smith chip in for a birdie on the last hole of the Tuesday scramble for an almost certain share of the skins pot. Mitchell lined up his slightly shorter chip and gleefully covered up Smith’s birdie with one of his own. Beneficiaries of Mitchell’s unlikely shot were

By Mike VanZandt
Sweet Swinging Charlie Brannan did all he could do in the Sunday Scramble at the Ranch. Time after time he nailed his drives down the middle of the fairway. Laser like irons found green after green. He sank long putt after long putt and the ones he missed looked into the cup as they barely missed. Almost singlehandedly, Charlie birdied the tough

By Mike VanZandt
John Milby didn’t have his “A” game but his 82 was good enough to win the second 2013 Club Championship on November 16th. David Buchanan won the second flight with a 92. Congratulations guys! Dabney Harrison won Tuesdays Par 3 outing and PGA Pro Brent Smith from Massena Country Club in Massena N.Y. captured Thursday’s

Dabney Harrison kept the white orb low in Tuesdays 9 hole challenge at the Ranch. With winds steady at 30 mph and gusting to 35, Harrison shot a 5 over par 32 that included a near-ace birdie on #8. Unfortunately for the Dabster, his 12 inch birdie putt went for naught when Michael Comeaux poured in a 15 foot birdie putt on top of Harrison’s to deny the Dabber a share of the skins pot. Head golf pro