The Kenwood Country Club team of captain Sue Brainer, Susan Hyzdu, Karen Hjelm and Ginger Lippmeier-Suarez had a two-pronged approach to playing the this year’s Nine Wine and Dine event.

Try to have the right player taking the crucial shot on each hole and avoid celebrating birdies with fireballs.

The plan paid off as the Kenwood team finished with the top Gross score for the second consecutive year on August 24 at the Wyoming Golf Club. They teamed up to finish at 35, two strokes ahead of the Miami View team of captain Mary Oberle, Allison York, Judy Haverkos and Betty Dinkelacker.

“I think the big thing was we used strategy,” said Brainer, the Greater Cincinnati Women’s Golf Association president. “It was a step-aside scramble event, which means whoever hit the ball can’t hit the next shot. We tried to pick the golfer who could best hit the shot after that. We all had a hole that we won.”

The team of Maria Decker, Janel Carroll, Judy Pershern and Denise Kuprionis finished first in the Net category with a 37 . The team of Patty Robinson, Tonja Specht, Pam Feuchter and Kathy Dinklachter was second at 31.

Brainer’s team got off to a good start with an early birdie, but they eschewed the trend of celebrating birdies with fireballs. Still, they were pressed by the runnerup team until wrapping up their round with back-to-back birdies. “I knocked a putt in from the rough on No. 8 and Ginger Lippmeier-Suarez knocked in a downhill breaking putt to birdie the last hole,” Brainer said. “I was so excited, since I did not need to putt.

“There were a lot of higher handicaps in this event,” she added. “We thought, if we were going to win a prize, we’d have to win Gross. We all played very well. It was a great day with good weather. It was a fun event.”

A couple of members of the Miami View team played on the squad that won the Low Net category two or three years ago, Oberle said, and they were in the running this year before Kenwood’s back-to-back closing birdies.

“We didn’t quite finish first,” she said. “We were very happy to finish second, but that’s not like finishing first. We felt like, this year, we had a plan that worked well enough for us to finish second. Judy Haverkos really strategized. We had a plan.”

Oberle agreed that her crew might’ve had an edge because hilly Wyoming resembles their home course. “Wyoming does a good job of making it challenging, but we’re used to that,” she said. “I would say everybody played to their handicaps. Two of us had played Wyoming a number of times, and it helps to have that knowledge.”
The amenities made the event even more enjoyable.

“First of all, we all had a very nice time,” Oberle said. “It was fun. We loved the course, and Wyoming was a very gracious host. We had a nice dinner. It was outstanding. We certainly enjoyed ourselves. Wyoming does a great job.”

By Mark Schmetzer