Golf Director Bob Guido would like to congratulate everyone who participated and made the Championship such a success. RESULTS Championship Winners MEN’S: Bruce Fox WOMEN’S: Sun Moon Choi Flight A Winners MEN’S: Bruce Savid WOMEN’S: Marlene Zucker Flight B Winners MEN’S: Steve Auerbach WOMEN’S: Teresa Oropallo Flight C Winners MEN’S: Mario Carmiciano (No Women’s Flight C Match played) GOLF GREATS BY STEPHEN VRATTOS On Sunday, August 16, the Country Club held its annual Ladies and Men’s Golf Championships. 16 men started the day, from which four qualified for the final round of play, which saw #2-seeded Bruce Fox besting #1-seeded Jim Kahn. On the Ladies side, #4-seeded Sun Moon Choi overcame both the #1 and #2 seeds to ult imately win. It was the first Championship for both. Each game proved to be a nailbiter with the Women’s tournament undecided until the 16th Hole and the Men’s neck-and-neck until the 17th! The morning’s weather was perfect, but a sudden unsettled system stopped play for an hour in the afternoon, after which, the game resumed. The Championship was shared with games at three different Flight levels of play, after which everyone retired to the clubhouse for a delicious buffet, refreshments and the awards presentation. biter Second course Winner Sun Moon Choi with her proud husband Mens Golf Champion Bruce Fox (center) with Assistant Golf Pro John Morrison (left) and Golf Director Bob Guido (right) Winning form 44 North Shore Towers Courier n September 2015 Rack Your Tile—The Controversy I had a distressing call from a former student of mine, telling me that one of her “play-mates” was continually complaining that she was “picking and racking too fast”.. that she didn’t have a chance to call for a tile. She added that nobody else in the group complained about the speed of her picking and racking. “What should I do?” she pleaded. “It’s my sister-in-law”. Family peace is at stake here and although the rules of the game clearly states once a tile is racked, no one can call for the just discarded tile, it’s not easy to tell your sister-in-law “You’re playing too slowly for us.” The speed at which a player picks and racks is clearly a matter of playing “style”. There is no timecount between picking the tile and racking it. You don’t pick a tile and count “one Mississippi, two Mississippi” and then rack. People pick and rack at different speeds (Unfortunately, some people don’t rack at all.) The idea is to pick and rack in a “reasonable” way. However, what is r e a s o n a b l e to one player might seem “unfair” to another. But most players are fine with the speed of picking and racking in the game they play. What is the purpose of racking? Racking is a defensive move, designed to keep another player from calling a tile he/she needs—exactly what the sister-in-law is complaining about. People who complain about “racking too fast” most often do not have a firm grasp of the card’s requirements for the hand they are playing or can’t decide between hands, or whether they need the tile or not, or if they are able to call—-all signs of a novice or just a slow player—not too much fun for more advanced and skilled players. But playing with more advanced players is often a help to slower players. They learn to play faster..usually. So what to do if you are faced with a similar situation? It can be difficult to be tactful. You might suggest, “Try to rack quickly too, and keep me from calling, just like I keep you from calling”. Sometimes, peer pressure works—the other players might suggest to her that she needs to play faster. Hopefully, she’ll take the hint. If it gets very uncomfortable, find another group, or (your other players) suggest to your sister-in-law she might be more comfortable in another group. Or you might show her this article.. Whether things improve, or one of you finds another group, I wish you Good Luck! Rule: Racking is not tapping the tile on top of your rack. It’s placing it into your rack, next to your other tiles, even when you know you do not need or want it. If you discard it before racking it, you are helping your opponents— not the correct way to play—no matter how good friends you are. AMERICAN til next time... may the tiles be with you! Reprinted courtesy of the Jewish Journal of Los Angeles and Elaine Sandberg. Elaine is a mah-jongg instructor, who has taught the game for Holland American Cruise Lines and at American Jewish University, and the author of “A Beginner’s Guide to American Mah Jongg: How to Play the Game and Win” (Tuttle, $14.95). Photos by Julie Weissman
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