SNAFU Commissioner Retires
Dan “The Commish” Ventura is putting away his computer spreadsheets but not hanging up his golf clubs. After 11 years on the job, the long-serving SNAFU Commissioner is handing over the reins to Jay Meaden and Bryan Burnett.
Ventura will continue to play each Saturday but running the weekly game is now up to Meaden and Burnett. They had to learn a suite of Excel programs developed by the commish to organize and manage the SNAFU game. “It’s a heck of a lot of work”, Burnett opined; “so much that it’ll take two of us to get it done right,” added Meaden.
SNAFU is a Saturday morning golf game among Rossmoor residents and friends that began on the Dollar course in 2006. In its earliest iteration the game was restricted to golfers with a course handicap of 18 or lower but Ventura felt the game should be available to everyone and saw an opportunity to build fellowship and community through the game of golf. Golfers new to Rossmoor have found the Saturday SNAFU game is a great way to meet people and make new friends.
On any given Saturday there are as many as 44 golfers playing in SNAFU. A sign-up sheet is available in the golf shop the week before the game. Foursomes are randomly created with each four-man team having a roughly equal combined total handicap.
A nominal entry fee is collected and players gather after the round at the Dollar picnic area to distribute prizes, consume refreshments and lie about their golf game. The format is two best balls of four with cash prizes for the winning foursomes and additional cash for closest to the hole on par 3’s, sand saves and birdies. Part of each week’s entry fee is reserved for an annual holiday party.
Golfers who want to join the SNAFU Saturday game need a current GHIN handicap index and a love for the game of golf. The only other rule, established 11 years ago by Dan “The Commish” Ventura is that everyone is welcome to join in the fun.