TheBakersfieldCalifornian.com

For the past four years, five including this year, Tee to Green, in conjunction with Pro Shop Golf, has given out an award for the top individual performance for the year. However, it wouldn't be right to omit the accomplishments (with or without an award) of the fine teams that made headlines throughout the year, whether it was a two-player team or multi-player teams.

As this column has done for many years (even before we had an award for individuals), here is a recap of the top team performances that were mentioned in this column for the year. It's just for fun and to give those that accomplished the laurel(s) another shout out! They are listed in no particular order.

--- Four teams advanced into match-play in SCGA Team Play, but only one emerged as a champion. The Saturday Team Play group from The Links at RiverLakes Ranch won its second title in three years as they beat Red Hill CC from Rancho Cucamonga 26-22 in the finals on the Players Course at the Indian Wells Golf Resort. RiverLakes won its group, then beat five teams in match-play to become the first club to win two titles in a three year span since Balboa Park GC did it in the early 90's. Rio Bravo and Tierra Del Sol also advanced into Saturday match-play and BCC advanced into Thursday match- play, but all lost in the opening round.

-- Bhavik Patel and Manav Shah proved to be too tough of a combination in the 21st SCGA 4-Ball Championship that was played at Bakersfield Country Club in November. Patel and Shah were given an exemption into the event based on Patel's Cal Am win and Shah's runner-up finish in the SCGA Am and they didn't disappoint. The duo shot rounds of 62 and 65 for a winning 127 total of 17-under-par! D.J Fernando and Greg Lopez finished equal 2nd at 132 while Scott LaBare and Kevin Anderson of LA were 7th at 135. The Fernando/Lopez and LaBare/Anderson teams along with teams of Jeff Campbell/Jeff Acebedo and Bryan Lynn/Bill Frankhouser,Jr., all qualified to reach the championship proper.

--Scott Anderson and Mark Pavletich shot a 2-under 70 at the Riverbend GC in Madera to qualify for the 44th NCGA 4-Ball Championship at Spyglass Hill GC in Monterey. They finished 41st in the finals, making the 36-hole cut with rounds of 74-73 on the tough seaside links course.

-- Ron Kilmer and Scott LaBare won the popular Foss-Kern River Men's Club Invitational with a fine score of 14-under 126 in the better-ball format.

-- Kent Richardson and Jim Seymour shot rounds of 70-71 to finish 3-under-par and an equal 7th place finish in the SCGA Senior 4-Ball Championship on the Ranch Course at The Alisal in Solvang. Hank Hoss and Bob Rensel shot 2-under to finish 10th while other teams making the grade were Mitch Bronson/Greg Hash and Bob Gibson/Greg Nichols.

--Meghan Shain and Lexi Keeter teamed to win the Golden Valley Invitational as the Frontier High duo shot 4-under 68. The next week, Shain teamed with teammate Shelley Martel to win the Titan Invitational with another 68. Both events were best-ball formats.

--The Stockdale High Girls golf team advanced to the Southern California Regional Championships after they finished second in the CIF Central Section Championships to Clovis West. Although their team score of 426 didn't rival that of the previous record-setting Frontier High teams of the past few years, it was a tremendous accomplishment for the Lady Mustangs who had never before advanced to the Regionals. Team members included Kaley In, Abby Marina, Jessica Park, Justine Shih, Shelby McGowan and Sammi Ramkey.

--The Centennial High Boys golf team tied a section record in winning the CIF Central Section Championship with a score of 362. The score tied the record set by Clovis West back in 2008 and propelled them into the CIF Southern California Regionals. The team line-up consisted of: Neil Batista, Joseph Choi, Jack Henneberry, PJ Carmichael, Jeremy Choi and Zack Casberg. The remainder of the team included Steven Waide, Garrett Minnie, Jarrett Buntley, Bowdy Carroll and Bradley Davis.

So there you have it, a re-cap of top team performances for 2011. I guess if I had to pick one, my vote would probably go to the Centennial High boys team. They weren't expected to finish in the top two, let alone win the section tournament and tie a record to boot! Of course it would be hard to not put the RiverLakes guys or the Patel/Shah duo in there too, but RiverLakes had already won a title in 2009 and Patel and Shah were the favorites going into the SCGA 4-Ball event!

Chip Shots

-- Defending Champion Jhonattan Vegas will be joined by 2010 champ Bill Haas, David Toms and Zack Johnson as early commitments to the PGA Tour's 2011 Humana Challenge, Jan.19-22 in La Quinta. Other former champions in the field will include Pat Perez (2009), Charley Hoffman (2007), Chad Campbell (2006), Justin Leonard (2005) and 1996 winner Mark Brooks.

-- Need a last-minute gift idea or two for your favorite golfer? How about a series of lessons from Foss-Kern River professional Jacque Servadio? Servadio is offering her Buddy Lesson Special for $225 which includes three two-person lessons and a 5-hole playing lesson, or an individual special of three lessons and a video analysis for $135. If you buy any lesson package of $250 or more as a gift, you receive a fee lesson for yourself! Call Servadio at 301-5944 or to to www.serviceyourswing.com.

--Other last-minute gift ideas besides the typical balls, gloves, etc, might include a GolfBuddy GPS System by Golfsmith for about $400 or a Dancin' Doggs Infrared Golf Simulator that you can use in your home, also for about $400. On the mid-price range perhaps a golf motif chess set for about $80 or a Golf Club drink dispenser for about $50. A unique gift idea might be a KaddyBACK Golf Ball Massage System. The KaddyBACK is a sleeve that can hold up to four balls and you throw part of it over your shoulder in the front with the golf ball sleeve on your back. Then you find a wall or stationary surface and rub your back with the golf balls in areas only someone else could get to! You can check it out by going to KaddyBACK.com. It only costs about $12.

Tee to Green appears weekly at Bakersfield.com/sports. You can reach Gautney at rgautney@bak.rr.com.