The ADGA visited the Firestone 9 in Akron on Sunday, a nine-hole public venue adjacent to the internationally-recognized Firestone Country Club. Players were impressed with the quality of the layout and the great course conditions, especially the smooth and true greens!
The day began with an individual skins game with 32 players. Although play was conducted across 18 holes (playing the same nine twice), it was the first two holes of the day that saw all of the skins game action!
Chuck DeRemer hit his opening tee shot on the 275 yard par-four first hole ‘right out of the car’ and in a bit of a hurry, and it came to rest 1-foot from the cup for a tap-in eagle!
The second skin of the day was carded by Jeff Dean, who made the only birdie on the straight-forward 148-yard par-3 second hole.
Each skin was worth $345.
There were plenty of birdies and even a few eagles after that, but all were tied off.
In the afternoon, the 2013 Dave Towell Cadillac Shootout began with 13 players combined from the Championship and Senior Divisions. The format was hole-by-hole eliminate, with multiple eliminations on the opening two holes.
Three players were eliminated on the par-four first hole with ‘more than par’: Dan Marr, Dave Cutlip and Fred Miller.
Nine players advanced to the second hole, a par 3. Russ Rybka and Drew Thompson both missed short putts for par, and they were eliminated. A chip-off for the third person to go was then held, and Tom Skidmore, the 2012 ADGA Golfer of the Year Senior Champion and the newly-crowned 2013 Summit County Senior Am winner, was eliminated by Tom Seever.
The 4th hole casualty was 2013 Summit Senior runner-up Mark Thomas, who was edged by morning-big-skin-winner Jeff Dean in a chip off.
Tom Seever was the next golfer to be eliminated on hole #5, a once-in-a-blue-moon bad tee shot his downfall.
The 6th hole, a par-4 slightly uphill, was highlighted by some monster tee shots from Mike Simpson and Ed Marsinek. But in the end, an unfortunate 3-putt by Jeff Dean knocked him out of the shootout.
The fun begun at the par-4 seventh hole, a blind uphill tee shot hole that 3 of the 4 players remaining could drive. The front pin location was the only defense for this hole, but some birdie putts made nonetheless by Ron Bell, Jim Cea, and the only regular division player left Mike Simpson. That left Ed Marsinek standing on the green in state of shock, out of the competition with a par!
The 8th hole had Cea making another birdie, and Bell two-putting for a par. That left Simpson, who ran his birdie putt by the hole some eight feet,
with a must-make to advanced to a chip-off. He made it dead center. Simpson the proceeded to eliminate the seasoned veteran Bell in the chip-off.
That left Cea and Simpson to play the par 3 #9th hole for the title. Cea sent his tee shot left, giving him a 35 foot putt. Simpson’s tee shot covered the flag but was a little long at 20-feet. Both players 2-putted and proceeded to the chip-off spot.
Firestone 9 pro Dan Dauk selected an uphill 20-yard chip shot to determine the champion. ADGA Director Tim Davis made a ruling (with some help from the remaining players!), getting Cea to turn away from the shot taken by Simpson so Cea would not get any advantage by seeing the chip. All agreed.
Simpson hit his chip shot first, and it finished less that 5-feet from the cup.
Cea, not knowing how close Simpson was or how the ball landed or rolled, stepped up an chipped it to a foot. Cea wins!!!
The Dave Towell Cadillac Shootout was a fun day of ‘let it fly’ golf, and all of the players who participated in the skins game raved about the golf course, the range facility, and the food at Hacker’s Restaurant.
The ADGA will be back again and we look forward to more players joining in on the fun in 2014!
