Fresh off my solid 85-87 showing in the Senior Summit County Championship this past weekend, I’m now ready to go out and win the 2014 Chippewa Golf Club Championship, which, incidentally, would be my first victory at the course I’ve owned for 26 years.
In all reality, I keep thinking back to the days when Bill Bellichek was coaching the Browns and released Bernie Kosar due to “diminishing skills”. Of course I’m not ready to admit to that, but nearing the ripe old age of 55, it is in the back of my mind. HOGWASH! Bring on the best! It’s time!
This will be the 26th edition of the Club Championship at Chippewa, where we have always had the policy of inviting all comers. You got game? Bring it. You’ll need it. And we’ve had a solid hall of fame of past winners for this event. Dave Oates several times, Randy Skorman several times, Kenny Koprivec several times. Dr. Jeff Mallette the one time he played, Ty Kovach, Aaron Crewse, Nathan Tarter, and last year’s winner — one for the old guys — Rob Schustrich.
Speaking of old guys, Joe Hedrick also a past winner and a solid player who still is at the top of his game despite the toll of father time, of which I might add does not show on Joe. We’ve also had our share of Greg Norman at the Masters-like meltdowns, but I’ll spare those players the agony of having to relive those moments.
In the old days, before we added length to the golf course, this could have been called an Iron-Man competition, with pins that at times bordered on absurd. OK, they didn’t border on absurd, they were absurd. But the last several years, we’ve transformed the event into more of a fair, albeit hard, test of golf. And a test it will be: your patience, your skill set with all irons, and your nerves with the putter. But I can assure you, because of the added length and the quality of the field, it’s fair — and if you’ve played it in the past couple of years, you know that. Players will get the same fair treatment this year; I’m not saying it will be easy, but it will be fair.
This year will be a special one as we will be paying tribute to a very special individual, who has long done the traditional Sunday afternoon meal of pork and corn on the cob that was a staple of another dear friend of all of ours after the Summit County Am, David Barnes. That individual is David Chapple, who we all know has battled — and is defeating — cancer. Chappy has said he will be there to help direct the food show on Sunday afternoon, as nobody, and I mean nobody, does pork loins better than him.
The entry fee will remain the same as it has for as long as I can remember (and hey, spare me the jokes of how long my memory is). The price is $125 for two days of golf with cart, breakfast both days, lunch both days, appetizers on Saturday after golf, and the highlight, the traditional Sunday dinner of pork and corn-on-the-cob from Graf Growers.
We’ll also have the traditional putting contest, which I might add is worth the price of admission, and a 50/50 drawing with ALL the proceeds going to battle cancer.
Of course we’ll have the staples: the odds, the team games, the matchups, the awards presentation, and much much more.
So join us for my FAVORITE event of the year, you’ll get your money’s worth, GUARANTEED! Entry details here.
