September 16, 2013

Gentlemen

Age has its benefits and its burdens, and with the wisdom and peace that purportedly come from entering our post mid-life years also comes the reality that we don't recover from our leisure activities with the same bounce and energy that we once did. And while the 23rd was marked by the usual corporeal indulgences by the faithful, The Committee did note that most everyone seemed determined to slip off to horizontal slumberness before the stroke of midnight each night. (The only exception being the Friday late night trotting out of Left Right Center hosted by Joe LaBarge which kept some of you up a bit later). Notwithstanding the relative moderation however, most of us are still feeling the effects of sleep deprivation, excessive consumption of various substances, and several five hour + rounds golf, even now a week later. But that is a good thing, as it suggests that we indeed pushed ourselves beyond our day to day limits, and by all accounts had some fun doing so.

 Highlights and lowlights from the 23rd are many, but here a few that The Committee found notable:

-A new course for Thursday, Treetops Traditions, and the turnout of 16 to play. Has Thursday become the new Friday for Wacoff?

-The return of Dave Dell after too many years, commemorated by the Dave Dell Memorial Ski Hill Run on Saturday night. The hardest $100 bet he ever won.

-The ever-changing and eclectic music selections arising from the Sound Dock as one WACOFF after another plugged their playlists in for all to hear.

-Joe Mantey and the Skins Game: It seemed to go well, but then we learned that Joe was reduced to the role of announcer only, having delegated the actual work to those with basic math skills.   

-The elevation of the Invitational to an event worthy of national corporate sponsorship, as Callaway Golf showered us with complimentary hats, all through the dogged perseverance of R. Hardesty. (See attached pic-look for it soon in Callaway advertising) 

-Our first taste of "beersicles", produced by Joe Mantey's fundamental misunderstanding of the effect of freezing temperatures on liquid.

-An outstanding display of fine Michigan late summer weather, marred only slightly by the brief appearance of (very playable) rain drops on Saturday am.

-The comfort of the Hilltop Lodge and its environs, allowing for pleasant interludes both indoors and out.

-Not having to drive anywhere from Friday morning to Sunday morning (unless like Guerriero you had to hustle back to Traditions on Friday am to find the six iron he left in the woods off of the 18th fairway on Thursday afternoon. It was still there.)

-Watching and listening to Voshel trying desperately to convince anyone to trade their black WACOFF wind shirt for his blue one, because blue is NOT in his wardrobe color scheme. Keys finally gave in out of sheer exhaustion from the pressure.

- The art of the Trophy Inscription being elevated to a new and erudite level by the 2012 champions. EE Cummings rules!

- For those who took a moment to peruse the Archives, particularly the Fobs and Baubles department, the depth and breadth of the collection is astounding. Positively Smithsonian-esque.

-Bulldog Captain J. Coughenour deteminedly plotting out every drive, every shot and every putt for each member of Team Bulldog on Friday night prior to teeing off in the Scramble. It goes to show that a plan well made is a plan.

-Joe LaBarge reading the Benediction as if he was seeing it for the first time ever.

-Shirts with piping (were we wearing them inside out perchance?) and embroidered wind shirts to die for. A tour de force by Ron and the Shirts, Hats, Fobs and Baubles Sub-Committee. Warning: Due to severe over-budget issues, next year we are limited to used tees from Marsh Ridge and plastic Top Flite visors.

-The Golf Committee ceding a portion of its hard won but always benevolently exercised dictatorial powers to the great unwashed by allowing not only a vote but a debate on the selection of tees for the Scramble Championship. A heady exercise in democratic ideals to be sure and perhaps a natural outcome of the Friday mixed tee game. But didn't we learn anything from Iraq or the Arab Spring? Nation building (and letting WACOFFs vote on anything) is a road to hell.

-And, finally, an unprecedented post-event reversal of the award of the WACOFF Trophy for 2013.  Read below for details.

 While there are undoubtedly many more moments and memories, The Committee will leave it to the rest of you to offer your own tales and tattles. Please do.

As for the competitions, here's the breakdown. 

FRIDAY

The Friday round was an outstanding concoction by the Golf Committee, pitting all of us against each other and the many variables of The Tribute. You have to go back to the early days of Mickey Ball to find a Friday game that engaged the boyz so fully and with such enthusiasm. The team talk about tactical approaches, shot analysis and strategic options that went into that round was unprecedented. The movement from black tees to red over the course of the round was a perfect recipe for team play. Everyone had a story about a fantastic shot, a great hole, an amazing moment at some point during their round. Lets do it again.

The Friday results:

FIRST 6: A/D

Bretz/Guerriero20

Paul C/Hyman27

Nielsen/Keys27

Jim C/Mantey 28

Glenn/Dell30

FIRST 6: B/C

Voshell/Pavle23

LaBarge/Palmer24

Mann/DHardesty25

Holefca/RHardesty29

Stimson/Snyder30

SECOND 6: A/C

Paul C/RHardesty23

Glenn C/DHardesty24

Bretz/Voshell25

Jim C/Snyder25

Nielsen/Palmer25

SECOND 6: B/D

LaBarge/Keys23

Stimson/Mantey24

Tim G/Pavle25

Holefca/Hyman26

Mann/Dell29

THIRD 6: A/B

Jim C/Stimson18

Paul C/Holefca19

Nielsen/LaBarge19

Bretz/Pavle22

Glenn C/Mann23

THIRD 6: C/D

Voshell/Guerriero14

Palmer/Keys17

Snyder/Mantey17

DHardesty/Dell19

RHardesty/Hyman22

FRIDAY 4 MAN TEAM GAME:
Bretz/Pavle/Voshell/Guerriero 129

Nielsen/LaBarge/Palmer/Keys 135

JimC/Stimson/Snyder/Mantey 142

PaulC/Holefca/RHardesty/Hyman 146

Glenn C/Mann/DHardesty/Dell 150

SCRAMBLE

For the first time in history of the WACOFF, The Committee is required to overturn an award of the WACOFF Trophy due to an error in communication of the outcome.  First, a recap of the event:  The 23rd Annual Scramble Championship took us back to The Tribute, having seen it from all angles but the blue tees, which were the overwhelming voting favorite of the assembled. Rain greeted the boyz for a period on the front nine, but never enough to unduly influence the play or the outcome. The course played fair but tough, with early success turning sour for some, and no team taking a commanding lead into the turn, or at the end as it turned out. With all teams finishing within 3 strokes, the match resulted in a tie between Team Bear and Team Badger.  At this point, The Golf Committee announced that Team Badger (P. Coughenour, L. Mann, G. Voshell and J. Mantey) as the winners after a scorecard look back to Hole 13. The ever alert Captain Bretz of Team Bear ( D. Bretz, J. LaBarge, Jerry Snider, M. Keyes)  looked at the presentation sheet and noticed that it showed Team Badger with the last bogie on 13, thereby rendering Team Bear the winner.  The Golf Committee, despite having correctly named the winner but now faced with the evidence of the presentation sheet, acknowledged the seeming obviousness of the point and awarded the Trophy to Team Bear.  Much celebration and giddiness ensued and life moved on for all.

 However, in the routine review of materials provided to The Committee post-event and in preparation of this missive, it was determined that the official scorecards submitted by the respective Captains Badger and Bear did not match the score sheet presented on Saturday evening to the boyz. Indeed, two scores had been erroneously transposed in the transfer to the event results sheet, resulting in the incorrect attribution of the Hole 13 bogie to Team Badger, when it rightfully and accurately belonged to Team Bear. 

As a result, the 2013 Wacoff Scramble Champions are TEAM BADGER rather than TEAM BEAR.  It was a simple and honest mistake, and blame lies only in the human imperfections we all share.  To be sure, this was the most even match in 23 years, and going back to Hole 13 to break the tie was unprecedented.  However, as is the rule in golf at any level, the official scorecards turned in by the Captains are the complete,  final and only relevant record. The erroneous naming of TEAM BEAR as Champions is simply that, erroneous. 

This chapter must end with all due respect and apologies to TEAM BEAR, and with sincere belated congratulations and kudos to TEAM BADGER.

The Captains should now confer and determine next steps in terms of handing over the Trophy and related matters.

 The final and official overall results for the 23rd Annual Scramble Championship:

PCoughenour/LMann/Voshell/Mantey  69

Bretz/LaBarge/Jerry Snyder/Keys  69

JCoughenour/Holefca/Palmer/Dell  71

PNielsen/Pavle/DHardesty/Hyman 71

GCoughenour/Stimson/RHardesty/TimG 72

SUNDAY

Sunday dawned clear and crisp, and a beautiful morning on the Masterpiece awaited the boyz.  Despite some dropouts who either thought the Detroit Lions were more interesting or perhaps were suffering from spousal abandonment guilt, the matches were competitive and spirited.  The Sunday results were: 

Sunday Results [Treetops Masterpiece: Blue Tees (6377 Yards)

A Flight

G Coughenour 82/69

B Flight

D Holefca 91/75

C Flight

G Voshell  91/72

D Flight

M. Keys  97/75 

Finally, The Committee thanks those who make it worthwhile for all of us:  Ron H as the Wizard of Wardrobe, the Sultan of Style, David H and John S as the Admirals of the Archives, David H as the Lord of the Liquor (who enticed a sponsor back this year to supply the wonderful multi-tiered booze display of which we partook), Marshal H as President of Performance Prizes, Joe M as Supervisor of Skins, Glenn and James C as Poobahs of the Parimutuel, John S as Thursday Committee chair, and last, not least, and for all the reasons that count, Paul C as the Guru of Golf, the Chief of Competition, the High Priest of Handicap, the Icon of Integrity. You all are the best and sometimes even the brightest.  If any of you took pictures that capture any of the finest moments of the 23rd,The COmmittee would be grateful to receive copies to make sure our Archives are complete.

 The 23rd Annual goes into the archives as another successful event primarily because of the simple fact that we gathered, played, drank, ate, smoked, talked, argued, laughed, dissed, joked and rekindled our friendships and memories. May it ever be thus.

Until 2014, we remain

Yr.Obt.Svts

THE COMMITTEE