2016 Wrap Up

There are a few places In Michigan as inspirational and Beautiful to golfers as Arcadia Bluffs on a sun sprinkled fall afternoon and 20 of the WACOFFs were the beneficiaries of this wonderful occurrence for the Thursday game this year. As we made our way through this sometimes grueling, sometimes frustrating but always amazingly beautiful course, most of us could not help but stop at least once on every hole simply to look around and take in the amazing and awesome views of our beloved peninsula in its finest glory. The only thing that outshone the brilliance and beauty of nature on display at Arcadia was the ace deposited into the cup on number 13 by Glenn Coughenour.  Those who witnessed it described it as a beautiful arc of a shot that hit the green at just the right spot to curve down and left to the hole.  Those who encountered Glenn immediately afterward were concerned that he was having a Redd Foxx moment, clutching his chest like he was having the Big One. Nice job Glenn and congrats on ace #2!

The Stableford competition was well conceived by the Thursday GolfCommittee and resulted in a spirited run for the trophy as the Palmer/Coon team ran away with the CD doubles.  The AB flight was awarded to the old standby duo of Paul Coughenour and John Stimson. Palmer/Coon and the young gun duo of Peter Coughenour/Nick Guerriero won the ABCD foursome random draw event.   In the meantime, while the 20 bravely faced the stern test of Arcadia Bluffs, Joe Mantey shot a 47 for nine holes at Chestnut Hills nearby to claim both first and last places in the development tour tournament.

The full results are below:

Thursday A/B @ Arcadia Bluffs:

-Paul C                  82          BB Stableford Net           44          1st        

John S                   83

-Neilsen               89          BB Stableford Net           43          2nd       

Sam C                   95        

-Peter C               105        BB Stableford Net           42         

Nick G                  88        

-Glenn C              92          BB Stableford Net           37

Jim C                    92        

-Dan B                  82          BB Stableford Net           42

Nick P                  101       

Thursday C/D:

-John Coon          102        BB Stableford Net           45          1st        

Bob Palmer          92    

-Larry Mann        100        BB Stableford Net           40          2nd       

Ron Hardesty      97

-Tim G                  106        BB Stableford Net           37        

Gary Voshell       100      

-David H             101        BB Stableford Net           36

Joe Labarge       103-

-Dennis H           102        BB Stableford Net           29

Marshal              126

Thursday Total Winners (Blind Draw):   Palmer/Coon (45) + Peter C/Nick G (42) = 87

Joe Mantey        47 Gross for 9 @ Chestnut Hills               1st & Last

Following cocktails generously provided by the hole-in-one star Glenn at Arcadia, the troops made their way to the weekend’s venue, Crystal Mountain Resort.  There, they settled into three townhomes conveniently located near each other to face the rigors and challenges of the weekend. While the Crystal Mountain accommodations were not our usual one accommodation for all, all of the facilities were clean, well appointed, comfortable and provided very safe and secure habitat for the WACOFFs for the duration.  While there was some initial grumbling from those who find themselves sharing sleeping space with someone they did not necessarily care to share with, all was forgotten and forgiven by the time the drinking and other recreation had ended on Thursday.                     

To be honest and fair, our experience at Crystal Mountain was a very positive one. The staff was extremely hospitable, friendly, and did all they could to make us feel welcome and at home. From the time of our last visit there in 1991 to today, Crystal Mountain has grown into a small town with a wide variety of activities and accommodations. Suffice to say, we were well taken care of during our stay.

 Friday brought fair skies, pleasant temperatures and the opportunity to take on the Mountain Ridge course for the first time in the Friday two best balls event.  Although the competition was intense, the team of Jim Coughenour , Larry Mann, Gary Voshell and Dennis Holefca left everyone else in the dust with their six stroke victory.  Rumor has it that this performance took place entirely on the backside of the CD contingent, Voshell and Holefca. But isn’t that always the case?  The most painful part of the Friday competition was the two hours it took the golf committee to tally the results, during which interregnum the assembled were forced to listen to the same Pavle horse jokes that he has told repeatedly for the past three years.  This indignity was exceeded only by the fact that at dinner prior to the awards, those who went through the buffet line early managed to eat all of the crisp from the cherry crisp dessert, leaving only soggy cherries for those who were more community minded. Full Friday results are below:

Friday2 Best Balls:

Jim C                   82          Best Ball Total   119        1st        

Larry M               92

Gary V                 95

Dennis                86

Dan                     79          Best Ball Total   125        2nd       

Sam C                  90

David H               102

John Coon          110

Stimson               88          Best Ball Total   126        3rd        

Brown                 85

Ron H                  95

Tim G                  96

Paul C                  81          Best Ball Total   129        4th        

Nick G                 85

John G               118

Andrew             117

 Glenn C              95          Best Ball Total   135        5th        

Nick P                  85

Palmer                95

Marshal              135

Nielsen               89          Best Ball Total   140        6th        

Peter C                96

Labarge              101

Mantey               106

Saturday dawned with forbidding skies and an even gloomier forecast. Nevertheless, the six teams began the 26th annual scramble championship with high hopes and the determination to be the next team to have their names inscribed on the trophy for posterity.  By hole six, the dreams of all but one team were awash in monsoon rains and wind which pelted and poured upon the players mercilessly. Notwithstanding the borderline unplayable weather, the boys persevered, at one point being the only players left on the course (other than the intrepid cart girls, who in the service of WACOFF never abandoned their post or duty), and outlasted all that the weather threw at them.  Indeed, conditions became so bad that Captain Stimson of Team Yellowish was forced to bribe some of his teammates with rewards of cheap trinkets and forgotten paraphernalia found in his golf bag to stay on the course and finish the game.  The only significant casualty seemed to be Joe Mantey, who was taken to the ER immediately following the round to be treated for exposure and failure to dress properly.

 In the end, Team Orangeish, (aka Team Fireball) captained by Jim Coughenour and ably staffed by Sam Coughenour, Joe LaBarge and Tim Guerrero, claimed the trophy with a bogey-free 6 under par performance.  Without a doubt these were the most punishing conditions in which the Scramble Championship has been contested in all 26 years.  Team Fireball was propelled to victory through the wind, wet and cold by the nourishing and warming tonic of a bottle of Fireball cinnamon whiskey. Or at least three of them were, as it was determined bythose three that Guerriero should be denied any access to drink during the round so as not to jeopardize his unGuerriero-like goodperformance. The full Scramble Championship results are below:

Saturday Scramble @ Mountain Ridge/Crystal Mt. 

Orangish (Jim C, Sam C, Joe L , Tim G)                         66          1st

Yellowest (Stimson, Peter C, Palmer, Holefca)           68          2nd  

Yellowish (Bretz, Nick G, RHardesty, Mantey)             68          3rd

Orangest (Glenn C, Mann, John G, D Hardesty)          69          4th        

Yellowy (Nielsen, Pavle, Voshell, Baran)                      70          5th        

Orangey (Paul C, Brown, Coon, Hyman)                      72          6th         

Saturday evening was highlighted by the Deke Memorial ceremony, ably presented by John Stimson in his usual loving and sensitive manner. The tidbit of the day though was that Deke was a star high school quarterback back in the day and his team played against the young but always volatile Gary Voshell, who in a star turn intercepted three passes on that memorable Friday evening in southwest Michigan.  Precocious even as a teenager that Gary.

The club toss was assigned to and convincingly executed by Peter Coughenour, with distance and ferocity not matched since the famous downhill toss at Otsego Club retrieved by Dave Dell.

The Sunday contestants were met with sunshine, blue skies and perhaps the most unforgiving opening hole in the history of Sunday events.  The starter could not give anyone any decent advice other than a friendly “hit it straight 200 yards and you’ll be fine”.  Few of the boyz were able to execute on that advice.  The intraflight competitions were well played, with no real surprises other than the breakout performance of young Nicolas Guerriero in the B Flight. Shooting a personal best 78, Guerriero captured the B Flight as well as the AB paramutual by a wide margin.  As Glenn Coughenour noted, perhaps an A player was born on Sunday.  The remaining results from Sunday are below:

The 2016 Individual Flight Champions:       

A          D Bretz in a tiebreaker w/P Coughenour 87 Gross Net 77

B          Nick Guerriero 78 Gross Net 62 

C          Ron Hardesty92 Gross Net 70

D          Dennis Holefca 95 Gross Net 72

Paramutual Results

AB Champion Nick Guerriero Net 62

$94 Pot. All to Nick Pavle on a $2 Bet 100%.  

CD Champion Ron Hardesty Net 70

$74 Pot. 

D Bretz bet $10 50%

R Hardesty bet $3 30%

D Hardesty bet $2 20%

Once again, several of you have been instrumental in pulling this annual event together, and the collective acknowledgement of your peers is the small but important compensation for your efforts.  Ron H as costumer extraordinaire, with the togs this year getting generally good reviews all around (particularly the construction crew orange worn by the Paul C team) and the hats universally hailed as the best ever.  Even Bretz wore his until it rained.  John and David for their curation and delivery of the archives each year, and kudos to Voshell for coughing up the infamous lost Minnie Mouse doll.  A treasured keepsake never to be lost again.  David H for obtaining the common bar supply, in which a modicum of a dent was made.  Try harder next time guys or else David is just going to keep taking it home for himself.  Marshal Hyman and Joe Mantey for performance prizes (wine courtesy of the Cheese Lady), Glenn C for paramutuel duty and Joe Mantey for skins collection. Finally and with great reverence for all they do, Paul C and the Golf Committee for the handicapping, pairings, course and game selections, and for making the most prescient and helpful call in the history of WACOFF in his last minute decision to go to the whites on Saturday.  That’s why we pay you the big bucks Paulie!

The Committee considers the 26th Annual not only complete, but a complete success.  The Boyz gathered and played, the sun shone and the rain fell, drinks were drunk and meals were shared, jokes and stories were told, kudos and prizes awarded and received, friendships refreshed and reinvigorated, new faces and old joined the pantheon of past and present WACOFFs, and altogether from every perspective a fine time was had by all.    Let’s do it again next year.

YR. OBT. SVTS.

THE COMMITTEE