Gentlemen

Having now returned to the real world and life as it exists therein, The Committee has had a chance to reflect upon our recent Invitational and takes this opportunity to provide this wrap up of the weekend, the outcomes, the highlights of our time together and the future of our annual ritual.

First things first:  The 31st Annual WACOFF Invitational and Gentlemen's Retreat is now on the calendar for the weekend of Sep 15, 2002 through Sep 18, 2022.  The venue will be the Hop and Vine Inn in Fabulous Fennville MI, a venue which holds many great memories for those who have attended there in the past.  Whilst there was some trepidation amongst The Committee as to whether there would be sufficient enthusiasm to carry on this wonderful tradition, the events at Spider Lake eliminated any doubt as to whether a 31st Annual would be worthwhile.  

The weekend at Spider Lake was a mix of 30 years worth of nostalgia for the old guys and a welcome infusion of youth and energy from our younger contingent.  The nostalgia was fed by a return to the luxurious confines of the Spider Lake retreat, the sound of Ron Hardesty crooning the Ballad of Wacoff on the deck Friday night, the magnificent display of WACOFF memorabilia curated by John Stimson, and a screening of the WACOFF XX video revealing most of the boys in their youthful heyday.  The energy was provided by our younger brothers, veterans Nic Guerriero, Jim Bretz and Phil Nielsen, and newcomers Mitch Mantey, Nick Pavle, Jr., Charlie Stimson and Joe Stelmark.  Long after the old guys called it a night, these boys kept up the WACOFF spirit in a laudable fashion.  Their presence was welcome and a fine addition to the WACOFF tradition. Long may it continue.  We enjoyed plentiful and tasty food, a copious and eclectic bar, a Maize and Blue victory, the usual bullshitting and wonderful company.  It was a fine gathering in every respect.

The main attraction of the Gentlemen's Retreat is the chance to get together and reconnect with friends old and new, and relish the camaraderie and bonds that sustain us as we grow older. However, we also play golf, and the on course events this year provided us with the full panoply of competition, drama, success, frustration, near misses, lucky shots, bad breaks, victories and defeats typical of this great and maddening game we love.  The four days of golf, blessed by perfect Michigan fall weather, beautiful layouts, hard fought matches and surprise outcomes, met all our expectations.

Thursday at Arcadia Bluffs South was a new golf experience for many of us. A flat, fast and firm challenging layout which to many participants at first looked mostly like a farm field with bunkers soon reared its golf chops and enthralled the entire group.  The design and hidden challenges of the course intrigued all of us, and the most common refrain heard afterward was "I want to play this course again".  Slick undulating square greens, more fairway bunkers than you could imagine, shaved collars and deep greenside sand traps  posed a strategic golf challenge to all.  The boyz rose to the challenge, and the prize was taken by the team of Dan Bretz, Bill (Ringer) Green, Dr. Michael Keyes and the ever dangerous Jim Bretz.  John Stimson's crew managed a fine second place finish, despite the less than auspicious performance of their captain.  The final results:

Dan B              40 + 38 = 78 – 7 = 71 (37 pts)              1st Place

Keyes              49 + 54 = 103 – 20 = 83 (26 pts)

Green             42 + 42 = 84 – 15 = 69 (39 pts)

J Bretz             56 + 49 = 105 – 24 = 81 (27 pts

John S             50 + 52 = 102 – 13 = 89                       2nd Place

Glenn              44 + 43 = 87 – 16 = 71

Nick Jr             46 + 42 = 88 – 18 = 70

Charlie            55 + 54 = 109 – 25 = 84

Nic G               39 + 37 = 76 – 2 = 74   (34 Stableford points)

Tim G               45 + 47 = 92 – 14 = 78 (30 Stableford points)

Skip                  50 + 46 = 96 – 22 = 74 (34 Stableford points)

Charlie S          55 + 54 = 109 – 25 = 84

Paul C             39 + 39 = 78 – 4 = 74 (34 pts)

Ron H              49 + 51 = 100 – 17 = 83 (26 pts)

Gary V             44 + 49 = 93 – 18 = 75 (33 pts)

Marshal H        60 + 60 = 120 – 29 = 91

Nick Sr             45 + 48 = 93 – 13 = 80

Phil N               48 + 47 = 98 – 17 = 81

Hardesty         56 + 52 = 108 – 22 = 86

Hyman            60 + 60 = 120 – 29 = 91

Paul N             46 + 47 = 93 – 10 = 83

Larry Mann     55 + 50 = 105 – 17 = 88

Flannery          44 + 49 = 93 – 14 = 79

Palmer            50 + 54 = 104 – 18 = 86

Friday took us to the Sundance course at A Ga Ming.  After some debauchery Thursday night, the boyz were happy to have the morning to recover and gird themselves for the Friday round.  Greeted by sunshine, fair temps and a beautiful rolling treed setting, Sundance was a gift to all, and a completely different experience than Arcadia South.  The Friday results were not yet available to The Committee at the time of publication, and an update will maybe follow.  Suffice to say, there were more losers than winners.

The Scramble Championship, the heart of the weekend, took place for the 4th time at The Bear at Grand Traverse Resort.  The teams, well matched and impeccably outfitted by Ron Hardesty's  Shirts, Hats, Fobs and Baubles Sub Committee, strode onto the course full of confidence and bravado, as per usual.  The weather cooperated for the most part, but the final 3 teams were forced to suffer their finishing holes in a not insubstantial downpour.  Another excuse for those guys, but in the end, after all endured 6700 yards from the blue tees, some long carries and approaches, the cruelty of the 4 drive rule, and the roller coaster emotions of birdies followed by bogies, Team Green Giant helmed by John Stimson and ably crewed by Tim G, Gary V and Charlie S  stormed to victory on the back of a bogey free -6 round.  A great victory for John, his first as a captain and well earned. 

Interesting that 5 of 6 teams birdied No. 5, which is the #1 handicap hole on the Bear!  And Black Magic and Purple Predators both would have won with birdies on 18, no easy task but still…and three teams had 4 birdies on the front, but did not win.

Saturday Scramble (birdies in yellow, bogies or worse in red)

Green Giants               4-4-5-2-3-5-3-4-3 = 33 +  5-4-4-3-3-4-4-2-4 = 33 = 66

Purple Predators         4-4-4-2-3-5-4-3-3 = 32 +  5-4-4-3-3-5-4-3-5 = 36 = 68

Blue Devils                  4-4-5-3-3-4-4-4-3 = 34 +  5-5-3-2-4-5-4-3-4 = 35 = 69

Black Magic                 3-4-4-2-4-4-4-4-3 = 32 +  5-4-4-2-4-5-4-3-6 = 37 = 69

White Heat                  4-4-5-3-3-5-5-4-3 = 36 +  5-4-4-3-4-4-5-3-4 = 36 = 72

Red Menace                4-5-4-3-3-5-3-3-3 = 33 + 5-4-4-4-4-5-4-4-5 = 39 = 72

When we retired to bed Saturday night, it was widely assumed based on the forecast that Sunday would be a wet and somewhat dreary day, which may have accounted for the withdrawl of 6 of our stalwart band from the Sunday round. As it turned out, as it does so often in the Great Lake state, Sunday was dry and pleasant, with no rain falling until we were all well on our way home.  The Wolverine course presented itself well, particularly in comparision to the rather shabby post punch condition of the Bear on Saturday.  Play was spirited and the pace was quick.  Some excellent scores were posted, with some individual stand outs.  Nick Pavle Jr. will not be able to exploit C status next year, and Bill Green is barking at the A slot with his steady game.  And to no one's surprise Jimmy B propelled himself to a winning finish in the D group once again. Congratulations to all.

Sunday Scores

A Flight

Paul C             78 – 4 = 74       1st place

Dan B              82 – 7 = 75

Nic G               78 – 2 = 76

John S             90 – 13 = 77

Nick P Sr             95 – 13 = 82

Paul N             WD

B Flight

Bill Green        82 – 15 = 67     1st Place (A/B Parimutual Winner)

Glenn C           85 – 16 = 69

Tim G               85 – 14 = 71

Ron H              91 – 17 = 74

Phil N               99 – 17 = 82

Larry M            WD

C Flight

Nick P Jr           87 – 18 = 69     1st Place (C/D Parimutual Winner)

Skip P              100 – 22 = 78

David H           100 – 22 = 78

Gary V             100 – 18 = 82

M Keyes          113 – 20 = 93

D Flight

 Jimmy B          97 – 24 = 73     1st Place

Stellmark         104 – 25 = 79

Charlie            106 – 25 = 81

The Committee thanks all those who assisted in the presentation of the 30th Annual, including Ron H on shirts, Paul C for his unparalelled Golf Committee work, David H for the beautiful commemorative whiskey glasses, John for keeping and presenting our storied and colorful history each year, Glenn for managing the always frantic parimutual sheet, Joe M for a wildly imcompetent skins effort on Friday, all those who assisted in the food and kitchen work this year (with a special shout out to Bill Green for duty above and beyond the call),  Marshal for chasing down those proximity markers at the end of each round, John S again for  the DeKam award, and to all and each of you for making this an event we all look forward to and enjoy to the hilt.

Mark your calendars for the 31st Annual, play whenever you get the chance, and remember life is short and friends are precious.

YrObtSvts

THE COMMITTEE