As Memorial Day approaches in 2023, I can't help but think of some magic that happened ten years ago on Memorial Day weekend. On this particular weekend in Connecticut, the stars were aligned. Dad and I won the Woodway Country Club Member-Member. Coming first in our division and first for overall points. We won the tournament in 2005. It was an incredible run we had. We were never down in our 3 matches and won the final match by 3 holes. I was 18 and finally eligible to play an 'adult' tournament that year. In 2006 and 2007, we did not win, but we had a good time.
2008 came and I was taking summer classes in Chattanooga so I could not participate.. In 2009 I began directing the Chattanooga Chase road race. That race was traditionally held on Memorial Day, so I could not return to Connecticut to compete with dad. I would direct through 2014, which meant that in 2010, 2011, and 2012 we did not compete.
But something happened in 2013. A national bike race came to Chattanooga. The city of Chattanooga blocked all road events on Memorial Day weekend. That meant the Chattanooga Chase would be moved to the weekend before Memorial Day. At first, I was upset. I had no intention of playing again in Connecticut. I wanted to stay in Chattanooga. But when opportunities present themselves, you take advantage of them. So I agreed to play with dad. I hadn't played all year in 2013 but I figured I'd give it my best shot.
I arrived in Connecticut with my expectations low. Dad was 82, and I hadn't played all year. No way would we have any chance to win anything. On Friday night, we received our handicaps. I was listed as a 12. I thought that was low. I had played just a handful of rounds in the previous three years. There's no way I could go out and shoot an average of 84. I felt the handicap was wrong, but your handicap is what it is. There were opportunities to bet on your team if you wanted to. I didn't bet. Not only because I don't gamble but because I felt dad and I wouldn't win.
Saturday came, and a strong storm was blowing through the northeast. Saturday included highs of 45 degrees, moderate rain, and winds of up to 15 mph. It was far from ideal golf. But everyone had to play the same conditions on the same course.
The tournament would be 5 - 9 hole matches. 27 holes on Saturday and 18 holes on Sunday. You got points based on how many holes you won against your opponent. You also won an extra point if you won the match.
Dad and I started okay. We were even through the first six holes of match 1. I was not playing well, and Dad was really keeping us alive. Then on hole 7, I hit a very good approach shot which put us 1-up. I helped win the 8th hole, which guaranteed us a win, and almost had a hole-in-one on hole 9 to give us a great start. Dad and I would win the second match by two holes. Again we played great as a team. The weather would end the matches after two rounds. Which meant Sunday would be 27 holes.
Sunday came, and it was a beautiful day. Dad and I had four shot lead entering the day. The tournament was far from over.
Our first of three matches on Sunday was against the team in second place. A win against them would pick up some points on them and earn the tiebreaker if necessary. Dad and I jumped out to a three hole lead through 4 holes. Things were looking great. I started to count my chickens, and that's precisely when trouble hit. We'd lose the next three out of 4 holes. We were even going into the last hole.
Because of the handicaps, I had to give a stroke on that hole. Meaning if we both scored even on the hole they would win. I had to do one better than them to tie or two better to win. The hole was 425 yards dogleg left par 4. I put my drive in the center, leaving me 205 yards left. I then delivered the second-best shot of my life at the time. I hit a 3-wood from 205 to 7 feet. Our opponents got double bogey and two-putt par lead to a win. We were now 3-0 and up by five shots.
Match 4 proved to be a challenge. We'd lose by three holes and our lead was down to 2. But in match 5 we came firing out the gate. We would win the next five out of six holes. The match would be over if we won any of the next three holes. We won hole 7, and we knew at that point that we had clinched victory. No matter how the other matches ended up, we knew we would not be caught. We ended up winning by seven shots.
So the 82-year-old guy with the son who hadn't played all year showed up. Because nobody bet on us, and we won, we took home $1,100.
Nobody, not even myself, gave us a chance. But dad did. He kept telling me to hang in there even when things looked bad from the start. As we would go from three up in our third match to even, he kept me grounded and said let's win the last hole. I was a bit upset entering the final hole of the third match. But dad was dad. So cool and calm.
When you consider everything that happened, it was a bit magic. If the city of Chattanooga doesn't approve their bike event then we don't play. If certain shots or bounces of luck don't happen, then we don't win. We were the longshot underdog. But we won because we played great as a team. That's how it goes in these team golf tournaments. I truly believe there's a father-son factor that you can't attribute any stroke total to. As father-son you just know how the other person is going to play. You know their strengths, their weaknesses and you know how to talk to them. There's no value that you can apply to that.
That said, all the credit for this goes to dad. He kept me focused when I lost focus and helped me stay calm when things went astray. Now dad is 92. The likelihood that we get back into a similar situation is far from likely. So I was happy that I got to enjoy and embrace that moment and I treasure all moments with dad on the course.
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