GolfestOnline.com
The Quest to Play the Top 100 Public Golf Courses in the United States
(CONT'D FROM MULLIGANS & GIMMES) ...
(Updated) ... Up to this point in my always entertaining Golfest career, the highest amount paid for a 18-hole green fee was $420 at the world famous Pebble Beach Golf Resort. For those of you at home without a calculator, that works out to an eye-opening $23.33 per hole, or $4.66 every time you swing the club if you play bogey golf. When you throw in a $60 caddy fee and a $50 tip, those numbers jump up to $29.44 and almost six bucks a swing. But for most, Pebble Beach is a once in a lifetime type of experience that rates right up there with going to a Super Bowl or game seven of a World Series. Better said, it's worth every penny!
But records are made to be broken, especially those related to anything Golfest. Let me explain. Golfestian's Jeffrey Adkins 
and Jim Allen, along with a pair of our super salesmen Ryan Ostronic and Scott Manley, had the opportunity to play one of the two most exclusive courses in Las Vegas in December. The green fee investment literally blew the Pebble Beach mark out of the water. This stellar outing took place at the over-the-top Wynn Resort, which dinged the VISA card to the tune of $500 per pop (like in each.) Throw in $50 for a caddy and a $50 tip and the new world economy green fees worked out to a record-setting $33 per hole, or $6.67 every time we swung their Callaway Razor rental clubs.
GO AHEAD, ask the $600 question ... was it worth it? Well it had everything you would expect ... fairways like carpet, perfectly manicured bunkers, lightening fast greens, great service, a knowledgeable caddy, and it served up a great overall experience with the casino towers serving as a backdrop. While there may only be one Pebble Beach, there is also one Wynn Resort Course, and we would return again in a heartbeat. And in reality, the amount spent for five hours of entertainment was probably cheaper than the dontation we might have made at their gaming tables.
(11/23/11) ... Is it just me, or did we all blink once, look up. and discover that summer and most of the premium golf weather and opportunities had passed us by? Yes, summer ended, football season moved forward, daylight savings time fell back, the President's Cup failed to captivate. and my PS3 console is getting more activity than my golf clubs. However these days, we are happy to accept QUALITY GOLF over the QUANTITY OF GOLF! With that in mind, here are a collection of NOTES & QUOTES from our Golfestian notebooks:
... The inaugural Charlie Hayes Memorial Golf Tournament in Arizona was a huge success. The November 19th event, which paid tribute the tourney's namesake who passed away last year from cancer, was also a charity event to help raise funds for Rusty's Morningstar Ranch in Cornville, Arizona. 144-golfers packed every tee box at the exclusive Superstition Mountain Golf Course and enjoyed a great day of weather on the perfectly manicured course. The Hayes Family and friends put a lot of work into the event and it paid off with an announcement that they will be making this an annual event. Among the Golfestian's that traveled out to participate were Jim Dee (IN), Bob Potts (UT), and Californian's Mark Suzda, Mark Pickering and Jim Allen. Among the Arizonian Golfestians that played were Spanky and Clyde Hayes, Danny Young, and Kasey Schiedenlein. Clyde took home long-drive honors with a 412-yard gem (no that isn't a misprint.) ...
... JIm Dee, Jim Allen, and John Lundgren did a one-day fly-by to Las Vegas at the end of October to support RIckey Berger "get back to healthy efforts." Rickey had been struggling with some serious health issues during the past 18-months, and this outing was a good old fashion pat on the back to Rickey for getting healthy enough to get back on the fairways. And when I say one day, I mean ... one day ... hop on a 9:00 a.m. flight to Vegas, play 18-holes at the Badlands Golf Club, grab a bite, and head back to the Southwest ticket counter. By the way, after an extensive layoff from the game, Berger game didn't show much rust. ... Speaking of traveling, Jim Allen has played four rounds of golf during the past month, but not a single one in his home state of California. This road show includes outings at Homeland Crossing (Indiana), Bear Creek (Texas), Badland Golf Club (Nevada), and Superstition Mountain (AZ). The next round? Back to Las Vegas, Nevada, to tackle the exclusive Wynn Golf Course at the Wynn Resort with Jeffrey Adkins.
Spanky Hayes had the opportunity to tackle the super-awesome Top 100 rated Wolf Creek Golf Course in Mesquite, Nevada. For those of 
you who haven't had the opportunity to play Wolf Creek, it's a golf course cut into what can best be described as a mountainous lunar landscape. ... Is a rumor really a rumor when you know it's going to happen? Hmmm? Well, I heard there is rumor of a Golfest New Orleans (area) fly-by in 2012! ... Art Taylor has been spotted golfing in Roseville (several times). As a Fire Captain, Art probably has the most flexible schedule of any Golfestian. ... The famous Golfest Cup has been spotted traveling to Northern California. The trophy is still making the rounds with members of 2011 winner TEAM CALIFORNIA (see Stanley Cup.) Details will be coming together in January for the 2012 event. Right now, it looks like the Ryder-Cup formatted event will be held on March 24-24th in California. ... Utah's Bob Potts reports that his golf game has recovered very well after his knee surgery, with one exception - HIS DRIVER! Apparently the big dog still won't hunt. ... Look for a Jeffrey Adkins sighting at Pelican Hill in the very near future. ... And finally, have you signed up for Golfest 2012-Alabama "The Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail" yet? Mike Barbone has! So has Jim Dee ... and Jim Allen ... and Bob Potts ... and Jeffrey Adkins! What could you possibly be waiting for? ...
"We have a group of guys converging on Sacramento, including one guy flying in from So Cal, and another who is coming in all the way from Indiana to play some golf."
"For a few days?"
"If a day and a half qualifies as a few days ... that would be a YES. During that time, we plan to play 54-holes of golf on something we call a Golfest Fly-By."
"Are you kidding? 54-holes in a day and a half?"
"30-hours to be exact!"
"Really? ... That's crazy! ... At one golf resort?"
"No, we are traveling around and playing three different courses --- Apple Mountain, the Ridge, and DarkHorse.
"Are the courses close together?"
"Not really, they are about an hour away from where we are staying. One's in Camino, another in Auburn and the other at the Lake of the Pines."
"When do you find time to eat and sleep?"
"Ah ... we work that in somewhere along the way. In the big picture of things, it's not that important."
"Are you guys all married?"
"All, but a couple of us."
"What do your wives think about all of this?"
"They are good with it."
"Really?"
"Yup, our binge golfing ultimately makes us happier and nicer people. I think it lowers our blood pressure and soothes our soul."
"That sounds like a load of crap to me."
"That's our story and we are sticking to it."
"How often do you do this?"
"Well, each year we have a big week-long trip, a Golfest Cup deal, and then we usually schedule a couple of quick fly-bys like this one. Our Fly-By last year was to Ohio, but we have also gone to Maryland, Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Pebble Beach."
"Sounds serious to me?"
"Actually, not at all. In fact, the more serious you take your golf, the less chance you have of us inviting you on a trip. We are out to eat good, drink well, laugh a lot, have some fun. Golf is almost incidental to everything. Remember that soothe your soul thing I was talking about?"
"Still sounds like a load ... So let me get this straight ... With the blessing of your wives, your group fly's in from around the country and plays three different courses amounting to 54-holes during one 30-hour time span ... and ... you still have time to eat and sleep. That's absolutely nuts!"
"Not really ..., it's the real deal ... and we even have a website that showcases all of our exploits."
" ... a website? You guys are whacked!"
"We prefer to call it passioniate and fun."
"(Insert Bewildered Look Here!)"
With all that in mind, we just wrapped up a great Golfest GOLD COUNTRY Fly-By during the last weekend of July. Eight Golfestian's participated in this adventure that did exactly that ... 54-holes at three courses in one short 30-hour span. Here is a quick rundown:
APPLE MOUNTAIN GOLF CLUB (Camino, CA) ... This course is located just outside of Placerville, CA and comes highly recommended by any and all that have ever played it. However, on the other side of the coin, it's kind of a secret also as it is off the beaten path. We played from the white tee boxes which made this course only 5500 yards, but with hindsight it was a very smart move. Apple Mountain is exactly that ... a mountain. In fact, whomever had the vision to make this hill into a 18-hole gem deserves a lot of credit, because it looks better suited for the habitat of a grizzly bear and a Red Tail Hawk. Beautiful Country! Almost every hole features major elevation changes, narrow fairways, and views that encourage the high handicapper to keep their driver in the bag -- but most of us didn't ... and paid the price.
At 50 bucks, this course was a steal,
especially when you figured in the "all you can eat" buffet that was included. If you wanted to, you could eat before before you teed off, at the turn, and again at the 19th hole. Combined with free range balls and an assortment of 2-for-1 promotions on beer off the cart and it's lucky they can keep the doors open. GolfestOnline highly recommend this facilty for all golfers.Dinner was served up at Rudy's Hideaway down towards Sacramento. The only MIA was Art Taylor who had to hightail it back to his Roseville fire station for his shift that began at 7:00 p.m. He will be off at 7:00 a.m. tomorrow, just 40-minutes before our first tee time.
THE RIDGE GOLF CLUB (Auburn, CA) ... We pointed our vehicles east on Highway 80 for the one-hour early morning drive to Auburn, CA, located in the heart of the Gold Country. The Ridge is pretty much a wide open affair that can be very rewarding if you stay out of the strategically placed bunkers. Our two foursomes scored nine birdies, but proabably matched that with an equal number of triple bogeys as ball richocheted off of trees into the sand or rolled into the water. While the Ridge is on hilly terrain, it was nowhere near as severe as Apple Moutain. We blew around this 18 in just over four-hours and then scurried up Highway 49 in the direction of Lake of the Pines for round three.
DARKHORSE GOLF CLUB (Lake of the Pines, CA) ... We arrived with more than two-hours to spare, but the pro shop was very accommodating and was able to bump us up to earlier tee times that allowed us to hydrate and wolf down some satisfying danger dogs. This facility, which was once named by Golf Digest as a Top Place to Play, goes with a rustic feel with the clubhouse being of the modular home variety. The carts are not housed in a barn. Insteady, they stay outside and plug into what amounts to be a golf cart hitching post. However, don't think this place is stuck in a time warp, because they put their money where their mouth is. The course is very enjoyable if you keep your tee shots to the left side of the fairway on most holes. Every hole had its own unique personality and challenge and to enhance the experience, we had deer visit us on the periphrials on at least five holes. That was pretty cool. The sun heated up the temps to the high 90's and some of our group finished stronger than others. And just like that ... 54-holes of golf was over.
John & Heidi Lundgren opened up their home for the sunburnt gang on Saturday night and dished up
some great burgers, ribs and fixings, plus a full compliment of cocktails. We had a great time on a great night .... and BAMMMM ... just like that this Golfest Fly-by was over! Special thanks to the Lundgren's for their fantastic accommodations.FLY-BY NOTES: The only thing Apple Mountain needs is more yardage markers. With shot yardage accuracy being imperative to score well here, a few more marked sprinkler heads would be the bomb - even if they were fake sprinkler heads. ... Apple Mountain and DarkHorse are beer and wine facilities only which makes a Vodka-Cranberry a little more complicated. It just doesn't taste right when you sub Miller Lite for Vodka. ... David Stanley and Pat Calahan were probably the two most consistent golfers during the three rounds. ... Wanna join us on a future trip ... drop us an e-mail to Top100@GolfestOnline.com
(Updated 7/10/11) ... Call it whatever you want, but I call it POST-GOLFEST WITHDRAWLS. It usually takes a long week to fully recover from our annual golf-binge better known as Golfest. After all, 126-holes of golf, a little jet lag, a three-hour time difference, and a ton of good food and adult beverages tends to take its toll on the average human body -- especially when you head to work the first day back. It's even more depressing to walk into the garage three weeks later only to find that the trusty battle weapons are still safely packed in the golf travel bag - right where they were dropped. Which reminds me, I think I left some dirty socks in the side pouch (might want to burn those!). ... So to keep your golf whistle well salivated, here is a quick rundown on what's on the Golfest travel schedule:
GOLFEST "GOLD COUNTRY" FLY-BY ... This one is official, meaning the rumors are true! GolfestOnline.com has scheduled a "Gold Country" fly-by outing on July 29-30th. For those of you who skipped history and geography class, that would be in the foothills around Auburn, California, about 30-miles east of Sacramento. The plan is to play an afternoon round on the 29th at the scenic Apple Mountain Golf Course, followed by back-to-backs on Saturday at The Ridge and the highly acclaimed Darkhorse Golf Club. That works out to 54-holes of golf in one 30-hour time frame. Cost is $198 and is limited to the first 12 golfers that send me a check by July 15th. Additional activities are being planned. (EDITOR NOTE: As of 7/10/11, the following are committed to participate ... Indiana's Jim Dee, Californian's Jim Allen, John Lundgren, Mike Barbone, and Patrick Calahan.)
RUNNING Y RANCH RESORT ... What in the heck is the Running Y Ranch Resort? Well, I'm glad you asked. Running Y is located in Klamath Falls, OR ... about a five-hour drive north of Sacramento, and is ranked number 46 on Golf Digest's Top 100 course list. This will be the destination of yet another upcoming Golfest fly-by, sometime during the next 60-days. By the way, they have a great deal there ... $129 ... which includes room and unlimited golf (double-occupancy) on the ranked course. The more I think about it, that's worthy of a two-night stay. Stay tuned for more details.
2012 GOLFEST CUP ... Just in cased you missed it, the dates for second annual Golfest Cup have been announced. The dates are March 31-April 1 and it will be held in Southern California. The Adkins and Allen households are expected to be the host base camp for the visiting group better known as TEAM USA. Although nothing is officially official at this point, right now it looks like Empire Lakes and Oak Quarry will be the battleground for the Ryder Cup format event pitting defending titlists TEAM CALIFORNIA against TEAM USA. All players must have a posted USGA handicap to compete. (Which is a strong hint ... get your membership card, or plan on staying home!)
(Updated 5/20/11) ... I have to admit ... the heart rate has begun to race a little bit now that the Golfest 2011 - Florida "The Sequel" countdown timer has finally ticked below five-days. Now, it can't get here fast enough!!! Our 2011 
adventure takes two of the best elements of the 2010 trip - Arnold Palmer's Bay Hill Club and the TPC Sawgrass Player's Stadium Course - and adds some new challenges for our return trip to Florida. Adding a certain "cool factor" is the fact that we just watched the PGA tour pros tackle both venues at the Bay Hill Invitational and the Players Championship. That means they are both in "over-the-top" condition. There is also a sense of satisfaction when you play and score a par or a rare birdie at the same hole where your favorite tour pro struggled to a bogey (we tend to forget about the part where they play from the back tees!) Here is a quick rundown of where the 2011 road show is headed:
Shingle Creek Golf Club ... The trip starts in Orlando with a friendly early morning wake up call to a local resort course. It's named after a lazy creek that winds its way through the course on its way to the Everglades. Judging from course photographs, there's a lot of water, sand, and tropical landscaping that threatens the success of everygolf shot. Shingle Creek has won many awards for its quality of service and excellent condition of the course. From there, this busy day will also include another 18-holes at ...
The Celebration Golf Club ...This course will serve up a fantastic preview for Golfest 2012, when our group heads to Alabama and the Robert Trent Jones golf trail. This Jones-designed venue features water on 16 holes ... which makes the practice range a must, because it features a series of island greens to shoot at. This course maximizes the use of the word "undulating" - like in both the fairways and greens. Their website is worth a cruise ... check it out!
Arnold Palmer's Bay Hill Club ... Walking through the history filled club house and hotel is almost as much fun as playing this championship course. It's a history lesson of Arnold Palmer's legendary career and the famous Bay Hill Invitational that has seen just about ever golf star traverse its 18-holes. We get to walk in those same foot steps on this Thursday (5/26).
The Ocean Links Golf Course at Amelia Island ... This is our first trip to quiet Amelia Island and their Omni Resort. The Ocean Links is exactly that, an ocean facing course with five holes staring down the Atlantic. Another 10 holes cut through the lagoons and marshlands. Keeping it in play is the key here, otherwise, this will be the blow up round for many golfers. Can you say "snowman?"
The Long Point Golf Course at Amelia Island ... This is the private members course on Amelia Island and it's rated as one of the Top 50 places to play by Golf DIgest. This Tom Fazio design is also a former site of a U.S. Men's Open. It's a challenging venue featuring tight fairways, eight forced carries over water, and many elevated greens. Game on!
TPC Sawgrass - Dye Valley Course ... The Valley course is shaping up to be the hidden gem of Golfest 2011. This Pete Dye number promises the same quality experience as its more famous sister course, but promises to be a little more forgiving. After five-rounds, we might need some of that. The Valley Course is the home of the Nationwide Tour Win-Dixie Open.
TPC Sawgrass - Stadium Course ... Watching the Players Championship and seeing the professionals struggle on these 18-holes pretty much says it all. It's a "shotmakers" course where shot selection and placement wins out over pure power. Its rating as one of the top golf courses in the nation was earned, not given, with everything about the TPC Sawgrass golf experience falling into the "excellent" category ... even if you stick it in the water at the island green! A perfect conclusion to what we hope is a ... perfect week.
For those of you at home taking notes, this year's Golfest Champions (Net & Gross) will not require an "across the board" stellar performance at all 126 holes. The champions will be determined by their best five of the seven rounds. Considering the slope ratings at these facilities, it should make things real interesting. GolfTripGenius.com software will help us with the math. By the way, thanks to the support of several sponsors, this years Golfest Gear prize package is loaded with a bunch of great stuff. Combined with all of the other perks and benefits, the sequel promises to be extremely entertaining.
(Updated 5/7/11 - 2:37 p.m.) ... The POST IT NOTES are everywhere, so it's time for a down load in this week's Mulligans & Gimme's column ... A month later and everybody is still talking about the GOLFEST CUP, our brainchild of a Ryder Cup event that we held last month in Arizona. The Cup recently returned from AllStar Awards with a brand new nameplate showcasing the names of the winning team from California. It's now making the rounds of teammates who are showcasing the huge perpetual trophy in their homes and places of business. All will be providing a photograph of their special Golfest Cup celebratory moment (aka Stanley Cup style). Something tells me the California boys are going to get pretty creative. ... The dates for the 2012 Golfest Cup 
event in California have been set for March 31-April 1st weekend. Initial plans have the event taking place at the Empire Lakes and Oak Quarry Golf Courses. If the economy turns around, we're thinking Pelican Hill Golf Club (but that isn't looking so good right now!) ... The Golfest Cup web page just received a facelift. To check it out, go HERE. If you are looking for Golfest Cup photos, go HERE! ... A lot of post Golfest Cup conversation centered around Utah's Bob Potts, who was considered to be the backbone of TEAM USA. However, it was obvious that Bob hasn't fully recovered from his knee surgery that took place back in January. His golf game wasn't exactly of the A-Game variety; lacking the power that made his pre-surgery 8-handicap an intimidating factor. His handicap ballooned only three points before the Cup event, but that probably didn't do his scorecard enough justice at this point in his rehabilitation. One thing is for sure, in your best Arnold voice "He'll be baaccck!" ... Speaking of that, Golfestian Rickey Berger is back in the saddle after a life threatening scare with congestive heart failure. However, Rickey has promised to get healthy and dial in his golf game once again so he can rejoin our annual trips. ...
... Golfest 2011 will feature a couple of Golfestian rookies. This would include Tony Lopez of Long Beach, CA. Tony went to the Pebble Beach Fly-By in 2009, but had never made the full-blown Golfest trip. The other is Chet Dodson of Lincoln, CA, a golf enthusiast who was reeled into our camp by Golfestian Todd Baltzley. ... Also making his first annual trip since Golfest 2008-Michigan is Las Vegas golfer Craig Decker. He also made the 2009 Pebble Beach fly-by. Overall, we have a dozen golfers making the trip. They include California golfers Jeffrey Adkins, Jim Allen, Todd Baltzley, Mike Barbone, Pat Calahan, Chet Dodson, Tony Lopez, John Lundgren & Mike Rittner. Greg Haeussler and Craig Decker represent Nevada, and Jim Dee is making the trip from Indiana. ... Speaking of Dee, he joined up with Jim Allen in San Antonio last month for some golf at La Cantera Golf Club and the Tapatio Resort. It was a great time. Special thanks go out to our San Antonio Feista connerction Ray Merchant, who set everything up for us! ... To add some flair to the Golfest event at Arnold Palmer's Bay Hill Club, we are considering walking the course with caddies. But where do we put our Vodka-Cranberry? ... Closest to the pin at the famous 17th island green at TPC Sawgrass during Golfest 2011 will earn a brand new Callaway Diablo Driver. ... The final night Golfest 2011 awards dinner will be held in the classy Boardroom inside the classic TPC Sawgrass clubhouse. It features a balcony overlooking the 18th hole, perfect for a cocktail and a fine cigar. ... Thanks to the additional sponsorship backing of Ferguson Heating & Cooling, Trane, Future Energy, SolarCo, Cartagz Vehicle Registration, Golf Exclusives, and Money Mailer, this years Florida travelers will be recieving a large collection of Golfest 2011 gear. It includes six (6) embroidered golf shirts, a Golfest 2011 hat, golf balls and tees. ... Golfest 2011 also features $900 in cash prizes, plus an assortment of other golf related prizes. ... In additon to trophies, the winners of the Golfest (Net & Gross) championship will also take home Samsung Notebook Computers! ... All scoring on the trip will be done on GolfTripGenius.com, an online program that calculates handicaps, pairings, and leaderboards. It's pretty cool! ...
... We have already been asked the Golfest 2012 question; like in where will the annual trip take us? Just so you can say you heard it here first, we are headed to the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail on an affordable trip through Alabama. It will include some Top 100 venues and possibly include a sidebar visit into Mississippi and Louisana. How about a final night awards dinner in New Orleans? It could happen. ... There is some talk about possibly adding a Golfest Presidents Cup to the annual Golfest agenda. This event is targeted for the Fall, but the key word at this point is "possibly." ... And yes, the Mulligan Man has received some disgruntled e-mails from fans of the "Birdies, Eagles & Vultures" column. Word has it that he is milling through the mail box now searching for some interesting questions. Stay tuned. ... In the meantime, keep your focus on the Golfest 2011 timer at the top of this page. The countdown is underway. SEE YA! ...
GOLFEST INVADES TEXAS!
Golfest Founding Members Jim Allen and Jim Dee made the most out of their recent visit to San Antonio. They challenged the pristine La Cantara Golf Club at the Westin Resort, which is the former home of the famed TEXAS OPEN. If you look closely, you'll notice that the backdrop for this signature hole with an elevated tee box is a Six-Flags Amusement Park. How cool is that? We give it a "10" for originality!
(Updated 4/1/11 - 9:56 p.m.) ... Who would have guessed that a two-foot tall Sterling Silver trophy would've generated so much interest? The April 2-3 Golfest Cup has stirred up emotions and comraderie comparable to a couple of football teams getting ready to do battle in January. But history has proven that if one draws a line in the sand, or in our case ... a bunker, competition tends to break out. On one side of the bunker is eight Golfestians from TEAM CALIFORNIA and on the other is an equal number representing the other 49 states ... otherwise known as TEAM USA. But this is the fun part. Up to this point, most of our Golfest activities have pretty much been focused on playing the top golf courses in the United States. Two-foot putts are usually gimme's, a courtesy drop is typically offered up to eli
minate additional grief and laughter, triple-bogey is max-score, and more emphasis was typically put on where dinner was taking place rather than pin placement.
However, this one is about match play and head-to-head competition. The Ryder Cup format is in fact, a little out of our comfort zone, but it's one that is being quickly embraced. Two-foot putts will be watched intently, it's play it where it lies, a "9" might actually win a hole, and what is that ... oh yah ... that's called a course book! And "whatssup!" has been replace with "One-Up."
Team Captains Jim Allen (CA) and Jim Dee (USA) are already working on strategies on how to earn 8 1/2 points for their respective teams. Yup, that's it, just 8 1/2 points. Four are up for grabs Saturday morning during fourball competition at the Raven Golf Club at Verrado. Another four more can be earned in the afternoon in two-man scrambles matches. Then while the rest of America is gear up for church, or to watch the NASCAR race at Martinsville, or some leftover March Madness honey-do's, we will be sending out eight singles matches on the desert course in the battle for the Golfest Cup.
By the way, we need to send out some special thanks for this event ... Doug Foss at the Raven Golf Club for accommodating our group; GolfTripGenius for their killer software that makes Ryder Cup formatting and pairings as easy as hitting a button; and USA member Kasey Scheidenlein, who came up with the Golfest idea to draw a line in the sand. Stay tuned to this site, Facebook, and Twitter for frequent updates throughout the weekend. ... In the meantime ... GAME ON!
(Updated 3/21/11) ... I know ... that's what I said ... I didn't realize that the Golfest Cup was that close! But that isn't any reason to panic! In fact, that's a good thing. It means that some quality golf adventures are in our immediate future. Especially for the majority of our frozen and flooded nation that wants to criminally charge Al Gore for fraud on that little lack of global warming thing. But seriously, the stage is set for the first ever GOLFEST CUP in a few weeks in Arizona. Eight golfers from California against eight representing the USA team in a Ryder Cup formatted event on April 2-3rd. Sounds like some good old fashion entertainment to me - even better when you consider that most of the participants are regular golf-jonesing Golfestians.
The three-round event will pit the teams against each other in alternate shot foursome matches, fourball matches and singles matches. Here are the teams:
TEAM CALIFORNIA
Jim Allen (Captain) - Anaheim Hills, CA; Jeffrey Adkins - Wilton, CA; Mike Barbone - Sacramento; CA, Kirk Dragmire - Elk Grove; CA, John Lundgren - Fair Oaks, CA; Mike Rittner - Chatsworth, CA; Mark Suzda - La Habra, CA; & Art Taylor - Antelope, CA.
TEAM USA
Jim Dee (Captain) - Avon, IN; Greg Haeussler - Las Vegas, NV; Clyde Hayes - Phoenix, AZ; Spanky Hayes - Goodyear, AZ; Mark Pickering - Hickville, AR; Bob Potts - Stansbury Park, UT; Kasey Scheidenlein - Goodyear, AZ; & Danny Young - Phoenix, AZ.
The Raven Golf Club at Verrado (Buckeye, AZ) is the venue for the first ever event. Golf Digest rated the Raven as the top golf club in Phoenix in 2008; one of many accolades it has received. It's a challenging desert course featuring a full array of elevation changes that promises to test everyone's talents. However, what it really is ... is fair! If you keep it in play, it's a place where one can go low, or in this case, score some coveted GOLFEST CUP points for your respective team. Special thanks go out to Doug Foss, the Sales & Marketing Manager at the Raven Golf Club. He has been very helpful accommodating our group for this event. For more info on the GOLFEST CUP ... GO HERE!
By the way, team members have been practicing far and wide dialing in their games. USA Captain Jim Dee was pounding the white ball in Cancun, while Califonia Captain Jim Allen was sighted at Pelican Hill on more than one occasion.
... 
(Updated 2/19/11) ... The coveted Golfest Cup Perpetual Trophy was introduced to the golf media last week. The two-foot tall sterling-silver cup is the coveted prize for the inaugural event by the same name scheduled to take place on April 2-3rd in Arizona.
"The bigger the prize, the better the competition," stated Golfest charter member Jim Allen, from his Golfest Headquarters in California. "It doesn't get much bigger than this and should provide the winning team with a great sense of pride for their accomplishments."
Allen is the Captain for the eight-man California team, which will compete against the other 49 states in a Ryder Cup formatted golf competition. Charter Golfest member Jim Dee of Avon, Indiana will captain the USA Team, in the two-day event at the Raven Golf Club at Verrado.
The annual event will rotate back and forth between California and Arizona, with the winning team owning the trophy and bragging rights for the year.
"There's no way that trophy is ever going back to California," said Dee. "I've already got a special spot picked out in my trophy case for it!" Upon hearing that remark, California member Jeffrey Adkins commented that Dee should stick to shoveling the snow off his driveway rather than making embarrassing bad predictions! As you can see, the competition is expected to bring out its fair share of trash talking and promises to be an entertaining event, bring out the best, and worst of the sport. Stay tuned to GolfestOnline.com for more info. ... (MORE) ...
