A few days ago, Blair and I were again invited to play in a fun scramble at Pine Grove Golf Course in Sudbury, Ontario. Bruce, my brother in law, extended the invitation to play in the Mine Mill Local 598 Unifor Retirees Tournament which we could not refuse. Gratefully, Bruce also invited Jack to play, thus reuniting the old team. As in our previous tournatment with these fellas, it was one of the more enjoyable rounds of golf I have played in some time. Bruce has already asked us to play next year and with all the stars aligning, we will be back!

Pine Grove is a short course compared to my usual tracks. At a par 64, there are 9 par 3, 1 par 5, and 8 par 4 holes, it has more to offer than meets the eye. Except for 3 holes measuring over 400 yards, the course is tight and required all our shot making skill to be in position to score well. But, do not let the length of the course confuse you, the great equalizer of this course was the greens. They rolled true and there was no flat spot anywhere. It was a great challenge putting on the greens because it test all aspects of our short game.

Our team consisted of Bruce, Jack, Blair and myself. We were a perfect match because they had the experience and Blair and I were the youth! Actually, all kidding aside; Jack is 80, Bruce is 70; Blair and I are in our 60s. The team complimented each other very well and we putted for birdie on every hole but two. One was the par 5 and I was fortunate enough to chip in for eagle!

Bruce was our course knowledge expert. He knew where to hit and how the greens would roll. Bruce proved to be sneaky long out driving the rest of us by more than 35 yards on a couple holes. Unlike the last time we played, Bruce’s greatest contribution was on the greens. He made 4 of 8 birdie putts and three of those were very difficult. His length off the tee and delicate touch on the greens was amazing to watch. He is a consistent player who understands how to make the most advantage of a difficult situation.

Jack was the elder statesman and stalwart gentlemen of the team. Blair and I both agree that he did not age a bit. He has a smooth consistent swing that still poke out the long ball. As with the previous tournament at Pine Grove, his greatest asset was on the greens. He read everything perfectly and putted like a pro. He made at least 4 difficult putts for par, one for birdie and burned the edges on many other holes. Jack is an import from Florida who lead our team with his knowledge and understanding of the game. His calm demeanour and truly gentlemanly persona strengthen our team in all areas. Jack is a great guy and I am already looking forward to playing with him next year.

Blair was the fill in guy. It seemed that if we needed a shot or a putt, Blair was there to answer the call. His game is one of ups and downs, but mostly ups. He hit the ball long, chipped well and putted supremely. He sank three tough birdie putts that helped keep several of our birdie runs going. Blair was the consummate roll player that every team needs when playing in a four person scramble. It is always great to play golf with Blair and the tournament last Tuesday was no different.

I played well. We stared on a short 125 yard severely down hill hole where I was inches away from an ace! We were left with a tap in birdie and this quick start set the stage for a great round. I hit the ball well off the tee and as I mentioned earlier I chipped in for eagle on the only par 5. I only putted four times as the the other guys were sinking everything. I had a strong game and helped keep the team rolling when needed.

This year we had a few holes to warm up before playing my favourite hole. The 15th was not as difficult to play as the last time, but still had is challenges. It is a shorter hole was a bit of a challenge due to the elevation change from tee to green. However, Jack (not surprisingly) put one close and Bruce sank a 12 footer for birdie. Easy peasy…..right? Well, this year it was because we had a chance to warm up before playing it.

If you are trying to add up our score, I will save you the time. We shot a smooth 10 under par. Blair mentioned when we were finished that this was the easiest 10 under he played in a long time. I agree, we seemed to be on cruise control the entire round. Our score this time was four strokes lower than last. We were excited to know that it was good enough to win the tournament! Yup, this group of experienced golfers pulled out the win by three strokes! Congrats to Bruce, Jack and Blair on a fantastic, fun tournament.

Playing Pine Grove Golf Course was a fun challenge. The tournament was extremely well organized and considering the number of players (144), everything went extremely smooth. A big shout out to the tournament organizers on a job very well done! The best part of the tournament was playing a great round with friends. We had a fantastic time and Blair and I are grateful that Bruce invited us to play. Thanks Bruce, see you next year.

I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!