July 12,
2012. -- In the cosmic scheme of things, fifteen years is but a blink of the
eye. But for an aging band of old friends from Detroit who date their
friendship back to the early 60's, fifteen years is quite an accomplishment --
especially when one considers their annual golf tournament -- the Arbuckle
Invitational is now fifteen years old.
Fifteen
years. The tournament no longer simply awards a cup to its champion, but in a
nod to its more distinguished elder "cousin" The Masters (which after
all started out as Bobby Jones inviting his friends down to Augusta to play a
little golf) the Arbuckle Invitational now awards a green jacket to its
champion as well.
Fifteen
years. Like The Masters, the Arbuckle event now has an annual awards banquet,
catered if you will by Buddy's Pizza, Detroit's famous purveyor of square pizza
since 1946. The dinner has been held for the last two years in the downtown
Detroit apartment of Kathleen Straus and Walter Shapero.
Fifteen
years. Not every tournament has a Patron Saint. Yet the members in good
standing of the Arbuckle event determined that the aforementioned Judge Shapero
had become instrumental to the tournament's ongoing success (having purchased
the green jacket among other inspired acts). So at this year's banquet he was
given a special plaque to commemorate his saintly status.
Fifteen
years. The tournament has succeeded in reuniting four old friends. As far as
they can tell, Ron Braun and Peter Straus go back to the fifth grade at Detroit's Schulze
Elementary School -- some time around 1961. Stanley Pesick came on the scene
around 1962 and Rick Last is the Johnny-come-lately having joined the group
around 1964. All were members of a junior high school social club called,
believe it or not, the Dovels (a misspelling of a then popular singing group; also
mis-pronounced "dough-vells"). All stayed friends from Dovel days
through high school, and on through the University of Michigan where they
roomed together in various configurations.
Post college, all went their separate ways. Braun stayed in Michigan;
Last moved to Boston; and Pesick and Straus moved to California. Life
intervened, though Pesick and Straus lived within 150 miles of one another and
stayed friends, the others dropped away. Years passed. Marriages, children,
careers, even divorce ensued.
Fifteen
years. Consider how odd it is that this funny little golf tournament brought
them back together. It started on the occasion of Stan's marriage to Liz
Barclay. Since it was a second union for both, they wanted a small affair --
almost no guests, just a quiet ceremony by the sea. Straus though wanted more
for his good old friend, so he proposed a little golfing getaway -- no bachelor
party, just two longtime pals playing golf for a couple of days....but where to
tee it up? How about midway between Pesick's home in Berkeley and Straus' in
Chico? There's a little old nine hole golf course in Arbuckle California.
Surely a virtually unknown track in a tiny town would be in keeping with Stan's
desire to keep the wedding as low key as possible.
To commemorate the replacement bachelor party Straus purchased an ultra
cheap gold loving cup -- the least expensive he could find -- and dubbed it
with as much irony as he could muster, The Coupe d'Arbuckle, to be awarded to
the winner of the two day event. It was, if you will, the coup de grace. No surprise, the marriage has been a happy one
lasting the full fifteen years; surprisingly though, so has the Cup.
Fifteen
years. The following January, Straus ran into Braun at a funeral in the Detroit
area. They had been out of touch for more than twenty years. "Great seeing
you". "You too". "What do you do in your free time?",
" I play some golf". "Me too.". "Hey, you ought to
come out to California and compete for the Arbuckle Cup". "I'm there!
Just tell me when". By the next year they had a threesome.
Fifteen
years. Golf is best played in a foursome. The rhythm of the game just seems to
work best when there are four players. Fivesomes are slow. Twosomes are
difficult, because they generally move too quickly around a golf course. Three
is, well three is an odd number. So foursomes are best, thus at the conclusion
of the second event it was decided the group had to track down "The Little Cat", Rick Last, whose
never forgotten college nickname, among other endearing qualities, had made him
the epitome of a long lost friend. Given the Internet; the Detroit phone book;
and the dogged determination of Ron Braun there never was any doubt that if
Rick even knew the difference between a putter and driver then he would be
there the next year. And, of course, he
was.
Fifteen
years. The above has never been chronicled, at least never before has it been
put into writing. How insignificant then to even worry about winners and losers
as, clichéd as
it might seem, there are no losers in an event like this. Yet it's the
competition and bragging rights that give the Arbuckle Invitational its special
place. So in brief, the 2012 event held at three courses in Ann Arbor was won
by Peter Straus. Rick Last, the Little
Cat, came in a strong second; long-hitting Stanley Pesick came in third and the
defending champion, Ron Braun, a gracious and generous host as ever, never got
untracked.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The author would like to thank Mitch Albom for inspiration on the above piece.
