Winterbuckle Pix 2013

Given the haphazard nature of this blog, captions don't seem to be working so, in order, from top to bottom:Jeff, the Temporary Cat, Braun and Ron at Eagle Vines in Napa; Eagle Vines trio; # 2 on the  Merlot 9, Poppy Ridge; Ron at Yocha Dehe; ready to tee off at Y.D. #1, 160 foot drop to fairway; Y.D #7; Winterbuckle foursome with Liz and Michele, Jeff's girlfriend -- note Commish in mirror; Island green at Eagle Vines; a couple more from Yocha Dehe.

Two More Greenies

They said it couldn't be done -- going public with the jacket.

Here Straus describes his birdie on 18 to win it all....

Wearing of the Green

Nov. 14, 2012,
Fulfilling a promise made at Arbuckle 15; this year's champion, Peter Straus,
wore the ceremonial green jacket to an event on the Chico State campus.

Worth Talking About

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.

Arbuckle 2012 Courses

•   Leslie Park

•   University of Michigan Stadium Course

•   University of Michigan Radrick Farms

Radrick Farms turned out to be a great addition to the Arbuckle rotation, click here for more information ....http://radrick.umich.edu/.

Radrick Farms, #15

 

The prices, with carts included, were noteworthy: $42 at Radrick; $35 at the Stadium Course; and $23 at Leslie Park.  Golf in Ann Arbor is a tremendous value....and the courses were all in superb condition.

All is Right in the World

The Champ with his Cup

2011, Year of the Non-Cup

2011 winner Ron Braun seen here holding the special "non-cup" courtesy of an advanced case of senioritis.
At some point (in your dreams Ed.) a photo of the Cup will be Photoshopped in. Nonetheless; here are the four Arbucklians in various states of amusement over the plight of the Cup.

Arbuckle 13 Report. Or was it 14?

The Brokendown Seniors Tour formerly known as the Arbuckle Invitational was held in Michigan from July 11-13. Badman Braun from Motown, aka Ron Braun, emerged the victor in a relatively easy stroll to the title.

Braun zoomed out to an early lead on Day 1 at Leslie Park; held on during a tough day two at U-M Stadium course and then withstood  a couple of meek challenges from Last and Straus on Day 3 at the Polo Fields in Ypsilanti (a great new to us track). Not much to report there.

There was big news at this year’s tourney though, namely that after years of erroneously proclaiming added length off the tee, this year Braun’s assertions actually came true. He was indeed substantially longer off the tee. To this observer’s eyes, the added distance may have been as much as 20, 30 or even 40 yards. Substantial to say the least. Best of all, this was no mere technology boost (nor did it appear to be steroids or human growth hormone induced – take that Tiger). No, the additional yards appeared to come from an improved swing. Badman figured it out. Impressive.  And telling.

We all can derive great strength from knowing that one can improve their game with enough work, concentration and practice. So hats off to this year’s champion, he both earned and deserved it.

Quick words about the other three competitors.


The Little Cat hung in there. Bringing his usual combination of no practice and no time to practice to the tourney had little discernible effect –positive or negative  -- on his game. He was good at times; and had a hard time at others. His swing is still the best natural one of the quartet – no telling how good he could be with a little work on his game, but que sera sera.

Stanley Pesick?  An enigma wrapped in a riddle in 2011. He had played brilliantly in the lead up to the event.  Scoring well. Killing the ball off the tee and yet by the second or third hole on the last day he was out of it; if not by score then mentally. Not much to say other than it wasn’t his week.

Peter Straus? The Commish, as in past years, is clearly a head case. Falling way behind on Day One appears to free his mind to play unencumbered by pressure on the remaining two days. Get a shrink!

One last note. A new tradition was added to the proceedings by the Honorable Judge Walter Shapero who purchased a  green jacket which was awarded to Mr. Braun on the closing night’s festivities in the home of Judge Shapero and Kathleen Straus. Henceforth,  the Old Boys of Summer will be vying for both jacket and cup.

See you next year.

Sounds of Spring and Summer

Now to the latest in our summer series meant to tickle your ears. We're listening to the unique sounds of the season.

(Soundbite of music)
SCOTT TUROW: I'm Scott Turow, an attorney and the author, most recently of "Innocent." My summer sound is related to the game of golf.
(Soundbite of golf swing)
TUROW: For me, the liberty and lushness of this season is most fully summoned by the cool crack of a tiny ball against the metal face of a driver.
In my case, that sound is too often followed by the woodpecker-knock of my ball on an oak's limb, the warning screams of my playing companions to other golfers, or even, in one case, by the honk of an indignant goose I struck with a mishit grounder that left the bird uninjured but outraged.
(Soundbite of golf swing)
TUROW: Yet in my mind's ear, there is always the perfect ping of that sphere on the center of my club face and the faintest vacuum as the ball ascends.
(Soundbite of golf swing)
TUROW: Golf is an untimed game played in a pastoral space, not merely the grass you tread but the sky in which your shots travel, all within the borders of the fully-leafed forests and ravines and ponds that frame our Midwestern courses, the entire enterprise subject always to the whims of weather - people against nature in the most amiable competition, conducted to the music of wind and water and the peculiar sounds of humans striving.
(Soundbite of golf ball rolling)

Next installment at Leslie Park - Monday, July 11.

It's a Tie! Last Wins.

Secondhand reporting at its best on Arbuckle XIII..... In a stunning development Rick "The Little Cat" Last pulled into a tie with tough luck Stanley Pesick on the last hole at the University of Michigan Stadium Course with a clutch third shot to six inches from the hole for an easy tap in par thus forcing Pesick to two putt from 50 feet to tie. Last had frankly muffed his second shot leaving him still 165 yards from the hole; seeing this development, Pesick chose the seemingly wise move of laying up -- wrong!

Last pulled a six iron out of his bag and hit what reports say was a perfectly launched ball -- Ron Braun, a most interested viewer, thought it was going down, but still the Srixon came to rest less than a foot from the hole. With adrenaline pumping through his veins Last admitted to a bit of nerves before tapping in; after all, who would want to blow a putt after a shot like that? Meantime Pesick hit what he called a terrible shot to the far reaches of the green....now the pressure was all on him; but as previously stated he made the two putt and salvaged a tie for the Cup.

Since this Cup was short a player, due to the fact that PR Straus was laid up with knee surgery, the only remaining drama was whether the Commissioner would force the winners to put an asterisk next to their names but being the benign and wise ruler that he is the names have been allowed to go on clean.

Looking back down the fairway at the eighteenth at Leslie Park.

2009 Summary

They stood all square on the 53^rd and penultimate hole of the 2009 Arbuckle Invitational Tournament. Peter Straus and Ron Braun had battled throughout the day; Straus coming from way behind and Braun finally finding his game, just in time on the fifteenth hole. They had both bogied 15 and 16 and stood, 128 yards from the hole, staring across a pond with a weathered gray barn behind them on the 17^th, the signature hole at Leslie Park Municipal Golf Course in Ann Arbor, Michigan which had just been named the premier municipal track in Michigan by the July 2009 issue of Golf Digest.

Straus went first and pushed an 8 iron high onto the hill to the right of the green. Braun went next and hit a magnificent six iron to 8 feet below the hole. It was, perhaps, the greatest clutch shot in Arbuckle’s storied thirteen year history. Never mind that Straus played a good chip to ten feet and that his par put just slithered right of the hole. Braun’s birdie putt also went awry; he now had a precious one stroke lead.

The battle until the fifteenth had not been a two way race; defending champion Rick “The Little Cat” Last had also stood his ground in a display of golf that frankly exceeded his winning final round of the preceding year. For Last had battled Braun even up and stood the same two shot deficit on the tee at sixteen that he had started the day with. Last split the fairway with his drive and was a mere 258 yards (or so) from the par five sixteenth’s green. His caddy/advisor/cartmate Straus recommended a five iron and it turned out to be a disastrous suggestion because Last pushed it far right – recovery was nearly impossible and after a great run the Cat was kaput.

Straus had started the day a whopping 12 strokes behind Braun as the Bad Man had played a self- proclaimed best round of the year, a 92, at Leslie Park on the first day. Straus had countered with a 94

(including the Arbuckle Cup’s first-ever eagle at the par 5 third hole). Day two saw Braun card a 100 at Stonebridge, with Straus coming in with a disappointing 103; thus setting up the final day’s action.

The final day was all Straus’ until Braun’s heroics. A birdie on the par four third hole – easiest hole on the course – started the run. He finally caught Braun with a par on the 12^th and another birdie on the tricky par 4 13^th. Straus’ run may have ended when his curling par put on 14 just lipped out to the visible relief and audible delight of the Motown representative. But it wasn’t until Braun’s great shot on 17 that his lead was reestablished.

The eighteenth saw Braun hit down the middle and arrive at the par four in three. After his drive, Straus stood 159 yards away on the right edge of the first cut of rough. His five iron came up just short and trickled up against the lip of bunker guarding the right of the green. With no choice but to blast out, Straus was left with a short chip for par as Braun easily and steadily two-putted. Straus tapped in for his bogie but it was over despite having shot an 87 – the lowest final round in the tournament’s history.

In the interest of history one must acknowledge that Stanley Pesick was in the throes of a mysterious swing ailment that left him far in arrears. His 15 handicap, which set him up for his fall, was but a sad memory of past performances. Yet Pesick still managed the low gross over three days – a heroic accomplishment in its own right. Better yet, Pesick maintained good humor and wonderful sportsmanship throughout the three day event – avidly pulling for each of his competitors. Mr. Pesick’s positive attitude toward his fellows is what the Arbuckle Cup and ultimately golf is all about.

Yet the weekend ultimately belonged to Ron Braun who is in the midst of a three wins in four years run. The highlight, of course, was his shot on 17 but throughout the Bad Man had the steadiest putter and the best short game. He obviously coasted a bit on Friday (the last round); but when the chips were down he rose to the occasion, finishing bogie, bogie, par, bogie, which given the searing pressure of Arbuckle is winning golf and worthy of the 2009 Cup.

Arbuckle XIII Courses

Leslie Park

Stonebridge GC

Arbuckle XIII

The 2009 Arbuckle Invitational (the thirteenth in its storied history) will be held over three days in early July in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Play will be held on three courses including the world famous University of Michigan Golf Course. The UMGC was designed in the late 1920s by Alister MacKenzie, one of golf's all-time greatest architects. The course officially opened in the spring of 1931 and immediately drew praise as one of the finest in America. At the time of its opening, the University Golf Course became just the fourth course to be located on a college campus. The U-M Golf Course is one of only six MacKenzie-designed golf courses in the United States, including the famed Augusta National.

MacKenzie, Golf magazine's "Golf Architect of the Century" for the first 100 years of golf in America, brought his passion for the sport and of old St. Andrews, Scotland, to Ann Arbor. A multi-million dollar renovation completed in the spring of 1994 restored the grandeur of the University Golf Course to the ranks of MacKenzie's other classics. Orchestrating the restoration was Arthur Hills, a Michigan graduate and one of the foremost golf course architects in America. As an admirer of MacKenzie, Hills understood his focus was not a new course in Ann Arbor, but a return to MacKenzie's intent.

The renovation included the return of original bunkers, improved tree planting and placement, construction of stately tee areas and an improved irrigation system.
The other courses to be used will include Leslie Park, a public course opened in 1967 and Stonebridge GC, built in 1991, a demanding track filled with water hazards and other menaces to a golfer’s sanity.

Interestingly, Leslie Park and Stonebridge were also designed by Arthur Hills, a world renowned golf architect who has designed hundreds of legendary courses both in the U.S and abroad.

Another Vote for Taconic

August 20, 2008 - The Taconic Golf Club, as noted in the Times' article by Bill Pennington, was just chosen as the 43rd best public-access golf course in the country by Golf magazine.



I say the Little Cat should check it out as a future Arbuckle venue. Here's their web site: http://www.taconicgolf.com/.

Arbuckle XII Summary – The Cat Reigns Supreme

A wounded feline theme has emerged this golf season. First it was a fellow named Tiger, who ground out an historic US Open on a bad knee in June; then in July, twelve years of striving culminated with a recently repaired cat on top, as fan favorite, Rick “the Little Cat” Last emerged as champion in Arbuckle XII contested over two days at Hemlock Golf Course and the Manistee National Golf Resort.

Last had undergone knee surgery a mere ten weeks prior to this year’s event. His participation was questionable as recently as the practice eighteen in Big Rapids before the next day’s opening round in Ludington; yet with jaw set and resolution written all over a face that even Greg Norman would have to admire, Last set forth on his annual quest for Dovel grail.

This year he finally broke through; holding off determined challenges from the competition to emerge with a convincing five stroke win and his name on the Cup for the first time. All were pleased with the end result.

Normally, a win after such a long dry spell would be the extent of any reporter’s take on the tournament, yet this year’s doubles match included a bizarre occurrence that must be recorded for posterity.

Arbuckle doubles matches are contested in a scramble format and generally produce a tight match; this year’s match though was the tightest of all and might have been the closest doubles match in the very old and venerable history of golf, here’s why:

For the third year in a row, the teams were Braun-Pesick vs. Last-Straus and as has become the custom, Last and Straus streaked out to an early lead, somehow though Braun and Pesick found a way to hang in there; sinking a 40 foot putt and chipping in from way off the green to save two back nine holes among other acts of heroism.

As the light was waning, the teams came to the eighteenth hole on the Cutter’s Ridge course all square. After a pair of indifferent tee shots, the very tired teams found themselves facing difficult shots into a long narrow green that was guarded along the right by a creek and on the left by a steeply sloping hillside, that unbeknownst to the competitors was almost marshy in its consistency. Pesick hit first from about 200 yards and propelled a fine shot into the gloaming along the safer left side, figuring that his shot would probably fall down toward the green. Last hit next from about 160.

It’s important to note that by this time, 36 holes into a very long day, the Little Cat was worn out. Having lost innumerable balls to the courses barrancas, marshes and ponds, Last was down to his last ball, a dainty little lavender number that he affectionately was calling “Pinky”. The Cat’s shot also headed a bit left but was clearly a clutch shot that seemed destined to at least match Pesick’s shot-making. Little did the players know…

Last and Straus were first to arrive at the green and off they set to find “Pinky”. Straus saw it first, nestled in very deep and thick grass on the hillside, but there was something odd about it. Upon closer examination, it became clear that “Pinky” had come to rest on top of Pesick’s ball which had embedded in the hillside. None of the competitors had ever seen anything like it. Can a match be any closer than one ball on top of the other? Has this ever happened before? Probably it has, but then again, golf history could have been made.

Saner souls would have immediately declared the match a draw at that point, but a series of poor chips and missed putts rendered the final shots moot anyway and the match ended in a most appropriate draw.

Photos from Arbuckle XII, July 2008 Michigan

Photos from Arbuckle XII, culminating with eventual champion, Rick "The Little Cat" Last teeing off at a pretty little par three at Manistee National.

GOLF PROVIDES ALL THE DRAMA FOR A WRITER'S LATEST SCRIPT

By Gregory C. Jones

Published: April 22, 2008

Once a year I play a round of golf with my three oldest pals, the only lifelong friends I have.

We played junior high football and drove cross-country together. We were groomsmen at one another's weddings. A few years ago we almost literally killed each other during an oncourse argument.

"That's my ball in the fairway!" one of my buddies shouted.

"But you're playing Maxfli," replied another.

"No, I'm playing Precept!"

"But I'm playing Precept!!"

It caused us to reevaluate our friendship and got me started writing a play about four buddies who wonder why they still get together to play.

The plot goes to the primal heart of the sport, which is what makes golf so dramatic to start with. It's a dangerous combination: men with years' worth of grudges and metal weapons in remote forests with few witnesses.

What other game could conjure such drama?

Sure, a free throw or field goal to win the game can tighten the throat, and the bottom of the ninth or the final lap can rile the stomach acids, but every shot in a round of golf can cut a 41.4-inch hole down to one's essence. It places an unmatched level of pressure on the player; there are no refs, teammates or coaches to blame, no early exit to the dugout, no helmet or windshield to hide behind. The scrutiny can force people into revealing extremely personal, often ugly, character traits.

Remember when Woody Austin attacked a putter with his own head? When Davis Love III smashed a sprinkler head with his club? Or when Sergio spit into a cup after missing a putt?

Golf's truth serum causes even more unpredictable reactions from amateurs. I was 10 years old the first time I played with my dad. It took only two holes for me to realize that this mild-mannered M.D. was one angry s.o.b. (I learned the term "self-loathing" later. from a golfer.)

My friends and I live thousands of miles away from one another, we have less and less in common with each passing year, and, despite our attachment, all we seem to do is argue.

When we play, the nostalgic niceties fall away by the time we reach the 1st green. We remain fathers and husbands with respectable careers, but on the course the bullies, whiners, wiseacres and idiots who live within us come bubbling to the surface.

Why do we do it? Five years worth of rewrites later, I'm still searching for that answer.

Maybe it's because now that we've shared these hidden sides of our personalities, facets that even our wives haven't seen, we feel bound together. We're more and more different from one another, but despite the years and distances, golf has made us closer than ever.

Maybe I'll get some more answers when my play, Men with Clubs, which I finally finished, has its premiere. The guys are flying in to see themselves up on stage.

I made a tee time for the following day.

Jones's Men with Clubs premieres at the HotCity Theatre in St. Louis on April 25.

Arbuckle 2007, the East Coast Tour

The four competitors for the 2007 Arbuckle Invitational. Champion Ron Braun in lower left. Note new hats as conceived and designed by host Rick Last.