The Lessons of History

"Those that fail to learn from history, are doomed to repeat it.", thus famously intoned Winston Churchill. He, of course, was referring to Europe; but golf is no exception. One can look at a big lead; say seven strokes with 9 holes to play, as an insurmountable barrier. But if one were so inclined then he (or she) would be forgetting, among others, Billy Casper’s memorable comeback at the Olympic Club in San Francisco in the 1966 US Open, when he stormed back against Arnold Palmer and then won the tournament the next day in a playoff.  

Casper sinks a crucial putt on 17 at the Olympic Club in '66.

Ron Braun needed no such playoff at this year’s Arbuckle when he, indeed, made up seven strokes in the last eight (!) holes to edge Rick Last on the 18^th green at Leslie Park in Ann Arbor.

Braun, the fabled Bad Man from Motown, overtook the Little Cat with some sterling play down the stretch – especially with his putter. 

Braun’s putting style, from the southpaw side, defies all description. Without taking the analogy too far, it is reminiscent of Jim Furyk’s seemingly crazy swing. No one can understand how Furyk does it; he just does and his swing has led him to a future place in golf’s Hall of Fame. Braun’s stroke is smooth and pure but to the outside observer  he appears to be lining the putter face up well left (or is it right??) of the hole. Yet time and time again on the back nine he poured in clutch putts to amp up the pressure on the leader. 

The Cat putting for the win

The Cat for the tie.

 

But it wasn’t all putting. On the par three seventeenth hole, 135 yards all carry over a pond. Braun hit a beautiful little draw into the wind (the right shot for the conditions) to within 10 feet of a tricky back pin placement. Last’s tee shot found a watery grave. When all was said and done, they were tied going into 18.

Last boomed a big drive down the left. His second came to rest just to the right of the green but above the green side bunker. Braun meanwhile was short of the green, but in three. Advantage Cat; but not for long. Braun chipped up to within 11 feet, below the hole; Last meanwhile ran his chip ten feet above the hole. Braun was next and he sank the putt. Now Last was putting for the win. He left it three feet out – now he was putting for the tie. It was, as Dustin Johnson found out at this year’s Open, not an easy putt to sink. Some say putting to tie is the toughest shot in golf. Last found that out the hard way.

Looking back, Braun was relentless on the back nine. After a horrible triple bogey that put him seven down on the tenth hole he was nearly perfect the rest of the way. Especially parring 16 and 17 and then sinking the crucial bogey putt on 18. Did the Cat blow it? Did Braun win it? The answer is murky at best – but again much like Jordan Spieth and the aforementioned Johnson at this year’s Open; the best man won.

Defending champion, Peter Straus, got off to a terrible start on day one; he was pretty good tee to green, but nine (9!) three putts sealed his fate. There was too much ground to make up, though on the last day, he did put on a bit of a charge to close within five of the leaders, but it was not to be.

Stanley Pesick was a WD on the last day’s back nine.

Wearing o' the Green 2015

Scenes from Wednesday April 15th's Business Concept Competition at Chico State. The Arbuckle insignia shows up rather nicely and the assembled crowd seemed duly impressed.

Winterbuckle '15

Winterbuckle '15 was held this weekend past -- Super Bowl weekend -- without defending champ Peter Straus. No trophies were awarded but a fine time apparently was had by all -- highlighted by a great culinary experience.

Fine dining

Each competitor had his moment in the course of the three days.
As always camaraderie was paramount.  

Jeff Braun did his best to take the place of The Commish.

The FOUR Winterbucklers.

Wearing o' the Green

BCC judges and winners seen here in the company of the Green Jacket.

Nov. 13, Chico CA - In keeping with timeless tradition, 2014 champion Peter Straus, wore the ceremonial green jacket to the Finals of the Fall 2104 Chico State Business Concept Competition. Those in attendance were suitably impressed.

Everyone wanted a photo of the Green Jacket.

Clearly, all eyes were focused on the Green Jacket

Arbuckle 2014 Wrap-up

If you only have a casual familiarity with golf then you may think that shooting at or below par is, well, par for the course. After all on television, the pros routinely go low.  On the PGA tour, pars are the norm; birdies are a frequent occurrence. Yet, according to the United States Golf Association, the average golfer usually shoots 100 or 28 over par.  It turns out par is what an expert golfer should score on any given hole.

So par is a terrific score; birdies (one less than par) are a cause for celebration; and eagles (two less than par) are a miracle. In retrospect, last month’s British Open was won when golf’s newest wunderkind, Rory McIlroy sensationally eagled two of the last four holes in the second of four rounds. The last two rounds, while fiercely contested were a coronation.

Later in July, in McIlroy-like fashion, Peter Straus secured his second Arbuckle Cup victory in three years by scoring two crucial birdies late in each tournament round to secure the coveted cup. The tournament was contested in Ann Arbor Michigan over two tough tracks: Radrick Farms, a University of Michigan course and Leslie Park, a highly regarded municipal course.

Straus overcame a stiff challenge from the Little Cat, Rick Last as the two least decorated of the four Arbucklers waged a furious battle over the 36 holes of the tournament. Early on Last and Straus had pulled away from their more decorated competition, Ron Braun and Stan Pesick and never looked back. By day two, it had become virtually a match play event, but the tourney may have been decided on the last hole of day one, the 9^th at Radrick Farms (the competitors had reversed the nines, playing the back nine first).

Cat teeing off at Radrick #8.

Last had been playing a terrific round of golf. As a 29 handicapper, he knew if he could break 100 then that would be the equivalent of shooting at or below par. Heading into the 9^th, he had a commanding four stroke lead over Straus (a 19 handicapper) and was even farther ahead of the other two. Had the Cat just been able to play level with Straus then he would have started the last day with a commanding and probably insurmountable 14 stroke lead, but it was not meant to be.

View from 9th green at Radrick Farms

For whatever reason -- weariness, law of averages, golf gods -- the stuff that had been working for Rick just stopped. He was struggling out there --- meanwhile Straus had split the fairway with his drive and was waiting up on the green after his second shoot landed about 20 feet from the pin. More good fortune awaited Straus, because Pesick’s ball had come to rest a few feet farther from the hole.   So Straus was able to “go to school” on Pesick’s putt. Seeing how the ball broke on the green was all he needed to hit his birdie putt just right – when all was said and done, Last had staggered in with a snowman – an 8 – and Straus picked up 5 strokes in a single hole. Heading into the final round, he would only trail by 9, not 14. (Since the difference in their handicaps is ten, it was clearly well within reach).

The next round Straus picked up where he had left off. He chipped in for par on the first hole and parred the next two. The pressure was clearly on Last, but remarkably, he did not wilt. His game stood up. Heading into the turn, after nine holes, Last was still ahead by four strokes.

View from 10th green, Leslie Park

Straus picked up two on the tough tenth hole, but the eleventh, a shortish par five with a “blind” second shot to a green guarded by sand on the left and woods on the right was another turning point.

Last hit the best drive of the tournament, a towering 240 yard bomb over the hill. It came to rest a mere 185 yards from the green. His next shot left him maybe five yards off the green, so he had a legitimate chance at an eagle. But it was not meant to be as his eagle chip ran just wide of the hole. Straus dodged a bullet when Last missed the comeback birdie putt.  Each player ended up parring the hole.

And so it went. Straus was playing consistent golf – splitting fairways and making routine putts for pars and easy tap-in bogies. Last was scrambling; following funky shots with one minor miracle after another. The two were cart-mates and were having a great time as Last was doing a marvelous impression of the legendary Spanish scrambler, the late Seve Ballesteros.  They came to the seventeenth at Leslie Park with Straus now up by two. Yet trouble lurked. The seventeenth is a par three, 125 yards, over a pond. Plus by then, the wind had picked up and was blowing directly in the competitors’ faces.

Pesick played first and hit his best shot of the week; a perfect 8 iron that came to rest just three feet right of the hole. Nearly a hole in one! Straus played next. Hit it short, he’s wet and the door would have been wide open. Straus’ ball though did not take a bath; it plunked down two feet to the left of the hole! An even better shot.

After the match Straus reflected, “Given the circumstances, I would have to say that shot was probably the best of my life. It feels real good”.

So the pressure was now squarely on Last. The fairy tale ending of course would have been splitting the difference and finding the cup – it was not meant to be. Last did, however, hit a fine shot coming to rest about twenty feet to the right. Unfortunately he missed his putts and ended up with a four; Straus’ tap-in birdie made the last hole a bit anti-climatic and the Cup was his.

A quick word about Pesick and Braun. Neither could get their games going. Surprisingly defending champion Pesick’s yips returned (though he did manage to get them under control and shot a fine 42 on the last nine, including his birdie at 17).  Braun, even more surprisingly, lost his putting stroke. He was hitting his drives and fairway shots with great conviction and effectiveness, but Arbuckle’s “boss of the moss” could not sink a putt to save his life. Golf, as anyone who has ever played can attest, is an enigma wrapped in a riddle.

Overall, as always, a fine time was had by all. Good sportsmanship reigned. Temporary Commissioner Braun did a fine job picking the courses, lodging and eateries and Arbuckle XVII, like its predecessors was a huge success. See you in 2015.

8th at Radrick Farms

Winterbuckle 2014, photos below

The second annual winter tour, Winterbuckle 2014 took place in Monterey and environs January 16 – 18, 2014. Courses played included Coyote Creek (San Jose); Pacific Grove Golf Links and Del Monte, the oldest course west of the Mississippi.

This year’s event was highlighted by the drought-influenced weather – not a cloud in the sky and a high of 82(!) in Monterey on Friday.

Players included Ron Braun, Jeff Braun, Stanley Pesick and Peter Straus. Unlike the AIGT this is a fun event, so as usual, no trophy was awarded. 

Winterbuckle '14 Photos, click for full size image

Badman Braun

Del Monte, oldest golf course in the West

Great b'fast joint on Monterey pier.

Pebble Beach #18

Pebble beach panorama, 1.17.14

Pebble, one more time

The Green Jacket Goes Public, Year II

In a stunning display of pride and showmanship 2013 Arbuckle champion Stanley Pesick took the green jacket public at a meeting of the Oakland Unified School District social studies and English teachers. 

The crowd was obviously stunned and in one case (note the woman to Pesick's right) apparently repulsed. They just don't get it. Or do they?