Beyond Mere Golf, Arbuckle XI is Now a Cultural Experience

For those of you who think we are hopeless cretins who merely play golf all day and swill beer at night… we, the Arbuckle Four, would like you to know that we (along with three of our wives) will be attending a performance of West Side Story on Saturday, July 14 at the Barrington Stage in Pittsfield Massachusetts.

The performance will feature a star turn by Leo Ash Evens (Peter and Nancy’s nephew) who will be playing Riff, the leader of the Jets.

For more information see: http://www.barringtonstageco.org/

2007 Arbuckle XI Courses - Crumpin-Fox

One of the great courses in New England

Crumpin- Fox Club, Bernardston, MA.

"Crumpin- Fox will someday be mentioned in the same breath with Pinehurst and Pine Valley."Robert Trent Jones, Sr.

Crumpin- Fox Club was conceived in 1969 as the "field of dreams" of David Berelson who engaged the services of Roger Rulewich of Robert Trent Jones, Inc. to locate a site in the Franklin County area of Massachusetts which would accommodate a Pine Valley type golf course.

The arduous task of accumulating the various parcels of land and getting the necessary permits begun, but the project stalled and did not take shape. Due to financial concerns, Mr. Berelson was not able to complete the back nine and eventually sold the project to Andy St. Hilaire in 1977. A native of Bernardston, Mr. St. Hilaire completed the back nine holes and built the present clubhouse. Although Andy was a golfer of admittedly low persistence and high scores, he recognized the potential excellence of the design and preserved it until 1987 when he sold it to his good friend William A. Sandri, whose house sat perched atop the hill above the fifteenth hole.Mr. Sandri re-enlisted the help of Roger Rulewich and began acquiring parcels of land needed to finish the course.

Under the direction of Mr. Rulewich the front nine holes were built along with extensive renovations to the existing back nine holes, the driving range and the irrigation system. Bent grass fairways were planted, and the course re-opened in June of 1990 as the realization of the dreams of David Berelson, Andy St. Hilaire, Roger Rulewich, and Bill Sandri. Unfortunately, David Berelson passed away in 1989 and was not able to view his masterpiece in completion, and Andy St. Hilaire passed away shortly thereafter, but their memories and devotion to excellence live on.

This course sits in the middle of the Pioneer Valley on the eastern edge of the Berkshires at the foot of Vermont's Green Mountain. The course's interesting name was derived from Bernardston-based Crump Soda Company that was sold in 1853 to Eli Fox; thus becoming the Crumpin-Fox Soda Company.

Each hole on the course has been cut through thick stands of trees and sits in isolation from every other. Streams meander through the grounds, and an old red barn and horse farm adjoin one hole on the front. No two consecutive holes run in the same direction.

There's modestly uphill holes, dramatic downhill par 3's, par 4's both long and short, and a memorable collection of par 5's. The most memorable is #8, a 592, par 5, which starts from an elevated tee nestled deep in the forest.

Dark woods impose themselves on the right, the fairway cants modestly to the left, and a massive lake runs entirely down the left side of the hole. The putting surface, the largest on the course, sits on the other side of the water. "Golf Digest" rated this course as the 9th "Best in State" course for 1995-96.

In addition, "GOLF Magazine" rated it 57th under the 1996 category of "Top 100 Courses You Can Play in the U.S." "GOLFWEEK" rated the course 92nd among "America's 100 Best Modern Courses" for 1998 and 96th for 1999.

2007 Arbuckle XI Courses - Bretwood

Bretwood keeps golfers down on the farm
By Tom Bedell, Staff Writer, Golf Publisher Syndications

KEENE, N.H. (Aug. 19, 2005) -- Pro Matt Barrett's stock answer when asked which of the two tracks he likes better at the Bretwood Golf Course, is, "Well, I live on the 12th hole of the North Course, but I actually like the South Course better."

Bretwood has become the premier public golf outlet in the southwestern Monadnock Region of New Hampshire, so named for the not-too-distant Mount Monadnock, said to be, at 3,165 feet, the second-most climbed mountain in the world.

Here you will find about as good an argument as can be made for turning the old family dairy farm into a high-yield golf plantation. Barrett's father and uncle were running the dairy farm back in the 1960s when a spontaneous combustion fire put the kibosh on farming. But the disaster proved to be a blessing in disguise. When trying to decide whether to rebuild the farm or take a flyer into golf, the family invited designer Geoffrey Cornish to come have a look at the property.

The dean of New England golf architects (and now the patriarch of the Cornish, Silva & Mungeam Inc. firm located in Massachusetts), Cornish came away enthused, and that virtually clinched the Barrett families' decision.

Cornish designed the original 18 holes, nine of which opened in 1968. The rest debuted by the following July. The Barretts built the course, and the golfers came. So the family began acquiring more property adjacent to the course and expanded to 27 holes 20 years later, with the new holes designed by Hugh Barrett, who had worked with Cornish. Barrett blended the new holes in with the original back nine, to create what is now the North Course.

The South Course was completed in 1995, with a new nine, designed by Hugh Barrett, again blended with the original Cornish front nine. Add lots of tinkering throughout the years, and that's the basic setup: "It's always been a work in progress," said Matt Barrett, "but I think we're set for a bit now. In essence we have two old-style courses that go out and back, since neither ninth hole really finishes by the clubhouse."

The New Hampshire Open camped out at Bretwood in late July annually since 1990, playing on the North Course, though now it's sharing the honors on a semi-annual basis with the North Conway Country Club.

Bretwood's North Course is generally considered the more interesting and challenging of its two routes, at least by various magazine rankings. Golfweek pegs it as the third best public offering in New Hampshire, as does Golf Digest, although the latter's Places to Play book gives it four and a half stars and the top ranking in the Granite State.

One of the attractions is undoubtedly the par-3 13th island green (OK, more accurately a peninsula and isthmus affair), not a long shot even from the back tees (145 yards), but if the ball doesn't land on the green, it's destined to land on (and then spectacularly off) the rocks.
There are other felicities to the course - not even counting the reasonable greens fee - such as the huge double green shared by holes three and 11, and short but tough par-5s at five and seven, which calls for pinpoint placement on every shot. The second hole, if played from the championship tees, is a long shot--a whopping 612 yards.

"Both courses have their pluses and minuses," said Barrett, who was 17 when the course opened and he took up the game. "The North gets more publicity because we tend to use it for most of our tournament play, and it's an easier walking course. But I prefer the South. I think it's a prettier course and, from the championship tees, more difficult."

The South opens with consecutive par-5s, and then sends golfers up a steep hill for an exciting downhill par-3. A series of short but tight holes ensue, and long irons may be the best choice off the tees. The course opens back up before the turn.

After a short par-5 10th, the inward bound nine on the South is particularly demanding. The 536-yard 13th seems like it will never end, and that's just a warm-up for holes that play around bends of the Ashuelot River or wetland ponds.

The 15th feels so naturally fecund that a sign posted before passing through a covered bridge (one of many dented by golfers on the course over the years), warns that one is entering Jurassic Park. And then the downhill 176-yard 17th is both as beautiful and terrifying a par-3 as can be found.

With Matt as the pro, and his cousins Tom (the head superintendent) and Hugh (the resident designer), Bretwood is still decidedly a family affair. Cousin Bonnie manages the snack bar--nothing fancy here, but good juicy franks and a fine house ale, Bretwood Brown, made for the course by the Long Trail Brewing Company in neighboring Vermont.

For golfers who know that man cannot live by milk alone, Bretwood is good news. With 36 holes on hand, the wait is never that long even when the parking lot is jammed, which is always. However, they've found their way there, the prevailing motto remains: Got golf?

Forty Years Ago Today

1967.

Forty years ago today – or close to it, the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was released. “To Sir with Love” by another British invader, Lulu, topped the charts. By late July, Detroit would erupt in flames in the nation’s worst ever civil insurrection. Lyndon Johnson was President of the United States. George W. Bush was just discovering the wonders of mixing alcohol with cocaine at Yale University. Pierre Elliot Trudeau was Prime Minister of Canada and expo 67 was the planet’s latest and greatest world’s fair – and was being held on an island off the coast of Montreal, Canada.

In that long lost time, the sixteen and seventeen year old Messrs Braun, Last, Pesick and Straus, the Arbuckle four, took a first and very memorable road trip to the Exposition.

The trip was highlighted by:
1.) nicotine exhaustion
2.) jumping into dirty canals fully clothed
3.) trying to pick up Quebeçois girls with the added “tool” of wearing “Property of Notre Dame Football” tee-shirts which we were convinced were sure to impress and/or fool them given our stature and physiques at the time.
4.) Inducing Last to buy beer with just the merest smattering of French “Deux bieres, pliz”…and it worked!
5.) Getting booted from our accommodations for our overly rowdy and late night Hearts games
6.) …and more

This year’s Arbuckle Invitational Golf Tournament is being held in memory of the greatness of that adventure.

Arbuckle 2007 Tournament Schedule

THE GOLF

Bretwood Golf Courses

July 11 Practice Rounds - North and South Courses
Tee times – 8:30 am and 1:30 pm

Two Beautiful, Challenging Championship Golf Courses in the Heart of New England
…lush, superbly maintained 36 holes play along the picturesque Ashuelot River, which lazily meanders its way through the two courses. http://www.bretwoodgolf.com/ Keene, NH
Weekday Greens Fees
18 holes w/cart (For us on 7/12 and 7/13)
$45.00
All day w/cart (For us on 7/11)
$70.00
NORTH COURSE
Course & Slope Rating: Gold: 73.7/136 • Blue: 71.5/131 • White: 68.9/125 • Red: 70.1/120
SOUTH COURSE
Course & Slope Rating: Gold: 73.2/133 • Blue: 70.7/124 • White: 68.0/119 • Red: 70.0/121

Lodging – Best Western – Keene (10 minutes from Bretwood)
~ $95 total per person for 2 nights with business card
Dinner - Luca's Mediterranean Café or Thai Garden

THE GOLF
July 12 Arbuckle Open Round 1 – Bretwood North Course
Tee Time 9:00am
Team Competition - Crumpin-Fox Golf Club
Tee Time 2:30 pm
Green Fees - $69 / Cart (per person) $18 http://www.golfthefox.com/Crumpinfox/welcome.html
The Best of Northeast Golf 2007
“Best Overall Course” - Crumpin-Fox Club, Bernardston, MA
(45-50 minutes from Bretwood)

THE GOLF
July 13 Arbuckle Open Final Round – Bretwood - South Course
Tee Time 9:00 am

The Cup

 

Champ & Runner-Up

Still buds after the fray. 

The Six-Time Champion

Teeing off, Stanley Pesick strikes a classic pose. 

The Six-Time Champion

Pesick steering his hybrid into the last par three at Seascape. 

Waiting to tee off

The Cat and Badman waiting to tee off at Pacific Grove 

Pajaro Valley

Straus hitting up to one of Pajaro Valley's many elevated greens. 

RCB in the dunes

Scenes from the Pacific Grove Municpal Golf Course. July 2006 

Pacific Grove Muni

Note the famous Lighthouse in the distance and the deer back down the fairway. 

Scenes from Pacific Grove, 2006

Last at the eleventh, note deer by the green. 

Scenes from Pacific Grove, 2006

Pesick goes into the eleventh green.... 

Oh No! I Can't Believe It!

Editor's note: A small tournament with its own blog necessitates that we wear many hats. So the editor apologizes in advance if the following account is unnecessarily slanted toward or against the runner-up.

Add the name of Peter Straus to the list of great golf chokers and you'll have summed up the essence of this year's Arbuckle Cup. Move over Phil Mickelson, Jean van de Velde, Greg Norman and Arnold Palmer, you all have company now.

Golf fans all remember how the great Arnold Palmer blew a seven stroke lead on the back nine in the ‘66 U.S. Open in San Francisco; how Norman let a six stroke lead get away in the last round of the ‘96 Masters; how van de Velde let a three stroke lead on Carnoustie’s last hole at the 1999 British Open disappear; and, of course, how Mickelson collapsed on the last hole at this year’s Open at Winged Foot. Now, Peter Straus has joined their ranks.

Straus succeeded in snatching defeat from the jaws of victory at the Pajaro Valley Golf Course on the last hole as he gagged away a two-stroke lead to fall one stroke behind now six-time champion Stanley Pesick. Pesick summed up this year's victory with a terse comment on the 18th green "I can't feel good about this one".

Pesick and Straus had entered the final nine holes battling for the lead. Straus led by one stroke as they made the turn and anything seemed possible. Little did they know how true that would be. They both bogeyed 10. Then Straus hit his best shot of the tournament a beautiful seven wood to 10 feet below a back pin placement on the brutally difficult steep two- tiered green of the par three eleventh. A subsequent par left him two up.

Next it was Pesick's turn as he roared back with great play on twelve (the number one handicap) and thirteen. Then Straus came back and so it went until the 17th hole with Pesick now trailing by two strokes. Straus hit a good drive; Pesick pushed his drive right into the woods. Advantage Straus. But was all for naught; neither player could find the nerve or the skill to do anything on the hole and they both double bogeyed. Clearly though the collapse had begun as Straus had ample opportunity to put the tournament away.

On to 18 where Straus ignoring the advice of his playing partner Rick Last; disdained the use of an iron off the tee; and went to his driver. Big mistake, he popped it up left to 130 yards. Meantime, Pesick thinking he needed birdie to win, hit the drive of the tournament, a striped 260 yard blast right down the middle. But once again both players struggled in and while Pesick did convert what was ultimately a timely and winning bogey, it was Straus's complete collapse to a snowman that handed the Cup over to Arbuckle's greatest champion.

"I don't know what happened" Straus murmured after the tournament, "I never thought I'd lose until I was lining up the last putt and overheard Pesick whisper, if he misses this I win".

"It will take a long time, if ever, to get over this. I still can’t believe it".

It was a strange Arbuckle Cup, the 10th annual event since Pesick and Straus first toured the links at Arbuckle Golf Club and the Colusa Country Club in 1997. On the first day, the Little Cat, Rick Last, roared out on the opening nine to a commanding lead. He was playing the best golf of his life hitting booming drives off the face of his new 9.5° driver. And although he couldn't sustain his excellence, he did retain a share of the first round lead with Straus, one stroke clear of Pesick. All agree that the best player never to have won Arbuckle has rounded a corner and is clearly capable of bringing home the Cup in the near future.

Two-time defending champion Ron Braun had an even more curious tournament. On the Tuesday prior to going to the Monterey Peninsula, he had shot the best round of his life, a sparkling 84 at Tilden Park Golf Course in Berkeley. Yet, golf being the strange game that it is he never came close to finding that form or consistency in the tournament.

The playing may have been uneven, but the courses were beautiful and perfectly chosen by this year's coordinator, Stanley Pesick. The stately Seascape Golf Course in Aptos, the vastly under-rated Pajaro Valley, and the beautiful Pacific Grove Municipal Golf Links were all spectacular as was the weather.

A fine time was had by all, well, almost by all. The great collapse of 2006 will live long in the annals of Arbuckle Cup lore and will certainly dominate the thoughts of all players in the future.

The Cup Chase 2006

 

The Foursome, 2006

 

Arbuckle X, Scenes from '06

Straus, before the fall..... 

Scenes from Arbuckle X, 2006

Stanley Pesick, Six-time Champion, blasts out