Even with uncooperative weather the Grassroots Golf Outing was a success. We had 11 teams (44 players) sign-up for the event. With donations coming in from the golf fee, auction and drink sales the 11W community raised over $1,000 for the Central Ohio Alzheimer's Association. I will have the final amount for money raised when I receive confirmation of the drink sales from The Links.
Even with horrible weather, we had a swinging good time on the course.
THE GOLF
The format of the event was to encourage everyone to have fun on the course. It was a scramble format with six holes being "special". The special holes were:
Hole No. 6: Putt With A Blindfold.
Hole No. 7: Tennis Racket Tee Shot.
Hole No. 9: Wrong Handed Putt.
Hole No. 12: Hit Like A Lady (from the red tees).
Hole No. 16: Putt With A Pool Stick.
Team Don Byrnes dominated the competition and won the event finishing with a 59. Team Niblick came in second with a 61 and Team Oyster third with a 65. For their great performances they won nothing except for the respect and admiration of the other participants.
Prizes don't get any finer than this.
THE PRIZES AND DINNER
Door prizes were abundant. Golfers had almost 50% chance of winning a door prize. Prizes included: golf shirts, $50 gift certificate for the auction, free rounds of golf to The Links, buy one round get a round to Cumberland Trails, free rounds of golf to Harbor Hills, discounted golf to Burning Tree, Nike golf balls, beer from North High Brewery, bags of Skittles, bags of Jolly Ranchers and Boone's Farm Wild Cherry.
The Grill provided us a succulent dinner that consisted of hamburgers, chicken, baked beans, macaroni and cheese (definitely not Kraft) and cookies. For those that were able to stay they were treated to a great meal and did not leave hungry.
If you didn't win anything blame the guy who drew the names (DJ).
Lacey Underall brought the goods.
THE AUCTION
Many great items were up for auction at the event and the 11W community came through. A big thank you to Niblick, Oyster and IslandBumBuckeye.
Niblick sold his 1967 Ohio State Coaches Manual signed by Woody Hayes at the Auction. Oyster stepped up to the plate and purchased it with 100% of the sale going to the Central Ohio Alzheimer's Association.
IslandBumBuckeye gets the honor of donating the most money with his purchase of the Cindy Morgan signed pin flag. Below is a list of the items won and the generous gentlemen who helped the cause. Thanks to all of you.
| ITem | Winner |
|---|---|
| CINDY MORGAN PIN FLAG | ISLANDBUMBUCKEYE |
| OHIO STATE COACHES CLINIC MANUAL | OYSTER |
| A.J. HAWK SIGNED PHOTO | ANONYMOUS |
| EDDIE GEORGE PHOTO | TODD F. |
| MICHAEL O'KEEFE SIGNED POSTER | BRETT G. |
| BILL MURRAY PHOTO | CHUCK M. |
| NICKLAUS AND PALMER PHOTO | DAVE S. |
| CORBIN BERNSEN SIGNED POSTER | COREY F. |
| WOODY HAYES STATUE AND PHOTO | ANONYMOUS |
*The Jim Brown photo did not sell. It can be yours for $50. Send me an email or post in this thread if you are interested. Note I found a very small nick on the left side of the frame. It probably occurred during the hurricane.
DJ's dad? This explains a lot of things, yet raises even more questions. Is the truth out there?
BIRM, DJ AND OLD MAN BYRNES SIGHTING
For those that don't believe such great writers and people exist, they do. DJ and Jeremy took time out of their busy schedules to watch a bunch of out of shape hacks chase a tiny ball around beautiful scenery. Birm and DJ are exceptional writers, but are even better people. I hope you are lucky enough to meet at some point. They are great company with great stories.
The original Marionaire, DJ's dad, made the trip from Marion even though he was unable to play due to an unfortunate injury that kept him from playing. I had the pleasure of speaking with him for few moments before the event. The elder Byrnes did not disappoint. He has the appearance of The Most Interesting Man in The World and The Smoking Man from the X-Files. Mr. Byrnes has a mysterious aura about him that you pick up on immediately. Big ups to him for making such a long drive knowing he could not play. I hope our paths cross again when I can have a proper conversation.
THANK YOU
To everybody who took the time to come out to this little get together, thank you. Many of you drove hours to get to the course and it is truly appreciated. All of you showed why the 11W community is special. I guess it should be expected that the best site on the webz would have the best readers.
I have pictures, but I'm experiencing technical difficulties. I will post them when I can. I'm looking forward to seeing familiar and new faces at next year's event.
DJ being on a golf course brought the curse of the golf gods. Fortunately nobody was struck down, but the scene above almost played out. We were very lucky.
A special thank you to Eric, Todd F., Mr. M, Mr. I, Calpoppy and O to the T for their help before, during and after the event.
