Greenspan Cup XV

It’s getting old typing this, but it was another year and another loss for the Seattle Team in Greenspan Cup. We were a little closer this time — one loss turned into a win would have made our 19-17 loss an 18-18 tie — but unfortunately that’s not what happened. I shoulder some of the blame: my 2-3 record was my worst since 2007 — coincidentally, the last time we won.

A few pics:

Gaston, Whitaker, Stonesifer and me posing for a collective self portrait.

Suncadia’s Rope Rider course was a group favorite.

Our Saturday salmon shirts got my vote for best Greenspan shirts ever.

The Friday- and Saturday night barbecue deliveries were a big hit.

After four lousy rounds I finally played well in my singles match: I beat Rob Stonesifer 4&3.

Whitaker and Stonesifer (not shown) missed the team photo.

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The 2011 Greenspan Cup

Greenspan Cup XIV is in the books.

The Seattle Team lost again.

Things started out okay, as we lead 13 1/2 – 10 1/2 after two days at the four Bandon Dunes courses. But a change of venue to Bandon Crossings did us no good at all. The World Team rallied to take nine of twelve singles points — eight of them on wins — for a convincing 19 1/2 – 16 1/2 win. It was the World Team’s fourth straight win after six consecutive losses — in other words, the Seattle Team hasn’t won since the Bush Administration.

As for me, I won my first two matches on Friday before settling for two ties on Saturday and a pathetic 2 down loss to Stephan Gran on Sunday. 2-1-2 — not bad, but not what I nor Captain John Harrison was expecting from me.

A few pics:

Gale-force winds made Pacific Dunes too much golf course for me.

Eight guys, one hundred twelve total Greenspans.

My win with Jeff Benezra over Norman Cheuk and Ben Smith would be my last of the week.

Sadness is leaving ten or so buffs at home in freezing conditions -- and then making one out of a golf towel.

Stephan Gran and I (shown here at Old MacDonald) played against each other in three matches. I went 0-1-2.

Kissing Your Sister: Joel Aro and I led Tim O'Brien and Stephan Gran four up with five to go. We ended up with a halve after OB missed a 16-inch putt to win.

The post-tourney gathering at Jack's Crab Shack was fun -- so fun we almost missed our plane.

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The One Club Open: At Least I Looked Okay

Today we played the fourth Greenspan Cup One Club Open out at Willows Run. (Pics.)

I did not play well. Actually I hit the ball decent enough but chipped and putted like I was using a 2×4. Ended up with a 64 (net 59.5), ten shots off the winning score of 54 — shot, quite impressively, by a ten handicap.

I did my best to look sharp:

but Benezra was every bit my equal with his own pair of Ian Poulter pajama pants:

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Another Year, Another Loss — But the Golf Sure Was Good

The thirteenth annual Greenspan Cup is in the books. We lost — our third loss in a row after winning six straight. Despite the result, the weekend at Bandon Dunes was an epic one. Without question the best golf courses I’ve ever played — and it isn’t close. We played Bandon- and Pacific Dunes twice — and as two of the top 100 rated golf courses in the world, I put a dent in a couple of my bucket list items.

I took a bunch of pics with Mito’s camera which are viewable here. Some of the better ones with me in them:

They say to keep your head behind the ball -- but this is a little ridiculous.

At Pacific Dunes on Day One.

This one was purina -- the rest, not so much.

Visibility -- one hundred yards.

Jeff and I took out Norman and George in aggregate stableford.

Why we were hanging out outside in the rain I'm not sure.

Dinner in the bar on Friday night.

I found something there -- at least for a few swings.

Close to an ace -- but not -- on the 17th at Pacific Dunes.

Absolutely flippin' epic golf.

'Nuff said.

Jeff H. and I beat Jon G. and Ben S. at Bandon Dunes.

16th hole, Bandon Dunes. The blue sky is apparently a rare thing.

Hanging out with the fellas after three straight wins -- but more importantly, down by two.

The official photo at Bandon Crossings. It's always a bit like herding cats.

Longtime friends together for Sunday singles.

Hanging out at Tony's Crab Shack.

I played respectably enough: adjusted 89 (Bandon Crossings [black]), 90 (Pacific Dunes [black]), 78 (Bandon Dunes [green]), 82 (Pacific Dunes [green]), 76 (Bandon Dunes [green]) and 82 (Bandon Crossings [green]). My best round was the 76 at Bandon on Saturday — two under through nine will do that. Overall I went 4-1 and could have easily been 5-0 but for a match giveaway to Norm Cheuk and Tim O’Brien on Friday morning.

I’d have traded that all in for a team W.

Maybe next year.

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Now That Is How Golf Was Meant to Be Played

Yesterday I joined six fellow Greenspanners down at Chambers Bay in Tacoma for a little pre-tournament outing.

The site of the 2010 U.S. Amateur and 2015 bills itself as “pure links golf.”

I birdied No. 2 at Chambers Bay.

For my money it’s awfully close.

Granted, Chambers Bay does not go nine straight out and nine straight back, like the purist of links courses (St. Andrews comes immediately to mind). But it is definitely a different game than I’m accustomed to playing.

And it is wicked fun. On No. 12, for example, I had 35 feet to the hole, but it was basically impossible to stop over the buried elephant that lie between me and the cup. I decided to intentionally hit it by the hole, run it up the hill that lay 15 feet past, and let it trickle backward. I tapped in the one-footer for par.

Coolest shot I’ve played in quite some time.

One of my playing partners four-putted the same green.

My partner Jack Laidlaw and I had a bestball net 75, good for second in the four-team field.

Bandon Dunes, here we come.

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Twelve Years of Greenspan Garb

This week I officially finished the first room in Casa de Jenkins. We moved in 18 months ago, to be sure, but there is still lots of work to do here and there. Drapes here, furniture there, pictures to be hung in that other room. No room was totally and completely done until this week, when I finished my closet.

To celebrate, I put together all my Greenspan Cup shirts — in chronological order:

Left to right, 1999-2009 -- in order we wore them.

(Click here for a better pic.) This isn’t all of them. I mistakenly let the captaincy go in ’01 and ’02 to a guy with no taste — his picks are hanging in a Goodwill store somewhere. And sad to say these are but a fraction of my overall golf shirt stash — check out this entry for some others. Then again I haven’t bought a new car since 1998 or a new wallet since — well, high school.

As for the shirts in this pic — well, there are twelve years’ worth of great memories there. The next twelve starts in about a month, when we head to Bandon Dunes.

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Another Kitsap Trip, Another Seattle Team Loss

Yesterday Cheever, Norman, Benezra and I took the ferry out to Kingston to play Port Ludlow Golf Club. This was a follow-up trip to our White Horse trip last week. We wanted to play a decent course on the Kitsap Peninsula.

Different result, same result.

The Cheever/Cheuk defeated Benezra/Jenkins 1 up. We were four down through five, gladiated back to get to 1 up after 12, then lost three straight. We won 16 and I had two ten-foot birdie putts on 17 and 18, each of which would have won the hole. Missed ‘em both. (I seriously need a new putter and/or putting stroke.)

A few photos:

Proof we were there.

Norman and Cheever looking for Norman's game.

Me and Benezra, the latter in his hunting shirt.

My new Etonics were, aside from Benezra's shirt, the bright spot of my day.

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Our Day Out to White Horse: The Trip Was Worth It, But Not the Destination

Today Norman Cheuk, Greg Cheever, Jeff Benezra and I took the Edmonds ferry out to Kingston to play White Horse, just outside of Kingston.

It did not go well.

The ferry ride, as always, was pleasurable. I think it was my fifth Kingston ferry rider of the summer (Port Gamble for reenacting, LaPush for surfing, White Horse for golf, Forks for the Twilight “tour”).

The golf, however, was a different story.

I shot a cool 93 to follow up the 92 I shot there a month ago. Benezra, Cheever and Norman shot 94, 91, and 96, respectively (off 7, 6 and 9 handicaps). The World Team beat us 3&2. I lost $15.

Suffice it to say, White Horse will not have to worry about seeing any of us again. Not a level lie on the property, greens like trampolines, some sort of gravel in the bunkers.

Fortunately, we caught some good grub on the way back at a cool little pub in downtown Kingston:

Next up — Port Ludlow. And a little payback time.

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The ’09 Greenspan Cup: This One Didn’t Go So Well

The ’09 Greenspan Cup is in the books. The Paul Sharkey-captained World Team defeated my Seattle Team 21.5 – 14.5 to take their second straight Cup. It was the second most lopsided win in Cup history.

The red guys won.

The Cup was great fun as always, but basically a disaster on the course for the Emerald City boys. I won’t belabor the point, but we were down 9-3 after Friday and just couldn’t catch up. I played some of the best golf I’ve ever played at the twelve-year old tournament. I won three matches with my longtime bud Joel Aro and went 4-1 overall, including a year-best 74 on Sunday to beat Tim O’Brien 5&4 (thereby ending the latter’s nine-match winning streak). Unfortunately it was all for naught.

Beating the heat with Joel, Sharkey, Waldner and Adam.

What a guy looks like ten minutes after hitting a 380-yard drive on a 670-yard par 5 (downhill, admittedly).

By the end I could only laugh.

Like Cheever before him, World Captain Sharkey tasted champagne.

Next year we’re off to Bandon Dunes. New state — hopefully a new result.

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Greenspan 2009 Details

Seems no one keeps their Greenspan e-mails printed out in a nice folder.

No one except Cheever, I’m sure.

The Greenspan boys are returning to Suncadia/Chelan after a two-year absence.

Details of the 2009 event are as follows:

Golf
Thursday July 30 — practice round at Suncadia starting at 11:30 am
Friday July 31 — Bear Mountain Ranch — 8 am and 2:10 pm
August 1 — Desert Canyon — 8 am and 2:20 pm
Sunday August 2 — 11 am singles at Suncadia

Accomodations
Park Pointe, 808 Manson Highway, Chelan, WA (emergency contact numbers 509 670 4698 and 509 670 4697)
B202 – 2 queens, 2 aero beds
B203- 2 queens, 1 queen sleeper couch
B204- 1 king, 1 queen, 1 queen sleeper couch
B301- 1 king, 1 queen, 1 queen sleeper couch.
Fifth unit — World Team only

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