It is never a surprise to me when a corporate or charity golf tournament has a great turnout. I know I always jump at the chance to spend quality time out on the links instead of firmly ensconced behind my desk.
People hear the word ‘tournament’ and automatically think cut-throat competition, but that certainly isn’t the case with outings like Commerce Chenango’s Summer Golf Event, which was held on June 19 at the Bluestone Golf Course in Oxford. Sure, you always have a few serious golfers in the mix, but thanks to “best ball” formats like Captain and Crew (and don’t forget about those mulligans) you don’t actually have to be any good to enjoy the festivities. They take the focus off the final score, and let everyone concentrate on why they are really there: to play hooky from work for a good cause and a bit of networking.
Of course, it isn’t all fun and games for everyone. Putting together one of these events is a lot of work for both the golf course and the tournament organizers. I witnessed just how much work it all is when I tagged along with Bluestone’s Jason Bradley and his sister Cara during the Chamber tournament.
If I thought I’d have a chance to get some golf in myself while I was there (my clubs were, of course, in the car), I was sadly mistaken. Even though I arrived after the carts had been set up with goody bags and towels, score cards and rules had been distributed, and lunch was already on the grill, there was still plenty to do. Drat.
It didn’t take me long to realize that the Bluestone staff has this tournament thing down to a science. According to Jason, whose father Will has owned the course since 1989, they host roughly 30 tournaments each year. Those include benefits, fun corporate events, bar and restaurant tournaments, reunions and other outside groups, as well as more competitive member tournaments.
Not only do all those tournaments contribute nicely to the course’s bottom line, but, because they often attract golfers who have never played Bluestone before, the events also provide good exposure for the course and help drive traffic at other times as well.
Preparations for a tournament begin months in advance, with some groups booking their date up to a year in advance. For the organizers, there are sponsorships to find and teams to sign up, as well as innumerable other tasks which go into making one of these events a success. As it turns out, many of the people who put tournaments together aren’t golfers themselves, Jason told me. That’s where his expertise and that of the rest of Bluestone’s staff comes in.
The night before was a late one, as everyone worked to get things set up for the Chamber event. And when tournament day dawned on Friday (gray-skied and blustery), they were back at 6:30 a.m. to put on the finishing touches. They had most of it wrapped up when I got there a couple of hours before the projected 11 a.m. shotgun start.
After a quick briefing, Jason gave me my first assignment: directing people to the putting contest. While I did, in fact, point people in the direction of the putting green, I also ended up directing them to check-in, their golf cart, lunch and anywhere else they needed to go. (Luckily, as a fairly frequent golfer at Bluestone, I was able to provide flawless directions to both the bathrooms and the bar.)
I was also on hand to answer important questions for the volunteers attached to the tournament, who I think now understand the concept of both skins and mulligans, as well as the importance of having the spotter on the hole with the $10,000 hole-in-one contest before the team actually tees off. Well, one can only hope.
There were also plenty of other details that needed to be seen to, like making sure the beverages were adequately iced, double checking the tee signs and hanging a banner for the title sponsor.
Before I knew it, it was time to tee off. Because there were quite a few casual golfers in the group, Jason gave them a quick rundown on the basic tournament rules. He also pointed out which holes were home to the various longest drive, closest to the pin and hole-in-one contests. Then he informed them where the beverage carts would be stationed, which to some teams appeared to be equally, if not more, important.
It was a good thing I was paying attention to this last piece of information as well, since once the teams were out on the course, my primary responsibility was making sure those beverage carts remained stocked. Cara accompanied me the first couple of trips out, showing me the best route to cut through the course and helping me brush up on my golf course etiquette. Then, I was on my own, zipping through the course on my little cart.
Well, zipping might not be entirely accurate. If you’ve ever played Bluestone, you know it’s a bit hilly. The cart I was given on my first solo run was an older model, and on one particularly steep incline, I thought I’d have to get out and push. That round trip took so long, the ladies manning the cart on hole 5 were out of some items again by the time I reached the clubhouse.
In between replenishment trips, I lent a hand to whoever would have me. Since no one seemed to want me in the kitchen, I helped Audrey and Rachel from Commerce Chenango set up for the awards ceremony. We slid photos of each team into their frames, then artfully arranged them on one table. The trophies, plaques and other items for top placing teams and contest winners went on another.
The 4 1/2 hours it took for teams to finish the 18-hole course seemed to fly by, and before I knew it, they were returning to the clubhouse with their score cards in hand. Jason put me to work again, this time reading off the scores so he could transfer them to the score boards he’d posted.
I’m ashamed to admit that this was more difficult than it sounds. In my defense, Jason, I didn’t know that the tournament’s biggest sponsor, New York Central Mutual had two teams in, both of which started on Hole 1. Luckily we got that straightened out.
Once all the teams were back in, we discovered there was tie for first place. I thought it was pretty interesting, actually, how that was determined. You start each team’s scores on the course’s hardest hole, and keep going down the list until you find one where one has a lower score than the other. I think it took four or five to determine that Coughlin and Gerhardt was in fact victorious over Burrell’s Excavating.
Next, we figured out skins, which I’m pretty sure the team from Mang Insurance was kicking themselves for not getting into. With John Brown’s hole-in-one on number 8, they would have definitely taken at least one.
While we double checked our math, the participants enjoyed steaks fresh off the outdoor grill and an assortment of side dishes. They started on dessert while Jason and Commerce Chenango President Maureen Carpenter handed out the awards.
All in all, it was a pretty full day with a lot of running around. But I have to tell you, I enjoyed working the tournament almost as much as I usually enjoy golfing in one. The next one I do play in though, I know I’ll have a much greater appreciation for all the work that goes in behind the scenes to make it go off without a hitch.