Canasawacta Country Club Member-Guest to tee-off for 61st year Thursday
The 2018 Canasawacta Country Club Member-Guest Master Flight Champions Bryan Smith and Brian Loomis (front) are joined by the Champions from the seven other flights. In the second row are Oakmont Champs Cory Seiler and Ryan Johnson and Pebble Beach winners Pat Dowdall and Dave Huhtala. In the back row are Merion Flight winners Sal Testani and Earl Halaquist, Baltusrol Champions Ken Stewart and Mike Flanagan, Winged Foot champs Ken Benjamin and Paul Eaton and Oakland Hills winners Stu Hughes and Derek Hughes. Missing from the picture were Olympic Flight winners Jim McIntyre and Mike Morse. (Evening Sun Photo, Frank Speziale)
NORWICH – With a shotgun start at 8 a.m.Thursday morning, half of the 158 golfers will take to the 18-hole course at Canasawacta Country Club for the first round of the 61st Annual Member-Guest Tournament.
By the end of the day Thursday, all golfers will have completed their first round of the 54 hole, looking to shoot below the course par 71 to set their pairing in a good place for the distinguished master’s flight.
However, there isn’t just the one winner. As the flights are determined by the end of Friday, eight teams will be crowned a winner by Saturday night. “Playing for a flight title is great competition,” said Tim Carson, Canasawacta Country Club’s General Manager. “Whether someone is playing in flight one, two or seven, the level of play and competition is nearly the same as most are separated by two to three strokes at the end of the tournament.”
The member-guest tournament has many years of history associated with it. One team is near 40 years of playing together while there are some playing 20 and 30 years as a pair.
“We may not be the Master’s Tournament, where there is a ‘tradition like no other,’ but this tournament is a pretty big tradition. And we are going to keep it alive,” said Carson.
Many teams from a year ago have returned with a few dropping out at the last minute.
The father-son duo of Mike and Bob Branham, who where in the Master’s Flight one year ago, will unfortunately not being returning the to the tournament for the 61st year due to a personal reason.
Defending champions Bryan Loomis and Brian Smith are members of the the field once again, along with the second-place pairing of Carson and his long-time partner Scott Seiler Sr. and the third-place team Bob Adsit and Dave Cappadonia.
“There are many teams who have been knocking on the door for a while and who I would like to see win it,” and participant in the tournament. “I don’t want to mention any names though because it will bring them bad luck,” said Carson.
Carson said that there are about 10-12 teams that are capable of shooting a low score to make the Master’s flight final eight but it really is any pairings tournament.
“As much as we focus on the great golfers we attract, I’m always happy we are attracting new people,” Carson said.
In this year’s tournament, six to eight teams are new to the field and all the golfers are under the age of 50, which the course general manager said that was good because it means that the tournament doesn’t look like it will go away anytime soon.
The Canasawacta Country Club Member-Guest tournament is one of the only course that still hosts a three day tournament of its kind as many have dropped to two rounds, some even a single 18 holes.
Conditions of the golf course are going to be “firm and fast while the greens will be receptive,” according to Carson.
“After a very difficult start to the season with some turf management due to the weather, our course superintendent, Steve Porack, has done a great job preparing for this weekend.”
The field will see some changes to the course that they have never seen before as Porack will have a different approach to the pin placement, which changes before each round.
“Steve has had some big shoes to fill from our previous superintendent but he has really stepped up big,” said Carson. “It’s been refreshing and new ideas as far as the pin placement, which is probably the biggest factor in the tournament. Your hope is to keep it fair but everyone is playing the same golf course.”
Players will have a chance to try out the course on Wednesday during their practice round but some have been in the area since the Friday prior to the start, testing the conditions early.
Thursday, Friday and Saturday will be split into a morning and afternoon session of golf. Saturday will see half of the flight champions determined by the end of the morning round of golf while the illustrious Master’s Flight will be the last golfers on the course in the afternoon.
Other activities that will take place during the weekend are the putting contest, the longest drive, closest to the pin, closest to the line and a chance at hole-in-one are what will happen on the course while the stag dinner is scheduled for Thursday night. Friday night includes the live music for players and their spouses and Saturday night is the tournament dinner and awards presentation.
Thursday and Friday’s pairings will appear in tomorrow’s edition of The Evening Sun.
By the end of the day Thursday, all golfers will have completed their first round of the 54 hole, looking to shoot below the course par 71 to set their pairing in a good place for the distinguished master’s flight.
However, there isn’t just the one winner. As the flights are determined by the end of Friday, eight teams will be crowned a winner by Saturday night. “Playing for a flight title is great competition,” said Tim Carson, Canasawacta Country Club’s General Manager. “Whether someone is playing in flight one, two or seven, the level of play and competition is nearly the same as most are separated by two to three strokes at the end of the tournament.”
The member-guest tournament has many years of history associated with it. One team is near 40 years of playing together while there are some playing 20 and 30 years as a pair.
“We may not be the Master’s Tournament, where there is a ‘tradition like no other,’ but this tournament is a pretty big tradition. And we are going to keep it alive,” said Carson.
Many teams from a year ago have returned with a few dropping out at the last minute.
The father-son duo of Mike and Bob Branham, who where in the Master’s Flight one year ago, will unfortunately not being returning the to the tournament for the 61st year due to a personal reason.
Defending champions Bryan Loomis and Brian Smith are members of the the field once again, along with the second-place pairing of Carson and his long-time partner Scott Seiler Sr. and the third-place team Bob Adsit and Dave Cappadonia.
“There are many teams who have been knocking on the door for a while and who I would like to see win it,” and participant in the tournament. “I don’t want to mention any names though because it will bring them bad luck,” said Carson.
Carson said that there are about 10-12 teams that are capable of shooting a low score to make the Master’s flight final eight but it really is any pairings tournament.
“As much as we focus on the great golfers we attract, I’m always happy we are attracting new people,” Carson said.
In this year’s tournament, six to eight teams are new to the field and all the golfers are under the age of 50, which the course general manager said that was good because it means that the tournament doesn’t look like it will go away anytime soon.
The Canasawacta Country Club Member-Guest tournament is one of the only course that still hosts a three day tournament of its kind as many have dropped to two rounds, some even a single 18 holes.
Conditions of the golf course are going to be “firm and fast while the greens will be receptive,” according to Carson.
“After a very difficult start to the season with some turf management due to the weather, our course superintendent, Steve Porack, has done a great job preparing for this weekend.”
The field will see some changes to the course that they have never seen before as Porack will have a different approach to the pin placement, which changes before each round.
“Steve has had some big shoes to fill from our previous superintendent but he has really stepped up big,” said Carson. “It’s been refreshing and new ideas as far as the pin placement, which is probably the biggest factor in the tournament. Your hope is to keep it fair but everyone is playing the same golf course.”
Players will have a chance to try out the course on Wednesday during their practice round but some have been in the area since the Friday prior to the start, testing the conditions early.
Thursday, Friday and Saturday will be split into a morning and afternoon session of golf. Saturday will see half of the flight champions determined by the end of the morning round of golf while the illustrious Master’s Flight will be the last golfers on the course in the afternoon.
Other activities that will take place during the weekend are the putting contest, the longest drive, closest to the pin, closest to the line and a chance at hole-in-one are what will happen on the course while the stag dinner is scheduled for Thursday night. Friday night includes the live music for players and their spouses and Saturday night is the tournament dinner and awards presentation.
Thursday and Friday’s pairings will appear in tomorrow’s edition of The Evening Sun.
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