2011 Recap

76th Annual Golf Classic

Tangle Creek Golf Club

The 2011 Father and Three Sons Golf Classic was held on Friday, August 26th at Tangle Creek Golf Club, in Barrie, Ontario.

Hosted by the Gallo family, the day started promptly at 9am with Registration in the main clubhouse, where Andrew Gallo, oldest son, greeted participants to provide an overview of the day’s agenda and sent them on their way with a fantastic Father and Three Sons logoed zip up golf jacket.

2011 Event Summary

Tangle Creek provided the complimentary range balls so the practice decks were full from arrival until the Fathers meeting took place at 10am.  The undulations on the practice green gave everyone a welcome opportunity to see how some of the similarly less-than-flat greens would be playing on the course.

The two prevailing conversations on the practice green and tee decks were the quality of the golf course and the potential for a real scorcher weather-wise.

Pictures were taken on and below the first tee deck, and there was the usual scrambling around to find wayward brothers and fathers, with six teams needing to have their shots done after the commemorative group picture when the fathers reappeared from the annual Fathers Meeting.

Following the large group photo, a gallery formed around the tee blocks on the first hole at 10:30am for the ceremonial tee shot and final announcements.  For the second year in a year in a row Dylan Butler and Tom Critelli officially kicked off the tournament as the Youngest and Oldest participants respectively.  And, for the second year in a row they both flew it far and straight, making everyone in the gallery wish they could have hit like that when they were 10, and hope they could do the same when they are 84.

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In keeping with the pattern that would continue throughout the event, following a review of the rules and and final notes on hole setup, the carts pulled out exactly on time to get everyone to their tee for the shotgun start.

As predicted, the day heated up pretty much right away.  With such elevation changes and a blend of open fairways or sheltered-valley dog legs, there was either much welcome relief from strong breezes or sweltering heat from lack thereof.  For those that may not have played their best round, they could blame the weather, blame their cart mates or (if they’re honest) blame themselves, but what they couldn’t blame was the condition or setup of the course, which was in fantastic shape and provided a tough but fair test of one’s game.

In addition to the temperature, the competition amongst participants heated up early on, fueled by the real-time Leaderboard that was available at the push of a button on the GPS enabled display in each cart.  As in most golf competitions, keeping on an eye on the Top 10 in the field either fueled or foiled many of the players.  Between the GPS tracking of carts in front, the spacing of the groups, and the fact that many in the tournament had played in the Family Scramble the day before, the pace of play throughout the day was great, with the possible (and welcome) exception of Holes 14 and 8.

Hole 14 saw golfers greeted by representatives of the local-to-Barrie family owned Flying Monkeys Craft Brewery.  They provided samples of their Anti-Gravity (light) and Amber beers, as well as inspired the unique “Closest to the Keg” hole for driving distance and accuracy.  The cold beer was a welcome treat on such a hot day, and all agreed were quite tasty.

Hole 8 saw golfers greeted by representatives of the Mambacho Cigar company, who provided tournament participants with significantly discounted individual, case and bulk rates.  There were a number of buyers throughout the day, but even those that didn’t buy appreciated the display.

Given the lack of slowdowns on the course, people were back at their cars in great time to drop off clubs, get a quick change, replenish some fluids and check in with their family members to begin tallying numbers and making predictions on who might win some of the more coveted trophies at the Banquet.  The formal banquet began on time at 6:00pm, following a perfect amount of post-round patio time for further visiting and recap.

The Banquet began with the day’s host from Tangle Creek, Bill, thanking the Gallos for choosing the course and commending everyone for committing to such a wonderful annual event.  With obvious emotion, Bill invoked memories of time spent with his own father, and the importance of taking time to spend together, urging everyone “don’t ever let this stop!”, before handing the remaining emcee duties off to Andrew Gallo.

John Nash was called to the podium to say grace.  He pointed out that saying grace is an act of humility and an appropriate thing to do after a day of golf, which is often humbling to those who play the game.  He stressed that it is a particularly fitting act on the day of the Father and Three Sons tournament, which is a rich family tradition “greater than ourselves.”

In keeping with tradition, the Fathers were called upon to begin the supper, followed by the Host Family and the remaining tables of sons.  The food, prepared by Executive Chef Ian Brown, was spectacular, with diners working their way past the patio barbecues teeming with chicken and ribs, then indoors past tables with a huge array of vegetables, rolls and salads.  As promised, within 20 minutes all fathers and sons were back to their seats with their plates chock full. Seconds (and more) of the main food, along with a great assortment of desserts, meant that the Father’s jackets fitted a little more snug as they were called up to introduce their families.

As usual there were a few playful jabs at family members, some words from the Old Family fathers.  And of course there were some reminiscences of past years, punctuated by a moment of silence requested by Michael Boyer to remember recently passed Harvey Bird, who would have been playing in his 16th year.  The recently passed Fred Finlayson, a long participating family Father, was also on many people’s minds.

There were many calls on family members to continue to generate interest in the event by spreading the word and chatting about the unique nature of the tournament whenever they had the chance.  Or, perhaps, to take after the lead of Matt Williams (who had a third son in 2010) and go and work on a future generation of New Families, since that really is the key to keeping this great tradition alive.  For that reason, and to the delight of the Warren, Henderson and Nelligan families, the greatest applause of the night was reserved for the New Family introductions.

Following the introductions, Andrew called upon his brother Paul to assist in the handing out of trophies, course prizes and random draw swag.  There was little surprise at the various Award Winners, and relatively little controversy, except perhaps when Andrew had to sheepishly explain how the “Regression” method had been used to determine that the Gallos’ score of 291 beat the Hendersons’ score of 291 to win Low Net.

The final presentation of the night was the Host Family Trophy, presented by the Gallos to the Coetzees, who will be co-hosting the 2012 Father and Three Sons Golf Classic with the Condotta family at the Legends on the Niagara – Battlefied course in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

Shortly before 8pm, as predicted, the festivities were concluded and people headed towards the exits saying goodbyes and issuing promises to return next year.

2011 Family Scramble

The 2011 Father and Three Sons optional Family Scramble was held on Thursday, August 25th at Tangle Creek Golf Club, in Barrie, Ontario.

Many families participated in what has become an annual precursor to the main event on Friday, seeing it as an opportunity both to see the course and to play a round as a family.

The weather for the round was blustery and muggy for the most part, with ominous clouds that threatened rain but only delivered a brief shower later in the day.  The course was in great shape and gave many first-timers a glimpse at how picturesque and challenging the holes are.

Andrew Gallo, Ryan Boyer, Jason Boyer, Michael Boyer, Brandon Boyer, Paul Gallo

Several families put up respectable numbers, but it was the Boyer family who carded the day’s best outing, shooting a very impressive -17.

The presentation of the Scramble trophy was made during Friday’s banquet by the Gallo family, who hosted this year’s event.  Honorable mention and a small token of recognition was given to the Sketchley family, who came in just shy at -16.

Following the Scramble, the Gallo family hosted a Welcome Reception at the Monte Carlo Inns in Barrie, Ontario.  The optional entry fee into the scramble went towards an impressive buffet of finger foods.  Many players opted to treat the meatballs, wings, pizza and veggies as their supper, while others chose to eat elsewhere and then join the gathering.

As is always hoped, several families that weren’t able to play in the scramble still attended the reception, where old friendships were renewed and new acquaintances made.

2011 Award Winners

Low Gross
Score of 320
Kerr
John, Bill Sr., Bill, Dan

Honorable Mention
Lancaster @ 310
Mike, Ken, Chris and Uncle Joe (playing in place of son Cam)
Ineligible due to replacement player.
Low Net
Score of 291
Gallo
Nick, Paul, Marc, Andrew

Honorable Mention
Henderson @ 291
Use of Retrogression to determine tie breaker, based on the Calloway system of scoring.
Closest to the Lauers
Score of 405
Nishikawa
Mark, Kevin, Graham, Richard
Closest to the Coyles
Longest Standing Families
Waite, Sketchley, Nash

Trophy format will be changed in 2012 to recognize long standing participation of families.
Longest Drive (Fathers)
Hole #17
Bill Kerr Sr.
Longest Drive (Sons)
Hole #3
Jeff Waite
Longest Drive (Fathers or Sons)
Hole #9
Jordan Butler
Longest Drive (Fathers or Sons)
Hole #13
Lorry Parker
Closest to the Pin (Fathers)
Hole #16
Michael Boyer
Closest to the Pin (Sons)
Hole #12
Ted Nelligan
Closest to the Pin (Fathers or Sons)
Hole #8
Andrew Gallo
Closest to the Pin (Fathers or Sons)
Hole #4
Chris Lancaster
2012 Host Family
Battlefield - Niagara Falls
Coetzee/Condotta
Jake, Dylan, Ernie, Spencer Coetzee Missing: Joe, Matteo, Lucas, Jaden
Family Scramble
Score of -17
Boyer
Ryan, Jason, Michael, Brandon
Closest to the Keg
(Flying Monkeys Brewery promotion)
Hole #14
Mark Gallo

2011 Pairings, Hello's & Goodbye's

1A1B23A
Andrew Gallo
Jason Boyer
Sy Williams
Jay Nash		Nick Gallo
Gino Luciani
Anthony Galati
Howard Burkholder		Paul Gallo
Ryan Boyer
Matt Williams
Colin Nash		Marc Gallo
Jamie Henderson *
Paulo Galati
Chris Lancaster
3B45A5B
Ken Lancaster
Phil Henderson *
Michael Boyer
Paul Williams		Richard Nishikawa
Gary Isaacs
Ralph Lauer
Michael Mizzen		Peter Warren *
Terry Clugston
Geof Lauer		Mark Lauer
Grant Lauer
Scott Mizzen
6A6B7A7B
Evan Lauer
Brock Lauer
Brent Mizzen		Paul Lauer
Dave Lauer
David Mizzen		Marco Galati
Cameron Lancaster
Johnny Henderson *		Daniel Galati
Matthew Henderson *
Robert McDonald
Spencer Coetzee
8A8B910A
David Luciani
Adam Williams
Jeff Norton
Bruce Norton		Patrick Isaacs
Graham Nishikawa
Doug McDonald		Brandon Boyer
Jordan Nash
Mike Luciani
Richard Luciani		Kevin Isaacs
Kevin Nishikawa
Jake Coetzee
Quinton Butler
10B11A11B12A
Brendan Isaacs
Mark Nishikawa
James McDonald
Dylan Coetzee		Tom Critelli
Sam Hisey
Ross Siemms
Lorry Parker		Bruce Waite
Bill Kerr
Vern Nelligan *
Stuart Sketchley		John Nash
Bob Lancaster
Terry Mizzen
12B1314A14B
Bill Kerr Jr.
Tim Nelligan *
John Waite
Steven Sketchley		Dan Kerr
Terry Nelligan *
Jeff Waite
Darren Sketchley		Jon Kerr
Ted Nelligan *
James Waite
Jason Sketchley		Tom Critelli Jr
Steven Hisey
Daryl Siemms
Kent Parker
15A15B16A16B
Don Critelli
Dennis Hisey
Paul Siemms
Kevin Parker		Joe Critelli
Brian Hisey
Craig Siemms
Cary Parker		Michael Warren *
Scott Clugston
Chris Burkholder		Pat Warren *
Brad Clugston
Richard Burkholder
1718A18B
Lee Warren *
Jeff Clugston
Ryan Burkholder		TJ Butler
Devon Butler
Anthony Norton
Cameron Norton		Ernie Coetzee
Graham McDonald
Tom Butler
Jordan Butler

New Families

Henderson
Warren
Nelligan

Exiting Families

Bird
2011 Candid Photos (ZIP)
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