24th Annual LCEF Memorial Golf Tournament

As a golfer, if you’ve ever played in a golf tournament, you’ll likely never forget the feeling of stepping up to that first tee shot. I certainly remember mine. As I set my ball on the tee I had one thought: “don’t embarrass yourself.” So inevitably what I did was snap a duck hook directly into the trees lining the left side of the fairway. I never quite recovered from that for the rest of the round (I don’t think I broke 100 that day), and while I’ve had better experiences since then, it’s not one I’ll soon forget.

Over the years Marc and I have played in many golf tournaments. In fact, we were part of an organizing committee for an annual tournament each Memorial Day for over 15 years.

Marc has played in a few pro-am tournaments and we have played in our share of couples tournaments.

I tend to believe playing in a golf tournament offers a compelling blend of competitive challenge, social interaction, and some self-improvement. Many of the tournaments I have played in have provided a unique environment to test my skills against others, learn a bit from the pressure situations, and experience a different side of golf.

Which brings me to the 24th Annual LCEF Memorial Golf Tournament. You see, we are currently in the Dallas/Fort Worth area visiting family to celebrate a major milestone with one of our granddaughters – her high school graduation!

While attending one of the many events celebrating our granddaughter’s high school graduation, we learned about an annual fundraiser golf tournament sponsored by the Lake Cities Education Foundation.

After a bit of research and talking with some folks, we found out this year’s event would be held at the Cowboys Golf Club. We had tried to get on the course last season, but due to the club’s full roster of hosting golf tournaments, we missed out. Having a chance to play the Cowboy’s track, along with learning about the Lake Cities Education Foundation purpose was enough to convince us to register.

The tournament format was a four-person scramble with a two-putt maximum. Before I go any further, I think this would be the right time to clear up a misconception about two golf tournament formats that often confuse many golfers.

Many people confuse “best ball” and “scramble” formats because it is not really that intuitive. So today, I want to explain a scramble tournament format. A scramble is when all members of a team hit a tee shot on a hole, then they select one of the shots to play from next. All players play from that spot and then repeat the process until the ball is holed. If I shank my approach shot into the water? No worries, because odds are one of my partners will find the green.

I enjoy playing in a scramble. It is fun, the format is easy to follow, and it offers a chance for every team member to hit the hero shot. And if I was going to be honest, I never worry about each shot. Some will be awesome, others not so much. I use the attitude that each player is trying their best. So, I never worry about missed shots.

Now on to the tournament play. A shot-gun tee-off was to be at 8:00 a.m. Breakfast was included, so we arrived right around 7:00 a.m. We checked in, got our goody-bag, put our clubs in our assigned golf cart, and had some breakfast. Right around 7:45 a.m. there were announcements covering the rules, we met our playing partners and headed out to the 17th hole.

Another fun thing about playing in scramble tournaments is the other junk that further muddles the competition. Optional team mulligans, pieces of string that can be exchanged to turn a near-miss putt into a hole-out (e.g., if you leave a putt three inches short, cut off three inches of the string and consider the putt made), and even the ability to tee up further down the fairway to gain extra distance on a particular shot are all common add-ons to the scramble experience. The LCEF Memorial Tournament had them all.

Our playing partners for the day were Trina and Jason, both long-time players of the LCEF Memorial Tournament. After all of our introductions, sharing of handicaps (acknowledging we were all average to below average golfers), and discussion of what our strategy would be for playing, we were ready to tee off.

We started our first two holes with a par. Sadly we recognized early on, that starting a scramble at even par through the first 2 holes would probably not get us into the winner’s bracket.

So with a laugh or two, and a ton of fun, we battled the heat and made our way around the course, birdie here, par there, a couple of eagles, and another birdie. To end our round, Jason chipped in on the last hole for a birdie and we finished at -6. Yes, we gave it all back.

But, as I predicted, our scorecard didn’t meet the cut-off for the top 3 teams. Who by the way, finished with a -20, -18, and -17 respectfully.

OK – I feel a need to share some additional thoughts on scramble tournaments. Tournament organizers argue that scrambles are inclusive of new and casual golfers. A novice can feel like part of the team by contributing a few putts to the cause at the least. Fair enough, but anyone who has played in a few four-person scrambles has seen some version of the scene I witnessed during the awards presentation – one team toddles in with a very low winning score and then slinks away with the winnings

Yes, I enjoy playing in scramble tournaments, but…..I tend to think four-person scrambles tear down one of golf’s pillars: verification. There are too few barriers keeping bad actors from reporting a dishonest score. Not only can a team simply sign for a lower score than they made on a hole (or several), the constant picking-up and placing of golf balls prior to hitting a given shot creates practically unlimited opportunities to fluff up lies.

I could go on and on, but I think I have made my point.

Once in the clubhouse and eating lunch, and as the scores were announced, I started thinking about the winning scores, and I asked my golfing partners: “What would you have scored if you were on your own – playing your own ball?” The answers ranged from low 80’s to low 100’s.

As I mentioned earlier, at best, as individuals our team consisted of average to below average golfers. However, as a team, we were playing the course at below par – at least 14 strokes better than we could as individuals. As a team, four average golfers can play the course as a very good golfer.

As a team, we accomplish more than just our individual performance. A team, working together, is very powerful.  Just another real-world example of how an ordinary team can achieve extraordinary results. 

It was a good day!

It’s funny, my initial intention for this article was to review the Cowboys Golf Club, to include highlighting the professional handling of the tournament organization, the quality of the track, the excitement of playing on an iconic course. Unfortunately, due to a recent problem with fungus on the greens, the course is not currently up to its known standards. In fact, this would be the last sponsored tournament at the facility due to scheduled renovations.

Hopefully next season, all will be restored and we can play a round and then give the course an 18 Holes and Counting review and score.

Fairways and Greens – We are 18 Holes and Counting.

Written By: Kathy Festa