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Welcome to the new and improved website for the "H" Company Family Golf Tournament. On our last site, we were kind of like two pounds of baloney in a one pound package. We ran out of space. So,,,, we dipped into the petty cash drawer, stuck a crowbar in our wallet, and upgraded to a bigger and better site, with more space. Can't you just feel the extra space? Feels like I have room to move around now. We have been having our family reunion golf tournaments since 1987 or 1988. Inside this website you will find a few photos from a tournament or two, and scorecards from purt near all the tournaments. I didn't realize how successful this whole crazy thing would be, so the first couple tournament score cards weren't kept. Check out the site, see what you think, and don't forget to sign our guestbook before you leave.
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| 2004 "H" Company Group Photo
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23rd "H" COMPANY FAMILY REUNION
I realize this is the "H" Company Golf Tournament website, but I figured if there is something I want to say about the reunion, this would be a great place to say it. So,,,here goes.
This year's reunion turned out to be a tremendous success. With the new format we jumped into, I was wondering how it would turn out. Aside from parts of our family not attending, I think everyone that was there, had a lot of fun, and that's the important thing.
A few weeks ago, I met with Savoy Restaurant owner Chris Destito, and told him what we had in mind. He said he would open his restaurant an hour earlier than usual, and that they would take care of us. He wasn't kidding either. From the moment we walked in, we were all treated great. On top of all that, the Savoy's $7.00 meal menu made what many thought might be a stinging bill at the end of dinner, actually quite an inexpensive meal. The food was excellent, I heard no complaints at all. And as I glanced around the table, in the private room that the Savoy reserved for "H" Company exclusively, I saw many smiling faces, conversations going on between each other, and laughing and joking was in abundance. There was family, great food, great service, great atmosphere, and prices that didn't hurt our wallets in the end. I would definitely recommend the Savoy to anyone in the future. With a personal recommendation going to everybody from me, to not hesitate in ordering Miss Becky's Lasagna. It might not sound Italian, but wow, was it good!!
After dinner, Greg & Therese's house was the setting if anybody wanted to come over. And everybody went too. It was a nice, informal gathering, with chips, dips, taco dip, and of course, let's not forget Jan's family renowned Hershey Kiss Cookies. We all talked and laughed. All the kids were outside swimming and having fun themselves too. It was a nice relaxing finish to our reunion day.
The Herrick contingent of Jim & Karen travelled up from South Carolina (via the Appalachian Trail), to join in this year's reunion, and another arm of the Herrick contingent: Brett, Traci, Brendon and Addison, from Virginia, were also in attendance. Although the rapidly deteriorating "H" Company brick was evident, the "improvise, adapt, overcome" mantra went into effect. We all made the best of it, and our out of town relatives agreed that it was still a great time had by all.
So I think it's pretty unanimous, the 23rd annual "H" Company Family Reunion was a success.
Congratulations go out to Shark's Slicers, as they secured the "H" Company Golf Tournament Championship crown for 2009. I will do a little write up about the tournament, and put it right below this article. And of course, I'll add the scorecard, so everybody can follow the action, hole by hole. I'll be doing all that soon, so keep checking back to the site.
2006 TOURNAMENT RECAP
Well, it was a nasty day for this year's tournament. Rain, rain, rain. At times, it was pretty much pouring out. Everybody's clothes and clubs were completely drenched. It was also pretty chilly out with the wind and rain. But, the tournament must go on, right? Well, that's my opinion anyways, and a couple other players opinion too. The tournament did go on, and it was very competitive too. Both teams carded exact same scores on all nine holes. Along the way, there were some pretty incredible shots made to make sure the scores stayed tied. I'll get to that in a minute or so. So after nine holes, both teams were knotted at 34 apiece. On to sudden death playoff.
The tournament started with nothing fancy happening right away, but both teams did par the 171 yard, par 3, 1st hole.
The 502 yard, par 5, 2nd hole is where some of the incredible shots started happening. And it happened right off the tee for Shark's Shooters, when Ryan hit a BOOMING drive past the ditch, and up on the flat lands to start things off. Both teams got to the green in three, and were in birdie range when Greg's Gopher's player Mark T. lined up his putt and drained it for a birdie. Not to be outdone, Jan stepped up to her ball, took a couple glances at the cup, put her head down, gritted her teeth, and sent her Top Flite XL-3000 rolling towards the hole. Her determination and discipline paid off as the ball disappeared from the green and plunked into the cup to give the Shooter's a birdie to match their opponents score.
On to the 180 yard, par 3, 3rd hole. Nothing exciting happening on this hole, but both teams finished with pars.
4th hole: Par 4, 350 yards. Shark's Shooters got their par fairly easily, but Greg's Gopher's needed a little extra help if they wanted to stay even with the Shooters. And they called on Mark T. to once again deliver that needed spark. Mark T. had a VERY KEY par putt from a good distance away to keep his team in contention.
In my opinion, the hardest hole on this course is the uphill Par 4, 375 yard, 5th hole. This hole can kill a good score very quickly. Both teams stumbled slightly making their way to the cup, but walked away from the green with dual 5's for their scores. No harm, no foul.
The second hardest hole, at times, is the Par 4, 352 yard, 6th hole. It too can also take a good game away from you with it's dogleg right, downhill, over a pond, then uphill to the green layout. The Gopher's got to the green and within birdie distance in two shots. They successfully sank the birdie putt. Shark's Shooters were in trouble of losing this hole because their second shot, although landing on the green, was at least 20 feet from the cup. And that's a long, uphill 20 feet. They called on Ryan once again to work his smooth putting stroke. Ryan, undaunted, lined everything up, stood over the ball, brought his club back, and sent the ball toward the cup. After his balled rolled the 20 feet to the cup and dropped in, Ryan pumped his arm in the air in celebration of what was a SUPER KEY birdie putt to tie both teams once again after six holes.
Next up: the 354 yard, Par 4, 7th hole. I love driving the ball far on this hole. Whenever I play, I always drive two balls, that's how much I enjoy it. Today though, not much happened at 7 until we got to the green, and it didn't involve me. We had to be about 15 feet from the cup, and once again, like a few other times during this tournament, Ryan was called upon to assess the situation. He eyed it up, stood over the ball, and hit that long putt in like it was a gimme. Greg's Gopher's also made their easy par putt, and with both teams still tied, and the rain banging down on us, we headed to the next hole.
And that is the 465 yard, par 5, 8th hole. An easy hole it seems. I birdie it many times over the course of the season. One huge thing you need to watch out for if you're right handed,,,the woods on the right side of the fairway, within driving distance. They are always hungry, and they don't care what kind of ball you feed them. Well, not really too much to say on this hole because not much happened. Both squads went down the fairway, with nothing outstanding happening along the way. Until the team of Shark’s Shooters was laying at about 80 yds. from the pin in three. Gregory chipped his ball up in the air, and landed it softly on the green, and watched it roll to about 6 feet from the cup. Both teams took pars on that hole, and they moved along to the 9th hole.
The 9th hole is a 205 yd. par 3, downhill shot. It can be a somewhat easy hole, but when you are taking the course for granted, and feel as though you own it, this hole can quickly bring you back down to Earth and toss a score of 6 or 7 at you. No problem. As both teams got readied for what we figured was the last hole of the tournament, everybody started realizing that even when you think you are soaked to the skin from being out in a torrential downpour for a couple hours, water has a funny way of making it’s way to places it hasn’t made wet yet. Places that normally don't get wet unless you're in a shower. I believe those places were starting to be found on a number of us at this point. With both teams deadlocked at 31, with identical scores on all of the 8 holes that they played so far, Shark’s Shooters sent Shark to the tee-box. With hands soaked, grips beyond the slippery point, and let’s not forget the new places that the water was finding, Shark reared back and sent the ball flying. Somehow it went straight and landed on the green. The best ball that Greg’s Gophers could use was off the back of the green, about 30 feet from the hole. With the Gopher’s being off the green, they chipped on but could only get to about 10 ft. from the hole. And like a few other times throughout this tournament, Mark T. dug down deep, lined up the shot, and drained the putt. A very awesome, high pressure, Fucillo huge putt to make at this stage of the match. Shark’s Shooters putted out and yes, once again, this tournament ends after 9 holes, in a tie.
We can’t let it end like this. We have to go on to sudden death. It would be so much better if it was a beautiful summer morning, rather than a blah, chilly, Seattle-like day. But, what are you going to do, there has to be a champion right? RIGHT!!
On to the 1st hole. Nothing exciting happened during this hole. Both teams shot pars, and then advanced to the 2nd tee.
The 502 yd. par 5 straightaway hole. Gregory steps up to his ball and addressed it, before he sent it screaming down the fairway. Another clutch drive for a team that was going for the win. Greg’s Gophers also made their way down the fairway, seemingly undaunted by what the Shooter’s were looking to accomplish. They too, were in their own groove, going for the win. The Shooter’s were about 190 yards away from the green, hitting 2. Gregory blasts his shot and lands the ball on the green. On the par 5 green in two. Right there closeby, not on the green in two, but near the pin after three shots, was Greg Gophers. Shark’s Shooters two putted, the Gophers sunk their putt, and both teams walked off the hole with birdies.
This was an absolutely unbelievable match.
On to the 3rd hole of the sudden death. The 180 yd. par 3. Both teams once again mirrored each others shots and score by getting pars.
Now we are at the 4th hole. The hole that can kill you even on the nicest days. But here we were, in the pouring rain, trying to drive the ball. Everybody got off the tee alright. Both teams made it down near the green in two. Then, the unthinkable was mentioned. Someone said, “I think we should probably end it after this hole, no matter what happens, dontcha think”? Wow. I, along with a couple other golfers disagreed with that suggestion. We wanted a winner, whether it was us or them, either way we wanted closure. But, a couple other players saw that exit sign flashing, and decided they better jump on that train before it pulled out of the station. So with some players deciding that they didn’t want to get any wetter than they already were, (I think that was impossible at this point) it was decided that after the 4th sudden death hole, the tournament would end.
Well, nothing exciting happened. Both teams chipped on to the green and close to the pin in 3. Then sank their putts to finish with a par for the hole.
The 2006 “H” Company Golf Tournament ended in a tie, but not just any old tie.
Both teams got the exact same scores on each of the 13 holes that were played. Both teams even bogied the same hole together. It was a really weird scoring tournament. I don’t know how two teams can play identical scoring golf for that many consecutive holes.
Oh well, it would have been interesting to see what would have happened if we continued to play. How much farther could it have gone? 5th hole, 6th hole, 7th, 8th, and 9th holes??? A second round of sudden death??? Holy cow, unbelievable to imagine. But, I guess we’ll never know. So for now, all I can say is congratulations to Shark’s Shooters and Greg’s Gophers as they both enjoy the fruits of being Co-Champions for the 2006 "H" Company Golf Tournament.
See you all next year.
2005 TOURNAMENT RECAP
Well, another year has come and gone, another family reunion has come and gone, another “H” Company Family Golf Tournament has come and gone. There are things to be remembered about all three of these events too. Certainly all the headline news that comes to us will help us remember the past year. The thing I remember most about the family reunion is Greg and I spending about three or four hours building a workbench in his garage, that will no doubt serve as a fine buffet table for Therese to use at next year’s family reunion. And there are more than a few things that can be remembered from this year’s family golf tournament. To begin with, Shark’s Slicers once again took on Greg’s Golfers, in what turned out to be one of the most competitive golf tournaments this family may have ever seen, score wise. Shark’s Slicers, comprised of Mark, Jan, Gregory, and Ryan won the tournament with a score of 31, beating Greg’s Golfers, Greg, Therese, and Mark T. who finished with a low score of their own at 33. I have a few photos from this year’s tournament on the site for you to check out. Unfortunately, after the last hole was played, nobody hung around for a few minutes longer so we could get a family picture for everyone to see. There are a few highlights that I can share with everybody that I remember from the tournament. These are mostly everything that our team accomplished as we moved along through the tournament, basically because I was there and I saw it.
The lead highlight happened right on the par 3-170 yard 1st hole. After we all drove, the team went with a drive that ended up to the right of the pin, off the green, about 40 feet from the hole. After four fairly sad second shots that took us to the green, the team decided, reluctantly, to go with a shot that left us about 15 feet from the cup. Before our par attempt, Greg’s Golfer’s sank a close shot for their first par of the day. Undaunted, our leadoff hitter Jan swaggered to the ball. As she addressed the ball, a hush fell over the gallery. Upon connection with the ball, a cry came from the crowd-“You go girl”!!! The ball never hesitated on it’s way to dropping in the cup, and saving our par. A huge putt to start the day off, thanks to Jan. We were all pretty happy she made it because none of us was confident that we would have. On to the 2nd hole. What was great about our team this year is that every golfer contributed to the success of the team. We didn’t have to rely on one golfer to pull us through the tournament. Actually, the same was true for Greg’s team too. They all contributed, and that is why both team’s scores were low this year, because of the talent on both sides. The thing I remember about the second hole, and two or three other ones, are the massive drives we enjoyed, courtesy of Gregory and mark T. On the par 5-502 yard 2nd hole, I think Gregory's drive ended up being a little past the 150 yard marker, so we enjoyed our second shots coming into the green with irons.
Gregory’s thunderous 300 yard drive on the par 4-354 yard 4th hole was just about perfectly mirrored by Mark T’s drive. Both balls ended up in about the same spot.
Greg’s team went up one stroke on the par 4-5th hole, with a beautiful 15-20 foot putt from just off the green that Greg sank to give them a birdie and the lead.
The score had been tied through the first four holes of the tournament before that birdie put Greg’s Golfers up by one stroke.
Mark C. sank a putt on the 7th hole to once again put both teams atop the leaderboard, tied.
The par 5-8th hole also saw all of our drives turn out sour. Gregory’s went way over onto the fifth fairway. He and Ryan went to look for it and found it in a shallow ditch, only about 30 feet from the opposite side of the 5th fairway. Both Greg’s and Mark T’s drives were usable, and I believe they went with Mark’s drive, which was past the pond, and up on the hill a little. So they were sitting pretty for their second shot. Meanwhile, where we were, things weren’t looking so good. We had just tied the score on the previous hole, but were now in jeopardy of losing a share of the lead once again. Greg’s Golfers put their second shot pin high, to the left, about 15 feet from the green, and about 35 feet from the hole. The pressure was surely on us. Could we step up to the plate and meet the challenge? Time would very soon tell. Jan goes to the ball and swings, her shot trickled harmlessly about 30 feet in front of us. Ryan goes to the ball, swings, flizznickz it, and his shot ends up in about the same spot. Now I was busy doing something, so for some reason Gregory went third when he had been the anchor for the previous seven holes. He swung his club and got the same result. The ball only went about 20 feet away. So it was all up to me to pull off the shot. Now we estimated that we were about 220 yards from the hole. There is a row of pine trees that separates the 5th and 8th fairways. There is one seperation in those trees, a gap about 30 feet apart at the top of the trees. Through that gap, we could see the pin and the green. I used my 3 wood and swung at the ball. I connected very nicely, and we all watched as the ball split the pine trees right down the middle as it headed towards the green. We knew it was a good shot, but didn’t realize how good until we got up close to the green. The shot had landed about 15 feet from the green, and about 35 feet from the hole. Our shot was just below Greg’s Golfers shot. We were both about 25 feet from each other. It was agreed that that was the shot of the tournament right there. A key fairway wood that connected and kept the team within reach of our opponents. We both lay in our postions in two. What happened next was just as spectacular. Hitting second in line was Ryan. He took out his pitching wedge, swung at the ball, and put his shot up about a foot from the cup. A fantastic shot, at just the right time. That now put the pressure on Greg and his crew. Their third shot got on the green, but was about 15 feet from the hole. Ryan went up and tapped his chip shot in for the birdie, and the lead, as Greg’s Golfers couldn’t sink their long birdie putt to tie the score. They went on to two putt, and both teams went into the 9th hole with Shark’s Slicers ahead by one stroke. On the 9th hole, it was the Ryan Hanna show once again as we used his drive, and his second shot that went close to the pin. Greg’s team’s drive went just short of the green and to the left. They had to hope for a birdie because Ryan’s second shot was close enough to sink for par. It wasn’t anything that couldn’t happen either, because on the 5th hole, they put one in for a birdie from just off the green. They were about 25 feet from the cup, but two of their shots fell short, and Greg’s went a little higher than the hole. They chose to go with Greg’s shot and putted back down to the hole. That putt came up short, and when Ryan putted his ball in for par, that ended one of the most competitively scored rounds ever in the history of the tournament. Shark’s Slicers ended the round with a score of 31, while Greg’s Golfers finished the day with a 33. Both teams played great golf, and it was a great tournament for both teams.
The "H" Company Board of Directors made a decision to change the format of the tournament in 2003. Up to this year, we have been going with a singles, every man for himself setup. But this year, with the added golfers coming into the tournament, we decided to make up teams and have a scramble. I think it worked out pretty good. I picked the teams that I thought would be the most fair, taking into consideration the players that play the game regularly, on a weekly basis, should probably be split up. Then I mixed the rest of the field, according to their ability, with those players. It worked out well, especially since this was the first year instituting this change. It really was a good tournament, with some fantastic shots made. We used to have three or sometimes four people playing head to head before this year. This year, we had eight people out there on the links, battling to bring home that First Place check. Good job everyone. I know I can't wait until next year to do it all over again.
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