Once again, Hunter Country Club took its toll on participants in The Cragin.
Tim Mocarski's winning score was testament to the rough in the
fairways, the soggy conditions, and overall typical lousy play of
Cragin players. His winning total for low gross was a pathetic
91, by far the highest low score ever recorded in the 31 year history
of the tournament.
"It could have been much better," said Mocarski. "It also could
have been much worse. If I didn't have 7s on every par five, I
could have broken 90. Of course, I was putting well today.
If I wasn't, I would have had a hard time breaking 100."
"Moe was shooting well," said Bob Ziaja, who finished tied for second with a 94. "Then reality set in on the back nine."
"I haven't shot this bad since I started playing golf," remarked Gail
Zielinski. Welcome to the wonderful world of golf, Gail, and the
strange conditions of our home course.
Before the tournament began, participants were surprised by the arrival
of a celebrity of sorts. At first, players thought that a Ferengi
from Star Trek beamed down. Then they thought it was that bald
dancing guy from the Six Flags commercials. Then they realized it
was just Bob Sparr.
Low Net trophy, also known as the cannon shell, when to Rob
Sparr. Well, there was a tie with Tom Reppel, both coming in with
a net score of 65. Rob took home the revolving shell. Well,
Rob will take home the shell since he and Bob had to leave before the
awards ceremony.
Longest drive on hole 14 went to Mike Ziaja. Moe had closet to
the pin on 15, and sunk the 15 foot putt for the only 2 by anybody for
the day.
(*** Give the editor a double bogey here. The rules person wrote
an email and corrected me. The long drive went to Peter
Zielinski. Andrew Zielinski got the low handicap. He
wasn't eligible for the cannon shell, The Cup, or whatever we call it.)
Everybody who was able to stick around got a hat to wear home.
***
Just some other thoughts for the day here.
Seventeen people played in the Cragin this year, a relatively small
turnout. In 1992, only eleven people played. So, some years
we've had more; some years, less. That doesn't change the spirit
of the tournament or the game we play.
We didn't have food this year. That's happened before, too.
It doesn't change the spirit of the tournament or the game we play.
Gregg Rossi came and tried to play. He had to withdraw after the
third hole, but he stayed and drove around to be with and watch his
friends. No, the spirit of the tournament and the game we play
doesn't change. It hasn't changed for all the years we have been
coming back in the second week of July to Hunter Country Club.
Yes, the turnout was a bit smaller, but so what? We had
fun. We joked. We made farting noises in a back
swing. We played our usual lousy game, and we still had fun.
Most people agreed that Hunter was not in its best shape. It
seldom is, but this year the fairways were green, and long.
Sometimes it was hard to find the ball in the middle of the landing
area. I don't think any of the remaining ball washers on the
course had water in them.
The old club house and restaurant was gutted from a fire last
September. The smell of smoke was still inside. People have
to pay their greens fees in a trailer that rests in the parking lot,
the same parking lot that used to be filled to capacity with golfers
and customers from the banquet hall.
The ninth hole has that creek that no one can remember the last time
anyone drove it. Up the right side of the fairway is a large blue
building where they keep the machines used on the course, the carts,
and lawnmowers. It's sagging. On the side facing the
fairway, the word "GOLF" in huge letters used to be visible clearly
from Highway 12. Now, the word is "OLF."
To be honest, it was kind of sad to see the place. What possessed
us to drive from Chicago all those years ago to play in some town
nobody had ever heard of before? What has possessed us to drive
back there almost every year? What possesses us still about
the place?
Maybe we see ourselves. We've grown older and so has the
course. So what? One thing is constant. It's the
spirit of the tournament. That never changes, no matter how
much we do. It doesn't matter where we play, or how poorly.
The Cragin has never been about a course or a score. It's about a
bunch of old Polacks and friends just being together, each knowing the
other is a good friend to have.
