Tournament host Chris Hawes reports:
The second Ottawa Hickory Challenge, June 6-8, began with 118 golfers in a two-person scramble. Players came from Arizona, Edmonton, Connecticut, Pinehurst, and all across Ontario to participate. An additional 26 competed in our Saturday/Sunday stroke play tournament. By all measures it was a success! All our goals were met.
1) Have fun.
2) Expose and educate folks to the enjoyment and challenge of hickory golf.
3) Encourage a few of you to continue to play hickory golf and join us for regular play events around Eastern Ontario.
4) Raise some money for a worthwhile cause – Osgoode Emergency Food Cupboard. More than $8000!
5) Have Fun – cannot be stated too often!
We had already enjoyed the addition of several people who reached out to join our regular monthly (soon hopefully bi-weekly) “Hickory Nine and Dine” and “Weekend Play” events at various clubs in the area. This is the best measure of success.
Also this weekend we honoured Kelly Taylor, a golfer and hickory enthusiast from Calgary who sadly passed away this February.
Our Three Nations Championship: WEST (Alberta); EAST (Canada/Ontario); and SOUTH (USA) went to Team Ontario. This will be an ongoing rivalry, and I am sure both the West and South will rise again!
There were lots of prizes at the Charity Auction including Safari Trips to South Africa (courtesy of Milinga Safari and Ken McCafferty Desjardins Insurance/Redneck Logger); Golf and Sightseeing in Ireland (courtesy of Hawes Partners); a house rental this March in San Tan Valley, Arizona (courtesy of Grant Desouza); and so much more.
Our thanks to the sponsors who helped make this event happen:
- Title Sponsor: Ewing Morris Investments
- Manotick Home Hardware (Adam)
- Mosely Private Health (Gavin)
- Pat Connor- Edward Jones, Manotick
- Hawes Partners Golf Experiences – Ireland and Northern Ireland Golf and Sightseeing Adventure
- Hawes of St Andrews West – Original Replica Hickory Golf Clubs
Tournament Results
The Scramble was won by Matt Stovall (Arizona) and Chris Kholi (Ottawa) who had been perfectly paired.
The Putting Contest was won by John Baressi (Ottawa) over Matt Stovall in a Putt-Off. (I think the prospect of lugging a 200-pound BBQ Smoker on the plane was incentive for Matt to leave his putt short. Congrats to John! I’ll expect an invite for sausages on the smoker.)
Friday evening had a lot going for it – a wonderful roast beef dinner, a ton of prizes, a Charity Auction in support of the Osgoode Emergency Food Cupboard, and a trio playing in the lounge as many of us watched the Oilers and Panthers battle toward the Stanley Cup.
Saturday’s epic battle on Manderley on the Green’s South and Central courses ended with Matt Stovall and Andrew Robertson tied heading into the final nine for the next day’s finale. A BBQ with campfire and music followed at Christopher Hawes and Cristin Tierney-Hawes home Saturday evening. Chris and David Greenland played guitar and sang everything from Johnny Cash to Bob Dylan to Stomping’ Tom Conners.
Early Sunday morning the groups headed to the North Course, unknown to most of us, but by the end of the day most agreed it was their favourite. Andrew edged out Matt in the final round. One could attribute the advantage to course knowledge. Andrew won a trip to Edmonton for the Canadian Hickory Open in August. After a nice lunch with plenty of laughter and good food, the prizes were awarded and we all said our goodbyes.
Tournament Gross Winner: Andrew Robertson
Runner up: Matt Stovall
Tournament Net winner: Ron Wiens (St Catherines)
Thanks to everyone for coming out and sharing a great weekend of hickory golf. Trophies and accolades aside, the greatest part of this and all such events are the people that make up the community of hickory golfers. Grateful to be a part of that!
Finally a sincere and heartfelt Thank You to Manderley on the Green and all the staff and volunteers who made this day possible. There are so many moving parts. Without these people, this could never happen.
I hope you consider joining us on our Hawes Partners Ireland Tournament Trip to Ireland (Sept 2026) www.hawespartners.com.
Time to enjoy life. It is all about the Craic!
Chris Hawes
hickoryhawes@gmail.com
Scramble winners Matt Stovall, left, and Chris Kohli.
Tournament champion, Andrew Robertson, left, accepts the trophy from event host Chris Hawes.
The tournament’s net champion Ron Wiens, right, is presented the trophy from event host Chris Hawes.