The 12th annual Charles Blair Macdonald Challenge was played Sept. 6-7 at the historic Niagara-on-the-Lake Golf Course. The course is the oldest in North America on its original site. It has been ranked in the top 10 short courses in the world (excluding the United States) by Golf Magazine.
Heavy rains arrived early Saturday morning, but right on cue, they ceased at 8 a.m. just in time for a shotgun start.
Patrick Potter set the mood with his bagpipe. Group pictures were taken on the first tee.
The format was altered to accommodate the large Canadian contingent of 41 players. These players were divided into Eastern and Western Ontario. The 23 American players formed a team.
Sixty-four avid golfers – eight women, 12 super seniors, 26 seniors and 18 open division players – played 18 holes with pre-1900 equipment that included gutty balls, smooth face irons, and long nose woods.
After Saturday’s round, Team Eastern Ontario, captained by Joe McLean (Kanata, Ontario), led with 25.5 points, followed by USA, captained by Tom Johnson (Tallmadge, Ohio), with 23.0 points. Western Ontario, captained by Paul Dietz (Sarnia, Ontario), scored 20.5 points.
A Trade Show followed lunch. Many of the participants dined at The Grill on King later that evening.
Sunday’s weather was much more pleasant – temperatures in the upper 60s and a gentle breeze off Lake Ontario made for ideal playing conditions. Play was with post-1900 hickory equipment – mesh ball, socket woods, and irons with markings on the face.
Team USA came on strong, winning 27 of the 69 matches. Teams Eastern and Western Ontario won 21 matches each.
Final scoring in the matches had Team USA on top at 50 points.
Team Eastern Ontario followed with 46.5 points and Team Western Ontario scored 41.5 points.
Congratulations to Team USA!
In The Eastern Canadian Hickory Championship play the winners were
Ladies Champion – Paula McLean (182)
Ladies Runnerup – Alisson Spouge (198)
Super Senior Champion – Rusty Wells (163)
Super Senior Runnerup – Barry Deathe (189)
Senior Champion – Vern Petry (160)
Super Senior Runnerup – Ron Dunn (165)
Open Champion – Mike Heil (156)
Open Runnerup – Bob Sly (157)
Congratulations to all our winners!
The 2015 CB Macdonald and Eastern Canadian Hickory Championship is scheduled for Sept. 11-13.
Please note, this is a limited-field event. Places are held for 2014 participants until March 15, 2015. After that date, the field will be filled with players from the waiting list. Get your entries in early to avoid disappointment. Hope you can join us.
The 2015 entry form is available at www.ghsc.ca