For Ed Strain, the CGA Team Interclub is a family affair, both literally and figuratively.
After all, his dad, Homer, and his son, Kyle, both join him in competing in the season-long championship as representatives of Todd Creek Golf Club. And in a more general sense, Strain looks at the Todd Creek team as kind of one big happy family.
And a successful family at that.
On Sunday, two years after losing in the finals of the Team Interclub, Todd Creek claimed the title by defeating the defending champs from The Broadmoor Golf Club 23-13 in the championship match at CommonGround Golf Course.
“It feels fantastic to come out on top,” said Ed Strain, Todd Creek’s captain. “It’s a good group of guys. We’ve been fighting for four years since we’ve been playing in (the Team Interclub). It really feels good to win as a team. That’s the most important thing.”
As for three Strains being part of the dozen team members that won Sunday’s finals, Strain said, “You’ve got three generations of Strains (competing). It’s pretty fun to be able to play that way. It’s pretty rare.”
Todd Creek, based in Thornton, completed a season in which it won all seven of its matches in the season-long net match play competition that involves golf clubs from throughout the state. In those seven matches, Todd Creek outscored its opponents by a combined 180-72.
Jeff Stewart, who owns a 1.1 handicap, and Homer Strain went 2-0 on Sunday for Todd Creek, winning both their singles and four-ball matches in the final CGA championship of 2015.
“Just being out here with your golf buddies playing is always great,” said Stewart, a semi-regular with Todd Creek over the last four years. “And having some competition — you’re playing with buddies and your buddies are depending on you — that’s always fun. I always play better golf in competition.”
Todd Creek’s 2015 finals team included seven players who competed on the club’s squad that finished second to the Golf Club at Bear Dance in the 2013 finals.
Overall, Todd Creek, all wearing neon shirts on Sunday, outscored The Broadmoor 16-8 in singles and 7-5 in four-ball.
A year after going undefeated in claiming the 2014 Team Interclub title, The Broadmoor finished 5-2 on the season and had its moments on Sunday (left).
“It was an honor to be in the finals two years in a row, especially with the whole (CGA) tournament season being dedicated to Joe Salvo (a highly respected rules official and longtime Broadmoor member who passed away in April),” said Mark Sutherland, a non-playing team captain and PGA membership golf professional at The Broadmoor for the last three years. “We thought we had our lucky 13th player on our side, but (Todd Creek) played a great game and deservedly won.”
Though the final margin Sunday was a healthy 10 points, 11 of the 18 overall matches went to the final hole, resulting in either halves or 1-up results.
Ed Strain pointed to the camaraderie among the Todd Creek players as being one of the keys to their recent success in the Team Interclub.
“We play every Sunday, and our single digits play easily with our high digits and everybody gets along good,” he said. “One of the best things we do when we have a small bunch of guys is we just throw tees in a hat, we pull them out, and that’s who plays together. Having that camaraderie probably pushed us over the edge. It’s a bunch of guys that just want to win.”
(And some of that camaraderie extended to Todd Creek’s opponents, left.)
This year marks the sixth season of the CGA Team Interclub. The competition started in May with 51 teams.
The regular season lasted from May through mid-summer, with geographically-linked groups of four teams playing round-robins against one another. The team from each group with the highest point total advanced to the playoffs — along with three runners-up, including The Broadmoor — with the postseason matches running from August through October. This year, the finals marked the 77th match of the year, not counting walkovers.
Both in the regular season and the playoffs, teams of a dozen men each — of widely varying abilities — square off, with singles and four-ball matches held concurrently. Each individual match is worth two points — two for a win and one for a tie.
As part of the Team Interclub, the CGA will donate $500 to the junior golf program at Todd Creek.
CGA Team Interclub Championship Finals
At CommonGround GC in Aurora
FINAL SCORE: Todd Creek GC 23, The Broadmoor GC 13
Singles (Todd Creek 16, The Broadmoor 8)
Jeff Stewart (TC) def. Mike Allred (B), 4 and 3
Brad Grogg (B) halved with Kyle Strain (TC)
Bill Kemp (B) def. Delfido Rodrigeuez (TC), 1 up
Dustin Snell (TC) def. Don Sall (B), 4 and 2
John Lundien (TC) def. Greg Flaks (B), 2 and 1
Ed Strain (TC) def. Ed Hayden (B), 1 up
Roger Utley (TC) def. Doug Wasson (B), 2 and 1
John McPherson (B) def. Tom Rowell (TC), 1 up
Roger Perry (B) def. Mike Adams (TC), 1 up
Joe Rizzi (TC) def. Scott Meagher (B), 4 and 3
Homer Strain (TC) def. Duke Mitchell (B), 5 and 4
Bill Carder (B) halved with Kevin Nicks (TC)
Four-Ball (Todd Creek 7, The Broadmoor 5)
Jeff Stewart-Kyle Strain (TC) def. Mike Allred-Brad Grogg (B), 3 and 2
Dustin Snell-Delfido Rodriguez (TC) halved with Don Sall-Bill Kemp (B)
Ed Hayden-Greg Flaks (B) def. Ed Strain-John Lundien (TC), 1 up
Tom Rowell-Roger Utley (TC) halved with John McPherson-Doug Wasson (B)
Joe Rizzi-Mike Adams (TC) halved with Scott Meagher-Roger Perry (B)
Kevin Nicks-Homer Strain (TC) def. Bill Carder-Duke Mitchell (B), 1 up
The sun shined brightly and warmly on all the participants in Sunday’s finals of the CGA Team Interclub Championship, but particularly so on players from the Broadmoor Golf Club — not only this weekend but all season.
On a day when the temperature approached the 80-degree mark, the Broadmoor completed a dominant, undefeated year by beating Rifle Creek Golf Course for the Team Interclub title at CommonGround Golf Course in Aurora.
The Broadmoor defeated Rifle Creek 23-13, giving the Colorado Springs-based club a 7-0 record in 2014. To add to the accomplishment, the Broadmoor won all seven of its matches by double-digit margins. Overall, the club outscored its opponents 188-64. (The Broadmoor’s title-winning team is pictured above.)
“At least for a year, we’re the best. It’s fun,” said Mike Allred, one of five Broadmoor competitors to win both their singles and four-ball matches on Sunday. “We’ve been doing it and doing it and doing it (in the Team Interclub over the last five years). Last year we came close (losing by two points in the first round of the playoffs). This year, everybody just turned it on when it needed to be turned on.”
That included on Sunday, when the Broadmoor beat a Rifle Creek team that has made the final four at each of the last three CGA Team Interclubs. The Broadmoor prevailed 14-10 in the singles on Sunday, and 9-3 in the four-ball matches, which were held concurrently.
Teammates joining Allred in winning both singles and four-ball matches on Sunday were Ron Crowder, Scott Meagher, Josh Waymire and Jerry Petersen.
“This is some good fun at the club and gives us some bragging rights, I guess,” said Crowder (pictured at left in the red cap with Allred). “It’s really fun for me (because) I lived (at Lowry, where CommonGround is located) as a kid 60 years ago. The golf course didn’t even exist then.
“But I think we have a big advantage because of the greens at the Broadmoor. You’ve got to putt at the Broadmoor, and these things always boil down to putting. I saw a women’s tournament on TV recently, and a commentator was talking about So Yeon Ryu, who won the (2011) U.S. Women’s Open at the Broadmoor. And he said, ‘She can putt. She won it at the Broadmoor. Those are some of the toughest greens in America.’ And I think they’re right.
“You really have to know how to putt to score there.”
Allred seconds the notion.
“I think what it is is, the Broadmoor trains you to be an excellent golfer,” the 2.3-handicapper said. “It just makes you a better golfer. I think all these guys, if they didn’t play golf there, we wouldn’t be here. It’s world-class training to play golf at that golf course. It just fine-tunes everything.”
While five players went 2-0 for the Broadmoor on Sunday, Jim Grabe was the lone competitor from Rifle Creek to do likewise. Rifle Creek lost in the finals for the second time in three years, and it went to the semifinals last fall. Seven competitors from the 2012 finals played again on Sunday.
The Western Slope-based course finished the season 5-1, not including an opponent’s forfeit. (Pictured at left are Rifle Creek players Michael Smith and Jeb Savage.)
“We’ve got to find a way to get a win on some neutral territory,” said Kyle Daniell, the head professional at Rifle Creek. “Being our second time in the championship match, we wanted to get a win this year. Last time we were in it (2012), we were just happy to be there and it was a good experience. This was a great experience too, but we came with intention to win this year and that’s what we’ll continue to do.
“Definitely (the Team Interclub) is a big deal for us. We talk about it all the time. We get over 30 guys interested in playing. We have no problem filling the team. Maybe some clubs don’t take it as serious, but we take it serious. It’s good competition for our members and it’s good to see them out there competing.”
Sunday marked the conclusion of a season-long net match play championship that began on May 3 and which originally featured 61 teams from across the state. The finals were the 83rd match of the 2014 competition, not counting walkovers.
The “regular season” lasted from May through early August, with geographically-linked groups of four teams playing round-robins against one another. The team from each group with the highest point total advanced to the 16-team playoffs, which ran August through October.
Both in the regular season and the playoffs, teams of a dozen men each — of widely varying abilities — square off, with singles and four-ball matches held concurrently. Each individual match is worth two points — two for a win and one for a tie.
As part of the Team Interclub, the CGA will donate $500 to each of the junior golf programs at the clubs which qualified for the finals.
The Team Interclub concludes the 2014 CGA championship season.
CGA Team Interclub Finals
At CommonGround GC in Aurora
FINAL SCORE: Broadmoor GC 23, Rifle Creek GC 13
Singles (Broadmoor 14, Rifle Creek 10)
Mike Allred, B, def. Jeb Savage, 3 and 2
Ron Crowder, B, def. Michael Smith, 2 and 1
Jack Parkinson, RC, def. Phillip Temple, 2 and 1
Tod Smith, RC, def. Greg Flaks, 1 up
Jim Grabe, RC, def. Doug Wasson, 7 and 6
Jerry Tilton, B, halved with Jeff Hauer, RC
James Hafemeister, B, halved with Mark Sours, RC
Roger Perry, B, def. Steve Stanek, 3 and 2
Scott Meagher, B, def. Clint Hostettler, 4 and 3
Josh Waymire, B, def. Michael Higginbotham, 1 up
Pay Hayes, RC, def. Duke Mitchell, 6 and 4
Jerry Petersen, B, def. Mike Whitt, 4 and 2
Four-Ball (Broadmoor 9, Rifle Creek 3)
Allred/Crowder, B, def. Savage/Smith, 3 and 2
Temple/Flaks, B, def. Parkinson/Smith, 1 up
Grabe/Hauer, RC, def. Wasson/Tilton, 4 and 3
Hafemeister/Perry, B, halved with Sours/Stanek, RC
Meagher/Waymire, B, def. Hostettler/Higginbotham, 1 up
Mitchell/Petersen, B, def. Hayes/Whitt, 3 and 2
At this point, the CGA Team Interclub Championship must seem like child’s play to Mike Morong and Andrew Pimental.
In the last two years, their golf club, Lone Tree, has captured consecutive championships in an event which draws more than 50 teams.
And beyond that, Morong and Pimental have won both of their matches each year in the finals of the season-long net match-play competition.
Of course, that kind of team and individual success isn’t so simple to come by, but Morong, Pimental and to some extent everyone associated with Lone Tree’s team seem to have struck upon the right formula.
The club from the southern part of the Denver metro area became the first repeat winner in the short history of the Team Interclub by defeating Rifle Creek Golf Course 28-8 in Saturday’s finals at CommonGround Golf Course.
“We’re all excited about it,” said Randy Gaddis, who won both his singles and four-ball matches on Saturday while shooting a 4-under-par 67 on his own ball. “We were excited last year, and I think we’re more excited this year in winning it again. I don’t know what will happen next year, but we’re going to try again.”
Gaddis, who chipped in for an eagle on the par-5 third hole Saturday, was one of five players who competed in last year’s finals for Lone Tree and returned to win a second championship on Saturday. Joining him are Morong (pictured at left hitting an awkward shot on No. 11), Pimental, Doug Moore and William McDermott.
Probably not coincidentally, four of those finals veterans won both their singles and four-ball matches on Saturday: Gaddis, Moore, Morong and Pimental. And three finals newcomers joined them in going 2-0: Garrett Farnsworth, Peter Garvin and Denny Schroeder.
In shooting 69 on Saturday, Morong joined Gaddis in breaking 70. What’s been the key to Morong’s two-year run of success in this event?
“I love match play,” he said. “I love the competition. And I think what I really love is CommonGround. It’s a great golf course and it fits my eye. I always seem to play well here. But match play is unique; you get zoned in. It’s a real fun format.”
In its domination of Saturday’s all-public course finals, Lone Tree only lost two of 12 singles matches (two were halved) and one of six four-ball matches.
“It was really fun, but we just got beat,” said Rifle Creek captain Pat Hayes, who won a four-ball match with Steve Stanek and halved his singles match against McDermott. “This is our first year in this (event) and we were undefeated (in the 16-team playoffs) until today.” (Pictured at left are Rifle Creek’s Jeb Savage and Cole Manuppella.)
Saturday’s match was the 92nd of the year in the 5 1/2-month-long Team Interclub, which this season featured 59 golf clubs from around the state. Each of the finalists played seven matches — three in the regular season and four in the 16-team playoffs — with Lone Tree and Rifle Creek both finishing with 5-2 records.
In each dual, teams of 12 players of varying abilities compete against one another, with singles and four-ball matches held concurrently. Each match within the team match is worth two points — two for a win and one for a tie.
Unlike last year, when Lone Tree went 6-0 in the Team Interclub, it lost two of its first three matches this season and advanced to the playoffs out of its four-team group by a single point, 62-61.
“We got our butts kicked legitimately two of the three (with losses coming against the combined Saddle Rock/Murphy Creek team and The Meadows in pool play),” said non-playing Lone Tree team captain Jim Eliassen. “We handed (the pool title) to them on a silver platter and they couldn’t do it.”
Once again this year, Eliassen played a major role in Lone Tree’s winning the title, though it wasn’t with his clubs. Eliassen spends many hours analyzing handicaps, trends and each player’s game in order to field the strongest possible team for a given course. At various points in the season, a total of 45 players from Lone Tree competed in the Team Interclub. (Pimental is pictured at left with his daughter, Elin, who took a shine to sitting in the Team Interclub trophy.)
“We’ve got a good captain who puts the teams together,” Gaddis said. “He studies the handicaps and talks to guys about how they’re playing — if they’re trending down or trending up. He puts together the best team and no one questions who he picks. And we have 200 guys in our men’s club so there’s a big pool for him to choose from.”
Added Morong: “Every single time our captain put a team together, our B and C guys (the middle and higher handicaps in the range up to 18) came through. When we needed it, they were the ones that came in and did it.”
Still, despite all of Lone Tree’s talent, experience and analytical know-how, Eliassen didn’t foresee a 20-point margin of victory over Rifle Creek.
“I figured they’d be right on our heels,” he said.
The CGA, in rewarding the Team Interclub finalists, contributed $500 each to Lone Tree and Rifle Creek’s junior golf programs.
The Team Interclub finals conclude the CGA’s 2012 championship season.
CGA Team Interclub Championship Finals
At Par-71 CommonGround GC in Aurora
FINAL SCORE: LONE TREE 28, RIFLE CREEK 8
SINGLES (Lone Tree 18, Rifle Creek 6)
Randal Gaddis, LT, def. Cole Manuppella, 5 and 4
Doug Moore, LT, def. Jeb Savage, 4 and 3
Mike Morong, LT, def. Jack Parkinson, 5 and 4
Marc Caldwell, RC, def. Kevin Mannette, 2 and 1
Garrett Farnsworth, LT, def. Shane Fazzi, 4 and 3
Jeff Hauer, RC, halved with Paul Jagels
Peter Garvin, LT, def. Patrick Burwell, 1 up
Andrew Pimental, LT, def. Mark Sours, 1 up
Terry Poindexter, LT, def. Steve Stanek, 3 and 2
Pay Hayes, RC, halved with William McDermott
Denny Schroeder, LT, def. Mike Whitt, 4 and 2
Pat Antonelli, RC, def. Jerry Kanter, 1 up
FOUR-BALL (Lone Tree 10, Rifle Creek 2)
Randal Gaddis-Doug Moore, LT, def. Cole Manuppella-Jeb Savage, 4 and 3
Mike Morong-Kevin Mannette, LT, def. Jack Parkinson-Marc Caldwell, 2 and 1
Garrett Farnsworth-Paul Jagels, LT, def. Shane Fazzi-Jeff Hauer, 3 and 1
Peter Garvin-Andrew Pimental, LT, def. Patrick Burwell-Mark Sours, 1 up
Steve Stanek-Pat Hayes, RC, def. Terry Poindexter-William McDermott, 5 and 4
Denny Schroeder-Jerry Kanter, LT, def. Mike Whitt-Pat Antonelli, 4 and 2