HISTORY
The germ of the idea that
became the Smitty Tour was conceived one cold and boring evening
in November of 2001, when the Tour’s first commissioner, one
Doug Smith, couldn’t find a damned thing worth watching on
TV and decided, instead, to read his latest edition of Golf Digest.
After reading about the PGA Tour, the LPGA Tour, the Senior Tour,
the Buy.com Tour, the European Tour and blah, blah, blah.....he
exclaimed, “why not us? Why not we Smitties?” We could,
he opined, create our own tour, with brotherhood and comaraderie
and a little bit of ball-busting as the foundation upon which we
could build our future! We could get together on a regular basis,
beat the proverbial ball around for a few hours and then retreat
to someone’s house to commiserate over some ice-cold suds
and lick our wounds. When you think about it, that’s probably
what motivated those that formed the PGA Tour in the first place,
wasn’t it? So we can return to the roots of competitive (or,
in our case, not-so-competitive) golf - to golf in its purest form,
if you will. And so it was - on that cold and dreary eve - an idea
was born. It’s a story as old as time........a young (alright,
not so young anymore) man dares to dream. He puts his dream into
action. His brothers and friends ridicule him. He goes ahead and
does it anyway, and VOILA! - the dream becomes reality! I must admit
to getting a little teary-eyed every time I recall it, but it was
a magical combination of unbelievable boredom and sheer genius that
led to the formation of this great competitive endeavor. The rest,
as the old saying goes, is golfing history, my friends.
Finally, at long last, 2008 Smitty Tour Cheeseboard winner Mark Loan got his props in front of his fellow combatants and a host of well-wishers. On Sunday, March 15th, 36 loyal tour fans gathered at Cozumel in Brunswick for their fine Mexican cuisine, many Margaritas and pitchers of Cerveza, and feted both Mark and second-place finisher Matt Willbond for their fine work during the 08 campaign. Prior to the celebration, twelve tour members also ventured to Bunker Hill to spend a couple of hours on their golf simulators, and struggled over the virtual front nine at Banff Springs Golf Course – and I DO mean struggled. Of course, there’s always a smart-ass in the group and to be fair and acknowledge his accomplishment, Andy Liedel did manage to put together a 2-over-par 38 – much to the surprise of the rest of us. It has been suggested that he was manipulating the machine, but no real proof exists. Check out the pictures of our gathering that follow.
Cheeseboard Winners
While we have enjoyed a spectacular November, and even yesterday – December 1st – was 50 degrees and sunny (nice enough for 9 quick holes at Big Met), it would appear that Ol’ Man Winter is about to visit Northeast Ohio. Looks like it’s time to put the sticks away and hunker down and begin daydreaming about the 2010 season. Incidentally, the 2010 Season Schedule is already posted, so check it out! Kudos go to our Co-Champs, Rob Smith and Andy Liedel, who share the coveted Smitty Tour Cheeseboard for the first time since the 2002 season, when our handicap system was much more simplistic. Our champs ended up tied after eight months of competition, encompassing more than 130 total rounds played by our intrepid band, on courses both tough and not-so-tough, and our hats are off to them. Jeff Liedel finished a scant three points behind the leaders and Ray Pucko just four points back to take home fourth place. Check out the Final Standings on the Stats page. The 2009 season saw the return of two familiar faces; Ken Meyer, who went through a two-year rehab from serious elbow surgery, and Matt Minichillo – returning from a five years of self-imposed exile to re-join the Tour. It was good to see you back among us guys. Who knows whose lurking out there ready to tee it up with us in 2010? It’s time to put a wrap on this season and wish everyone a festive Holiday Season, so clean up the clubs, shine those spikes, visit eBay for a great deal on next year’s clubs or balls and check out one of Bob Rotella’s numerous self-improvement books. It’s Winter in our fair land and time to do your mental preparation for the season to come.
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