In July, The Country Club of North Carolina showed its proficiency in hosting a golf event when the 73rd U.S. Junior Amateur Championship, conducted by the United States Golf Association, brought 256 of the world’s best junior players to the Sandhills.
Last week, four clubs with enviable golf heritage, brought eight-player teams for a two-day Home and Home competition on CCNC’s Dogwood and Cardinal courses. While the focus at the Junior Amateur was on scoring, the emphasis this time was on fun and fellowship.
“We had a fantastic time at CCNC,” said Dr. Arch Pequet of Blue Mound Golf and Country Club in Wawatosa, Wis. “Planning and coordination were great. We enjoyed the competition but especially enjoyed meeting and playing with others from the other North American clubs. We look forward to participating and at some point hosting the event in the future.”
In addition to Blue Mound, host of the 1933 PGA Championship, stroke-play co-host of the 2011 U.S. Amateur and 2022 U.S. Mid-Amateur, participating clubs also included Saucon Valley Country Club in Bethlehem, Pa. (host of seven USGA championships plus the 42nd U.S. Senior Open in 2022), Sycamore Hills Golf Club in Fort Wayne, Ind. (host of two USGA championships), and Hamilton G&CC in Canada (host of six Canadian Opens).
“The Home & Home was certainly competitive, but in a very friendly way,” said CCNC member Mark Reinemann, who recruited Blue Mound because of his Wisconsin roots. “Everyone hit some good shots and some not so good ones. It was good to see a wide array of handicaps represented and Stableford is such an enjoyable format. CCNC was in its usual spectacular condition, and everyone raved about that. There was a ton of enthusiasm to stage another Home & Home in 2022 at one of the other clubs. Definitely, a good time was had by all!”
Blue Mound took home the gold-medal honors and CCNC and Sycamore Hills tied for second. In true amateur spirit, however, Blue Mound did not pose for photos since they all had flights to catch!
The Home and Home idea was conceived in 2019 by CCNC, which has hosted three USGA championships, with the emphasized intention of creating relationships and fellowship among the participating clubs and anticipating that competitors from great clubs would make more great friends. The event was supposed to start in 2020 but COVID-19 forced a postponement which did not dampen enthusiasm.
“This was an amazing achievement after all we have gone through to get this first annual event to actually happen,” said CCNC COO/GM Don Hunter. “To see these genuinely great clubs come together for a competition and camaraderie was rewarding. Our hope was to connect with clubs to broaden our overall club experience. It was amazing to see how much we had in common.”
The Home and Home began on October 6 with a practice round that included a member from four different clubs in each foursome. A combined Stableford scoring was in effect for 36 holes on October 7 and 18 holes on October 8.
“I couldn’t be more pleased with the inaugural Home & Home,” said Jeff Dotson, CCNC’s head professional who served as de facto tournament director. “Covid kept all the planning a bit uncertain until the last few weeks but from that point to conclusion things went very smoothly. We very much enjoyed hosting an excellent group of guys from some wonderful clubs.”
Courtesy photo/Contributed
