Doug Christie was just a tap-in putt shy of his 81st birthday Saturday at the end of the 11th annual "Moose Madness" golf tournament at The Valley Club. And he was beaming with the joy of a proud parent.
Christie didn't want to talk about his golf game, but he was quick to say that he couldn't remember his son Michael playing any better golf than Michael did on the final day of the four-day "Moose Madness" member-guest tournament.
On a very warm afternoon, Michael made two memorable shots on the 18th hole that gave the Doug and Michael Christie twosome the silver moose trophies emblematic of the championship of the moose chase.
After 14 other twosomes had been eliminated during the five-hole moose race elimination tour of The Valley Club's #9, #10, #11, #17 and #18 holes, the Christies were matched up against Brian Seethaler and Pete Erickson on the final hole.
Seethaler and Erickson came up a little short of the green on their second shot to the par-4, 418-yard finishing hole. Then, Michael Christie's second shot with a hybrid 3-iron landed softly on the green and ran up to within 18 feet of the flagstick.
Advantage to the Christies, it seemed, especially since each twosome was getting a stroke a hole. But it took the Christies three putts to get down from 18 feet, while Seethaler and Erickson scrambled home equally with three strokes. Both teams finished with net four.
So the outcome went to a one-shot chip-off, similar to a soccer PK shootout after 120 minutes of hard work afield.
Michael Christie, standing 95 feet from the hole, went first from just off the longish green and chipped up to within six feet. Seethaler elected to use a putter from off the green. His putt looked good at first, but it kept rolling and eventually slid off the green, way past the hole.
The sun-baked spectator gallery featuring 35 carts wanted the Christies to take a plunge in the lake to celebrate their win—like Charlie Capute and David Pyles did last year. But they realized that the father-son bond goes only so far.
Seethaler and Erickson settled for second place. Third place in the moose race went to the twosome of Foster Lund and Gary Morgan. Fourth-place winners were Bruce Kaplan and Byron Hoffman.
Saturday's moose race featured alternate-shot play on five holes. There was some friendly wagering involved and the payoffs were substantial for the owners of the top four teams in the moose race.
Prior to Saturday's final matches, each twosome in the tournament played five nine-hole matches Thursday, Friday and Saturday morning.
The following are flight winners and, in two cases, bonus teams chosen from a particular flight because they were the next-best scorers in the total field. The flights are generally listed in rankings from lower to higher handicaps.
There were 14 flights, six teams each, for 168 players. The following teams made up the 16-team moose race Saturday:
Wade Hampton (N.C.) Flight: 1—Latham Williams and Mark Meisenbach 27.5 points. Bonus team—John Shaw and Chris Pippin 25 points.
Shadow Creek (Nev.) Flight: 1—Roger Miller and Louie D'Ambrosio 24.5 points.
Victoria National (Ind.) Flight: 1—Jerry Boas and Bob Phillips 30 points.
Butler National (Ill.) Flight: 1—Papa Manchester and Scott Rogers 25.5 points.
Flint Hills (Ks.) Flight: 1—Foster Lund and Gary Morgan 31 points.
Sand Ridge (Ohio) Flight: 1—Mitch Milias and Jim Harrington 26.5 points.
The Quarry (Ca.) Flight: 1—Phil O'Reilly and Steve Daffer 24.5 points.
Dallas National (Tex.) Flight: 1—Ken Rohl and Doug Muncy 24 points.
Estancia (Az.) Flight: 1—Paul Willis and T.J. Richardson 29.5 points.
Sage Valley (S.C.) Flight: 1—Bruce Kaplan and Byron Hoffman 24.5 points.
The Preserve (Ca.) Flight: 1—Doug Christie and Michael Christie 27.5 points.
Black Diamond (Fla.) Flight: 1—Jack Hoffman and Dave Almquist 26 points.
Hudson National (N.Y.) Flight: 1—Brian Seethaler and Pete Erickson 27 points.
Galloway National (N.J.) Flight: 1—Bob Cook and Hal Greene 29 points. Bonus team—Gerry Mells and Irv Cannon 28 points.
Other Moose Madness games
Wednesday practice round: 1—Dick Toomey, Everitt Waltmire, Lou Mace, Sid Mace 122. 2—Jim Sedin, David Sniff, Todd Conklin, David Boldt 125. 3—Dave Berman, Harry Schrieber, Dave Roglien, Bruce Murdoch 128 (29 foursomes).
Thursday games: Straightest drive—Bob Lane #10. Most Prodigious drive #7—John Shaw. Closest to the hole—Denny Campbell 16 inches, Tom Held 2-2 ½, John Shaw 3-8, Latham Williams 6-9.
Chipping on Friday: 1—Brian Cincotta 6 inches. 2—Jamie Everitt 10 inches. 3—Jim Anawalt 18 inches. 4 (tie)—Kevin Cincotta and Rob Green 25 inches apiece.
Putting on Friday: 1—Kevin and Brian Cincotta 10 putts. 2 (tie)—Jerry Boas and Bob Phillips, Jim Latta and Keith Davern 11 putts. 4 (tie)—John Shaw and Chris Pippin, Curtis Gardner and Paul Herzog 12 putts.
