October 11, 2016
Wuskowhan Players Club
West Olive, Michigan
Since MLBMA and ILBSA joined forces, we have often said it would be fun to have a competition between the Michigan golfing members and the Indiana golfing members for “bragging rights” for a year. Additional benefits would also be help the participant members of each state become more familiar with each other as well raise some funds for the MBSA programs.
Both Indiana and Michigan have an abundance of very nice golf courses. The objective of the MBSA Ryder Cup Challenge would be to play at courses that are some of the best each state has to offer and are private or hard to get on.
For our inaugural MBSA Ryder Cup Challenge, John Bolt from DeLeeuw Lumber in Holland, Michigan has graciously offered to host us at his private club. Wuskowhan Players Club in West Olive, Michigan is a premier course that you will not want to miss playing. Our hope is that year two (2017), hosted by Indiana, we will be able to play Crooked Stick Golf Club, Meridian Hills Country Club, Hawthorns Country Club, or a comparable level course. Year three (2018), back in Michigan, we intend to play at the private Kingsley Club near Traverse City, MI. You will not want to miss playing these courses!
The format with resemble a Ryder Cup Format: (It is set up so each player will ultimately know how they individually scored on the course they are playing.)
The first nine holes will be two players from Michigan playing two players from Indiana in a foursome.
After a hole is played the Michigan two person team’s lowest net ball would be compared to the Indiana two person team’s lowest net ball. The lowest ball wins the hole. This continues for nine holes until one team has won the majority of the 9 holes or the two teams tie. If a team wins their match they win a point for their state. If they tie the match, they each will receive ½ point for their state.
The second nine holes will be one Michigan player up against an Indiana player in Singles competition.
The competition will be match play. After a hole is played the individual scores will be compared and the player with the lowest net score will win the hole. This will continue until one player wins the majority of the 9 holes. One point will be awarded to state of the winning player. If there is a tie each state’s player will receive ½ point.
The final competition will be a “Horse Race”.
The two person teams will start at a designated hole and will Alternate Drives on each hole if they advance. After the first hole the 6 teams with the low scores will advance for the second hole with any ties determined by a chip off. And finally the 3rd hole has 4 teams advancing with the winner having the low score on the hole –again with a chip of if necessary to determine 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places. Points will be awarded as follows: 1st -2 points, 2nd-1 point, and 3rd -½ point.
The results from the 4-ball matches, the singles matches, and the Alternating Shot “Horse Race” will be totaled for each State to determine the 2016 MBSA Ryder Cup Winner.
How do you qualify for this great event?
Your Ryder Cup “Bid” will be exactly that. Your bid will be whatever amount you would like to ensure you are able to represent your state and play a course that you likely could not get on by yourself as most of them are private. The amount should be enough to cover the cost of playing one of these spectacular courses and hopefully some additional to help fund the MBSA. (The minimum bid for 2016 will be $235) The top 8 or 10 bidders from each state will represent their state in the 2016 MBSA Ryder Cup Challenge and play these great courses. Any excess funds bid over the actual cost of golf will go to help fund the association’s programs and operations.
Since this is an important competition we would like to be able to verify handicaps if needed. If you become a winning “bidder” we will ask that you submit your handicap and the club you play out of with your club’s professional name and phone number. This will help your State’s Team Captain determine who to place you up against from the competing state.
Let’s get ready for some great golf with MBSA’s even greater golfers!
