Les Ruppel – Kohler Champion
North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina — March 9, 2014. Recap of Kohler weekend contributed by Frank Mejia. Arrived Thursday, March 6th, under the cloak of darkness with two camps setup. One at the Sleepy Inn in Little River and the other at a condo in Myrtle Beach. Probably after a few libations the camps finally fall to sleep, only to awaken to "rain".
Friday, March 7 — 1st Round, Sea Trail Resort, William Byrd course
The BGA players had break in the weather and were released off the back nine. As hearty and foolish as we were Mother Nature permitted us only 9-holes this day as she unleashed heavy rain at the turn. Ok, so much for the golf story, back to drinking and laughing. Nonetheless, we voted to capture the 9-holes and score them as part of the Kohler (modified Stableford scoring)
Friday Results
| 1. | Keith Ruppel | -2 |
| 2. | Les Ruppel | -3 |
| 3. | Frank Mejia | -3 |
| 4. | Bob Hoff | -5 |
| 5. | Chuck Petrilla | -11 |
| 6. | Pat Keough | -15 |
| 7. | Rodger Baker | -16 |
| 8. | Gary Price (FNG) | -18 |
The group had a divine lunch and plenty of drinks in the comfort of the clubhouse. Afterwards, the players returned to their respective camps to do whatever they wanted, but essentially regroup for Saturday’s play.
Friday, March 8 — 2nd Round, Sea Trail Resort, Dan Maples course
My, my what a difference a day makes. Cloudy in AM, with warm sunshine by high noon and temperature sky rocketed from chilly start of 40 to 68. Got to love it! The course drained beautifully and though there was not much fairway roll, the greens were packed and exceptionally fast. It was a super day!
Saturday Results
| T | |||
| 1. | Les Ruppel | +6 | +3 |
| 2. | Kieth Ruppel | +2 | 0 |
| 3. | Frank Mejia | +2 | -1 |
| 4. | Bob Hoff | -3 | -8 |
| 5. | Chuck Petrilla | -4 | -15 |
| 6. | Pat Keough | -12 | -27 |
| 7. | Gary Price (FNG) | -10 | -28 |
| 8. | Rodger Baker | -19 | -35 |
After we finished our round of 18, we threw in another 9 for fun in the likes of 2 – four man Captain’s choice. Losing foursome buys the other foursome one round of drinks. The group of Les, Frank, Chuck and Gary owe a round of drinks to Keith, Bob, Patrick, and Rodger. Or maybe we should just buy Rodger four drinks and call it even?
Sunday, March 9 — 3rd & Final Round, The Thistle
Arrived at a challenging Scottish links course designed by Scotsman Timothy Cate.
Beautiful day! Vivid blue sky, sparkling sunshine, and warmth would drench us today. Temps rose fast and by noon it was 75 degrees! The Thistle has 3-nine courses which permit the house to provide a variety of play by mixing the 9-hole rotation.
Today we played the Cameron, then moved to Stewart, with a finishing, intimidating 193 yd. Par 3.
Final Results
| T | |||
| 1. | Les Ruppel | +8 | +11 |
| 2. | Frank Mejia | +9 | +8 |
| 3. | Kieth Ruppel | -7 | -7 |
| 4. | Bob Hoff | -4 | * -8 |
| 5. | Chuck Petrilla | -7 | * -14 |
| 7. | Gary Price (FNG) | -6 | * -18 |
| 6. | Pat Keough | -22 | * -32 |
| 8. | Rodger Baker | ** WD |
* HDCP. adjustment from Fri/Sat
** injured
Congratulations to this years Kohler Champion Les Ruppel. This steady 71 year old, plays regularly, is a fine gentleman, and loves this game as we do. It shows what we have to look forward to when we retire.
Leaving the warmth of the NC Calabash area, the golf, the camaraderie and 75 degree temperature, we guided our vehicles to the northward trek home and the drop in temperatures to the upper 30’s, and return to winter snow. Point being, we’d go back in a skinny second for this weekend in the midst of winter. That’s why we do it!