The Champion‍

Lets start with this year’s champion, Bob Grice. Bob finished with a winning score of net 73,  and lived up to his billing of an all around game. Between his steely nerve and incredible ability to 3 putt one or two times less than the contenders, he was able to outlast the field at Bandon Trails and put on the treasured Pukas.

Top Play(s)

The hole in 1

Leave it to Bob to overshadow himself, but clearly the hole in one on Sheep Ranch number 3, made by our eventual champion is the story of the week. Pulling a gap wedge from 111, which Kyle said was “a lot of club”. Bob drew one in that Kieran (no idea how to spell it) said was “100 percent in, most likely”. And with a glorious flag stick pull, the ball popped free. As free as the drinks were for the rest of the round for everyone else playing that day. 

The Ward PR

Nick absolutely smashed his former PR with a new low at the OG Bandon Dunes. Shooting 84 (NET 61) on monday morning and shattering his former low of 88. I’m actually surprised Nick didnt have to ship a box of bandon swag back to his house. Impressive round my dude, continue to live high and shoot low. 

The quietest 77

Not sure how many people know this with Bob’s spotlight stealing hole in 1 at Sheep.  But at Sheep Ranch, Ty shot a PR 77 and was the only one to break 80 during the trip. And that was after opening with an inauspicious tee shot and triple bogey on hole 1. Let that be a lesson to all of us that how you start doesn’t have to be how you finish. After the opening drive, It was a quiet display of consistency and grit that should be celebrated. 

The loop

100 percent when we go back to Bandon we are using that again, worth every penny. 

Not top play(s)

• Stableford for match play. Yeah didn’t think that one through, we won’t be doing that again. 
• The Wallet… The Three Iron… The luggage… damn Bob get your life together. 
• The town of Bandon - Had single JJ been on this trip I’m sure I wouldve heard how much that sucked to no end. Cause it was Dead as F in downtown Bandon.
• Larry and Chad having to change rooms every night, sorry boys we owe you one for that. Pro tip from Jon, grease the check in guy/gal.
• Getting no pics with the caddies. 
• The Forge - No more words needed. 

Additional Superlatives

(keep in mind this is the best i could see based on the rounds played with y’all)

Best Overall performer - Bob Grice

This was actually a tougher choice than you would think, Ty was clearly in the running based on his overall play throughout the week, but when you consider Bob’s hole in one, his championship tuesday round, which was his highest all week, making putts that mattered including a match closing 8 footer on 18 of Bandon and the fact that he clearly won the overall earnings, and then paid out of his own pocket dearly for the hole in 1, you have to award him the best overall performer.

Best Driving -Chris Cruz

In the last 2 years the distance gap between myself and our group had closed dramatically. And in my first 9 holes of the year at commonground many of my drives were going the same distance or barely farther than other OBI competitors.  Also Rumors had starting swirling about “such and such getting a new driver” and “hitting it furthest out of us all round” , words like “i hit one 320” or “at my fitting it showed i was swinging it 113 mph” (says the fitting guy sellin you the club 😉) No one ever explicitly said “such and such is longer than you” or “im longer than you”... but in my mind… they did. And I took that personally. And after this trip I feel the distance debate is closed until my body deteriorates ahead of you all since im older, or we have another kid that sucks any remaining athleticism and energy out of me. 

Best Approaches - Ty Katsos

Unofficially the most greens in regulation hit in every round except for championship tuesday, and with a 3 under stretch through the middle 6 of Bandon Dunes, due to precision irons, and consistently good iron play leading to a PR 77 at sheep Ranch. Ty takes the crown for best approach game. Between that and a not so great Club Champion experience, I think those irons have bought themselves a few more years in the bag. 

Best Putting - Kyle Crowley 

This is 100 percent an eye test call, but dang I saw that guy with a lot of 1 putts this week, and I heard it from other competitors too. On championship tuesday After his opening birdie at 1 and being the only person without a 3 putt through the first 6 holes of bandon trails, he was the clear leader before a big number at 7 and some back 9 demons came to haunt him. 

Most Improved - Kyle Crowley

Though Nick’s 84 was def the top single round performance of the week. I’m going to award this one to Kyle Crowley. For context as little as 2.5 years ago Kyle struggled to break 100. And even earlier this summer fought what i'll affectionately call a ”fingerblasting slice block” miss. 2 months ago he sought the advice of a "local swing guru", tweaked the club face and went from hiting slices to draws, and was able to implement it in tournament play with pretty good consistency and smoothness. If there was a best tempo award, Kyle would be up for that too. Great job my dude. With your putting, I believe you have a golf swing you can build upon to consistently be in the mid to low 80s and breaking 80 is coming sooner and more frequently than you think. 

Best “Playa” -Larry Duncan 

With no JJ to attempt to talk to girls and later find out they are married and uber home alone, there was no clear favorite for this award. Until the flight. Larry Duncan made hay early,  scoring digits from his male seat mate, really before the trip even got started. Then he piled it on by getting teamed up with arguably the coolest caddy and his new man crush Eric, who has already put on Larry’s calendar a future visit to share a beer and an OTPHJ.

The Venue

A recap would not be complete without a shout out to the Venue that is Bandon Dunes. In this commissioners opinion the venue lived up to the hype. Though I dont believe it’s home to the best singular golf course we played, nor is it the best value or the easiest to book. But from an overall golf perspective, every round had a high level of enjoyment, scenery and memories. The caddies were awesome and on the whole significantly better than its east coast competitor as was the food. The par 3 provided spectacular holes and viewing, and the customer service on the whole lived up to the billing of a top resort.  Bandon crossings also proved perfect for what it needed to be for that day and had excellent customer service and no drink limit. Will we go to Bandon every year, no. Are there other venues I want to check out before coming back, yes. But will we be back and was it arguably the top destination so far. Yes and Yes. 

Closing commissioners Note

A great segway to my closing note, As great as the venue was, I can say with 100 percent confidence, as sure as Kieran was about the hole in 1, that I would’ve had an awesome time and experience at almost every venue we’ve ever been to. Because the OBI is not a place or even a tournament… it’s a people. (if you get that movie reference, good for you) I got a lot of thank yous before, after and during the trip, which is not lost on me. And now it’s my turn to say Thank you, to all of you. Every single person on this years trip embodies all the blessings, fortuitous meetings and friends I’ve had living all over the country, and I couldn’t be more proud and happy to organize this annual pilgrimage. Here’s to closing out the OBI 2023, stay tuned for whats in store for 2024. 

‍