2009 Event Summary

The 2009 Father and Three Sons Golf Classic was held on Friday, August 28th at Rebel Creek Golf Club, in Petersburg, Ontario - 15 minutes west of Kitchener. The day started off cold and blustery, conditions which persisted throughout the round.

Registration and Family Photos were conducted between 8am and 10:15am, during which time the range, putting and chipping facilities were made available.  A full-course breakfast was available in the clubhouse, which encouraged many family members to show up earlier than they otherwise might have.

The ceremonial tee off was held on the 1st tee, where 82 year old Tom Critelli and 8 year old Jaden Condotta both hit drives right down the fairway.  Tom was returning to the tournament with his family after a 25 year hiatus, while the Condotta family was participating in its first year.

Following the tee off and group photo, Geof Lauer then officially welcomed the participants on behalf of the Lauer and Williams families, hosts of the 2009 event.  At this time, a new addition to the tournament's stable was revealed, in the form of 50 tee blocks that had been laser-cut with the Father and Three Sons logo.  These join the 18 flag-sticks and the official tournament flag that is flown on the main mast at the host club on the day of the tournament.

The shotgun start got underway shortly after 10:30am, with 29 families on the course.  The October-like temperatures and strong winds marked much of the round, with a bit of rain added to the mix with about 4 holes to go.

In addition to the Longest Drive and Closest to the Pin holes the beautiful Par 3 #3 was set up as a Beat the Pro hole, where golfers donated $5 or more for a chance to Beat the Pro on closest to the pin, as well as to have their name entered in a draw for a 23" flat screen HD TV.  Unbeknownst to some of the golfers, Katie Erie, a golf pro with Whistle Bear Golf Club near Cambridge, Ontario, was in fact the daughter/sister of the Paul Williams host family.  Following the round she humbly suggested that she had been hitting ok but been bested by several of the golfers throughout the day.  During the reception, however, there were very few who boasted that they had indeed Beat the Pro.  More important than bragging rights for Katie was that she helped raise $700 for Prostate Cancer Research.

The upside of the weather was that golfers were encouraged to move quickly, which resulted in a sub 5 1/2 hour round. The cool conditions also resulted in a shorter than usual lineup for the showers, meaning most participants were gathered in the bar and banquet areas well in advance of the planned 5:30 start time.

Despite the extra long time between rounds and the banquet, many players still neglected to turn their scorecards into the Pro Shop in a timely manner, something they were admonished for by Geof Lauer shortly after he took to the podium and got the evening's events underway.

Following an eloquent grace by Bruce Waite, supper was served, first to the Fathers and hosts and then to the sons by table.  A fantastic buffet was set up in the bar area with dual lines working their way through salads, potatoes, vegetables, rolls, chicken supreme and roast beef with peppercorn sauce.  There was plenty for extra helpings and a wonderful array of sweets and desserts to follow it all.

Shortly after the last table had gotten its food, the middle sons were called to the front to line up and introduce their families in turn.  In addition to introducing the families, those at the podium were quick to thank the Lauer and Williams families for the outstanding job of organizing, and full of compliments for the course , facilities and staff at Rebel Creek Golf Club.

Throughout the introductions the importance of family was a common refrain, with some personal and poignant remarks by several sons, one of whom reminded the group that "as long as you have family that will stick by you, you can get through anything."  Another son, pointing out the importance of the tournament for his family remarked "this isn't just the highlight of my father's year, it's the highlight of his life."  This year marked the return of the Critelli family, whose last appearance had been in 1984, and the once again annual appearance of the MacDonald family, who returned to the tournament in 2008 after a 31 year hiatus.

While introducing his family, Scott Finlayson read aloud a letter from his father, Fred, who was unable to play due to a long and difficult rehabilitation from hip and knee surgery.  Having his grandson play in his stead so as to not leave the organizers short a team they had planned on, Fred wanted the group to know how important the tournament was to him and his family.  Choked with emotion, Scott read his father's words conveying the importance of this tradition for his family.  Fred considers this tournament a major motivation to return to health, holding up Tom Watson as a hip recipient who came back as good as ever!  Those words drew a standing ovation from the group, and calls of well-wishing to the Finlaysons to be carried to their father.

Keeping with tradition, the longest ovations and loudest cheers were reserved for those families whose sons introduced them as first-year participants.  In 2009, that meant the middle boys of the Condotta, Nishikawa and Harris families were overwhelmed by clapping, cheers, whistles and roars, welcoming them into this grand tradition.

The same reaction greeted Matthew Carroll when he announced it was their first year as well.  It took the near miss of a bread roll thrown at his head from the direction of the Luciani/Boddy sons' table to convince him to fess up that it was in fact their 4th year.

Following the introductions, the 2009 Awards were handed out, with trophies and keepsakes presented to the various winners by Matt and Sy Williams.  This year saw some repeats, with the Lancasters score of 307 garnering the Low Gross trophy for the second straight year, and Michael Boyer repeating for Longest Drive (Fathers).  Longest Drive for the Sons was newcomer Paul Harris, and Closest to the Pin honours went to Terry Mizzen (Father) and Jason Nash (Son).  First year family, the Condottas, including the youngest participant of the tournament Jaden (at 8 years old), took Low Net with a score of 294.

The Closest to the Lauers trophy (and re-gift of turkey platters from 2008) was good-naturedly accepted by the Moro family, who carded in with a 427 combined.  Due the Sketchley family's absence this year, the Closest to the Coyles trophy was awarded to the Bruce Waite family for 21 years consecutive participation.  To round out the prizes, a draw was made for the flat-screen HD TV donated by host Paul Williams for the Beat the Pro fundraiser, with Todd Finlayson as the lucky winner.

The last official words of the 2009 tournament were those of Geof Lauer bidding everyone safe travels and reminding all that "it’s not about golf, it’s about Family!"