The Bentley golfing crew was back in action for the 4th annual Kravin Cup at Crosswinds Golf Club in Plymouth, MA. Masterfully led by former Bentley Golf team captain Erik Swenson, 16 former and current team members joined together to play a 8 vs. 8 Ryder Cup style competition. It was a 27 hole event; 9 holes 2-man best ball, 9 holes 2-man scramble, and 9 holes individual match play. I couldn't be happier to have this day marked on the annual calendar. And I truly realized how much it means to be there after almost missing the day due to schedule conflicts with a wedding and work. I would have regretted it! Thanks to Swenson, I was able to sleep the ride down to Plymouth early Sunday morning (June 27) after a late, late wedding night which included an encounter with Kendrick Perkins, Al Jefferson, and Tony Allen at 230am in Boston. Will Perkins be done as a Celtic after his Game 6 NBA finals injury?
The golfing experience was classic; creating many new stories and reliving old ones. Terrence Tedeschi and myself battled Jay Gargiulo and Matthew Freedman in the first 9 holes, gaining a halve point with no one going up by more than 1 hole. Tedeschi calmly made a 30 foot putt on the 9th hole for birdie to halve the match.
On the second nine, the perennial Team Woburn of Billy Murphy and I put on a show beating our opponents 3 & 2 in the scramble format, shooting 5 under par after parring the last two holes. I was solid tee to green and Billy did his thing draining putts, including a 35 foot downhill bender for eagle on the first par 5. We rallied off birdie, eagle, birdie to take command of the match. The competitive juices are pumping every year when teaming up with Billy the Kid.
My final nine was a match against the sweet swinging Jay Gargiulo who puts like Ben Crenshaw. Fortunately, Jay missed some putts and I was steady throughout the match to win 3 & 2. I owe my success to keeping the ball in play as much as possible by picking spots and executing my plan.
I'm grateful for having a great group of friends like these guys. The day is always very competitive, but the results are overshadowed by the laughter and smiles between the crew.
Other Highlights: Erik Swenson outdriving Matt Freedman moments after Freedman said he would walk off the course if someone outdrove him on the long drive; first year we added long drive, closest to the pin, and skins to the event; Brandon McDowall holing a 25 yard pitch shot in a 'pitch off' to award the remaining cash pool...ridiculous shot and he used a Pinnacle golf ball.
Crosswinds: fun track, greens roll great and run at 10.5ish, fair layout but you can easily lose golf balls on errant golf shots, 27 holes, no clubhouse but large tent with nice grill food going during the day like you would get at home
Visualize, Think, and Tune prior to addressing golf ball, then trust your intuition.
Kurt
