Overview:

Over a decade ago, male members of Extendicare Health Services' Reimbursement Department began to gather at local golf courses. Usually congregating in groups of four, these men found mutual joy in hitting golf balls into various ponds, woods, sand, and - occassionally - a small hole on a secluded green. Despite the joy, Tom "Big Daddy" Johnson always found an excuse to not play. Quotes like "I've got to work on my landscaping at my new home" and "Extendicare needs me to work on Medicare Cost Reports" prevented Big Daddy from sharing quality time with his fellow co-workers.

Finally, in a desperate attempt to get him on a golf course and personally witness his poetic swing, the idea was hatched to create a tournament in Big Daddy's honor. After all, who could turn down the opportunity to golf in an outing - especially when the outing has your name on it?

Entering its 13th (yikes!) year, the Greater Big Daddy Invitational continues to flourish - as it celebrates Tom Johnson's annual venture onto a golf course. Previous BDI outings at Silver Spring, Ironwood, Autumn Ridge, Kettle Moraine, Deertrack, Olde Highlander, the Broadlands, the Fairways at Woodside, Nagawaukee, Morningstar, Rolling Hills, and Kettle Hills have resulted in countless memories. Hopefully, BDI XIII will add to those lasting memories!

This Year's Event:

The 13th annual Big Daddy Invitational will be held at Washington County Golf Course in Hartford, Wisconsin. Our first tee time is 8:27am. About an hour's drive northwest of downtown Milwaukee, the course sits in the secluded heart of Wisconsin's picturesque Kettle Moraine area. Measuring over 7,000 yards from the back tees and 6,198 from the very playable white tees, this public golf course was designed by the renowned Arthur Hills and opened for play on April 1, 1997.

Affordable, playable, and stylish, WCGC has received a 4 1/2-star rating and was once ranked second in the nation among municipal golf courses by Golf Digest, making it a course as challenging as it is beautiful. The course is nestled along the Rubicon River environmental corridor and boasts panoramic views of Powder Hill and Holy Hill.

An ever-present wind, which makes club selection and aim critical, gives the course its bite. Additionally, there are approximately 44 bunkers strategically placed around the course and water hazards are in play. Unfortunately, I am too familiar with many of the hazards on this course.

The course features a monstrous driving range with 6 different target greens, a short-game area, and a 3-hole practice course that includes a putting green, chipping green, and bunkers. These features make it one of the best practice facilities in the state.


WCGC has hosted the USGA Regional Public Links Qualifiers during each of the last 10 years, the 2000 Wisconsin PGA Championship, the 2001 Wisconsin State Junior Championship, the 2002 Wisconsin PGA Match Play Championship, the annual Washington County Scratch Pro-Am, and the 2006 US Open Qualifying Round. I'm sure that they'll be adding the 2010 Big Daddy Invitational to their website soon!

A quick snapshot of all our other outings shows that Washington County will be the most difficult course that has ever hosted a Big Daddy Invitational. So, despite the fact that we've played longer courses over the years, this course will be our most challenging.

More often than not, the Slope rating of a course defines its difficulty, and here are the slope ratings (from hardest to easiest) of all the courses that we've golfed at thru the years:

I can't verify that Washington County has a specific dress code. Nevertheless, I'd recommend wearing a collared shirt and nice shorts on June 25th. This is a classy outing, after all!

Here's a quick peak at Washington County's scorecard. You may click on the image to take a better look.

Flyover Video Tour:

If you don't get too dizzy, here is a flyover video tour of Washington County Golf Course:

Prizes:

Before we all hit our first ball at the 1st tee, Steve Schroeder will collect $6 from every golfer for prizes. At the same time, we ask that everyone simply pay for their round of golf ($49) in the clubhouse the morning of the event.

Everyone's $6 contribution will go into a prize kitty that will be distributed as follows:

(1) A $20 cash prize will be awarded to the person with the longest drive on a to-be-determined hole. Remember, your drive must be in the fairway!

(2) A $20 cash prize will be awarded to the person closest to the pin on a to-be-determined pool.

(3) A $20 cash prize will be awarded to the person who sinks the longest putt (or chip) on the final hole.

The Foursomes:

Once we've got a full roster of golfers, we will assign the foursomes. In particular, we will take great care to keep people from repeatedly golfing with the same people year-after-year. However, that may prove to be an unrealistic goal this year.

As a reminder, here were our groups last year:

Group #1:

Group #2:

The 19th Hole:

After we've finished our rounds of golf, we will gather for our usual post-round activities (i.e. handing out the prizes, taking pictures, eating, drinking, etc) at a to-be-determined location.

We'll figure out those details as the date approaches. If you have any suggestions, feel free to shoot me an email!

One of our initial suggestions is to congregate at the Mineshaft in Hartford. Besides boasting the state's largest restaurant and bar, it also has a large game room on its top floor. Here's a quick link to the restaurant's website:

http://www.mineshaftrestaurant.com/

If anyone has another idea, throw it out to the group.