The usual suspects and some new gluttons for punishment turned out for the eighth annual Vukelic Cup tournament.

The Force was capably represented by Dave Cantrell, Mike Heilman, Russ Hanson, Chuck Ortlip, Doug Volk, and Bob Tonolli.

Battling on behalf of the Dark Side were Larry Schmidt, a/k/a Bob Denver, Dale Hoerauf, Nick Kjos, Dennis Steele, Scott Halvorson, and Bob Freed.  We gathered at Painted Woods golf course near Washburn on September 20, 2009.

Dale demonstrates how he gets such incredible length for a man of his size.  Each year, I incorporate at least one goofy rule in the tournament.  In 2006, golfers were required to play opposite-handed on #12 at Riverwood, a par 3.  There were plenty of expletives deleted at the time.  For this tournament, Dale suggested everyone be required to use a driver off the #1 tee.  It was tempting as the par 4 has the river on the left and railroad tracks on the right.  The longer you hit the ball, the narrower the fairway becomes.  But being the beneficent man I am, I scrapped the idea in favor of something less cruel.  More about that later.

Dave tries to coax a putt into the cup on #4, a green designed by the Marquis de Sade.  Big hitters can reach this par 5 in two, but putting on it is another matter entirely.  The first round had two-man teams playing 3 holes of best ball, followed by 3 holes of alternate shot, and finishing with 3 holes of scramble play.

Speaking of big hitters, Bob Freed had the best drive on #9, landing about 50 yards from the green.

Chuck taps his ball away from the hole after his putt was conceded following a nice chip on #8.

Bob Tonnoli knocks in a birdie putt on #8.  He and Doug were the hottest team during the first round.

More