10th Foxburg Hickory Championship

The Tenth Foxburg Hickory Championship was recently held August 10th and 11th. The weather forecast was iffy at best, but poor weather did not arrive, and temperature and conditions were perfect for golf, sunny skies, cool temperatures in the morning, warming up to the low 80’s by the time the rounds were completed.

The course was in great shape, and as usual, was the star of the show. Catered lunches both days, pre 1900 museum on the premises, and the large clubhouse porch help make the event a success.
Each contestant was provided a sand tee mold to help utilize the stone cut sand and water boxes this 130 year old venue provides.

To the golf:
The Open Division required play with the Park gutty provided by the Brown-McIntyre Golf Company, as well as the use of sand tees. We have taken the liberty to describe some of the play in this division.
Competition was keen among the primary contenders. Steve Simer (Madison, WI) was the first round leader with a fine 81, holding a 2 shot lead over Jeremy Wright (Louisville KY.) and Tom Johnson (Tallmadge, OH), and 3 shots over J.W. McMath (New Philadelphia, OH).

The first 9 of the second day, Mr. Wright posted a great score of 38, gaining shots on the balance of the Open Division. Jeremy posted another 38 for his score on the second 9, finishing with a tremendous 76 the second day, winning the Championship.

Mr. Simer maintained his steady play, finishing in 2nd place in the Open Division, with Mr. McMath (2015 Champion) finishing 3rd.There are 2 Divisions using the Braid or Vardon style ball offered by Brown-McIntyre, Senior and Super Senior. Reviewing the action, the first round had Mr. Ray Raccuglia (Jackson, NJ) tied with Mr. James Kaiser (Louisville, KY) with fine scores of 86, followed by Mr. Scott Peterson (Grandville, WI) with 90, and Mr. Mike Campailla (Mogadore, OH) with 94.

The second round again saw Ray and James with identical scores of a fine 84, resulting in our 3rd playoff in this Division in 10 years. Ray won the playoff with a 4 on the difficult 7th hole, to James’ score of 5.

The overall Champion of the Braid Division was of course, Ray Raccuglia (NJ). James Kaiser was the Senior Division Champion, Mike Campailla coming in 2nd place, Scott Peterson finishing 3rd in the Division.

The Super Senior competition was also keen. First round results has Mr. John Brosnahan (Foxburg, PA) with a fine 91, Mr. Ron Taylor (Wheatland, PA) 92, Dr. Bern Bernacki (Pittsburgh, PA), followed my Mr. James Koss (Oneida, WI), Mr. James Clawson (Charlottesville, VA), and Mr. Ted Tharan (Foxburg, PA).

Second day scores showed Ron Taylor with an 88, John Brosnahan with a 89, resulting in a tie for 1st place. Ron won the Division enduring a 3 hole scorecard playoff. Jim (Wally) Koss improved to a second round score of 91 finishing 3rd, one shot ahead of Jim Clawson.

Mr. Bob Mirt was Champion of the post-1900 Fox Division which uses the Ouimet ball provided by Brown-McIntyre.

As is customary, we were honored to host 5 youngsters from the First Tee of Pittsburgh golf program. The use of hickory equipment brings together their teachings and understanding of golf history, which is a portion of their personal development program.

They were joined by Mr. Jonathen Raccuglia, and 11 year and first time participant at Foxburg. This young man has a terrific golf game, and has enjoyed playing hickory golf for several years.

Jonathen was the low score among this group of competitors, with a fine round of 89. He was followed closely by Dylan Matthews with 91, Patrick Bush finished with 97. This was Dylan’s and Patrick’s second opportunity to join us, it was terrific to see them again, and the improvement in their game and self-confidence.

The other First Tee contestants were Tyler Manfred, Harrison Salvie, and Ethan List. I am not confident of the spelling of the young men’s names; I apologize if they are not correct.

Additional notes:
The Foxburg Hickory Championship was recently provided a generous donation to do with as we see fit to enhance the Championship. We took advantage of this opportunity to provide a $500 donation to Foxburg Country Club, to be used by the Board of Directors at their discretion.

Jeff, Keeper of the Foxburg Green, again brought out an early greens mower for us to gawk at and talk about. It is a push reel mower, and looks as if it still would work Jeff has been at Foxburg for over 42 years.
Karen and I would like to thank everyone that took the time and made the effort to attend the Tenth Foxburg Hickory Championship. We enjoyed seeing everyone again, and look forward to seeing you soon.

The Eleventh Championship is scheduled for August 9th and 10th, 2019, our 11th year.
Scores and photos below. Jeremy the Open Champion, and the 2nd day group photo featuring future contestant Jameson McMath in the top row.Gutty golf, the most difficult golf you could ever play, with the best friends you could ever meet.