Don’t miss your chance to participate in a true Ryder Cup style 3-day event! A field of 96 players (eight teams of 12) will compete for over $20,000** in cash prizes. This All-Inclusive trip to Florida will include:
GOLF, FORMAT and PRIZE POOL
5 rounds of golf, to be played at Black Bear Golf Club in Eustis, Florida. Range balls, carts with gps, and club storage are all included as well. All 5 rounds will be played as shotguns: 36 holes will be played Thursday, 36 holes Friday, and 18 holes Saturday.
True to the Ryder Cup, teams of 12 players will compete in match play as follows:
**** All matches will be based on current handicaps as of 10/31/18, so a valid and current handicap is required to participate in this tournament.
This is sure to be a fun 3-day event, filled with great competition, food/drink, and camaraderie. You can sign up as a single, twosome, foursome, or with any number of friends. Put together an entire 12-person team if you like. Otherwise I will equitably put the teams together based on handicaps once the entire field is set.
This trip is being offered as an All-Inclusive package,with a price of $1,650 by cash/check, or $1,695 by credit card. A $500 non-refundable deposit** is required to ensure your place in the field, with the balance due no later than October 31 st . Spots will not be “held”, rather the first 96 people to put down their deposits are in. Any questions about this or any other aspects of the trip, please don’t hesitate to email, call or text me: 917-327-8544 or cac1024@aol.com
Black Bear Golf Club is unique for Florida golf, in that it is a links style course with undulating fairways, greens, and runoff/collection areas. A P.B. Dye design, there are many bunkers, generous fairways, and almost no water. The course has an interesting layout, is challenging but fair, and is kept in excellent condition.
** The non-refundable $500 deposit WILL be refunded to you if either you or I are able to replace you in the field by December 1 st
The Itinerary:
Our American Airlines direct flight departs JFK at 8:53pm, arriving in Orlando at 11:56pm. The shipping of your golf clubs to and from Orlando is included (and highly recommended) in the cost of the trip. To take advantage of this, please deliver your clubs to me in Danbury no later than Saturday December 1 st . Buses will be waiting at the Orlando airport to take us to the hotel. With no bags to wait for, we should arrive at the hotel by 1am.
Buses will depart the hotel promptly at 7am. A buffet breakfast will be available at the hotel beginning at 6am. We should arrive at Black Bear Golf Club by 7:30am. Breakfast sandwiches and coffee will also be provided at the golf course, so if sleep is more important than the hotel breakfast, that’s definitely an option. Your clubs will already be loaded on carts, and no need to register or check in. You can proceed straight to the driving range or putting green for warmup, returning to the clubhouse by 8am. Announcements will be made and the shotgun will start at approximately 8:15am.
Round 1 should end between 12:45 and 1:00. When you get to the clubhouse, a buffet lunch of burgers/dogs/brats will be ready to go. There won’t be much time between rounds, so feel free to take food out on the course with you for round 2. Announcements will be made at 1:30, with the 2 nd shotgun hopefully beginning by 1:45.
Round 2 should be quicker, with the alternate shot format only putting 2 balls in play on each hole. When you come off the course around 6pm, grab a beer and a cup of chowder. A clambake dinner will immediately follow. After dinner/dessert, the putting and 19 th hole contests will both run from about 7 to 9pm, and then the buses will take us back to the hotel around 9:15.
Friday will run much the same as Thursday. Any changes to Friday’s timing etc will be announced on Thursday. Dinner will also be served at the golf course on Friday, with the menu consisting of pulled pork and chicken, lasagna, sides and dessert. After dinner, the completion of the putting and 19 th hole contests will take place. We will again head back to the hotel around 9:15pm.
A buffet breakfast will again be available starting at 6am, with checkout from the hotel by 8am. Buses will depart for the golf course at 8:15am. One 18 hole singles match will be played at 9:30am, followed by an awards luncheon. Buses will then depart for the Orlando airport for a 7:30pm flight back to LGA. Your golf clubs will be shipped the next day, and will be delivered to your club on/about December 12th.
The Competition:
This tournament is designed to follow the Ryder Cup as closely as possible, which will make for a fun tournament. Everyone will be on a team of 12, and once the field of 96 is set, the 8 teams will be created as equitably as possible, based on handicaps. Anyone who wants to be part of the same team can do so, whether you are a twosome, foursome, etc. The final teams won’t be formed until 4-6 weeks before the trip, so there will be plenty of time to see who is playing in terms of pairing up. Putting together your own 12 man team is absolutely encouraged!
Just as with the Ryder Cup, points will be earned for each match, although the number of points eligible to be earned for each match is yet to be determined (Unlike the Ryder Cup, there may be points awarded for front, back, and overall, for example).
Also keeping true to the Ryder Cup, all 5 rounds will be played on the same course. Black Bear is well suited to host an event such as this, with an exceptionally large driving range and putting green, a 70-yard par 3 bonus hole for competitions after the rounds, and an outdoor dining area that will comfortably handle 100 + people. More importantly, the course is both challenging and interesting, and will provide a fun test of golf for all 5 rounds. Carts equipped with GPS and yardage books will further help you to quickly get acclimated to the course.
All matches will be played based on 70% of your handicap. Because of this, you must have a valid handicap established by 10/31/18. Any questions on this, please ask. You can play with the teammate of your choosing on Day 1 and Day 2, and they can be the same or different each day. However, you must have the same teammate for all 36 holes on each day. Matches for rounds 1-4 will be created with the idea of having the fewest number of “dots” on the scorecard. The singles match on Day 3 will be based on the standings going into that day, and so you will not be able to choose who your cart mate is for that last round. The singles match will also pair comparable handicaps against each other as best as possible.
As you can see, there are many ways you can collect, and all prizes for competition and contests will be paid in cash during the awards luncheon. More information will be made available on contest payouts as the trip draws nearer, but the $500/$300/$200 (per person) prizes for the teams finishing 1 st , 2 nd , and 3 rd are set. The $100 per man for winning “Sunday money” will go to the team that earns the most points in their Saturday singles matches but fails to finish in the top 3 teams.
Some notes about food/beverage:
With this truly being an all-inclusive offering, you can go on this trip without a dollar in your pocket if you so choose. There will be plenty of food, and unlimited domestic beer, bottled water, Gatorade, and iced tea. That being said, if you are a wine or liquor drinker, that will only be offered in the form of a cash bar. I have negotiated all gratuities in advance, so no need to tip for club cleaning or to the wait staff, for example. On-course drinks and snacks will be available in coolers every 3-4 holes for self-serve.
If you are a vegetarian or have any other food allergies or restrictions, please let me know well in advance, so accommodations can be made for you at the golf course. In terms of needing to choose any food in advance, only the clambake on Thursday night requires a choice of lobster or steak to be made about 1 week beforehand (I recommend buddying up with someone to have 1 of each and create a “surf and turf” option!).
If you have any energy left for hitting the local bars after waking up early, playing 36 holes, having dinner, and participating in the post round contests, that would also be out of your own pocket (as would any taxis or Ubers). I will do some research to be able to recommend a few places to go out, but where we are staying/playing is relatively remote, so there may not be much to choose from.
Accommodations:
In order to keep pricing as reasonable as possible for this trip, I concluded that where we stay isn’t as important as where we play, what we eat/drink, and what we compete for. With this in mind, I have contracts in place with both a Hampton Inn and a Comfort Inn, and one will be chosen so that we are all staying at the same hotel. Both are more than adequate, without being fancy. The price of the trip is based on 2 guys (and of course 2 beds) per room, and you are encouraged to choose your roommate. If you are coming on the trip as a single, you will be assigned a roommate. However, if you prefer a room to yourself, let me know and I will get you pricing for that.
Payment terms, etc.
As mentioned, a $500 deposit is required to hold your spot in the field. This can be made by cash, check, or credit card (Visa, MC, Discover). The balance ($1,150 by cash or check, $1,195 by credit card) is due no later than 10/31/18. If the trip is canceled due to bad weather in NY/CT, you will receive a full refund. If the trip goes off as planned but the golf is rained out, only refunds for the golf will be provided at $50 per round not played. If the trip is cancelled in advance of the flight on 12/5 due to bad weather in Florida, a full refund will be provided.
If you have put your $500 deposit down and then are unable to go on the trip, every effort will be made to replace your spot in the field so that you can recoup your deposit. However, this is not guaranteed, and I can only offer to do my best in this regard (which I will most definitely do). Hopefully you can find your own replacement, which will of course allow you to recoup your $500 deposit. A signed contract going over all of this will be offered for your review, and will be required at the time the deposit is placed.