For members who may not know the entire story behind the Men’s League, in honour of our 10th Anniversary, we thought it might be fun to look at the history of what has undoubtedly become the most successful golf program at our wonderful Brantford Golf & Country Club.

     The whole thing started in 2002 when our Golf Captain, Dave Gallant, asked the Men's Golf Committee to establish a Men's Night.  Dave felt  a golf "league" would help to build a little camaraderie around the club and it might even be good for our Food and Beverage sales.  So, in the spring of 2002, a young committee member named Pat Alpaugh volunteered to chair the newly minted, B. G. & C. C. "Men's Night" Committee.  The original committee consisted of Pat, Dave Gallant, Don Murphy, Dave Pugh, John Alpaugh and Jeff Snyder but it wasn't actually formed until either right at the end of the inaugural season or the beginning of the next year.  No one seems to know for sure.

      The Men’s League started in July with a blind draw, two-man better ball competition.  It’s a little sketchy as to who played that first week but there were about 7 people who showed up… (Pat, Harold Howe, Mike Lay, Don Murphy, Mike Galvin, John Alpaugh and perhaps one other).  The clubhouse was under construction so the guy’s gathered at the half-way house after 9-holes and compared score cards or, perhaps more accurately, compared the numbers on the cards.  How they managed to pair everyone up when they had an odd number of players was never determined.

      A few weeks in Mark Kerr, Bill Agoston, Richard Strite and John Alpaugh came on board as the very first sponsors which really made a big difference because now the participants were actually playing for something.  It’s somewhat legend now, but truth be told, I think they only agreed to sponsor it because they felt sorry for Pat and Dave Gallant.  “If it hadn't been for these four generous members getting involved, Pat says, “we probably wouldn't have stuck with it because we were literally getting 8 - 12 players per week.  It was mildly depressing.”

      The big boost came at the end of the second year when the Men’s League ran the first Swatfest.  No one had any idea what it was all about but, in keeping with the fly-by-night spirit of the event, several guys agreed to play.  It is believed that 58 of Brantford’s finest came out for the first Swatfest followed by a sing-a-long at the piano that people still talk about. Pat recalls, “I knew we had something when that season was over because there was a very good vibe around the club and there where many more people talking about it”.

      In 2004 the Men’s League introduced the full-blown team concept, the first Men's Night Team draft, online scoring and, in 2005, the all-important participation bonus was added along with the Live Scoring on the TV.  Those additions were big and it led to us reaching a major milestone; the 100 player mark was reached for the first time and the Men's Lounge was noticeably busier on Wednesdays.

      It was around this time that Alpaugh started the now infamous Men's Night blog which provided a much-needed hub for the league.  People logged on to the league website to check the scores but it was Pat's no-holds-barred writing style and unique sense of humour that really made the site popular.  Members like Don Murphy, Jeff Snyder, Jim Gillespie, et al were often the good-natured targets of Pat’s postings and the blog quickly became a must-read for everyone involved with Men's Golf.  Pat recalls that it was quite common for people to seek him out in order to describe a particularly embarrassing moment that a member had experienced with the hopes that he’d make their failure the focus of his weekly article.  He often did.

      As time went on, Men's Night at the club seemed to take on a life of its own; sponsors like Labatt's, Michael Hurley, Gabe Gasbarinni, Don Pritlove, Lee Munro, Gene Carrafiello, Nick Rizzo (to name just a few) helped create the many on-course prizes we play for today and features like the live scoring and the website meant everyone knew what was going on all the time.  A sign-up of 250 players was the norm and we were averaging 190 + players every week.  Word of our remarkable success actually traveled outside the club which led to a radio interview on the CHML Golf Show and an article in Fairways Magazine.  When I asked Pat what he thinks about it being the 10th Anniversary, he said, “it's hard to believe how far we've come since the beginning but I want everyone to know it was far from just me who made it happen.  A lot of good members put their heart and soul into Men’s Night and that’s what made the difference.”

      Beginning in 2011, a new Men's Night Committee was formed under the watchful eye of John Horan and things continued on as successfully as ever.  The Men's Lounge is usually booming on Wednesdays and John, Brad Sinclair, Mike Paling and Dave Burnham appear to have things well underway for the 2012 season, meaning our 10th year anniversary should be bigger and better than ever.   So from one ‘Useless Bastard’ to another..... help us celebrate our 10th anniversary with another great season.  Be sure to get your name on the sign-up sheet!

                                    Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of the party or…

                                             this is the part of the article when we ask for money!

     Great events don’t just happen by chance.  They require a dedicated committee and a compelling format bundled with and an entertaining presentation but perhaps most importantly; great events require great members to support them.  Since we began this thing 10 years ago, we’ve been extremely fortunate to have a core group of people who generously offered their help.  Thankfully, our list of sponsors has grown almost every year and that support has allowed us to continue to provide the members with a first-class event. 

      Our goal for the 10^th year anniversary of this event is to make it bigger and better than ever – more players, more activities, more fun and more prizes.  In order to do this we’re unabashedly making a plea to any members who’d like to get involved so we can continue to grow this thing.  If you’d like to help or if you have any questions regarding how you can get involved we’d love to hear from you.  Please contact either David Burnham (dburnham@tap.net) or John Horan (jhnhoran@rogers.com) to discuss what is available.

Thanks,

Dave Burnham