In the morning, we played the ‘Black’ routing of ‘The Loop’ – Tom Doak’s ‘reversable’ course.
It’s a fascinating concept. There are eighteen greens, eighteen flags. The counterclockwise course (the ‘Red’ routing) is played one day and the clockwise course (‘Black Routing’) played the next. There is only ever one flag per green. Over two days of play, each green is approached from two significantly different directions.
Although both routings cover the same grounds, they play as two different courses. And, they are rated separately by the golfing media – both in the top 100 US rankings.
The game for our round on the Loop, Black is ‘Foursomes’, stroke play with a twist. Team members play as partners. Player 1’s raw scores are recorded as the team score for the odd holes & player 2’s for the even holes. The team’s handicap is subtracted from the team gross. Lowest score wins the match.
> Match 1 – Dick & Kevin (Bolo) vs. Terry & Al (Bozo)
> Match 2 – Ron & Mike (Bolo) vs. Jerry & Don (Bozo)
> Bolos prevail in Match 1 (84/93)
> Bozos take Match 2 (88/100)
> Low Gross – Jerry @ 79
> Low Net – Terry @ 76
The afternoon round format on the Bootlegger course is ‘Lagging’, a crowd favorite. In ‘lagging’, the score on each hole doesn’t matter. After all 4 players are on the putting surface points are awarded for proximity to the pin.
> Match 1 – Ron & Kevin (Bolo) vs. Jerry & Terry (Bozo)
> Match 2 – Mike & Dick (Bolo) vs. Al & Don (Bozo)
> Bolos rule in a sweep of both matches!
> In a runaway, Mike takes 1st prize in the technique department.
End of day 2 team scores:
> Bozos – 3 points
> Bolos – 5 points
We finished off the day with a drive to Grayling and a meal at ‘Rays – BBQ & Blues’. Good tap list, nice barbecue on the banks of the Au Sable river.
