It's that time of year again. The two teams are set for the Super Bowl. The Seattle Rabbit's Foot, I mean the Seattle Seahawks (who are luckier than the Irish in the way they won their game against Green Bay) and the New England Deflataballs (you know what I mean) are getting ready for the 49th Super Bowl in Arizona on Sunday, February 1. Most people are going to have a hard time picking one of these two teams to root for including me.
This is also the time of year when I think back to a Super Bowl party that I absolutely loved hosting. It was a time when people who touched my life, past and present, friends and family, from the workplace, the neighborhood, and the sports fields gathered together, many for just that single day each year.
This is also the time of year, each Friday before the Super Bowl, when the annual "Former Masters Luncheon" is held in Fort Wayne, IN.
What is the Former Masters Luncheon? First, a Former Master is one of the nine people who emerged victorious at one of the ten Champions Invitational Putting Tourneys held from 2000 to 2009 in a basement of a home in Fort Wayne, IN on Super Bowl Sunday. Rather than Augusta's "Champions of the Masters", these winners are auGUSta's "Masters of the Champions". A "Former Master" of the Champions is no different than a "Former Champion" of The Masters Tournament held annually in Augusta, Georgia. Well, maybe just a bit less notorious. But not much.
And just as the former winners of the little tournament in Georgia attend their Former Champions Dinner the Wednesday before their tournament, the former winners of the tournament held in that Fort Wayne, IN basement attend the Former Masters Luncheon the Friday before the Super Bowl to eat, imbibe, and do a bit of reminiscing by looking back on a Super Bowl Party that became so big and so popular, it came to an end after ten years because of the sheer work it took to pull it off.
This is also the time of year when I think back to a Super Bowl party that I absolutely loved hosting. It was a time when people who touched my life, past and present, friends and family, from the workplace, the neighborhood, and the sports fields gathered together, many for just that single day each year.
This is also the time of year, each Friday before the Super Bowl, when the annual "Former Masters Luncheon" is held in Fort Wayne, IN.
What is the Former Masters Luncheon? First, a Former Master is one of the nine people who emerged victorious at one of the ten Champions Invitational Putting Tourneys held from 2000 to 2009 in a basement of a home in Fort Wayne, IN on Super Bowl Sunday. Rather than Augusta's "Champions of the Masters", these winners are auGUSta's "Masters of the Champions". A "Former Master" of the Champions is no different than a "Former Champion" of The Masters Tournament held annually in Augusta, Georgia. Well, maybe just a bit less notorious. But not much.
And just as the former winners of the little tournament in Georgia attend their Former Champions Dinner the Wednesday before their tournament, the former winners of the tournament held in that Fort Wayne, IN basement attend the Former Masters Luncheon the Friday before the Super Bowl to eat, imbibe, and do a bit of reminiscing by looking back on a Super Bowl Party that became so big and so popular, it came to an end after ten years because of the sheer work it took to pull it off.
The Former Masters, from left, Tom Putman (only two-time Master), Chris Morales, Gary Payne, Josh Rhodes, Gus Gutoskey, John Wood, Mike Heckman, Kim Dove, Jim Sprandel
As you might guess from the overall theme of the Logo Ball Traveler website, my Super Bowl Party had a golf theme. The party was actually a putting tournament that just happened to fall on Super Bowl Sunday. The first tournament took place on Super Bowl Sunday in 2000 and the final tournament on Super Bowl Sunday 2009. To provide a better feel for the scope of this event, read the following Press Release from 2006. You'll get the picture. See how many "plays" on that other tournament in Augusta, GA you can find below.
The Press Release
Competitors anxiously await the 7th Annual Champions Invitational Putting Tourney on Super Bowl Sunday. As always, the event will he held at venerable auGUSta Putting Links in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The event is a 32 person, single elimination tourney where competitors face off in nine hole tussles played under the match play format. The semifinals and finals are always held during halftime of the Super Bowl game.
auGUSta Putting Links
The Spoils of a Master Competitors vie for the coveted Green Hat and a piece of putting history. After being crowned by 2004 Master Gary Payne, Kim Dove was emotionally spent. He had just survived a 22 hole quarterfinal match with Mike Jaurigue (the longest match in Champions history), dispatched 2002 Master Tom Putman in a semifinal match, and captured the crown with a stirring 12 hole victory over Champions rookie Mike Carpenter.
Carpenter had defeated 2004 Master Gary Payne in the other semifinal match. “It took me three years to figure out this green and finally all my hard work has paid off,” Dove said. “Those four footers at Cedar Creek will seem like gimmies this year!” Payne chimed in “Kim won’t really appreciate the magnitude of his accomplishment until he dons his Hat at next year’s tourney. It is so special to be one of the few Former Masters.”
Carpenter had defeated 2004 Master Gary Payne in the other semifinal match. “It took me three years to figure out this green and finally all my hard work has paid off,” Dove said. “Those four footers at Cedar Creek will seem like gimmies this year!” Payne chimed in “Kim won’t really appreciate the magnitude of his accomplishment until he dons his Hat at next year’s tourney. It is so special to be one of the few Former Masters.”
2003 Master Jim Sprandel knows it is a moment Dove will always cherish. “It felt great to get that first one under my belt” Sprandel said. “Wearing the Green Hat with my name on the side as a Former Master is a big thrill every year.” Echoed Putman, “there’s nothing like being one of a very few putters who can wear the Green Hat during that day.” 2001 Master Josh Rhodes agrees. “It’s a piece of history.” Former Masters are not allowed to take the hat away from auGUSta and can only wear the hat on Tourney Sunday. The hats reside the other 364 days of the year on a mantle high above the par 18 auGUSta Putting Links.
The Green Hats of the Masters - They Never Leave auGUSta
Tourney founder and retired first Master of the Champions, Gus Gutoskey, is expecting the tourney’s strongest field this year. “Every year, the caliber of the competition eclipses the field of the previous year” stated Gutoskey. Gutoskey won the tourney the first year of the event and immediately retired.
The event caught on quickly. Gutoskey spends all his time during the day running the tourney and making sure his patrons and competitors are comfortable.
The event caught on quickly. Gutoskey spends all his time during the day running the tourney and making sure his patrons and competitors are comfortable.
One of the Two Local TV Stations Covering the Event In his human-interest story during the 2004 tourney, TV 15’s Anthony Ponce asked Gutoskey how the tournament came about. “I had a vision as I gazed out at the snowy fields of Fort Wayne during Super Bowl Sunday many years ago and I determined that an indoor putting tourney would be a lot of fun. It started out with a small group of friends and now it’s as big as I can handle in one day--32 putters” said Gutoskey.
When he and wife Linda designed their house over seven years ago, there was never a doubt the main feature of the lowest level would be a putting green worthy of one of the Midwest’s most prestigious winter putting competitions. Gutoskey turned his vision into reality after he designed and purchased his putting green from Synthetic Turf International, a Florida outfit who has installed similar greens in the homes of many PGA and LPGA stars. Gutoskey carefully planned and plotted the grade and after mixing and pouring nearly 50 bags of concrete to provide the undulations, his vision began to take form several weeks before he and his wife moved in.
When he and wife Linda designed their house over seven years ago, there was never a doubt the main feature of the lowest level would be a putting green worthy of one of the Midwest’s most prestigious winter putting competitions. Gutoskey turned his vision into reality after he designed and purchased his putting green from Synthetic Turf International, a Florida outfit who has installed similar greens in the homes of many PGA and LPGA stars. Gutoskey carefully planned and plotted the grade and after mixing and pouring nearly 50 bags of concrete to provide the undulations, his vision began to take form several weeks before he and his wife moved in.
The 18 x 30 foot kidney-shaped green is over 500 square feet and has five carefully placed permanent holes drilled into the floor. The speed of the green can be increased by adding green silica sand and working it into the artificial surface with a broom. “But we’ve never used bikini wax” joked Gutoskey who has spent many hours searching for the kinds of putts that separate a Master-putter from a Master-wannabe. He used the same hole routing during the first three years but found, as did the proprietors of a venue in Georgia, the course became less and less a stern test as the quality of the field improved. After much testing, Gutoskey found a routing worthy of the skill of today’s competitors. He delights in the fact that not a single competitor has been able to ace the first hole at auGUSta in the 226 times it has been played since the re-routing three years ago.
The name itself carries a bit of history. When the Gutoskeys first designed their house (which sits across the pond from the third hole at Cherry Hill Golf Club) the lowest level was christened “The Clubhouse”. During the second year of the tourney, the patrons urged Gutoskey to give his creation a bit more character by giving it an official name. One of the patrons suggested “Augusta” with the obvious play on Mr. Gutoskey’s first name. Soon, auGUSta Putting Links had its own logo and not long after, a neon sign.
Gutoskey begins planning each year’s event in earnest the previous December. Invitations are mailed Christmas Eve and soon, the responses start rolling in. No entry fee is required but the Gutoskeys ask both competitors and patrons to bring cans of food and other non-perishables for donation to the local Food Bank.
Gutoskey begins planning each year’s event in earnest the previous December. Invitations are mailed Christmas Eve and soon, the responses start rolling in. No entry fee is required but the Gutoskeys ask both competitors and patrons to bring cans of food and other non-perishables for donation to the local Food Bank.
The Green Fills Up Shortly Before the First Match as Competitors Test the Speed of the Surface
The Green Hat Ceremony - Morales and Heckman The event quickly fills up. A waiting list helps assure there’s always a full lineup the day of the event. The blind tourney draw is held the Sunday before the event and mailed to each competitor. The Gutoskeys spend the week prior to the event preparing the grounds for the competitors and their many patrons. Patrons (“don’t call them a mob” cautions Gutoskey) line the putting surface throughout the day as the competitors try to putt their way into the record book (which by the way, can always be found at the starter’s table just below the tourney bracket). The putting range opens at 12:30 and quickly fills with putters trying to gain an edge on their fellow competitors. At 12:55, Gutoskey clears the surface, the ceremonial first putt is struck, and at 1:00 sharp, he kicks off the event by announcing the first two competitors, their original birth city, and their prior Champions experience. He follows this ritual every 10 minutes for each of the 28 matches it takes to identify the final four. After a stoppage for the first half of the Super Bowl, the final three matches are held during halftime and a new Master is crowned.
Nobody Leaves auGUSta With an Empty Stomach
The Gutoskeys take special pride in the way they take care of their patrons. They provide much food and many beverages but have never been known to turn down thoughtful patrons who carry in various munchies, desserts, and beverages. The house specialty (and the official sandwich of auGUSta Putting Links) is hickory smoked beef brisket on a Kaiser roll with jalapeño jack cheese. Gutoskey stated “pimento cheese is in short supply during the cold Midwest winters. But it doesn’t matter; our patrons can’t get enough of this creation!” Another favorite is auGUSta’s famous Pepperoni bread that is served piping hot throughout the day by Gutoskey’s wife Linda.
No! It's mine!
Gutoskey is looking forward to the day when it will take a reception hall to handle the Former Master’s Luncheon. This special event is held the Friday before the Champions with the previous year’s Master coordinating the luncheon. “The days of fitting into a booth are over for this exclusive club now that we have six Former Masters,” he stated.
Veteran competitors are already beginning to plot their strategies for this year’s event. But as Steve Ramp stated two years ago, “There’s only so much you can do; you scratch and claw all day long and hope to get to that final nine because everyone knows the tourney doesn’t really start until the last nine on Super Bowl Sunday.” Kim Dove could not agree more!
The Former Masters Luncheon Lives On
So that's the story. Looks like those people were having fun! I REALLY miss this party--but I don't miss all the work it took to plan and conduct it. And I'm sure my wife agrees. And I have to admit, with everything going on that day, I didn't really get to absorb the Super Bowl game for those 10 years (during which my team, the Cleveland Browns, barely smelled a playoff game--so it really didn't matter all that much).
As long as the Former Masters Luncheon lives on (and it will as long as I'm around), we will always look back fondly on those ten years where friends from all walks of life got together for good food and beverages, a little friendly competition, and most important, good fellowship.
As long as the Former Masters Luncheon lives on (and it will as long as I'm around), we will always look back fondly on those ten years where friends from all walks of life got together for good food and beverages, a little friendly competition, and most important, good fellowship.
RSS Feed