Wild Turkey team wins Crystal Springs Employee Championship

HARDYSTON — A tradition at the Crystal Springs Golf Resort is to celebrate the end of the golf season with the playing of a golf championship in which each of the Resort’s golf courses, Ballyowen, Wild Turkey, Crystal Springs, Cascades and Mineralss compete for the honor of having their courses name added to the Crystal Springs Employee Championship perpetual trophy.
This year’s event marked the 22nd playing of the event.
Golfers competed at their home golf course to qualify to represent their course in the championship. Each golf course was represented by two teams of 8 golfers. Competing in a scramble format the golf course team with the total low score was declared the winner. This year the Wild Turkey Golf Team scored a 23 under par to outpace the second place Ballyowen team’s 16 under par to retain the Employee Cup for one more year.
Other finishers in the event were the third place team Crystal Springs with a score of 15 under par; fourth place Black Bear with a score of 12 under par; fifth place Minerals with a score of 10 under par with the Cascades Team taking last place with a score of 10 under par. The winning team members were awarded $100 Resort Credit Cards with the last place team provided with a free David Leadbetter Group lesson.
A celebration was held in the Ballyowen Owen’s Pub to celebrate the golf season, honor the new champions and to enjoy a fabulous buffet dinner provided by the Crystal Springs Golf Resort’s outstanding food and beverage staff under the leadership of Executive Chef Andy Lagana. The highlight of the buffet was a gigantic piece of superbly cooked roast beef sliced to the satisfaction of each golfer.
The golfers in the event who were able to achieve the best performance in a long drive and closet to the pin competition were also awarded prizes. The winner of the Men’s closest to the pin competition on hole #4 was Mike Rutan with his ball coming to rest 9 feet 1” from the pin while Sandy Dignan won the Woman’s honors with her shot that landed 26 feet from the pin. Men’s long drive honors went to repeat winner Mike Rutan with Maria LeClair winning the Woman’s long drive competition.
As is a tradition, the Crystal Springs VP of Golf Operations Art Walton always inserts a novel competition into the event. This was true of the playing of the 22nd Championship. All golfers had their tee shots analyzed by the Flight Scope Stat Tracker to identify the golfers with the longest golf ball carry, exit velocity and axis spin. Axis spin measures how straight or how big a slice or hook the golfer hit his or her tee shot. It was a fun addition to the event. Prizes were awarded to the golfers with the best performance in each category.
— Story and photos courtesy John Whiting