[ward peyronnin]

Today I had the profound pleasure and surprise to quite accidentally be paired with an old GCA friend. I am traveling through Ohio to see my son in Cleveland and referred to an old list generated on a thread here of the top 40 courses within Ohio to approach Brookside Golf and Country Club for a mid course stop.
I was to play solo mid afternoon but arrived a wee bit early to reconnoiter and introduce myself and limber up so the pro found an earlier time soon after luncheon. I quickly ate  and paid and had time to hit about ten balls when he came up and asked me if I would like to join a threesome of members at the tee. We hustled over and I looked up to see an old  GCA Dixie Cupper, Dave Royer, extending a hand with a very surprised look on his face. Totally serendipitous and wholly welcome but go figure. I knew he was from around Columbus but had forgotten he played at Brookside , and since this was officially a visit as a rater I was on a solo stint anyway.

So this got me thinking about how fortunate we are to have the opportunity to cultivate relationships basically anywhere one goes  thanks to this site and also some of the related events and I thought it would be fun to solicit stories of chance encounters or new encounters such as mine today.
I know Chris Shaida has a very funny story regarding he and his brand new friend/host at N Berwick. Let's trot em out.

[mike_malone]

You shook hands?

[Lou_Duran]

Brookside in Columbus?


Difficult course, right? 


And is David still hitting it long (he had a new driver when I played with last, my only time at Brookside though I live in Columbus for nearly 8 years).

[Mark Pearce]

At an international trade mark conference in Hong Kong several years ago I was waiting in a hotel reception area to meet a couple of lawyers from a US firm I hadn't previously met.  Nearly 10,000 lawyers attend the conference and the reception area was packed with other lawyers doing the same thing.  A man approached me and greeted me like a long lost brother.  I'm going to plead that the context and confirmation bias justify me thinking it was one of the lawyers whose pictures I had on my phone, rather than recognising GCA's own Mark Bourgeois, who happened to be walking through that hotel reception and recognised me from the Lundin/Elie BUDA.  I am in awe of anyone with those skills at recognising and remembering faces.


I did meet up with the lawyers but Mark and I managed to arrange dinner that night.

[Mike Hendren]

Greetings Bid Ward.  You brought along one of your Vanderbilt buddies to the Dixie Cup - one Sterling Cicero Forsythe.   We both graduated from Ripley (Tennessee) High School, though a few years apart.  The first set of men's golf clubs I played with were given to me by his father - S. C. Forsythe around 1971.


Thought you might like this photo of the RHS freshman football team in 1967.   Looks like Sterling posted it - he's on the far left.


https://www.tngenweb.org/lauderdale/photos/football.htm



Give Sterling my regards.  I regret we won't be participating in Buda next month, but I'm all in for next year.


Be well.


Mike Hendren

[Tommy Williamsen]

I have run in to a few GCA members at courses around the country by accident. I have introduced myself to the pro in earshot of members. I introduce myself as TOM Williamsen. Then I get asked, "Are you TOMMY Williamsen.

[Tim Gavrich]

"We few, we happy few..."


Happy memories from crashing a couple Dixie Cups several years ago, plus other ad hoc rounds with GCAers before and since. Every body be well and I look forward to our next round.

[ward peyronnin]

mayday
knuckles bones tipsyes columbusbut not so hardmore pastoral
I am now with Evan in Cleveland and we are having a great timeopps are endlessly rewarding

[ward peyronnin]

Markgreat tale but OT can you begin describe how you survive exposure to 10,000 lawyers ?

[Garland Bayley]

Of course, then there is the time when Ulrich ran into Ward at the Carne Buda!

[Michael Whitaker]

Jerry Kluger and I met a couple of Aussies at Sand Valley in July 2019... Peter and Catherine Verey from Syndey.

Peter has been a longtime lurker on GCA.com and is truly a hardcore architecture nerd. He was on a five week tour of the US that started in Tampa, moved across Florida to Hilton Head, then Pinehurst, then New York, Chicago and Wisconsin. Following Wis they went to Northern California, Bandon Dunes, and Washington State before heading back to Oz. His wife joined him in New York and played alongside Peter as they traversed the country. It was truly an epic golf holiday!

We were paired with them by chance at Mammoth Dunes and as we chatted walking down the first fairway Peter mentioned he was "keenly interested in golf course architecture." I asked him if he had ever heard of GCA.com and the broadest grin you can imagine appeared on his face. It turns out he "knew" Jerry and me from our participation on the site and we had lots to talk about over the next four hours.

What a small world is golf. And, what great friends we make on GCA.com.

[SL_Solow]

Some time ago, Pat Mucci put together a GCA outing at Hidden Creek where Bill Coore was featured.  It was a great event.  The next day, my friend and fellow GCA member, Mike Policano, invited me to Friar's Head.  Coincidentally, Bill Coore was also there and we got to talk to him.  This was early on when the "clubhouse" was an old barn.  It was a chilly rainy day and we were one of only two groups playing.  For those of you who haven't had the opportunity, a lousy weather day at FH is better than a perfect day at most places.  It is very special.  When we reached the "clubhouse" we struck up a conversation with the other group.  One thing led to another and it turned out that the other group contained a luminary with whom I had enjoyed many conversations on the site but was someone I had never met.  It turned out to be my friend Gene Greco.  While we have not seen each other, we have remained friends.  This is a wonderful place.  When travel returns, I look forward to seeing the friends I have made in many locations.  I have other stories all a result of meeting people on this site who share a common interest in the architecture of this wonderful game.

[Mike_Trenham]

In 2000 I played a Golf Association of Philadelphia Team Match against a guy that kept asking intelligent questions about my home course.  On the 18th tee I say to him "you should check out GolfClubAtlas.com" he replies I'm "WS Morrison".


Sitting in the clubhouse at Nairn and Port Noo in July 2001, I start up a conversation with a Yank who is an aspiring golf writer.  He seems to be about broke so I buy him a few pints and we talk golf.  GCA comes up and he tells me his fake ID for the site (I can't remember for sure but I am pretty sure it was Collin Sheehan).


Ran into Ran at my neighborhood bar one Saturday afternoon.  Ran had been playing at Merion and my partner from my member guest (another GCA participant Jason Mandel) were continuing the festivities from the member guest.

[Garland Bayley]

Played Narin and Portnoo with Dick Daley after Carne Buda. Dick looked over the dune, and says that's Jeff Warne on a parallel hole. Turns out Jeff was touring with folks from his club having motored from Newcastle NI the day before. Apparently they had played some nondescript course there. Turns out he was much shorter than advertised since he had laid claim to being able to see the sea from every hole at Pennard. I always enjoy his posts (except his Paul Bunyanesque claim about Pennard) so it was a pleasure to meet him.

Turns out Dick and I played Portsalon also on a day he played it, but we missed seeing him there.

[jeffwarne]

Played Narin and Portnoo with Dick Daley after Carne Buda. Dick looked over the dune, and says that's Jeff Warne on a parallel hole. Turns out Jeff was touring with folks from his club having motored from Newcastle NI the day before. Apparently they had played some nondescript course there. Turns out he was much shorter than advertised since he had laid claim to being able to see the sea from every hole at Pennard. I always enjoy his posts (except his Paul Bunyanesque claim about Pennard) so it was a pleasure to meet him.

Turns out Dick and I played Portsalon also on a day he played it, but we missed seeing him there.

From my perch in the dining room/bar, I seem to recall one of you spending quite a bit of time just in front of the forward tee on #1....

[Garland Bayley]

Played Narin and Portnoo with Dick Daley after Carne Buda. Dick looked over the dune, and says that's Jeff Warne on a parallel hole. Turns out Jeff was touring with folks from his club having motored from Newcastle NI the day before. Apparently they had played some nondescript course there. Turns out he was much shorter than advertised since he had laid claim to being able to see the sea from every hole at Pennard. I always enjoy his posts (except his Paul Bunyanesque claim about Pennard) so it was a pleasure to meet him.

Turns out Dick and I played Portsalon also on a day he played it, but we missed seeing him there.

From my perch in the dining room/bar, I seem to recall one of you spending quite a bit of time just in front of the forward tee on #1....

Could have been me. I had no experience playing in a gale like we saw that day. Took me 7 or 8 holes before I could figure out how to get off a shot before being blown off balance. Meanwhile, Dick, who never met a fairway he couldn't miss up to that point, was sending his drives into the teeth of the gale and ending up in the middle of the fairway.

[Mark Smolens]

While participating in an Illinois PGA pro-am at Bandon (not sure the year, but our group got to play the 10 hole preview of Old Mac) when I was in the bus on the way to the range one morning. My GCA logo bag was next to me when another rider saw it and said, "that's a stupid looking bag." My introduction to Ben Dewar and his sense of humor.


Bandon's a great place, as is this Discussion Group. . .

[jeffwarne]

Played Narin and Portnoo with Dick Daley after Carne Buda. Dick looked over the dune, and says that's Jeff Warne on a parallel hole. Turns out Jeff was touring with folks from his club having motored from Newcastle NI the day before. Apparently they had played some nondescript course there. Turns out he was much shorter than advertised since he had laid claim to being able to see the sea from every hole at Pennard. I always enjoy his posts (except his Paul Bunyanesque claim about Pennard) so it was a pleasure to meet him.

Turns out Dick and I played Portsalon also on a day he played it, but we missed seeing him there.

From my perch in the dining room/bar, I seem to recall one of you spending quite a bit of time just in front of the forward tee on #1....

Could have been me. I had no experience playing in a gale like we saw that day. Took me 7 or 8 holes before I could figure out how to get off a shot before being blown off balance. Meanwhile, Dick, who never met a fairway he couldn't miss up to that point, was sending his drives into the teeth of the gale and ending up in the middle of the fairway.

That was a gale...
One of our pros was(barely) in triple digits that day-and trying every shot

[Evan Fleisher]

Three days with Wardo touring around some of Cleveland's finest public offerings was a real treat!  This is a fantastic thread and I love hearing of all these chance encounters.  What a great little community we have!

[Tommy Naccarato]

Some time ago, Pat Mucci put together a GCA outing at Hidden Creek where Bill Coore was featured.  It was a great event.  The next day, my friend and fellow GCA member, Mike Policano, invited me to Friar's Head.  Coincidentally, Bill Coore was also there and we got to talk to him.  This was early on when the "clubhouse" was an old barn.  It was a chilly rainy day and we were one of only two groups playing.  For those of you who haven't had the opportunity, a lousy weather day at FH is better than a perfect day at most places.  It is very special.  When we reached the "clubhouse" we struck up a conversation with the other group.  One thing led to another and it turned out that the other group contained a luminary with whom I had enjoyed many conversations on the site but was someone I had never met.  It turned out to be my friend Gene Greco.  While we have not seen each other, we have remained friends.  This is a wonderful place.  When travel returns, I look forward to seeing the friends I have made in many locations.  I have other stories all a result of meeting people on this site who share a common interest in the architecture of this wonderful game.

And don’t forget, Mike Nuzzo was my guest that day at Friar’s Head after the Hidden Creek outing! We all kind of met up!

[SL_Solow]

Right you are Emperor

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