[TEPaul]

I've been so fixated on eBay's Colt plan auction I forgot to post congratulations to our own Pat Mucci, the golf champion. Do you birds realize that Patrick and his partner won the big annual Seminole Better Ball Championship? We're talking a big time tournament here---huge, mammoth, even hegelian---against former US and British Amateur champions, Walker Cuppers, you name it.

Seminole blew and blew but Patrick The Magnificent stood his ground and gave it back to her in spades, birdieing ruthlessly on call.

So kiss his ring and congratulate our Patrick and his Supreme Championshipness!

I'm calling Seminole to find out whether they made him a member before he left the club and if they didn't I'm gonna tell them they're all a bunch of silly rabbits in that club. However, perhaps they were so preoccupied with helping him just find his way out the door they forgot.

[Bob_Huntley]

Pat,

I guess you cocked the thumbs properly on the backswing.

Congratulations.

Bob

[RJ_Daley]

Awesome, Pat!  You are the Tom Turkey of the day!

[wsmorrison]

Congratulations, Pat and have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

[Jerry Kluger]

Patrick: Let's hear it for old guys from New Jersey.  Congragulations and happy holiday.  Jerry

[cary lichtenstein]

Pat: whow, conrads

Cary

[Mike_Cirba]

Patrick,

About that chipping lesson I was going to give you, fuggetaboutit!  

Congratulations on your determination and clear love for the game.  Good things sometimes do happen to good people!  

[ed_getka]

Patrick,
   Well done, what a great way to celebrate your return to good health.

[Willie_Dow]

Congrats Pat & your partner.  Great to know that GCA, and its study of how to get there - on the green - brought home a winner.

[Tiger_Bernhardt]

Pat, This is huge. Congratulations and what a way to cap off the 2005 season.

[George Pazin]

Well done, Patrick.

Maybe Pat will make another run at the Senior Am next year.

Please share an entertaining anecdote from the event, I'm sure you have a few.

[PThomas]

congrats Patrick!

[HamiltonBHearst]

Congratulations Pat.  A golf championship for a championship gentleman and steward of the game.  

[wsmorrison]

"A golf championship for a championship gentleman and steward of the game.  "

So you know Pat's partner then?  

[ChipRoyce]

You mean someone here at GCA.com ACTUALLY takes playing golf as seriously as their contemplation about architecture?

[Pat_Mucci]

TEPaul left out an important detail, we were co-champions.

The nice thing is that the names of all the team members will go up on the big board.

Partner selection is important in marriage, business and golf.

My partner, Terry McBride and I blend very well together.
We never get upset with one another.  We understand and respect our individual games and enjoy playing with one another. Although, when I drove it in the left fairway bunker on # 4 and had a long approach into a crossing wind to the green, he was a little horrified when I took out my 3-wood.  Fortunately, I hit a decent shot just off the fringe and made par.

It was fun playing in a 2 to 3 club length breeze and I was thankful that it had rained the previous evening as the greens were fast but manageable.

There's something special about competitive golf and being able to play competitively on Seminole against an outstanding field under difficult conditions.  It was a lot of fun, with the exception of the 3 foot and 1.5 foot putts Terry and I missed on # 17 for par

The integration of the architecture with the wind at Seminole is simply brilliant.

[Gib_Papazian]

Terry McBride! Excellent choice. He hits it a ton. Tough as nails.

But not as tough as you.

Patrick, you are quite honestly one of the most astounding people on the planet. From *there* to here. . . . . it seems impossible by any measuring stick; yet determination, guts and pure cussedness against long odds is more powerful than disease.

Methinks prayer has something to do with it, too.

There must be some magical quality about golf as a curative. Bernhardt had dinner last Wednesday at the house. He looks like a million dollars. From there to here.

The Redhead invited over a gal we are both close friends with. She fell head-over-heels the moment he pulled up a chair. Cancer had no chance against Tiger Bernhardt. He never misses a pressure putt either. Ask me how I know.

Redanman is coming Thursday night. There is another one . . . . told me about his odyssey with a shrug of the shoulders. Bill is more interested in putting surface contours than cancer . . . . My bet is that it dares not return.  

I'm proud to call you guys my friends.

[TEPaul]

Gib:

Posts like that made this site a wonderful place in the old days when we saw so much more of you. Don't be such a stranger.

[Pat_Mucci]

Gib,

Thanks for your kind words.
I also want to thank you and others for all of the kind thoughts and prayers.

In undertaking my journey, I was very fortunate.
I had a spectacular woman, my wife, with me every step of the way and the ultimate in motivation, that my 5 year old son shouldn't grow up without his father.
 
Thus, my goals never waivered and I was determined to take the most difficult path.(read, no options)  I was not only willing, but anxious to do whatever it took to maximize my chances for survival.  Being stubborn and tenacious certainly helped, as did maintaining a highly positive attitude and a good sense of humor.  I was also determined to try to live my life without disrupting my familiy and friends.  So far, so good, but, I'm not quite out of the woods yet.  As you know, I need to meet certain dates, and 01-21-07 and 01-21-09 are my big ones.

I was also fortunate to have wonderful professionals at MSKCC guiding and monitoring my care.  Professionals that I've become good friends and golfing buddies with.  
Philip Paty M.D. saved my life and gave me and my family comfort that was above and beyond anything anyone could expect.  Vince Miller M.D. was my Guardian Angel.  And, David Kelsen M.D. masterminded my ongoing treatments.

I also feel a need to help others.
I was happy that I was able to help Tiger as he was about to begin his journey into the unknown.  And, I'm delighted that things have gone so well for him.

Golf was a terrific motivator and GCA.com was a great outlet and source of entertainment when I couldn't sleep from midnight to 7:00 am for months at a time.

This past golfing season I set a number of goals for myself and met all but one.  Winning the tournament at Seminole against an outstanding field almost makes up for the goal I just missed, almost.  I guess I'm inherently competitive.

So, thank you again, and as TEPaul said, don't be such a stranger to the site, your pearls of wisdom are always welcome.   And, don't forget to call me if you're heading east or to Florida.

I hope this note finds you and your family in good health and spirits.

[George Pazin]

Threads like this one are a big part of what makes this site special. Thanks everyone for sharing your stories, and best wishes as we head into the holiday season.

[Mike_Sweeney]

I have played with Pat before, during and after his battle with cancer. I had the pleasure of playing with Patrick and his Surgeon last year, and Patrick's doctor had some funny stories about Patrick during his recovery. I don't know Lance Armstrong, but I do know Pat Mucci and his journey is a real inspiration. Congratulations!

[Geoffrey Childs]

Pat

Congratulations on your victory.  I must say your positive attitude both on and off the course is an inspiration.

That said- you must not have played any lefties as opponents    Did you know your surgeon cuts with his left hand?  

[TEPaul]

Hey Pat, I realize to win such a top-notch Seminole tournament you were competing hard, concentrating your brains out and grinding your ass off but I was just wondering if you happened to notice that Seminole is bascially a totally  flat site?

[Patrick_Mucci]

Mike & Geoff,

Thanks, I appreaciate your kind words.
And I really enjoy playing golf with you, especially in competitive situations, ala Sand Hills, The Creek and Yale.

As to competing against lefties, after playing with you, Cirba, Moriarty and Shackelford, I make it a practice NEVER to look at any of your swings.  It is only after I hear the impact of the ball on the clubface that I turn around and resume the round and conversations.

Mike, Dr Paty will be in Florida on December 30th.
Are you available for another round with him ?

TEPaul,

It's funny you mention that.
As I was driving into Seminole and all during my round I kept asking myself, who could have possible authored that quote.
It couldn't have been Donald Ross.
The elevation changes are so dramatic, as are the views of the Atlantic Ocean from holes # 4, 5, 6, 7, 11 and 12, not to mention # 13, # 14, # 17 and # 18.

Quite possibly he was referencing another one of his courses, such as Gulfstream, but, it sure wasn't Seminole.

I've seen golfers stumble and fall walking from the 5th tee to the 5th green, up # 2 and # 11 and down # 7 and # 12.
Even the walk from the driving LZ to the green on # 4 is hilly.

He was either misquoted, misunderstood or overserved.
 

[Mike Benham]

Patrick -

God bless that your health and your game are in good shape. Friends and family are the best remedy for what ails you.

And, after last night, it is evident that not all the prayers went to you, some were diverted to the Fighting Irish.  On to the BCS ...

Mike

[Tags:]

Tags:

[Tags:]

Tags:

Call to undefined function theme_linktree()