It's wonderful to see the interest in the 2016 Midwest Mashie on a concurrent thread. It, the BUDA and other events seem to be what turn a nice, digital forum into a real connecting space for golfers of a certain ilk. It's great to see London, Ontario as a candidate for the Midwest Mashie. I hope that its common council, marketing board and DCR (Daughters of the Canadian Revolution) are able to make a convincing pitch to the selection committee, one that doesn't involve bribery or Tim Horton's.
For us border guys, the idea that London, Ontario would be part of the midwest is natural; we would consider any bits of Canada to our north and east as part of the greater good. For non-border folk, I understand the disconnect.
I'm surprised that we don't have a USA-Canada challenge on the books. I realize that the frontier is vast (4K miles/6.5K kilometers) so perhaps western and eastern challenges could be facilitated. Maybe this would make too many events, maybe not.
The trophy at stake could have a flexible name. Should the USA side prevail, it would hold the "America's Hat" trophy for a year. Should the Canadian squad emerge victorious, it would possess the "Canada's Jock" cup for 365 days (or 365 metric days, for those counting.)
A few years back, Kevin Lynch and I teamed up against Mark Saltzman and Matt Bosela at Cherry Hill. We lost badly, but didn't tell very many people, so USA pride was intact. A few weeks later, we met up with Saltzy and Ian Andrew at Lookout Point and strengthened our hold on America's shame by losing again. It didn't make the papers, as we gag-ordered the media, but we were excommunicated, stripped of our citizenship, and relieved of all documentation related to the USA. We are now men without a country.
If there is a call for such an event/such events (or if they already exist and I'm unaware) let it progress organically, naturally and biologically.