The Unmasters

The PGA has several golf tournaments that are enjoyed by the viewing public.  People from all walks of life, both golfers and non-golfers, sit in front of their television sets rooting for their favorite golfer, most of whom they will never meet.   They blindly hang on every swing, hoping that their favorite player will make the fewest shots over a four-day tournament so he may raise the valued cup or don the coveted jacket for all the world to see.

Next week one of golf’s most popular events will be played in Augusta, Georgia.   The Masters will be played for the 83rd time.  This quaint tournament is revered by many, however, it pales in comparison to the Unmasters.

The Unmasters was officially founded in the spring of 1979.  It’s rumored that the tournament began a year or two prior, however, the official history of golf sites 1979 as its origin.  It was played for twenty-six consecutive years and featured some of the greatest amateurs from the Devils Lake – Lake LeAnn region of Michigan to ever play the game. I had the honor to play in twenty-five of those twenty-six years with players whose names mimicked their style of play – Rowdy, Digger, Buck, JB, and Seve.

While the Masters is played over a four-day period on the same golf course each year (Did someone say boring?), the Unmasters was played over seven days on seven different courses.  That’s truly a challenge. As players competing in the Masters were packing their bags after four days of play, the competitors in the Unmasters were just warming up.

The tournament was the brainchild of its founder, Rick “Rowdy” Lane.  I had the pleasure of working under the tutelage of Mr. Lane and learned a great deal from him.  His attention to detail knows no equal.  The rules of the tournament were simple and pure genius.

1.  Each player had a handicap.  Handicaps were established based upon prior play.
2. Once established, a player’s handicap was adjusted each day.  It could only go up by a maximum of two strokes per day but could drop indefinitely.  This helped to deter “sandbagging”.
3. “Winter rules” were invoked on all courses.  This allowed a player to roll the ball six inches to gain a more favorable lie.  (This rule was invoked in part because he knew that some players were going to roll the ball no matter what.  Allowing the procedure helped equalize the play.)
4. Players did not lose their distance when they hit a ball “out-of-bounds”.  They were penalized one stroke but were able to “keep the distance” that they had advanced the ball.  (This helped speed play.)
5. All scores were posted, a running total was computed, and handicaps were adjusted  at the conclusion of each round.  A detailed record was available to the press at all times.  (See the sample chart from 1999 below.)

 

The Masters has its Freddy, Jack, Arnie, Tiger and Phil.  The Unmasters had Rick, Bob, John, Jan and Mike.  These players played year after grueling year seeking success.

One year wonders sought success through both venues and most, if not all,  failed.

The genius format of the Unmasters fostered other wannabes.  Tournaments such as the Hardly Open, The Birdshit Open, and The Grunge Tour were fostered and developed, but never gained the traction of the Unmasters and were all soon lost and forgotten.

There are literally thousands of sub stories to be told through the history of the Unmasters.  Marriages were consummated, honeymoons celebrated, children born and raised, and friendships strengthened throughout the Unmasters years.

These moments all came about because a group of young men sought the same green Unmaster’s jacket as they became middle-aged together.

TBC