We've got about 10 days left until the 2008 Duffers Open and I am getting pretty excited. I went out to Cedar Trace today and played 18 holes to "check up" on the course. I had a couple of bad holes, shot a 103, but all in all it was good..

The course (fairways and greens) was in very good shape so we should all be in for a decent round. The pin location for the back 9 was a little difficult, but I think they had a school meet and made it tough.

So despite the signup sheet being bare, we're 7 folks short of 6 foursomes and that is more of just not having them confirmed. We should have 5 groups at the very least.

We have room for 3 more foursomes, so if you know of anyone who would be interested in playing, by all means have them sign up! If you haven't signed up online, please do so, that way I will have everyones information and you should get a reminder via email a day or two before the event.

I can't wait until the 6th.. We're going to have a lot of fun.. See you then!

Howdy folks! All of the details for the 2008 Duffers Open have been finalized and ready to be shared with you!

Here are the quick hits:

• Date: September 6th, 2008
• Time: 8:30am Shotgun Start
• Location: Cedar Trace Golf Club
• Cost: $32.00 (inc. 18 hole fees & cart)
• Format: Duffers Scramble (see below)
• Awards for: Low Score (Team), Closest to the Pin, Longest Drive and maybe some side awards.

This year we will be again moving the Duffers Open to a new course, Cedar Trace Golf Club near Batavia, OH. I've played this course a few times and for the cost, it can not be beat. It is not a terribly difficult course and has a few really fun holes, everything us duffers like to see.

Also, this year we will be holding the event the week after labor day. It seems that a lot of folks could not attend labor day weekend, so I hope pushing it back will help out in that respect. September 6th is the date! We will be teeing off around 8:30 in the AM as a shotgun start. There will be another small group going out at the same time as us so we need to be on time. The good news is that it will get us done a little earlier than in the past!

As is one of our Duffers Open Goals, we like to keep the cost of the event around thirty bucks and we will be doing just that. Cost of the round of 18 with a cart is $32. More....

Tony and I had a good time at Cedar Trace. It is looking like a serious possibility for hosting the Duffers Open in September.

As of right now, there will not be a July Duffers Challenge unless someone would like to step up and put it together. You are very welcome to in fact.

Unless someone wants to head up north to Glen Arbor MI and play with me up there. I'm going to try to sneak my clubs with me on vacation even if I only get to take 6 of them.

Stay tuned for the Duffers Open news to come. I need to call Cedar Trace and see about availability.

Ok, I know it is last minute but since no one signed up for the last event, Tony Strub and I decided to play anyway. California was packed until 2:30 so I called a course a little on the outskirts. Cedar Trace in Batavia (Owensville). I've played this course a few years back at my cousins bachleor party and remembered it being pretty decent. Cost is around $37 with a cart.

We have a 9:40 tee time and and there is room for a couple more people, so hurry and sign up!

If you'd like to find out more information, their site is CedarTrace Golf and also info at GolfLink.com.

Sign up NOW!

Well, lets try this againg for June since no one showed up for May....

Our next challenge will be June 7th and we will meet around noon again (tee time availability depending.) This month we are going to hit the west coast and play California Golf Course.. Actually, I am being told it is in California, Ohio near 275 along the river on the East side of Cincinnati off of Kellogg Ave.

California is a rather level course, although it is longer than Avon. It is a Par 70 / 5871 yard course that surrounds the Cincinnati Water Works reservoir. It is usually one of the better cared for CRC course. The other great thing about California is that Dave Parker doesn't golf there. (Dave is going to be hunting me down now, I just know it..)

You can find the CRC California golf course site Here including directions to the course. Please be sure to Resister for the event below by clicking on the >Signup function below. Tell your friends and we will see you out there on May 3rd.

UPDATE: We changed the time and place, not the date! Check the Updated Caledar.

Looks like I've had the site offline for the last day or so. Sorry folks, be sure to get signed up for the first Duffers Challenge event (Second attempt.) I'm going to be requesting tee times in a couple of days, so if I don't know if you are going to play if you don't sign up!

See you on Saturday around noon!

Looks like the foot of snow canceled event number one, but let's get number two going! We are going to shoot for April 5th, 2008 and hopefully we don't have showers.

Weather permitting, we will play at Avon Fields in North Avondale. For those whom have never played this course, it is a CRC (Cincinnati Recreation Commission course. It is a relatively short course and not terribly difficult for our first times out on the year.

You can find more information on the course including directions and a layout at http://www.cincygolf.org/. CRC couses are operated by the Billy Casper Golf group and since they have taken over running the city courses, they have really have made CRC courses nice.

If the weather is bad enough that we will not be able to play, we will attempt to reschedule the following Saturday.

Please sign up here (the most prefered method - click "Sign up for Second Duffers Challenge Event" below) or drop me an email so I know how many tee times we will need. I am going to make the reservations on the 1st of April so please sign up as soon as possible!

Hope to see some of you out there!

Alright! Let's get this year started off right..

Our First Duffers Challenge event is going to take place on March 8th, 2008.

Weather permitting, we will play at Avon Fields in North Avondale. For those whom have never played this course, it is a CRC (Cincinnati Recreation Commission course. It is a relatively short course and not terribly difficult for our first times out on the year.

You can find more information on the course including directions and a layout at http://www.cincygolf.org/cincinnati.asp?id=96&page=1225. CRC couses are operated by the Billy Casper Golf group and since they have taken over running the city courses, they have really have made CRC courses nice.

If the weather is bad enough that we will not be able to play, we will attempt to reschedule the following Saturday.

Please sign up here (the most prefered method - click "Sign up for First Duffers Challenge Event" below) or drop me an email so I know how many tee times we will need. I am going to make the reservations on the 5th of March or so which give you 10 days to sign up!!

Hope to see some of you out there!

Well, I was where most folks do their best thinking and had an idea to maybe do a monthly "Duffers Challenge" similar to the Open, but not as organized (if that is possible.) Truthfully, I just need an excuse to go out and play once a month and someone to shoot a round with, so what better way than this.

My thought was to pick a different course every month, still trying to adhere to the Duffers standards, or lack there of. Something cheap and not terribly difficult that I end up in triple digits. Another thought was to have different folks pick the course and get things together (basically call for a tee time.)

Really that is about it.. By no means would you have to make every month and I am sure there will be at least one that I will miss. We will still have the Open at the end of August - first of September..

I'm thinking we would play on a Saturday - either in the early AM or around noon. Not sure if we'd want to just play 9 or a full round.

Log in and let us know if you would be interested and give us some of your ideas.

-Mike

The new year is upon us and it is time to start thinking about the 2008 Duffers Open. There are a number of things to determine and I want to start planning earlier this year; course, sponsors, date, format and prizes.

As far as where to host our outing this year, I would like to try to keep it under $35 with a cart and play at a course fitting for Duffers. I know location is never an issue for me, generally you want to make it affordable for all it is usually on the outskirts of town. This is also nice if you have played the local courses and gives you a chance to experience something new. I have a couple of courses in mind, but if you have any suggestions on courses, speak it now! If you know of anyone that works a course that can get us a discount, even better!

We are looking for sponsors again this year. If we can get some golf gear or a little cash to offset the entry or prize money all the better. :) So if your company or know of anyone who'd like to kick in a little by all means let us know.

Unless there is enough of a demand, and that is why I am putting this out here now, we are going to stick with our Memorial Day Saturday (which will be the 30th) date.

Usually I keep the format a secret (well, don't usually come up with it until match time) but if you have any ideas we can come to a consensus before August, at least
folks would know what they are getting into. The important thing to remember is that this is a diverse group of folks and with most of us being occasional players we have no handicaps.

So, if you have any ideas about this years outing, be heard and comment below! I am really looking forward to this year's event. I have had a few people tell me they were sorry they missed out last year and hopefully we can make this the biggest, best year yet.

-Mike