July 20, 2020 – Eagle Springs, Wisc.
Greg Smith reports that the unique sound of gutty golf again rang out over the 1893 course in Eagle Springs this July. Near a dozen stalwarts gathered to test the smoothies against Dave Brown’s replica Park gutty balls.
“It was a small group, but competitive,” Greg says. “We all played the Park ball from the same tees. The best part of our event is honoring Mike Just with our Keeper of the Spirit trophy posting all past champions on it. We also honor the individual who possesses Mike’s traits, who carries on the spirit of the game as Mike did. This year’s honoree is Jim ‘Wally’ Koss.
“Ernie Ernst took was the Open Division champion followed by Steve Simer. The Senior Champion was Greg Smith, followed by Tom Mehigan.
“The weather was hot and humid but a strong breeze kept us cool. Saturday we finished just as it started to rain. We had food prepared by chef Doc Eike. Fortunately we could gather together in a large pavilion where we each had our own table.
“We played well and often.”
Greg also included the following photos:
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- The Mike Just Keeper of the Spirit trophy.
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- The field at the 2020 Wisconsin Gutty Challenge.
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- Jim “Wally” Koss, center, was the Mike Just Keeper of the Spirit award recipient.
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- From left: Steve Simer, James “Doc” Eike, Bill “Ernie” Ernst, and Rob Retslauf.
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- From left: Dan Norstedt, Don Madelung, and Jim “Wally” Koss.
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- From left: Dan Hoffman, John Maguire, Tom Mehigan, and Greg Smith.