CCC hosting the QuickenLoansNational this week; any *real life* memories?
here are some of mine:
Never a *member* myself or family, but in the summer of 1985 I was a 16 y.o. punk who somehow got a job parking cars @ Congressional. One of the best perks was free golf on Mondays; slip the cart guy $10 & you are styling (usually w/ an cooler full of beer) for as many holes as you could squeeze in. The coveted "Blue" course was pretty much off limits & closed on Mondays; we hacked up the "Gold" course along side lifelong caddies who dressed a lot nicer & probably had better booze than us.
One hot, muggy day, a friend & I were looking for an errant drive on possibly the 12th hole (very far from the clubhouse). The fairway was slanted & neither one of us was paying attention to steepening grade until too late. My *buddy* hops out of the cart sending all the weight to my side; the cart flips instantly onto its side. Several items spill/scatter out: clubs, me, beer cans, a really bad baggie of cannabis... My *buddy* is laughing his ass off. Then we panic; scan for snotty *members* & push the cart back on its wheels. Quickly reload as much stuff as we can find then realize we are stuck in mud. A few more agonizing minutes & we get it going. I lost that ball & skipped on to the next hole.
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This one is Congressional-related:
Not positive of the year, but the "Kemper Open", which had been played @ CCC was moved next door to brand new Avenel course. I worked directing traffic into parking spots.
During the pro-am it turned out an amateur needed a caddie & none was available. I had bragged to my boss of my caddie experience (true, but very limited); he volunteers me for the job. I cannot remember the pro, nor the amateur, and nothing interesting happened until the 18th hole. My player drives into the left rough; no worries. I start looking & looking & looking; I swear I saw exactly where it went, everyone in our group helps. We never find it. I knew enough about the art of caddying to realize I should feel a little guilty after the 18th hole as my player payed & tipped me quite nicely.
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After work late in the evening we would sneak out & fish water logged Titleists from the nasty pond around 18th hole.
This *18th hole* was actually the 17th hole normally; they would reconfigure the course & play it as the 18th hole in tournaments. The real 18th hole was a par 3 - pretty much the current 10th hole, but played backwards - the tee was where green is now, & the green was elevated across water to the backside of the clubhouse.
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Briefly met Evel Knievel who parked his trailer in Congressional's lower lot; then he proceeded to play some of the club's better members losing some $ in challenges.
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I tried to tell Tip O'Neil (Speaker of the United States House of Representatives) he couldn't park somewhere for his own event.