Posted online: September 22, 2004 10:01 PM
Print publication date: September 23, 2004

NCB Tour still best am tour in Q-C

By Tom Johnston, tjohnston@qconline.com

It's amazing what the game of golf creates.

On one hand, you have an absolutely amazing concept with the ``Beauties and the Beast'' fundraiser that is run through the John Deere Classic. I lamented on my tales into my virgin event last year and let me just say that it was even more enjoyable the second time around -- especially when you win fourth-place honors with three great gals. Thanks to the generosity of roughly 100 beauties, this year's event raised nearly $18,000 for local charities and brought together an eclectic group that made for quite an event that I was proud to be a part of.

There's another group that has done remarkable things in the golf world for the local amateur set. The National City Bank Amateur Tour is run by a board of directors -- mostly guys who golf on the tour -- who have done yeoman's work to see that this tour gets better and better every year. But recently those guys were handed a serious pot-shot that attempted to invalidate their work. Anonymous letters were sent to at least five people involved in the NCB Tour, myself included. Let me just say that this vindictive soul should be tied up and used as a 100-yard marker at the range of our choice.

I was put in the middle of this since it was my story on the NCB Tour Championship event that prompted this individual (I'm being way too kind here as I can think of a number of other adjectives I'd like to use) to step up on his soap box even though he has no idea what he is talking about.

In my story, I told how Steve Schwabe epitomized the game. While he was struggling with his game and losing a hold on the season-long Player of the Year honor, he showed the sportsmanship that makes golf the great game that it is by still encouraging Chris Wilkins on to the win in the final stroke-play event.

Two days later, the five of us received photocopies of my story -- postage-due no less -- along with a scathing note basically calling Schwabe and Wilkins cheaters and including a photocopied page of the rules of golf. This person insists that rule 8-1 (illegally giving or receiving advice) was broken. However, no such violations ever occurred; Schwabe gave encouragement to his playing partner, not advice. Not illegal.

And contrary to this guy's opinion, opponents in stroke-play events may actually talk to each other while they play and maybe even joke around and have fun on the course. In fact, they can even give each other a little help during the round in giving each other yardages posted on sprinkler heads under the guise of public information. They can't step off yardage for the other, read putts, or give swing advice, but what Schwabe and Wilkins engaged in -- and probably a number of other golfers during the course of the season-long series -- was totally legal according to the two professionals I checked with.

I wish the writer of this anonymous note would also remember back to the 1998 U.S. Open when Tom Lehman and eventual winner Steve Jones read bible scriptures to each other in the fairways as they waited for their next shots. Is that offering encouragement or advice? A violation of rule 8-1? Quick, somebody call the USGA and get Jones to give back his trophy!

The guy writing this note takes plenty of shots at the Tour and those on it and they won't be shared publicly because they come from a small man. The best thing in his note was the way he signed it off: ``There are at least two of us who have had enough (with the Tour). Call us `Gone.'''

You know what? That's great. Take your clubs and find another place to play 10 of the best amateur tournaments in the two-state area in the summer. Good luck.

Too many guys on the board -- mostly businessmen who donate hundreds of hours to make this tour work -- have worked too hard to be berated by someone not even big enough to put his name behind his words.

Yeah, the NCB Tour lost some of its luster since losing the exemption into the PGA Tour's John Deere Classic, but it's still the best local amateur tour in the QCA and will continue to get better thanks to the hard work of a few dedicated individuals.

If I wasn't covering their play, I'd love to join the NCB Tour guys on the links. I'm just glad to be able to do my part to help out this venture as well as the Beauties and the Beast fundraiser -- two awesome golf events in he QCA.

And you can put my signature behind that.