2026 Geibel Classic

Crawling out of bed the morning of the tournament, I had a lot of anticipation bouncing around in my head.

Playing the first tournament of the season.

Seeing some old friends that I haven’t seen in a hot minute

Testing some new camera equipment.

Then I looked at the temperature. 4 degrees.

Oh well, I’ll just add a few extra layers and I’ll be fine… I hope.

I arrive at the park as one of the first players in the parking lot — as usual. I get the cart and camera prepped, get the microphone attached, and head out to see how bad it was going to be to pull the cart through the 6” - 8” of snow that was covering the course. It bounced around a bit, but the icy layer on top helped keep the cart body from becoming a snowplow.

“Hey”, I thought, “this may just work out.”

After the obligatory player’s meeting, I head out to hole 3, where I would be starting with 3 other players; Jimmy, Jeremy, and Leslie.

(Side Note: All three of my card mates are deaf. This was a first for me, and provided some interesting challenges during the round — but also gave me some very unique perspectives on how most of my interactions with other players depend on “verbal banter.”)

Hole 3 is a par hole for me where I usually throw a forehand roller — but not today, as the snow would make that shot “ill-advised.” I par the hole as expected, then birdie hole 4, playing the backhand fairway driver extra wide to account for the skip off of the ice and snow. I short the forehand drive on hole 5, then “fluff” my approach which proceeds to ice skate down the hill to the left and take par out of play. I get up-and-down for a bogie, then play a forehand drive extra wide on hole 6 (again, playing for the big ice-assisted skip) and park the basket for my second birdie.

I’m starting to feel some confidence… which usually means that I’m about to do something silly.

My forehand drive on hole 7 skipped up to the hillside, the proceeded to toboggan back down the hill and to the right for about 70 feet. My forehand upshot stays wide left, and I’m left with a circle 2 putt which I miss. I get the comeback putt — and I’m back to even par. I over turn my drive on hole 8, but have an open approach for an “up-and-down” par. I miss an easy birdie putt on hole 9 — hitting the band from about 20 feet, then pull my drive on hole 10 into the trees on the right and, after shorting my approach, card another disappointing 2-putt bogie.

It’s about this point when I start to feel the fatigue from dragging the cart through the snow. But, being a stubborn fool, I wasn’t about to admit that the cart was a bad idea. “It’ll be worth it”, I thought, “when I have the video to work with.”

Holes 11 and 12, both high probability birdie holes for me, end up as pars because I’m playing conservatively due to the possibility of big skips and “slide-aways” because of the icy crust on the snow. I play hole 13 as usual (for par), but hit an early tree on 14, and can only lay up for another par (still being conservative.) An “extra conservative” drive on 15 takes me out of easy putting range, and I take another par on a normally birdied hole. Holes 16 thru 18 are par holes for me, but a yanked approach on hole 18 adds another bogie to the pile. I’m now at +2 (ugh) and I check the scores.

I’m one stroke behind Jimmy for the lead with 2 holes to go. Crap.

Hole 1 is usually an easy birdie, and hole 2 is a par hole all day for me, so I expect that those two holes will be a “wash” and I’ll lose to Jimmy by 1 stroke. I park the first hole (as planned), but Jimmy’s drive is short and obstructed, so he cards a par and we’re tied. Hole 2 is out of my driving range, but Jimmy shorts his drive as well, and we both take a par.

We’re tied. Time for a playoff. And I’m now completely exhausted from dragging the cart through the snow. By the time I make it back to tournament central, I’m seriously contemplating conceding the win and dragging my tired carcass to the car. But, like I said earlier, I’m a stubborn fool. So, not only do I head to hole 9 for the playoff, but I continue to drag the camera cart along, because… well… I don’t know why. Maybe my brain was frozen by this point and I was operating on autopilot.

The playoff was holes 9 and 10 in a loop. I shank my drive on 9, but Jimmy misses his birdie putt. Push.
I short my drive on 10, as does Jimmy. We both par. Push.
Again I shank my drive on 9, but Jimmy goes left as well, and we both par. Push.

Finally, I get a decent drive on 10 and leave myself a 30-foot uphill putt, while Jimmy has an unlucky tree kick into the right rough and is obstructed by a tree. I miss my putt short, and his upshot gets to the edge of the circle. His putt, which was on all day, uncharacteristically hits the cage, and I am able to putt out for a par to win the tournament by 1 stroke.