Wes Attebury Foundation

Hello all, Josh Barnett here for my 3rd installment of “Golf Thoughts.” Every year I put out a blog post that TRIES to be funny and include as many people/teams as I can in advance of the Wes Attebury Foundation Golf Scramble. Some teams I don’t know and some of these things are inside jokes so for that I apologize to any team or player left out. To everyone else, enjoy…

The first thing that jumped out at me when I was researching the team list to write this is how many families we have involved this year. Siblings, fathers and sons/daughters, spouses, and uncles and cousins make up a big part of the 2013 WAF Golf Scramble. We have the Kissel’s, Forrest’s, Carnhan’s, Hester’s, Chipp’s, Apple’s, Dierlam’s, McKim’s, Austin’s, Oswald’s, Woods’, Adams’, Brothers’, Hoffman’s, Herrenbruck’s, Head’s, Delong’s, Jourdan’s, Doubler’s, Edwards’, and Wildeman’s playing in our scramble. This was part of our vision when we started this a few years ago and is really neat to see. That said, if the Maxheimer family comes out in full force we will need to make this a two day event.

We’ve also grown to include teams that travel from other cities to play including but not limited to Indianapolis and Louisville. We are appreciative of those teams and hope they continue to come back for years to come.

In scrambles as big as this one (248 players, 62 teams) realistically only a handful of teams have a shot at winning. Here are my picks and a quick synopsis…

Beauties and Beasts– Brian Claybourn, Jesse Gehlhausen, Blake English, Dusty Jourdan– I’m still trying to find the “beauties” on this team but the “beasts” are evident. This group will be long off the tee with Blake and Dusty, and LC has been labeled as “the best putter that never makes any putts” so they have that going for them as well. Reason they won’t win: Jesse.

Mythical 2012 Champs– Mike Volkman, Ryan Little, Kyle Nemier, Michael Konkling– Volk thinks they won it last year, while I have them down as tied for 3rd or 4th. Point being he wants to win this thing this year so he doesn’t have to register his as mythical back to back WAF Golf Scramble champions next year. Can it happen? Yes. Will it happen? Time will tell.

Stealth Mode– Nick Austin, Jake Schiff, Jeff Jewell, Mike Elsner– They went out and added the most superior Schiff (take that Adam) to an already stellar nucleus which will give them a legitimate shot at a title. I played Quail with Nick about a month ago and he was on pace for a course record until his 3rd shot on the 4th hole. This team would be my dark horse pick if it weren’t for the…

Piggyback Bandits– Josh Barnett, Matt Breivogel, Jason Russell, Jeff Dierlam– DARK HORSE ALERT: If Dierlam plays lights out like he did last year we will be there at the end showering each other with Jack Nicklaus Golden Bear lemonade. Bank on it.

Champions of Cute– Jason Senning, Sean Hilt, Zach Martin, Ashley Morris– Zach was on the cusp of victory last year posting the lowest total in the morning scramble only to be outdone by a stroke in the PM by Nunley’s team. He’s lived with that fire in his belly for a year, reworked his team and now the only thing holding him back is Senning.

Defending Champs– Mike Nunley, Jake Bessler, Doug Waterman, Jeff Greenwell– A slight revamping of the championship team from last year looks to make it two in a row with a win next Saturday. Did they get fat off of their success or are they still hungry? Are they fat and hungry? Both very good questions that won’t be answered until they tee off.

Howell Park Legends– Kyle Attebury, Scott Hartmann, Chris Wedding, Heath Howington– Hahaha…just kidding. Attebury and Scott “Swaggle” Hartmann potentially make up the worst two man combination this scramble has to offer.

People to See–

I like seeing everyone at the golf course and couldn’t be more excited to see old friends this year. However, these three people made my list of “People to See” this year and you would be doing yourself a disservice if you didn’t get some quality time spent with them on May 18.

#1- Tim Attebury– Any day you get to see or talk to Tim is a damn good day. Can’t wait to surprise him with some clowns I hired to follow him around.

#2- Joe Patton– “Baby Josephine” as he’s known in his inner circle will be dazzling as usual when he steps foot on Quail Crossing soil.  He’s a great guy to be around during a rain delay too because his plaid shorts could shelter a small orphanage if need be.  This year he’ll have to contend with me for 5hrs of harassment as my team is right behind his. It’s going to be fun…for me.

#3- Randy Dierlam– He’s my favorite participant to hawk for payment because he acts like he’s busy at work while I’m not even though he’s texting me back within .02 seconds of my original text. I also thoroughly enjoy him trying to keep me from getting in Jon’s head during their round…an impossible feat.

Want to be on this list? Good luck, these guys are the truth and aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.

In the past people have been curious about the team names and how they came to be so I decided I would break down a few of them to answer that question. Some are named after their business or corporation, some teams name themselves, and others let me choose. Here are a few that I did the names for this year and a couple others that had funny origins to their team names…

Piggyback Bandits– forever our namesake http://deadspin.com/tag/piggyback-bandit

Beauties and Beasts– Have you seen Dusty with his shirt off? Jesse? Now do you get it?

Move it Along– Three girls that don’t play golf now entering a 248 person scramble. Thankfully Steve is a golfer and will become a chaperone.

S.K. Tiddle– The way it was explained to me it came from a fictional character in either a poem or story written by Nick Baumgart. Try reading that again without cracking up.

Open Bar Tonight– I named this in hopes of what Britt would turn Chilly Willy’s into Saturday night for all WAF scramble participants…

Mock Block’n– If you’ve ever paid attention to Kevin Canterbury’s apparel at B-dubs you get it.

Short Stacked– Matt Chipps ladies and gentlemen.

Stealth Mode– Quiet but lethal.

Team Tyrone– My worst effort on a day that provided no inspiration. I should have waited and named them Delinquents.

Champions of Cute– Senning ditched Kissel from his team which automatically made them infinitely more attractive.

Affliction, Rhinestones, & Stonewashed Jeans– Wait until you see them out Saturday night. All questions you may have will be answered.

Ted Rides Again– Wingert’s way more interesting, more fun alter ego is Ted. If you saw him driving the news crew around in the golf cart last year you met Ted. Here’s hoping he rides again this year.  Note to Bradfield:  Try not to dress so formal this year.  This isn’t prom…

Teflon Dom– Nothing sticks to Dom Turi and I hope that remains true in regards to that mustache he grew out last year before the Weekend for Wes.

Howell Park Legends– They were the kids that always took their dirt bikes out on the Par 3 greens at Howell.

Yao and His Mings– Eric is nearly 7’11.

Tre Day and Eazy E Does It– I tried to manufacture a rivalry between the two teams.

Fine Wine– Patton gets better with age. Simple as that.

I can’t wait for May 18 to get here. Rain or shine we will all show up smiling and ready to have a good time. We gather every year to remember Wes Attebury, share stories, raise money and awareness, and enjoy each other’s company. We do this to ensure that Wes’ name and spirit continue to live on.

Putting this on requires a lot of hours and hard work. This year since the scramble is our only event several people took on more responsibilities than in years past. It wouldn’t be successful without the contributions made by the following people. We don’t have nearly long enough to speak at the scramble because of our time schedule and this year I’m turning over the mic to J.P. and Melissa so this is my personal thank you to all who helped make this scramble what it is and if you see them thank them for their hard work…

Pam Attebury– Thank you so much for handling the money and checking the paid players off the list while keeping me informed of who has and hasn’t paid. You’ve been on top of it from Day 1 and it’s made this process as easy as it could be.

Chad Wingert– Thank you so much for managing our account, getting the banners made, and handling the prizes. I know that’s a lot of work and stress from doing it in the past and I appreciate you taking care of everything on it this year. You’re the man!

Brian Claybourn– Thank you so much for all your hard work getting sponsors lined up and continuing to get the hole sponsorship signs done. They look great! We wouldn’t raise half of what we do without you.

J.P. Claybourn– One of the smartest people I know. Thank you so much for all the hard work you do on sponsorships, and offering to help every step of the way on whatever needed to be done.

Melissa Attebury– I’m very appreciative of the time and effort you have put in as our President.  You were always very encouraging and helpful throughout this entire process.

Wes Attebury Foundation Board Members– It’s been a great a year! Thanks for your help and support. Especially Melissa Attebury for being a sounding board for our ideas.

Participants and Sponsors– We couldn’t do what we do without you all coming out and participating and/or the donations made to our cause. We can’t thank you enough.

See you May 18!