What. A. Trip.
When you invite hundreds of thousands of golfers from around the world to a premier golf facility in Wisconsin, you’d expect something to go wrong. Boy was I wrong.
The 2019 Team Titleist Invitational in Kohler, WI was a true testament of our beloved game's ability to bring great people together. As most of you know, this was my first go. And if I didn’t know any better, I could have easily mistaken the Wednesday night reception for a High School reunion.
Entering the Kohler Design Center, the piles of Team Titleist swag awaiting our guests was something out of Willy Wonka’s playbook. Cue the High School reunion as a barrage of hugs and handshakes were exchanged. Most would think the spread of best-of appetizers from all the resort restaurants would be enough to write home about, but that was quickly outdone with this little memo from a few other Team Titleist members:
No one wanted the night to end, but there was a marathon of golf the following day so the crew wisely dispersed.
Day 2 put the group’s avidness to test and the challenge was well received. TT members started sweeping range dew at 6a and you’ve never seen a group more ready to roll for an 8a shotgun. To say Blackwolf Run’s The River Course was a challenge would be an understatement. The course was pure but the greens were evil, and Team Titleist relished in it.
Secret got out that Cameron McCormick was holding a clinic after golf, but even the Titleist Staff underestimated Cameron’s overall presence at the event. He was among the first to show up at the prior night’s reception and he didn’t hesitate to grab a seat for dinner with Team Titleist guests. He also joined the event photographer in making rounds during golf at Blackwolf Run. They managed to hit all 23 foursomes, grabbing a photo with each and every attendee (photos will be emailed to the group shortly!).
After golf, guests spent an hour perusing leaderboards over lunch before heading back out to the range for McCormick’s clinic. Cameron delivered in a big way as he addressed a fresh perspective on task-oriented drills golfers could use to troubleshoot their game, even mid golf trip (somewhat applicable considering the challenge The River provided). 45 minutes into the clinic, a storm tried to derail our schedule but the group swiftly pivoted to the clubhouse where Cameron rounded out his time with an insightful Q&A.
By the time the 45-minute storm passed and attendees made their way back to the range, the group arrived to well-staffed stations for testing T-series irons, U·series utilities, TS hybrids, Teryllium T22 putters, and WedgeWorks wedges. In addition to that, there was some golf ball prototype testing we can’t tell you about but may just learn about it soon enough. (Quiet, attendees!)
Finally, after 14 hours at the Blackwolf Run facility, we managed to pry the testing components out of the group’s hands so they could have time to freshen up for dinner and the hero round at Whistling Straits the following morning.
By Day 3 the group hit full stride. From the minute the group arrived at Whistling Straits, there was a positive aura that was contagious. Seeing The Straits crawling with avid golfers in Titleist caps and caddies toting bags of the same script was a thing of beauty. There was nothing but good vibes and good times.
Post-golf lunch was bittersweet as it was finally time for awards and goodbyes. We won’t bore you with the latter, but the winners and prizes are well deserved:
- Low Gross Champion: Rich T | 152 (+8 over 36 holes)
- Choice of Custom T-Series Irons
- Team Gross Champions: Rich T & Judy P.
- Custom TS Hybrid or U·Series Irons + 3 Dozen Golf Balls of Choice + Team Titleist Headcover
- Team Net Champions: Rob P. & John S.
- Custom TS Hybrid or U·Series Irons + 3 Dozen Golf Balls of Choice + Team Titleist Headcover
- Team Net 2nd Place: Terry P. & Mike. C
- Embroidered Titleist Bag of Choice
- Team Net 3rd Place: ADeLucia & James K.
- Closest to the Pin: Tyson V. @ Blackwolf Run & Scott S @ Whistling Straits
- 3 Dozen Golf Balls of Choice
- Longest Putt: David R. @ Blackwolf Run & Mike. C @ Whistling Straits
- Longest Drive: Ryan G @ Blackwolf Run & ADeLucia @ Whistling Straits
- Custom TS Driver of Choice + Team Titleist Headcover
A very sincere thank you to the wonderful group of Team Titleist members that made this rendition of the invitational a massive success. Hope to see familiar faces along with new ones at Team Titleist Invitational No. 5 in 2020!
Here's just a small visual taste of the action: