2006 Newport Cup

The U.S. team may have lost the Ryder Cup, but that has not put a damper on the 16 contestants that will partake in the second annual Newport Cup. This year it’s “the staff versus the challengers” in the red-clay area of North Carolina on October 13, 14, and 15.

The Newport Cup is named after the location of the first U.S. Open, the Newport Golf and Country Club in Rhode Island. Held in 1895, professional golfer Horace Rawlins of England was the first champion.

The Blue and Red teams will return, and the staff (much like the dominating Europeans) will wear blue. The challengers, like the blood they’ll likely shed in defeat, will wear red. The stains won’t show, we figure. <grin>

The Courses and Format

Unlike the Ryder Cup, the Newport Cup takes place at a several courses:

• Salem Glen (Friday, both rounds)
• Tanglewood Championship Course (Saturday morning)
• Tanglewood Reynolds Course (Saturday afternoon)
• Greensboro National (Sunday singles)

Both morning matches Friday and Saturday will be played at best ball. Friday afternoon at Salem Glen we’ll play a Southern Point competition. Saturday afternoon, at the quirky (and fairly short) Reynolds Course at Tanglewood, we’ll play a modified version of “Vegas.” Sunday will be straight up singles matches contested at match play.

With two teams of eight men each, four points are available in each of the first four sessions for a total of 16 points. The singles matches consist of eight possible points for a total of 24 points. It will take 12½ points to win the physical Newport Cup.

The Trophy

The Newport Cup itself is actually more of a jug similar to the claret jug. It measures 15″ and cast in pewter and silver.

The Newport Cup suffered a terrible tragedy last year and will not be making the trip to North Carolina this year. The handle broke off at the bottom. Since our Newport Cup logo has a picture of the cup in it, we won’t be changing cups any time soon. We will, however, try to remember to buy some Super Glue…

Coverage

As the Newport Cup continues to grow, readers have shown more and more interest in the goings-on from year to year. This year, we’re playing a team of challengers, and next year we’ll likely have an even bigger event.

Upon our return, we’ll post pictures, notes, the results, and short reviews of the courses we played. The site will not see many (if any) updates the week of the Newport Cup, but we’ll get right back to our normal schedule upon our return.

Future Plans

The first year, the Newport Cup was a great chance for staff to get together and meet each other, some of them for the first time. This year, as noted, we have a “challenger” team to take on the staff – no longer is it brother against brother! Next year, for the third Newport Cup, we’ll look to have a full 12-on-12 experience, pitting Sand Trap staff and friends versus another team of challengers and mini-celebrities. We may be hosting the event in the Myrtle Beach area, or in Arizona.

Sponsors

The Sand Trap would like to thank the generous Newport Cup sponsors for contributing goodies and gear. Without our sponsors, this event would not be half of what it has turned out to be.

Titleist
http://titleist.com/
Titleist has long sponsored The Sand Trap, for which we are eternally grateful. Not only does their sponsorship allow us to pay the bills, but their hands-off approach allows us to present our thoughts to you each and every week, both in the podcasts, in our articles, and in our reviews. As one can gather, most of our staff plays Titleist, so they’ll be present in a big way.

GuardDog Watches
http://guarddogwatches.com/
GuardDog Watches is supplying each Newport Cup contestant with an engraved, custom-made belt watch. Despite what Rolex may have you think, very few golfers wear watches on the golf course. A watch that clips to your belt is perfect! The Belt Watch 6000 was a big hit in our inaugural Newport Cup and will be again in 2006.

Green Friendly Golf
http://greenfriendlygolf.com/
Green Friendly Golf has supplied each contestant with their Cognac Croc men’s belts with the integrated ball marker and divot repair tool. Each belt was custom engraved with the Newport Cup logo.

J. Mark Golf
http://jmarkgolf.com/
J. Mark Golf makes custom putter headcovers. What started as an eBay venture for owner, Jack Adams, quickly blossomed into a full-fledged business. J. Mark offers putter covers from AM&E, makers of Scotty Cameron’s headcovers. J. Mark’s headcovers are fully guaranteed, and each contestant will receive a headcover with the Newport Cup logo.