2015 Newport Cup

September 10-12, Moon Valley CC, AZ

The Newport Cup 2015 was held in Phoenix, AZ at the Moon Valley Country Club. We solicited single-digit handicap members from each side of the Mississippi River to apply for opportunity to compete for the East or West teams. Each team lived together, dined together, and of course, competed together.

However unlikely, we competed to a 27-27 draw, as the West (Red) Team overcame a five-point deficit to the East (Blue) Team on the final day of singles matches. A well-fought, back-and-forth battle, to cap the incredible experience with new friends and three solid days of golf.

We created a topic for the actual matches, where those at home could keep up with what was happening on the course, and the players could join if they had some downtime in the evenings.

Never missing an opportunity to further everyone's golf experience, TST also posted observations from the competition so that we could all learn.

Prior to the matches, TST organized a tour of the nearby PING facilities (obviously not possible in all future Newport Cups), and we were able to outfit the players with products from most of the sponsors. For example, here is a shot of the crew after seeing their new custom-embroidered Hoofer bags.

Check out more of the swag here. While we cannot promise so many goodies every year, we do feel that this style of gathering is the direction we will continue to build on in the future.

The Teams

East (Blue) Team

Captain: Erik J. Barzeski (@iacas)
Team Members: Matt Dougherty (@saevel25), Jamieson Weiss (@jamo), Dave Panich (@DaveP043), Vishal Shah (@GolfLug), Vince Dugan (@SavvySwede), and Hunter Bishop (@jbishop15)

West (Red) Team

Captain: Mike McLoughlin (@mvmac)
Team Members: Drew Sebilian (@Golfingdad), Kyle Paulhus (@kpaulhus), Michael C. Hepp (@mchepp), Colin Boylan (@Big C), Barrett Chamberlain (@Bechambo), and John Steimann (@Club Rat)

The Opening Tee Shots

The Results

Thursday (September 10)

Morning Four-Ball Nassau. East 5, West 4

Afternoon. Foursome Nassau. East 9.5, West 8.5

Friday (September 11)

Morning Foursome Nassau. East 15.5, West 11.5

Afternoon Four-ball Nassau. East 20.5, West 15.5

Saturday (September 12)

Singles Nassau. East 27, West 27

A TIE! For a play-by-play of the day, please visit the forum thread for the matches.

Other Links and Items of Interest

• General thread on the Newport Cup 2015
• Captain's Observations from Newport Cup 2015
• Assembling the Teams
• Newport Cup 2015 Prediction Contest for a PING G30 Driver
• Players' Days with the Newport Cup

The 2015 Newport Cup Sponsors

• PING - makers of some of the finest golf equipment on the planet. (PING Topic)
• Moon Valley CC - Our host course and the site of Annika Sorenstam's record-setting 59 round in 2001. (Moon Valley Topic)
• TRUE Linkswear - The shoe that's revolutionized golf, with its minimalist, zero-drop, low-platform, technology and styling. (TRUE Linkswear Topic)
• PURE Grips - The best grips in the world, made from PURE rubber, with easy-on, easy-off no-tape installation. (PURE Grips Topic)
• KickX - Makers of the KickX Tour Z Golf Ball, one of the longest, softest balls on the market today. (KickX Topic)
• LinkSoul - From John Ashworth, awesome golf clothing with a great sense of style. (LinkSoul Topic)