Jacob Gable never imagined so much pressure would accompany such a friendly endeavor
But the pressure Gable felt playing on the first playoff hole in the inaugural Arbre Cup is nothing compared to the responsibility he felt trying to find 16 players who were available and willing to play in the second annual version of the event.
“Everybody is busy with schedules and with what they’re doing,” Gable said. “You have football season, hunting season, and everybody is doing vacations, so it is hard to pick a weekend where everybody can play. That is the hardest part.”
Gable, who is a member at Green Oaks Golf Club, and Joseph R. Hanko II, the golf professional at Elm Lake Golf Course, didn’t have any trouble finalizing rosters Wednesday for the Ryder Cup-styled event between the clubs. Slated to begin at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, the three-pronged tournament will begin with nine-hole scramble play followed by nine holes of four-ball and nine more of singles play. The first team to 16 points will claim the trophy.
“We want to make it an event people can’t wait to get into,” said Hanko II, who won’t play in the event. “We don’t want to try to find people to play. We want to make it something people look forward to all year. We want to make sure the best players want to play and have the best competition we can between the two clubs.”
Gable and Hanko said nothing special happened to bring them together to organize the Arbre Cup. Both realized nothing like it existed in the area and felt there was enough interest, so they discussed the idea and put it into action.
Last year’s initial tournament was a hit. Played at Elm Lake, both teams were tied with 16 points following regulation play. Gable, who represented Green Oaks, and Brian Walker, of Elm Lake, squared off in the playoff, which Gable took with a birdie. Walker made par.
Gable credits golf lessons he was taking last year for helping him realizing a “one in five chance” to pull off the winning shot. Unfortunately, he said he isn’t taking any lessons this year.
“To pull off a shot like that is always impressive to do,” Gable said. “I had been taking some short-game lessons the previous couple of weeks and what we had been working on came into play on this particular shot. You don’t want to short-side yourself into a predicament where you’re not able to get up and down. I was lucky not to go into a hazard on the second shot. The third shot, not having to take penalty, I was able to get it up and down and to make a four. That’s kind of luck in a way. It’s something we want to be able to do.”
Gable will return to action this weekend. He was one of 16 players who made it through a qualifier at the club. Both clubs also will have alternates if one of its members won’t be able to play.
Gable said he has been playing as much as possible and isn’t sure how he will fare this year, but he said all of the members who will represent Green Oaks want to keep the trophy, which features a golf figurine on top, back home.
“There probably is a little pressure to keep the cup since we are playing at our home track,” Gable said.
Both players hope the excitement they saw surrounding the inaugural event grows this year and that the annual competition is something everyone can’t wait to play in.
“We couldn’t have asked for any better in first year,” Hanko said. “It was pretty awesome. If there was pressure on Jacob he didn’t show any of it in the playoff. Maybe it will show this year.”
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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