Air Force captures Rainier Cup

Army team never much of a factor at 11th annual military golf tournament at Gallery Golf Course in Oak Harbor

By Matt Smith, Northwest Guardian

After three days of golf on three different courses, the Air Force came out on top by the slightest of margins to claim the title of the 11th Annual Rainier Cup.

The tournament, which fields 40-person (36 men, four women) teams from the Army, Air Force and Navy, is played annually on the three courses associated with each installation; Gallery Golf Course in Oak Harbor (Navy) on Day 1, Eagles Pride (Army) on Day 2 and Whispering Firs Golf Course (Air Force) on the final day.

The first two days pitted two-man teams against each other in a scramble in Oak Harbor then an alternate-shot round at Eagles Pride. The Navy held a commanding lead after Day 1 with 29.5 points, the Air Force was second with 16.5 points and the Army finished with 14.

By the close of the Day 3 match play round at Whispering Firs, the Air Force squeaked out the closest margin of victory to date — a 90.5 to 90 victory over Navy. The Army finished with 50.5.

Naturally, the outcome was not quite what the Army golfers were hoping for when they started the event Friday afternoon. Though frustrated, many Army golfers were excited just to get a chance to play.

Though having retired from the Army as a Lt. Col., Nolan Geudeaux was placed on the Air Force team as the airmen lacked enough players and the Army had an overflow. So it’s tough to blame him for being in good spirits after his adopted team won the event. Geudeaux said getting a chance to meet new people, not to mention a few new golfing partners, was the best thing about the competition.

“It’s amazing,” said the former staff judge advocate officer, “how you spend three days with guys you’ve never met before and at the end of that time you’ve must have had 100 different conversations. I probably only knew two of the guys before the tournament, but now I probably know about 15 or 20 guys. It was great fun.”

Of the three styles of golf played during the tournament, Geudeaux said he most enjoyed the final day’s match-play round, which elicited a bit of nostalgia.

“I had not played match play in 20 years,” said the 63-year-old. “It brought back old memories. There are different strategies you have to employ because you’re playing against the person in front of you, and that’s a wonderful experience.”

John Jackson, a retired Army master sergeant, also enjoyed his weekend of golfing, though wasn’t a fan of the tournament’s scoring system.

“Every year I enjoy it. I think it’s good,” said Jackson who played in his fourth Rainier Cup, “but the only thing I think they need to do is change the scoring format.”

He said he was more in favor of a set up that paired golfers with similar handicaps in different groups instead of just giving a golfer who has, for example, a 15 handicap a 10-hole advantage over a golfer with a five handicap. Despite his beef with the scoring format, the 53-year-old Jackson said he likes the way the Rainier Cup seems to improve every year. And when asked if he’ll continue to play in the event he responded: “Until I can’t walk no more.”